“One Piece” is one of the longest-running anime series of all time, a truly legendary show worthy of its reputation. Based on the manga of the same name by Eiichiro Oda, “One Piece” is still going strong after 25 years, becoming a cultural institution. And after all that time, the show is better than ever. The latest story arc, “Egghead Island Arc” even made it to our list of best anime of the year. There’s never been a better time to be a “One Piece” fan, between the anime, the live-action show, and the upcoming Netflix animated remake. With still plenty of source material to go, it could be several years before we see the end of “One Piece.”
And yet, the anime just suffered a big shakedown, one that has fans devastated. After nearly 20 years, one of the Straw Hats is disembarking the ship and saying goodbye to the show. Kazuki Yao, who joined the cast back in 2000 and voiced characters like Jango and Mr. 2 Bon Clay before voicing Franky is officially retired, citing health issues. His roles are getting replaced, with voice actor Subaru Kimura (Todo in “Jujutsu Kaisen”) taking over the role of the Straw Hat Pirates’ shipwright Franky starting in 2025.
The Straw Hat Pirates voice cast is not getting any younger, unfortunately. The youngest member of the cast is Akemi Okamura, who voices Nami and is 55 years old. Luffy’s voice actor, Mayumi Tanaka is herself 69, and as great as her voice is, the anime does not show signs of being near the end of the story. Yao retiring and needing a replacement is but a sign of things to come. And on the other side of the Pacific, American fans should take a look at what is happening with “One Piece” for a likely tease of the future of another cultural institution — “The Simpsons.”
The Simpsons will have to deal with its aging cast sooner or later
Franky wouldn’t exist without Yao. Oda himself created the character with Yao’s voice in mind, and it was the voice performance combined with the distinct design that made the character so special and memorable. He is like an older brother to the younger Straw Hats and an avenue for Oda to explore his love of giant robots. Indeed, Franky has increasingly turned more machine than man, building a giant robot for himself dubbed Iron Pirate “General Franky” much to the delight of the other Straw Hats — particularly Chopper, Luffy, and Usopp. This is to say, Yao’s performance was incredibly important to the character, but now that the time has come, the character is simply being recast.
It won’t be long until “The Simpsons” faces a similar conundrum. The iconic cartoon is similarly still going strong after 35 years, with recent seasons being the best in decades. We’re getting episodes that experiment with the show’s formula and challenge the characters in exciting new ways. Much like the Straw Hat Pirates, the cast of “The Simpsons” is not getting any younger. The youngest members of the main cast, Hank Azaria and Yeardley Smith, are 60 years old, while Harry Shearer is 81. Sure, Shearer just delivered his best performance ever as Ned Flanders, but much longer can he keep voicing Mr. Burns, or Smithers, or Skinner? How about Homer Simpson himself, Dan Castellaneta? The man is 67, while Julie Kavner who voices Marge is 74 (and her performance as Marge has undoubtedly suffered in recent years).
Voice acting cannot be replicated
Recently, Pamela Hayden made waves when she announced her retirement after 35 years of voicing Milhouse Van Houten — as well as Rod, Jimbo Jones, and many others. It seems Disney and Fox will at least recast her characters rather than use AI (thankfully) to try and keep her voice on future episodes, but what happens when Castallaneta is no longer able to voice Homer? What if Nancy Cartwright has to stop voicing Bart? Will they hire soundalikes like “Rick and Morty” did for its two titular characters? Or will they go the way of Darth Vader, which Disney is officially voicing using AI?
It remains to be seen (well, heard) how Kimura fares as the new voice of Franky, but hopefully, he shows that it’s much better to go the way of recasting rather than artificially trying to replicate an iconic voice. Voice acting is still acting, it can’t be replicated with a machine or an algorithm. Let’s hope “The Simpsons” remembers that when the time comes.
