From Sanji to Kotetsu T. Kaburagi — An Interview with Hiroaki Hirata at Animazement 2025

For two-and-a-half decades, audiences around the world have known Hiroaki Hirata as the Straw Hats' womanizing, chain-smoking chef Sanji. But just as One Piece started to take over the Western world and long before I knew what a “Going Merry” was, I'd come to recognize the actor's trademark gravely timber as a key ingredient in what made Tiger & Bunny's Kotetsu T. Kaburagi (better known as his alter-ego, Wild Tiger) so memorable. When presented with the opportunity to sit down for an extended interview with Mr. Hirata at this year's Animazement, I found myself excited to dive deep into his career of on-screen piracy, heroics, and even medicine. But despite the cool characters he portrays and his stylish attire, Mr. Hirata insisted that he's just the guy behind the mic.

While preparing to speak with you, I realized that you'd just celebrated the 25th anniversary of your debut as Sanji in One Piece. Congratulations on reaching this milestone! What has it been like to regularly portray a character for so long? How has that experience changed your life?

Hiroaki Hirata: Before I was cast as Sanji, I was already in the industry as a voice actor, but I was nobody—not popular at all. But because I booked the role of Sanji, I suddenly became one of the most well-known voice actors in Japan. Back in the day, there were a few animated series that would have a long run, but most of them would usually run for one or two cours [or seasons]—usually somewhere from 13 to 25 episodes. But these days, almost all of the anime produced is just a single season. It's unbelievable that I got the chance to be involved in such a long-running anime like this. I think I'm very lucky.

Given your long run as Sanji, do you see the character as part of yourself?

HIRATA: This is a very tough question... Thanks to One Piece's long run, there are fans who generally know my name and plenty of them watched the series while they were growing up. Nowadays, these fans are adults and also a part of the industry... For example, they'll ask me to work on a commercial or offer me a job as a narrator. These situations show how the kind of connections they built to me still exist. I feel that One Piece and Sanji, the character himself, are supporting my life and my business. However, when you ask if I see the character as a part of myself, that's a really tough question. Is Sanji part of me? I don't really think so, but it's true that I wouldn't be here without him.

I remember about 15 years ago when 3/11 [the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami] happened in Northern Japan, the entire country was devastated, and everybody was in a dark place. At that time, we received an offer that requested all the One Piece voice actors get together and give words of support as their characters to cheer everyone up. I had to think of what Sanji would say to cheer them up. So I asked Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece, about what I should say, and he said, “Do whatever you think is right. You're Sanji.” That made me very happy to hear. So, Sanji isn't part of me; it's actually vice versa: I am a part of Sanji.

What was your first impression of Taz Skylar's portrayal of Sanji in the live-action One Piece series? And what elements of your performance did you have to adjust when stepping into the booth to dub this version of the character?

HIRATA: Before the episodes aired, I learned who would play Sanji and also saw how he looked in costume. My first impression was, “he's too cool.” Yes, it's true that Sanji is cool, but he has other sides of himself that aren't cool—sides that show him as a womanizer or childish when he's alongside Luffy and the other Straw Hats. I wondered if this person could play not only the cool Sanji, but also the silly Sanji. I also noticed the story only went up to the Arlong Park arc, so you wouldn't see too much of Sanji's silliness. But when I saw the show for myself, I saw that Taz was not only portraying the cool Sanji, but playing up the womanizing, silly Sanji too. And with that, all my worries disappeared.

Since I've worked in dubbing many times in the past, the process wasn't stressful. However, since I've been playing Sanji for more than two decades, I do have a certain speed and cadence I use in voicing him. While dubbing the live-action series, I noticed he speaks way faster than I do in the anime. So, if I played it the same way as I always do, my words wouldn't be in sync with Taz's lips on-screen. It became very hard to adjust to that and maintain a balance. It might've been easier if I hadn't played Sanji in the anime, and this was just another movie or drama dubbing role. But again, I'd already been doing the anime, so it made it hard to adjust my performance to live-action.

On the note of your dubbing career, I discovered that you've regularly voiced Noah Wyle's characters throughout television, including his long run as Dr. John Carter on ER. What was the experience like of dubbing that many episodes of TV?

HIRATA: During the fifteen-year run of ER, Friends was going on and I played Joey. [in English] “How you doin'?”

How you doin'?

