After twenty-five years aboard the Merry and the Sunny, one might anticipate at least a smidge of existential drift from the iconic voices of the Straw Hats from One Piece. After all, voicing the same character — year after year, arc after arc — requires a particular blend of loyalty, flexibility, and cosmic patience. Yet, when Kappei Yamaguchi and Hiroaki Hirata, the voices of Usopp and Sanji, respectively, sat down for a chat ahead of their first visit to India for Comic Con Mumbai 2025, it’s clear that their connection to their beloved crew is anything but stagnant.

Across One Piece’s quarter-century’s worth of seafaring across the Grand Line, there’s been no shortage of larger-than-life dreams. But tucked between the three-sword slashes and Gomu Gomu punches are two characters who’ve quietly become unlikely role models for an entire generation of boys trying to figure out what kind of men they want to be. Usopp and Sanji — the sniper who perjures his way into courage and the cook who’d rather starve than hit a woman — are some of the series’ most important emotional anchors.

‘One Piece’ voice actors Hiroaki Hirata (L) and Kappei Yamaguchi (R) perform during a live recital at Comic Con Mumbai 2025
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When Yamaguchi-san first auditioned for the anime adaptation of One Piece, he wasn’t aiming to be the ship’s sharpshooter. “I originally went in for Luffy, but I was rejected,” Yamaguchi-san says, and the role went on to the legendary Mayumi Tanaka, who voices the Straw Hat captain to this day. For many actors, that might’ve been the end of it. But fate — or perhaps a bit of Oda-esque foreshadowing — had other plans. “After playing Usopp for 25 years, he feels he’s the most perfect person for the role,” the interpreter continues. “It’s the closest character to who he is now.”

For all his tall tales and impeccable comic timing, Usopp has never been the loudest or the strongest. But he may very well be the bravest of the Straw Hats because, unlike Luffy or Zoro, he doesn’t start out believing he’s invincible, and his fear is never erased. He shows up. He stammers. He runs. And then he comes back anyway.

There’s a gentle kindness and humility in the way Yamaguchi-san speaks about Usopp. The character almost doesn’t feel crafted, but as someone he’s grown alongside. Picking a favorite moment from the anime is, unsurprisingly, an impossible task for someone who’s voiced over a thousand episodes. But he does recall the farewell to the Going Merry — a moment as teary for fans as it was for the cast. “That episode is very close to me,” he says. “But it’s a sad one. Maybe something more fun would be my actual favorite.”

‘One Piece’ voice actor Kappei Yamaguchi poses beside his on-screen persona Usopp at Comic Con Mumbai 2025
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The melancholy, though, is part of the territory. Usopp’s journey has always had an underdog undercurrent in One Piece’s sprawling narrative. While Luffy barrels toward Pirate King-hood, Usopp’s dream is vague, tender, and undeniably human — to become a “brave warrior of the sea.” Yamaguchi-san interprets it as an emotional inheritance: “Usopp wants to be like his father, who he respects and loves deeply. That is his real dream.”

Usopp is for the kids who’ve never won a fight, who’ve told lies to seem taller, who’ve been scared more often than not. And for them, he offers something better than bravado: permission to feel fear and still keep going. There’s no need, Yamaguchi-san notes, to make Usopp “cooler” in the traditional anime sense. “It’s better for him to grow naturally.” The statement could just as easily be a credo for the series itself: nothing forced and everything earned.

Meanwhile, there’s Sanji, who has never been short on charisma. He smokes, he spins, he simmers with cool. But peel back the macho theatrics, and you find a man weighed down by insecurities yet still governed by a curious concoction of old-world chivalry and bone-deep tenderness.

Hirata-san, carries that sharp fire of Sanji. He describes his relationship with the material with a shrug of wry acceptance. “Even when I read the manga and got the script, there wasn’t a part where I was like, ‘Why is this happening to me?’” His ease with Sanji’s more melodramatic arcs, especially with the developments at Whole Cake Island, comes from years of immersion. “I think it’s easier to act in dramatic scenes than everyday ones,” he notes. “Over the years, it’s become natural.”

‘One Piece’ voice actor Hiroaki Hirata poses beside his on-screen persona Sanji at Comic Con Mumbai 2025
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That naturalness extends to the many masks of Sanji — the flirt, the fighter, the cook. Hirata-san doesn’t compartmentalise the character’s personality. “It’s 3 o’clock when he’s cooking. It’s 3 o’clock when he’s fighting. It’s 3 o’clock when a beautiful woman passes by. I don’t divide those parts, they’re all Sanji.” That blurring of identity between performer and performance is part of what makes his voice work so compelling. He doesn’t play Sanji, but simply is.

When asked what Sanji might inspire in young men battling their insecurities with relationships, Hirata-san doesn’t default to the usuals about respect or romance. “Think not about what you can get from someone — but what you can give. Rather than thinking, ‘What can I get from her?’ ask, ‘What can I do for her?” That’s Sanji in a sentence. He doesn’t love women because they love him back, but loves them because he’s chosen to, fiercely and unconditionally. That’s not to say he’s a flawless icon — his flirtation borders on nose-bleeding farce, and he has more blind spots than eyes. But his code, however ridiculous at times, is unwavering.

The sense of unshakeable character belief echoes again when asked about Sanji’s long-held dream to find the All Blue — the mythical sea where all the world’s fish meet, where flavors converge and possibilities bloom. “I wonder if it will actually come to pass,” Hirata-san says, not dismissively, but with the weariness of someone who’s spent 25 years watching dreams deferred. “But if he does find it, Sanji will react seriously. Coolly. Because it’s serious to him.”

Asked to recall his favorite fights, Hirata-san chuckles at the memory of Sanji fleeing the trans ‘Okama’ warriors while holding onto his chivalrous vow to never kick a woman. “He had to obey his own rules — even if that meant running away.” The moment may have been reduced to slapstick by most fans, but Hirata seems to see it as a testament to Sanji’s unbending principles beneath the pervy exterior.

Together, Usopp and Sanji complicate the usual shonen formula. They aren’t the strongest or even the most aspirational. But they are consistently the most human. They stumble, they cry, and they run. And in doing so, they model a masculinity that isn’t about dominance or detachment, but about showing up with your full self, mess and all. Maybe that’s why they’ve lasted this long. And maybe that’s why, long after the sea calms and the One Piece is finally found, a whole generation of fans will still carry a little Usopp and Sanji in their back pockets.

‘One Piece’ voice actors Kappei Yamaguchi (L) and Hiroaki Hirata (R) pose pose for a photo with fans at Comic Con Mumbai 2025
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And that’s the secret sauce. For a story that stretches across oceans, islands, and endless imagination, One Piece thrives for the beating hearts at its core, both drawn and spoken. “We were really looking forward to the new season,” Yamaguchi-san says of the anime’s return after its long hiatus. “I was surprised by the response from all over the world.” He smiles as if the waves still hold surprises. After 25 years, the adventure still hasn’t ended. Not for Usopp. Not for Sanji. And certainly not for the fans who’ve grown up chasing dreams in their stead.

New episodes of One Piece are available to stream on Crunchyroll