The English dub of One Piece: Heart of Gold might be arriving sooner than we expected.

NBC Dallas-Fort Worth (NBC DFW) recently interviewed some of the FUNimation staff. In the clip that NBC DFW posted on their website, Stephanie Young, the voice actress for Robin, can be seen recording a scene from the recent TV special, One Piece: Heart of Gold. Furthermore, Joel McDonald, who is presumably the ADR director for the special, directs Stephanie’s session.

The date for One Piece: Heart of Gold‘s North American home video release or any further information is yet to be unveiled.

Summary of One Piece: Heart of Gold:

While exploring the New World, Luffy and the Straw Hats meet a mysterious girl named Olga. Her innocent looks hide a twisted, manipulative personality. Both the Marines and a powerful treasure hunter named Mad Treasure are chasing Olga because she is from Alchemi, an island of steel which suddenly disappeared two centuries ago. Rumor has it that a metal created on the island, Pure Gold, is worth a fortune. Some say you could even buy the whole world with it. Olga managed to escape from Alchemi, but both Marine Headquarters and Mad Treasure, who is working for Guild Tesoro (the Straw Hats’ chief nemesis in One Piece Film: Gold), discovered that she survived. Manipulated by the cranky Olga, Luffy decides to hunt for Pure Gold himself. Will the Straw Hats find the legendary treasure? Or will Mad Treasure get there first?

One Piece: Heart of Gold is the movie tie-in TV special to commemorate One Piece Film: Gold‘s release. It premiered on Fuji TV on July 16, a week prior to the movie’s Japanese theatrical release. Tsutomu Kuroiwa, the screenwriter for One Piece Film: Gold, wrote the screenplay for it, and One Piece Film: Z director, Tatsuya Nagamine, directed the special.

Thanks to midod for the news tip.

SOURCE: NBCDFW