HIRATA: [Chuckles] In comparison to the social drama of ER, Friends is a comedic drama. Both characters were very difficult for me to play, but because I was involved with both series, I really grew as an actor. At that time, I was young and wasn't an amazing actor, but I got a lot better in those ten years and change of work. I learned a lot of techniques in the dubbing field and how to sync my performance to the on-screen actor's own work. Because of those experiences, along with the films and other series I've dubbed, I know how to put all that experience to work.

I might not be in the right position to say this, but when ER started, Noah Wyle was young and wasn't a great actor either. It was the same with Matt LeBlanc; he was a newbie, but became a better actor through playing Joey for ten years or so. For example, Noah's character started off as a rich kid who eventually became a veteran doctor, and through that you saw how he matured as an actor over time. I can tell just how nicely he aged by seeing the growth in his work, and upon reflection, I thought, “I've been playing this character for all those years as well.” So I didn't grow in just my acting abilities, but in the techniques specific to the dubbing field. I'm just very happy that I was able to share these experiences with both Wyle and LeBlanc.

And while we're talking about Mr. Wyle, are you hopeful that you'll be able to sink your teeth into his latest medical series role in The Pitt?

HIRATA: I didn't know about it, but if I got an offer, I would definitely take it! However, when it comes to the medical field, I really struggled with medicine names and technical terminology while I was working on ER. So I hope they've slimmed down the terms, or they're easier to say now, or at least easier to memorize.

The Pitt is way more in-depth, but it is very good though!

HIRATA: Okay, I'll take back what I said. [Chuckles]

Let's talk a little about a personal favorite of mine, your role as Kotetsu in Tiger & Bunny. What was the experience of being in the thick of the first season's popularity like, and what was the reaction from the fans? While watching the Blu-ray bonus features, I noticed that you and [Masakazu] Morita-san [Barnaby's voice actor] were flying all over the place to promote it.

HIRATA: Tiger & Bunny isn't an adaptation of an original work, so at the very beginning, the fans didn't know what it was about—I didn't either. When any anime gets going, and Tiger & Bunny started airing in April [2011], a whole round of research is done to gauge expectations. Prior to release, the series' ranking was quite low. I saw that and thought, “Oh, that's so disappointing... I'm involved, and it's not well known...” But at that time, we were already recording the voice-over, and all of us thought, “If the viewers see this first episode, they'll know how great this show is.” But at the beginning, we didn't have any buzz, so I was a little disappointed. I hoped that everyone would watch more. Then probably around episode five or six, which was about a month or month and a half into our run, the series' popularity skyrocketed.

In analyzing that, I'd say it's because of the pairing of an older man who's walking around all funny—“ganimata” or “bowlegged” is the word I want to use to describe it—and a newbie. This probably attracted many viewers in Japan, and back home, we refer to shows like this as “Buddy Anime.” I think that really attracted the fans. In Japan, the fans have their favorites, and they'll say, “So and so is my favorite!” or “No, so and so is my favorite!” “Oshi” is the term the fans in Japan tend to use.

In this case, Stern Bild is the city Tiger & Bunny takes place in, so when the heroes are fighting, you'll see many of the city's citizens around, and I think the fans see themselves as those citizens supporting Tiger, Bunny, and the other heroes. That's one way for the fans to enjoy the show, not only the story, but involving themselves in the story as a citizen. For instance, the fans in Nagoya will say they're a citizen of “Nagoyan Bild,” or in Osaka, “Naniwa” is another name for the city, so those fans will say, “I'm from Naniwan Bild.” So they support the series by not only watching it, but immersing themselves in its world. I thought that was really cool, and I appreciated that the fans were able to enjoy the series like that. So if this is the United States, you'll say, “I live in Raleigh, so I'm from 'Raleighian Bild'” or if you're from Chicago, you'll say “Chicagoan Bild.” That's how you support us as citizens of that city.

Well, I guess I'm from Detroitian Bild, then.

HIRATA: [Laughs] Thank you.

As you know, a big part of Tiger & Bunny's promotion in Japan included various stage shows and Tiger & Bunny: The Live. In those instances, what was it like making the jump from working as a voice over actor to performing live onstage? This happened a few years before you started doing the occasional bit of TV acting, right?

HIRATA: At the beginning of that project, it wasn't supposed to be me or Mr. Morita. They'd tried to cast a famous actor, but it didn't work out for some reason. After that, they gave up and said, “It's okay, just let Hirata and Morita do it.” These days, when an anime or manga is adapted for the stage, we say that the work has been brought into the “2.5D Dimension.” From there, the organizer will often employ young stage actors to perform the story of that anime or manga. I believe Tiger & Bunny: The Live was one of the very first examples of the “2.5D Dimension” appearing in Japanese entertainment.

