The One Piece English cast shared the life lessons they've learned playing the Straw Hats for nearly 20 years

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When you’ve played characters as long as the One Piece English language voice cast has - since 2007! - they inevitably become part of you. The adventures and heartbreaks of the Straw Hats have taught all of us important lessons about life and ourselves, but what have the voice actors behind them learned from being on One Piece? Some pretty profound stuff, actually.

“I now know that courage is not being without fear,” explained the English voice of Usopp, Sonny Strait, when asked by a fan what lessons he had taken from One Piece during the English cast panel at MCM London May 2024. “Courage is being afraid and doing what must be done anyway”

In a testament to the depth of Eiichiro Oda’s work, pretty much every other One Piece cast member had a similar lesson to share. “Live in the moment,” said Luci Christian, Nami’s voice actor. “You don’t have to be traumatized by your past to recognize it and you don’t have to be so focused on your future that you can’t live in the moment.” It explains why the moment Nami and Luffy share at Arlong Park remains one of the most important moments in One Piece’s long run.

Our favorite nugget of wisdom from One Piece came from Eric Vale, the voice of Sanji. “Feeding someone is the purest form of love.” It is simple and sweet and perfectly fitting for a character who is always ready to whip up a meal to cure what ails his friends, whether it be physical or emotional.

Of course, with the anime for One Piece reaching its 25th anniversary this year and showing no signs of stopping, these probably won’t be the last lessons we all take away from Oda’s epic tale. If you need to get caught up, we can certainly help show you the way.

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