Mike McFarland, a veteran anime voice actor and production figure whose work included the English voices of Master Roshi and Najirobe in Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z and Buggy the Clown in One Piece, has died. He was 56.
McFarland died Wednesday, Sept. 10, following a battle with brain cancer. He had been diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, in 2025, according to Anime News Network.
In a statement to Deadline, Crunchyroll remembered McFarland as both a colleague and a friend to many across the anime community.
“Mike brought so much to all of us who knew him, and to all of the anime fans that knew his work. He was an incredible talent, a good friend to so many of us, and will be sorely, sorely missed,” Crunchyroll said.
A major voice in anime dubbing
McFarland’s name was closely associated with some of the most widely recognized English-language anime dubs. His credits included Master Roshi and Najirobe in Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, and he was also known for voicing Buggy the Clown in One Piece. He performed the role of Buggy from 2007 until his death.
His voice work extended across a broad range of anime titles. McFarland voiced Jean Kirstein in Attack on Titan, Jean Havoc in Fullmetal Alchemist and Teppei Sugo in Psycho-Pass. Additional credits included Makoto Hyuga in the Evangelion film series, Sky Master in Heaven’s Lost Property, Goemon Ishikawa in Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine and other Lupin III films, as well as George in Case Closed.
More recently, McFarland’s performances included Hiroshi Odokawa in Odd Taxi, Big Bad Wolf in Date A Live IV and E.G. Mine in Trigun Stampede.
Behind-the-scenes influence
Beyond his acting credits, McFarland also worked as a script writer, director and line producer. He was described as one of the original and most influential figures in Texas-based anime production, first through Funimation and later through Crunchyroll after their merger.
That combination of on-mic work and production experience made McFarland a significant presence across the English-language anime landscape, with his contributions spanning both performances fans heard onscreen and the behind-the-scenes process that brought those productions to audiences.
McFarland is remembered by Crunchyroll as an “incredible talent” whose work reached anime fans and whose presence affected those who knew him personally.