Famous anime where you heard Sanji's voice

Key points

• Hiroaki Hirata, known for voicing Sanji in One Piece, has shown impressive vocal range in various roles.
• His performances as Genma, Leomon and Godot highlight his versatility and talent.
• Hirata's portrayal of Mutta Nanba and Wild Tiger demonstrates his unexpected ability to excel in lead character roles.

One piece is home to some of the most memorable and iconic main characters in all of anime and manga, featuring Vinsmoke Sanji being one of the most important examples. The romantic chef of the Straw Hat Pirates is a funny but honorable and charming gentleman who stands out for many reasons, one of which is his gruff voice, which belongs to none other than the greats Hiroaki Hirata.

Hirata is an experienced Japanese voice actor and narrator who has been working in the anime industry for over 27 years. As a result, he has played numerous different characters where he has had the chance to show off his impressive vocal range, especially since some of them are quite different from Sanji. The following eight roles are the best examples of Hiroaki Hirata's talent.

8 Genma Shiranui

In Naruto and Naruto Shippuden

Despite One piece AND Naruto are often considered “rival series”, this has not stopped numerous talented voice actors from voicing characters in both, and Hiroaki Hirata is obviously no exception. In this case he lent his voice Genma Shiranuione of the many Jonin who work at the Hidden Leaf Village.

This is clearly a more subdued role for Hirata, as Genma is calmer and more collected than Sanji and most of his other characters. However, his solid performance and deep voice helped Genma stand out as one of the most memorable background characters of all Naruto AND Naruto Shippuden.

7 Leomon (and others)

In Digimon Adventure

Digimon Adventure is one of the most iconic anime series produced by Toei Animation, soon after Dragon Ball AND One piece. It's not uncommon for large Japanese animation studios to cast voice actors in more than one project, and Hiroaki Hirata has had the honor of working on this show since its inception, and its most popular character is Lion.

With his excellent performance, he manages to bring a lot of kindness and charm to the so-called “King of Animals”, while maintaining his ferocity and intimidation factor intact. As great as this portrayal is, this isn't Hirata's only character Digimon Adventureas he also voiced Megadramon, Hagurumon, Hiroaki Ishida, and even the narrator himself.

6 Klein / Tsuboi Ryōtarō

In Sword Art Online

Hiroaki Hirata often specializes primarily in voicing two specific (but very different) character types: tough, intimidating fighters or super friendly, kind guys. Thanks to this talent, he brought to life what would eventually become one of the most popular characters Sword art online: Tsuboi Ryōtarōalso known as Klein.

Klein is a happy-go-lucky and good-natured character, famous for being the first friend Kirito ever had in the original Sword art onlinenot to mention that he also explained the basic mechanics of the game to him. On the other hand, though, he's also a womanizer, which must have resonated with Hirata after voicing Sanji for so many years. Klein would never have earned his rightful reputation among fans if it weren't for Hirata's performance.

5 Terada Tatsugorō

In Gintama

Roronoa Zoro's voice actor Kazuya Nakai played Toushirou Hijikata in Gintama, but he's not the only famous one One piece talent who worked on the hilarious Sunrise adaptation of Hideaki Sorachi's manga. However, Hiroaki Hirata ended up voicing a much more tragic character: Terada Tatsugorō.

Once again, Hirata showcases his impeccable ability to bring gentle yet strong and likable characters to life, as Terada was a policeman who protected the Kabuki district and a good rival to Doromizu Jirocho, before his tragic death. This is not the most recognizable character in Gintamabut it's definitely one of the most memorable, thanks in part to Hirata's impressive acting.

4 Godot

In Ace Attorney

• Release date: April 2, 2016
• Gender(s): Drama, Mystery
• Study: Images A-1, CloverWorks
• Streaming Services: Crunchyroll

There's no denying it Godot he is one of the most popular characters in the whole Asso lawyer franchising. So when it came time to adapt this iconic game series into an anime, he had the honor of being voiced by the great Hiroaki Hirata, who was absolutely perfect for this role.

Godot is a kind and confident prosecutor who, in many ways, isn't all that different from Sanji, which means Hirata's gruff voice ends up fitting him surprisingly well. Godot was already quite loved Asso lawyer character, but Hirata's charismatic portrayal in the anime adaptation has certainly contributed to his popularity among anime viewers.

3 Mutta Nanba

In the brothers of space

Hiroaki Hirata is best known for playing subtle and interesting supporting characters, like Sanji or Godot, but he is also talented enough to star in a show as one of the main characters. He has done this on numerous occasions, one of the most notable examples being Mutta Nanba from Space Brothers.

As one of the owners Space BrothersMutta Nanba is a rather complex character that requires all of Hirata's vocal talents: he's calm and collected, he's very intelligent, he cares a lot about his brother Hibito, and overall he's a really nice guy. This is definitely one of the best vocal performances of Hirata's entire career.

2 Kotetsu T. Kaburagi / Wild Tiger

In Tiger and Bunny

Another memorable anime protagonist voiced by Hiroaki Hirata is Kotetsu T. Kaburagi (also known as wild tiger), one of the titular main characters of Tiger and bunny. This shouldn't be a surprise, however, since Kotetsu looks a lot like his most famous role, Sanji.

This is yet another role where Hirata was able to show off his incredible range, especially his impeccable ability to play heroic and selfless, but also quite funny and stubborn characters. At the end of the day, both Wild Tiger and Mutta Nanba's Space Brothers are undeniable proof that Hirata needs to voice anime's main characters more often.

1 Rikiya Yotsubashi / Re-Destro

In My Hero Academia

As mentioned several times on this list, most of the characters Hiroaki Hirata voices are kind and light-hearted heroic figures, and he has excelled at this type of role for many years. This is exactly why his portrayal of the despicable villain Re-Destroy in the fifth season of My academic world of heroes it was a truly unexpected surprise. In just one mind-blowing performance, Hirata managed to perfectly highlight both Re-Destro's likable CEO character and his true self, an ambitious and manipulative villain who will do anything to achieve his goals.

Even though Sanji's voice can be faintly heard in Re-Destro's lines at first, Hirata does such an excellent job that he eventually gives him an identity of his own, extremely different from all his other characters. Curiously, the fifth season of My academic world of heroes it also introduced Flect Turn, the film's main villain The mission of the world's heroes – who is voiced by none other than Kazuya Nakai. This means that both Sanji and Zoro technically voiced villains in the same show around the same time.