On May 25, the official One Piece website posted the second part of its series of special interviews to commemorate the imminent theatrical release of One Piece Film: Gold. These interviews are featured in “Usopp’s ‘This is Real! GOLD'”, a column on the One Piece website run by Usopp’s Japanese voice actor Kappei Yamaguchi. Each voice actor from the Straw Hat crew will be interviewed in this series of special interviews, with Yamaguchi starting off this relay by being the interviewee of his own column last week. This week’s special guest is the Japanese voice actor of Franky, Kazuki Yao.

Kappei: On today’s “Usopp’s ‘This is Real! GOLD’,” Yao from the Straw Hat crew came to visit! I’ll be asking you a lot of questions about One Piece and Film: Gold. Glad to have you with us today!

Yao: It’s my pleasure!

Kappei: You’ve actually been involved with the One Piece anime for a long time. Your first appearance is actually pretty close to Usopp’s.

Yao: As fate would have it, yes.

Kappei: Because you appeared as Jango from the Black Cat Pirates and fought Usopp. *laughs* Later followed by Bon-chan, and then Franky. In terms of screen time, you might have put in the longest after Luffy.

Yao: Nah, that’s stretching it a bit… Wouldn’t Nami or Zoro have been around longer?

Kappei: The Straw Hat crew were absent during the Paramount War arc, so you’ve probably put in more time in total compared to the rest of us.

Yao: Man, I’m so glad I did Bon-chan. I really consider myself lucky.

Kappei: So let me be upfront about this question: Who is your favorite between Jango, Franky, and Bon-chan?

Yao: Bon-chan seems to be the most popular. It’s only recently that people began recognizing me as the guy who voices Franky when I walk around town. Back when Franky first appeared, most people still recognized me as Bon-chan, so I used to think that Franky wasn’t popular.

Kappei: No way! Franky is overwhelmingly popular with the kids, especially the boys!

Yao: Yeah, Eiichiro (Oda) used to say from way back that Franky’s target audience are the boys, so he’s got that down.

Kappei: By the way, do you remember what it was like when it was decided that you would be voicing Franky?

Yao: To be frank, I gave Bon-chan my all so I was already burnt out. I was under the assumption that my work has been done in the One Piece anime.

Kappei: *laughs*

Yao: But then, Eiichiro called me on the phone and asked me what kind of character I wanted, so I told him to figure it out himself. Though I did stress that I didn’t want this character to be a magician or an okama.

Kappei: And so we ended up with a cyborg. *laughs* What was your first impression of Franky?

Yao: I explain this often: Eiichiro and I are pretty close pals, but I’ve never hung out with him wearing nothing but an underwear before.

Kappei: *laughs* Actually, I’m the one who walks around in my underwear.

Yao: Right. And yet, why is Franky the speedo guy!?

Kappei: You used to undress both publicly and privately in the past, so maybe he got an idea from somewhere.

Yao: I’ve become more reserved recently and keep my clothes on these days. *laughs* But for Franky, maybe there was an intent of forgetting about what’s been done already and starting over from scratch.

Kappei: Conversely, has Franky affected you in any way?

Yao: I used to live freely and do things my way up until now, but I began feeling responsible about not destroying the dreams of children who look up to Franky.

Kappei: Yeah, you only drink coke when there are kids around.

Yao: Yeah. Mayumi (Luffy’s voice actress) and I went out to eat this one time, and as I was sipping my iced tea, this kid came up to me and said, “Aww, it’s not coke.” The shock hit me so hard. So in that sense, I think voicing Franky gave me the opportunity to grow as a better person, too.

Kappei: Looking at Franky’s design sheets, he’s undergone significant growth, or rather, his appearance really changed. He used to look more human before.

Yao: Yeah. This one looks like a legit human.

Kappei: Indeed. And even after the time-skip, he’s only a cyborg on his front side since he still can’t reach his back on his own. I really love when Robin sees this and remarks, “You haven’t changed a bit, Franky.”

Yao: Me too. When he was told at point-blank range that he hadn’t changed and was just appalled.

Kappei: Maybe Robin is the type of person who sees you for who you are inside. It was a very humorous gag given Franky’s extraordinary exterior. Have you changed your acting at all after the time-skip?

Yao: Since two years were supposed to have passed, I took it upon myself to change something and began rolling my R’s stronger. I didn’t expect it to be as fun as it is and got carried away.

Kappei: You roll words that don’t start with a R these days, too.

Yao: Yeah, even the non-R’s sound rolled.

Kappei: Which Franky do you like, Yao?