What was it like trying to squeeze yourself into and moving around in the physical Wild Tiger suit for those performances? I bet that you and Morita-san probably felt like Kamen Riders while wearing them.

HIRATA: I did wear the bodysuit, but that was only for the pamphlet. In reality, the suit actor who played Kamen Rider Kuuga came and did it for me. With Tiger's and Barnaby's suits, they have to be made quite tight, really skinny, and streamlined. However, when you wore the mask, the proportions of these suits became unbalanced. The original designer, Masakazu Katsura, didn't appreciate that. So the suit actor, Tomi...Tomina...

Oh, Kenji Tominaga?

HIRATA: Yes, Kenji Tominaga! The suit was designed for him and he really tightened his body in it. So when I wore it, the bodysuit was really, really, tight. I definitely couldn't wear the mask, so I just carried it. However, Kamen Rider and Ultraman are shows I've watched since I was a child, and I adore them. I had some special feelings well up in me when I wore that suit.

It's cool to hear! Kamen Rider Kuuga is a personal favorite of mine.

HIRATA: I was amazed that you mentioned Kenji Tominaga. I forgot the name, but you just clicked right in there with it, so I knew you were a fan. [Laughs] Japan Action Enterprise is the organization for all of those suit stars. Because they're stuntmen, so you don't see their faces at all. However, because Kotetsu is an older man, we needed a veteran to play him, and Kenji Tominaga was that veteran. He played Kotetsu perfectly, probably even better than me! On the other hand, I remember that Barnaby's suit actor, Kenta Nitta, was a newbie at the time. It was funny to watch both of them, out of their suits, talking with each other. It was totally like I was watching Barnaby and Tiger in the flesh!

When you first heard that Tiger & Bunny 2 was going to happen after so many years, what was your reaction? As a fan, I couldn't help but tear up a little when I saw the news.

HIRATA: While season one was airing, research was done to gauge fan demand after we noticed the series' popularity. I knew that people on the production side had decided to make a second season, and the scriptwriter, Masafumi Nishida, had already written all the scripts. However, it didn't happen, and I thought, “Okay, I guess there probably won't be a season two.” But there were people who worked quietly as they tried to make it happen. Then they ended up creating everything from scratch again—this is why it took so long. There's a “season two” of stories that exist, but nobody knows them.

We actually knew that there would be a second season way before all the fans did. I knew, but I also knew that they'd gone back to the drawing board and started from zero again—there would be new setting work and new enemies. We knew that it was going to happen, but we didn't know when it would happen. I knew the fans were going to be really excited when they heard the news because after the first season finished airing and the two movies were released, there was a long stretch of time without any Tiger & Bunny media. However, all the fans kept talking about the series on all the various social media platforms.

As you know, when we dropped the news of season two's existence, we also asked for new sponsors for the hero suits. Fans of the first season got so excited they marched up to their bosses and said, “Hey, we have to sponsor Tiger & Bunny! Our company's name could be on Tiger's suit, Barnaby's suit, or the Double Chaser!” Then the companies started raising their hands because their name could be on a suit! So it wasn't only the fans who were excited to watch the show, but the companies who became sponsors too.

Is there anything you'd like to say to the fans who have fallen in love with the characters you've played over the years? Be they Sanji, Kotetsu, or Beryl from this season's From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman?

HIRATA: I'm often asked something to the effect of, “Hey, you're playing this character in this one show! What are we going to see in the show? What is your character gonna do?” I don't want to tell them that they need to see this or that—that is all up to the viewer. I do hope the fans will see that part of the story, but I don't like to mention it to them. I don't want to push them at all. I receive many emails and fan letters that say, “I love what Sanji did in this episode!” or “What Beryl did in this episode really moved me.” And all I can say is: thank you. Thank you to the fans who watched my shows. Honestly, the fans who watch them over and over again know way more about the episodes and shows than I do.

It's like when I mentioned Tiger & Bunny and how the fans see themselves as citizens—they enjoy the show already, I don't have to say a thing to them. But I can say, “Thank you so much for watching all of my shows, and please keep enjoying them as you always have.” When I come to events like Animazement, the fans come up to me and say, “Oh, that's Mr. Hirata! That's Sanji! That's Tiger!” I'm thrilled that people come to see me as Sanji or Tiger. However, I'm just telling you that's only in the show. Sanji is cool. Tiger is cool. In reality, I'm just an old guy. So I hope you're not too disappointed when you meet me. It's the character you love.

Special thanks to the Animazement staff for their facilitation of this interview.