The world has lost another legend as stalwart anime voice actor Mike McFarland, known for his roles in Dragon Ball Z, One Piece, and Fullmetal Alchemist, among many more, died on September 9. He was 56. Tiffany Vollmer, who voiced Bulma in the original Dragon Ball series, reported his death on Facebook. It was later confirmed by McFarland’s representative to the Daily Express.
Chances are, if you’ve ever watched any anime from the halcyon days of Funimation to the new frontier of Crunchyroll, McFarland had a hand in its English dub. He was best known as the longtime voice actor for Master Roshi and Yajirobe in the Dragon Ball series, and Buggy the Clown in One Piece, and Jean Kirschtein in Attack on Titan. His passing comes after his diagnosis with glioblastoma, a brain cancer that originates as a growth of cells in the brain or spinal cord, in August 2025, according to Anime News Network.
In January of that year, Monkey D. Luffy voice actor Colleen Clinkenbeard revealed on her official X/Twitter account that doctors discovered McFarland’s tumor after a doctor’s visit for what he assumed was an inner ear infection. In tandem with her post, Clinkenbeard and other voice actors shared links to a GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign for McFarland, drawing support from the anime voice acting community and fans alike to help him undergo a second surgery to remove his brain tumor and hire a live-in medical assistant, according to ANN.
To call McFarland a prolific presence in anime would be an understatement. Throughout his career, McFarland had acting credits on banner anime, including but not limited to Goemon Ishikawa in the Lupin III films, Hiroshi Odokawa in Odd Taxi, Kotaro Amon in Tokyo Ghoul, and Jean Havoc in Fullmetal Alchemist. McFarland wasn’t just well known for his numerous roles in the formative years of Funimation anime. Like many voice actors of his era, he played a pivotal role in raising up the next generation of voice actors, serving as an ADR scriptwriter and director for new-age anime like Chainsaw Man, Mob Psycho 100, and My Hero Academia.
Mike McFarland was a wonderfully supportive and kind man with a cool car. He hated dealing with hotel elevators and loved his work and his people dearly. He championed me for Alya and more. Sometimes, I made him pose for selfies, which he was great at. Rest in peace, my friend 🕯️ pic.twitter.com/XOMpQQcL3O
— Sarah Natochenny 🦄 (@sarahnatochenny) September 10, 2026
Incredibly sad news…Mike was a great talent and a lovely person. His memory lives on in his many friends and his long roster of acting and directing projects. This is very sad indeed. https://t.co/Aaim9gwzfu
— Veronica Taylor (@TheVeronicaT) September 10, 2026
I’m gutted. Working with you was a pleasure. Knowing you was an honor. I’ll miss you, and our nerdy chats about classic video games. We love you, Mike McFarland. Thank you for everything. Till we meet again. ❤️
— Casey Kenny Mongillo (ケイシ・モンジロ) 🌟 (@CaseyTheVA) September 10, 2026
Mike McFarland was a legend among us. He had so much passion for the things he did, in acting, directing, singing, fitness, and traveling. Mike was extremely versatile and knew his craft well – he was the guy to shadow in sessions if you wanted to be a great director or engineer.
— Dawn M. Bennett (@DawnMBennettVA) September 10, 2026
Mike brought me in for a small role on Attack On Titan. He never made it feel like a small role. The trust he gave me in that session, gave me confidence for months.
My wish was one day, we would work together again. I’m glad we got to do it, even once. RIP.
— Luis Bermudez (@LuisBermudezVO) September 10, 2026
The most talented, generous, warm & funny soul. He embraced experience, would fly across country randomly to see a favorite band, champion the underdogs & hug you with deep meaning. Like so many others, He changed my life & gave me a forever family. Miss & love you deeply, Mike🖤
— Ryan Colt Levy ⛓️✌🏽 (@ryancoltlevy) September 10, 2026
“Master Roshi, for me, was the gateway into anime.”
Remembering Mike McFarland, we revisit our 2021 conversation with him on how much Master Roshi has meant to him 🐢🧡 pic.twitter.com/s9m4VmGvfZ
— The Lookout (@TheLookoutRNC) September 10, 2026
I had the privilege of interviewing McFarland at Kotaku back in 2021 to celebrate One Piece crossing the threshold of 1000 episodes alongside Clinkenbeard and Sanji voice actor Eric Vale. In our conversation, Vale and Clinkenbeard lauded McFarland for helping them settle on the iconic voices fans know and love for the Straw Hat Pirates’ captain and chef.
“We settled on Mike’s idea of my character voice being my morning voice,” Vale told Kotaku. “That scratchy, horrific, kind of smokery voice that everyone wakes up with in the morning before they’ve brushed their teeth is where [Sanji’s] voice sits.”
Likewise, McFarland found his voice as the incomparable clown pirate, Buggy, through a combination of drawing from Eiichiro Oda’s artwork, his accompanying musical theme, and the performance by his Japanese voice acting counterpart, Shigeru Chiba, to ensure every conscious decision he made as the Star Clown Warlord of the Sea hit just right.
“Rather than just hitting all of the technical aspects…it all needs to sound like this is a real world where everything is happening and it doesn’t need to be anything less than that,” McFarland said.
Mike McFarlands last speech as Buggy
May he rest in peace ❤️ https://t.co/72Z4eoiMxPpic.twitter.com/Zg6XxkDI6I
— unonumero56 (@unonumero_56) September 10, 2026
For fans who want to pay tribute to McFarland’s illustrious career by watching the pirate epic in his honor but are understandably intimidated by its over 1,000 episodes, McFarland offered advice in my Kotaku interview: start with the compilation films and movies to get a taste of whether you’ll like the show or not.
“I think that those are a great place to just jump in and find out what’s going on in a little encapsulated [movie] where you’re not just watching the first 30 [episodes],” McFarland said.
McFarland’s impact on the anime industry was irreplaceable, and he will be sorely missed. May he rest in peace.
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