A popular anime in which you heard Sanji's voice

Key things

• Known for voicing Sanji in One Piece, Hiroaki Hirata displayed an impressive vocal range in a variety of roles.
• His performances as Genma, Leomon and Godot highlight his versatility and talent.
• Hirata's portrayals of Mutta Nanba and Wild Tiger prove his unexpected ability to excel in lead roles.

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

Hirata is a seasoned Japanese voice actor and narrator who has worked in the anime industry for over 27 years. As a result, he has portrayed many different characters in which he has been given the opportunity to showcase 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

Even if One piece and Naruto are often considered “rival series”, that hasn't stopped many talented voice actors from voicing characters in both of them, and Hiroaki Hirata is clearly no exception. In this case, he lent his voice Genma Shiranuione of the many jonin working in the Hidden Leaf Village.

It's 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 in all of Naruto and Naruto Shippuden.

7 Leomon (and others)

In Digimon Adventure

Digimon Adventure is one of the most famous anime series produced by Toei Animation, second only to it Dragon Ball and One piece. It's not uncommon for major Japanese animation studios to cast voice actors in more than one project, and Hiroaki Hirata has had the honor of working on the show since its inception, with his most popular character being Leomon.

With his outstanding performance, he manages to bring a lot of kindness and charm to the so-called “King of the Beasts” while still maintaining his ferocity and intimidation factor. As great as this portrayal is, it's not 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 in voicing two specific (but very different) types of characters: tough and intimidating fighters or super friendly and kind guys. With this talent, he brought to life what would eventually become one of the most beloved characters Sword Art Online: Tsuboi Ryōtarōalso known as Klein.

Klein is a cheerful and good-natured character who is noted for being the first friend Kirito ever made in the original. Sword Art Onlinenot to mention he even explained the basic mechanics of the game to him. On the other hand, he's also ladylike, which must have resonated with Hirata after voicing Sanji for so many years. Klein would never have gained his rightful reputation among fans if not for Hirata's performance.

5 Terada Tatsugorō

In Gintama

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

Hirata once again demonstrates his perfect ability to bring kind but strong and cold characters to life as Terada was a policeman who protected the Kabuki district and good rival of Doromizu Jirocho from his tragic death. This is not the most recognizable character Gintamabut it's certainly among the most memorable, thanks in part to Hirata's impressive acting.

4 Godot

In Ace Attorney

• Release date: April 2, 2016
• Genres: Drama, mystery
• Studio: A-1 Images, CloverWorks
• Streaming Services: Crunchyroll

That cannot be denied Godot is one of the most popular characters ever Ace Attorney franchise. So when it came time for this iconic game series to be adapted into an anime, he had the honor of being voiced by the great Hiroaki Hirata, who was absolutely perfect for the role.

Godot is a polite and self-assured prosecutor, not too dissimilar to Sanji in many ways, which means that Hirata's gruff voice ends up fitting him surprisingly well. Godot was already quite beloved Ace Attorney character, but Hirata's charismatic portrayal in the anime adaptation certainly contributed to his increased popularity among anime viewers.

3 Mutta Nanba

In Space Brothers

Hiroaki Hirata is mostly known for portraying suave and cool side characters like Sanji or Godot, but he is also talented enough to star in the show as one of the main characters. In fact, he has done this on many occasions, one of the most notable examples being Mutta Nanba from Space brothers.

As one of the titular Space brothersMutta Nanba is a fairly complex character that requires the full range of Hirata's voice talent: he's calm and collected, he's very intelligent, he cares a lot about his brother Hibito, and he's just a really likable guy overall. This is definitely one of the best vocal performances of Hirata's entire career.

2 Kotetsu T. Kaburagi / Wild Tiger

In Tiger & Bunny

Another memorable anime hero voiced by Hiroaki Hirata is Kotetsu T. Kaburagi (also known as wild tiger) one of the main main characters The tiger and the bunny. This shouldn't come as much of a surprise though, as Kotetsu actually looks a lot like his most famous role, Sanji.

This is another of the roles in which Hirata has shown his incredible range, especially his flawless ability to portray characters that are heroic and selfless, but also quite funny and stubborn. At the end of the day, both Wild Tiger and Mutta Nanba z Space brothers are undeniable proof that Hirata needs to voice main characters in anime more often.

1 Rikiya Yotsubashi / Re-Destro

In My Hero Academia

As mentioned several times in this list, most of the characters that Hiroaki Hirata voices are kind and carefree heroic characters, and he has excelled in this type of role for many years. This is exactly why his performance as a despicable villain Re-Destro in season 5 My Hero Academia was such an unexpected treat. In one stunning performance, Hirata was able to seamlessly pull Re-Destro from a likable CEO to his true self, an ambitious and manipulative villain who will go to extremes to achieve his goals.

While there is a bit of Sanji's voice in Re-Destro's lines at first, Hirata does such an excellent job of finally giving him his own identity that is extremely different from all of his other characters. Oddly enough, season 5 My Hero Academia also introduced Flect Turn – the film's main villain World Heroes Mission – 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.