Another One Piece Actor Might Retire Soon
We might not hear Shanks’ iconic voice in the coming years if this update has any impact on the One Piece anime.
The retirement of Kazuki Yao in December 2024 seems to have rattled the One Piece and anime community over the fate of voice actors who have played their characters for many decades.
On January 18, 2025, voice actor ShÅ«ichi Ikeda retires from his iconic role as Char Aznable, one of the Gundam franchise’s most prolific characters and a recurring antagonist.
Shanks’ voice actor, Shuichi Ikeda, has retired from his iconic role as Char from Gundam. This is sad news, and it raises concerns he might also retire from voicing Shanks in One Piece, as he is now 75 years old. 😔 pic.twitter.com/q8kb0Y5DJg
— Pew (@pewpiece) January 17, 2025
Ikeda has voiced Char since the very first Mobile Suit Gundam episode in 1979, totaling 46 years of voice work.
Ikeda has also voiced other prominent anime characters, such as Kite from the 2011 Hunter x Hunter anime,
However, Ikeda’s most iconic role outside Char is as Red-Haired Shanks of One Piece, a character who has appeared in the beginning of the One Piece anime in 1999.
Ikeda is 75 years old as of retirement from the classic Gundam role.
This has caused some fans to speculate that Ikeda might retire from the role of Shanks soon.
This is unfortunate timing due to the significance of Red-Haired Shanks in the Elbaph Arc that has just begun in the manga in late 2024.
There has been no statement on Ikeda’s plan for the character.
Source: Twitter
CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE ANIME EXPLAINED WHATSAPP GROUP CHAT NOW!
