From ONE PIECE timeskip to the anime’s hiatus, Sanji and Usopp’s voice actors speak on their characters during their first visit to India [Exclusive]

Comic Con has become a cornerstone of Anime’s popularity in India, and this year, Crunchyroll invited ONE PIECE voice actors Hiroaki Hirata (Sanji) and Kappei Yamaguchi (Usopp) to the Mumbai edition. Sportskeeda had the chance to attend a round table with these esteemed artists where they answered some of our questions.

From the recent anime hiatus to the ONE PIECE timeskip, Yamaguchi-San and Hirata-San offered insight into a range of topics. Apart from the round table, they also attended a stage at the Mumbai Comic Con 2025, where they answered some questions from the host and live-acted certain scenes from the anime.

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ONE PIECE’s Hiroaki Hirata and Kappei Yamaguchi share their thoughts as they attend the Mumbai Comic Con 2025

Yamaguchi-San and Hirata-San with their respective characters (Image via Toei Animation, Crunchyroll)

Since it began airing on October 20, 1999, Toei Animation’s adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s masterpiece has slowly grown in the number of episodes and characters alike. By default, the number of voice actors involved in the project has grown as well. However, Usopp and Sanji, being the fourth and fifth members, respectively, to join the Straw Hat Crew, have been part of the ONE PIECE anime journey almost since the beginning.

Usopp’s Seiyuu, Kappei Yamaguchi, first appeared in episode 8, while Sanji’s voice actor, Hiroaki Hirata, joined the anime in episode 20. As the fourth and fifth members of Luffy’s Straw Hat Crew, they are part of the colloquially known East Blue Crew and have been largely present in the storyline throughout the anime’s long run.

However, in the middle of The Egghead Arc, the anime went on a hiatus in October 2024 and recently resumed broadcast on April 6, 2025. We asked Yamaguchi-San how he felt about the break, and now that the anime has resumed, how he feels about the audience’s reaction.

“Kappei Yamaguchi-San: Well, after that temporary pause, it really feels like something new has started again. All of us were really looking forward to the moment the anime resumed. Even during the break, recording was ongoing—we were recharging and preparing to deliver an even more exciting story.

He then added:

When the broadcast finally began, we were honestly surprised by the worldwide reaction. The Straw Hat Crew, and the anime production staff as well, have been very excited. The result has made us very happy."

Both ONE PIECE voice actors truly love their characters (Image via Toei Animation, Crunchyroll)

Although he had originally auditioned for Luffy, after playing Usopp for 25 years, Yamaguchi-san has come to truly admire his character. He feels that no one can portray Usopp the way he does. Although he had once wished to play a cooler side character like Fujitora, the actor feels that “Usopp is already cool enough as he is” and can only become cooler as he comes more into himself.

Answering a question about Usopp’s dream, Yamaguchi-San mentioned that the sniper’s dream to become “a brave warrior of the sea” is partially inspired by his respect for his father, Yasopp. Yamaguchi-San expressed his wish to support this dream to the best of his capacity.

He hopes Usopp will continue to be true to himself. Playing such a character, Yamaguchi-san emphasized, is a joy he continues to feel. Quite unsurprisingly, he picked the episode of Going Merry’s death (ONE PIECE episode 312, “Thank You Merry! The Sea of Separation in the Snow”) as his favorite episode in the ONE PIECE anime so far.

Hirata-San showed an equal amount of love for his own character. When asked, he specified that although Sanji has many sides, he never truly differentiates between them when he plays the character. All parts of Sanji, some easy and some difficult to translate onto the screen, are equally important to him and he considers the whole picture when acting.

Both voice actors seemed delighted by their fans in India (Image via Toei Animation, Crunchyroll)

This translated to his preparation for The Whole Cake Island Arc, where he didn’t do any special preparation for what the fans largely consider to be “Sanji’s arc”. Hirata-San has mentioned before that he likes to be surprised by the script and takes each episode as it comes. This is also reflected in his response to a question on Sanji’s plausible reaction to finding the All Blue.

While he does think that Sanji’s reaction will be something serious and cool, he hasn’t truly imagined it and prefers to wait for Oda Sensei to surprise him, just as the mangaka has done at every turn so far. In the same vein, when asked about the ONE PIECE timeskip, and his impression of Sanji on either side of it, including a memorable moment, Hirata-san replied:

“Hiroaki Hirata-San: Between before the timeskip and after those two years, Sanji’s core character hasn’t changed much. People say that about Usopp too, that the core of who he is, the foundation, hasn’t truly changed. However, the fact that he (Sanji) got so scared of the Okama-san of the Kamabakka Kingdom that he ended up learning to fly is pretty incredible, isn’t it?

He continued:

There’s that famous episode where Nami tells him, “If it’s a choice between dying or running, then at least choose to run. Is your chivalry really worth dying for?” After that, the idea of running from female enemies became a real option for him. Even without Nami there to remind him of that, he ran away from the Okama and suddenly learned to fly—amazing! That was a big moment – definitely a part of his growth.”

The ONE PIECE voice actors with fans at the Mumbai Comic Con 2025 (Image via Toei Animation, Crunchyroll)

Both voice actors expressed their delight at and gratitude for the reception they received in India. Later, during Crunchyroll’s ONE PIECE stage at the Mumbai Comic Con 2025, they voice-acted certain scenes, individually as well as together. Both expressed their joy at seeing the ever-growing ONE PIECE fandom in India and promised to return.

[The quotations have been translated from Japanese and thus reflect the usual amount of translation-typical paraphrasing.]

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Final thoughts

Be it the manga or the anime, despite its length, Eiichiro Oda’s Magnum Opus has solidified its place in the hearts of fans across the globe. However, compared to when it began – the manga in 1997 and the anime in 1999, ONE PIECE has gone through a lot of changes. Alongside the changes in production, the series’ popularity has also grown in leaps and bounds.

With time, the anime has evolved in terms of both art and technology. The recent hiatus has shown that the production team has perhaps started to feel differently towards compromising the pacing with fillers. However, the voice actors who are instrumental in the creation of this masterpiece have remained as essential to its soul as ever.

Yamaguchi-San and Hirata-San live voice acting (Image via Toei Animation, Crunchyroll)

The fondness Hirata-san and Yamaguchi-San displayed when talking about their respective characters shows that as much as the actor is part of the character, the character has also seeped into the actor. Although Luffy’s journey in the series hasn’t yet exceeded three years, the voice actors have walked alongside these characters and their co-actors for more than 25 years.

That time has left quite a significant mark on the people who portray the characters and the fans who love them. As ONE PIECE continues to run headlong towards a climax, it creates a similar sense of melancholy in the stars who help create it and in the fans for whom it’s created.

However, there are many chapters left to animate. Although the manga is in its Final Saga, there has been no official timeframe given for the climax. Hopefully, a few more arcs are yet to come before the end. It seems that the fans and the voice actors alike are waiting for that moment with both anticipation and sorrow.

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