One Piece reveals Spirited Away star as Sabo’s replacement

One Piece has revealed who the next voice actor behind Sabo will be, bringing on a performer whose credits include Spirited Away and Kingdom Hearts.

The One Piece cast was forced to change up who portrays Sabo, after previous actor Toru Furuya stepped away from the role due to the controversy surrounding an affair he had with a fan. He admitted to being abusive during the relationship in a post on X/Twitter in May 2024.

The fallout resulted in him leaving some of the best anime going, including One Piece and Detective Conan, and separating from the agencies that represented him. Now, his replacement for the Revolutionary Army’s No 2 has been announced.

Miyu Irino has been confirmed as the new voice of Sabo, starting in One Piece Episode 1116, which premieres Sunday, August 16, 2024. Miyu’s something of a legend within the anime and video games industries, and Eiichiro Oda’s beloved ongoing franchise joins an impressive list of credits.

For one thing, Miyu is Haku in Spirited Away, the Studio Ghibli production directed by Hayao Miyazaki that’s comfortably one of the best anime movies ever. He’s also Sora in the Kingodm Hearts franchise, another longstanding role for a huge property.

He’s been in Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Naruto, Haikyuu!!, A Silent Voice, Garden of Words, Dragon Ball Super, and many, many more as well. Funnily enough, this isn’t his first time setting sail alongside the Straw Hats.

Back in 2007, Miyu played Jiro in One Piece, a smaller, more temporary role. 17 years later, he’s back in, and this time for the long haul.

The franchise celebrated turning 25 this year, breaking more Guinness World Records to boot and the overall popularity of Luffy and his crewmates continues to grow. One Piece is now entering the Elbaf Arc, and you can find out what’s happening there in our guide to Chapter 1123.