Yao: If you put them side by side like that, I guess the human one.

Kappei: *laughs* But you have way more special moves now.

Yao: Well, he is a robot now.

Kappei: And that’s exactly why he’s so cool! You have a favorite move too, right?

Yao: The Nipple Light.

Kappei: And that’s something that Franky couldn’t have done before. But out of all the other attacks that he has like Strong Right, you pick that one.

Yao: Oh, but General Franky feels great. I can become my own Chōgōkin (超合金 — a brand of robot and character toys released by Popy in 1972. The brand continues to exist today through Bandai).

Kappei: Franky is so unique. He used to come off as a little crazy back when he was first introduced, but he’s actually one of the most mature members of the crew, with actual common sense.

Yao: Yeah, and I also dig how he’s easily moved to tears. Being able to shed tears means he’s got a pure heart.

Kappei: He still has a human heart despite his robotic exterior.

Yao: Yeah. His back and his feelings are still human.

Kappei: Then, how about your favorite line from Franky, or let’s say you’re asked to quote something from him. What comes to mind?

Yao: Hands down, “Super.”

Kappei: I see, right. That really has become his strongest symbol.

Yao: When I’m at an event and tell the audience, “Let’s do the usual!”, everyone gets it, so I feel responsible to treasure this signature phrase.

Kappei: I see. I’d love to keep asking you more about Franky, but we’re running out of time, so let’s talk about the movie. It’s been four years since the last movie, Film: Z. What were some of your impressions upon reading the script for Film: Gold?

Yao: The story is glorious, but man do we have some amazing guests. A lot of these people are quite the characters themselves with very strong personalities, so I’m very curious how much of their colors this movie is going to reflect. A part of me is excited with anticipation that it’s really going to turn GOLD.

Kappei: It really does live up to the name Film: Gold.

Yao: Yeah. My only regret is that I couldn’t dub together with Kitaōji, who voiced Rayz Max.

Kappei: I laughed so hard when I read Max’s introduction scene in the script.

Yao: Ah, that one. Also, there’s a key word that’s going to be used, and Franky says some things in reaction to what Max has to say, so I really wish I could have seen how Kitaōji acted that scene out before I dubbed my part.

Kappei: I hear you. We’ll change the subject a bit. In this movie, we’ll be carrying out team battles, and I believe Franky was with Luffy. It feels like an unprecedented combination.

Yao: That’s right, we hardly ever teamed up together before.

Kappei: How was being paired up with Luffy like?

Yao: I mentioned this earlier but Franky is mature, so he keeps an eye on everyone objectively. And especially with Luffy, I think Franky stands in a position where he can reassure Luffy, “I’ve got your back in the end, so don’t worry.” So I was really happy this time that Franky was placed close enough to be able to help out Luffy should things go wrong.

Kappei: I really enjoyed watching the scenes with Luffy and Franky myself. Gosh, this movie is just so flashy and full of excitement with the cast and the story and everything.

Yao: As it should be. The staff went on a long-term location hunt in Las Vegas just for this movie.

Kappei: They sure have. It makes you wonder whether they really had to stay out there for so long. *laughs* Have you been to any casinos before?

Yao: I’ve been to Macau before. The city was all flashy but the actual casino had a chic atmosphere with no dress code, so it felt very accessible.

Kappei: Huh, I had no idea. Speaking of dress codes, what did you think of the costumes this time? Franky’s outfits are always cute, but the outfit from the opening this time is especially adorable!

Yao: I was all, “What the heck is this!?” when I first saw it.

Kappei: Ah, so you thought so too? Same here. *laughs* Hm hmm. Perhaps the mystery of this costume will come to light at a later time…? Or so I’m told, folks.

Yao: Also, this costume is a topic covered in the 53rd part of Professor Greg’s SUPER “OP” Course! Or so the producer told me to say. *laughs*

Kappei: *laughs* And lastly, the dubbing process may be all done now, but please share us your enthusiasm for this movie!

Yao: All nine Straw Hats were able to gather in one place after a long time, so I hope you’ll enjoy what each character has to offer. And if you go see the movie, you might understand why Franky has an admiration for Rayz Max. Please go check it out in theaters and give it some thought.

Kappei: Thank you very much, Yao!

Be sure to check out the original post on the official website for more photos and visuals from this interview! You can even send a message of encouragement to Kappei Yamaguchi by pressing the 応援メッセージを送る (send a message of encouragement) button at the bottom of the page! And once again, special thanks to my friend Jo for helping me match quotes from the manga with the VIZ translations!

SOURCE: One-Piece.com