Kazuki Yao


Kazuki Yao is a Japanese actor and narrator who is currently affiliated with Max Mix. He is married to actress Natsuki Hayashi.
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Biography

As a child, Yao was very active, building secret bases with his friends and playing outside, and did not watch TV much. In addition, because his father was a government official, he had to be transferred every three years, so he moved from place to place. When he was in the second year of junior high school, he was transferred to Tokyo, and the government office building that he moved into was too small for a TV, so his family decided not to have a TV. At that time, his sister, who was four years older than him, and his mother were fond of musicals and plays, and Yao accompanied them to see them. At the time, it was popular for kabuki actors to perform William Shakespeare's plays, and he saw a Shakespeare play starring Kawarasaki Gonjūrō, and when he saw the stage greeting at the final performance of the play, it solidified his desire to become a stage actor. As soon as he graduated from high school and went to college, one of the women in his class was the younger sister of Shōichirō Akaboshi, so he started going to the rehearsal room of Matenrō Theater Company run by Takuya Hiramitsu with her help, and after being involved in a couple of productions as a staff member, he joined the stage as an actor. One of his seniors in the same theater company was Hozumi Gōda.
Matenrō Theater Company was one of the more popular small theater companies, but it did not generate enough income to keep them afloat. For a while, Yao worked part-time while doing theater activities, but when he realized that he could not go on like this, he consulted with the staff and was introduced to a production company, which led him to get work in TV dramas and movies. Among them, he had an audition for an anime and made his voice acting debut as Shurugi Nam in the OVA BIRTH. Naturally, he had no experience in dubbing, and although he was the lead actor, he did not understand the technical terms included in the director's instructions, but he was helped by his co-stars Keiko Toda and Jōji Yanami, and he still looks up to them as his teachers.
In 1985, Yao played the role of Shinobu Fujiwara in the TV anime series Dancouga – Super Beast Machine God. This is the series that Yao considers most memorable, and he says it was the show that made him understand what it meant to play an anime character. In addition, Shinobu's line, "I'll do it!" is a byword for Yao, and is often quoted in other works. In the arcade game Kaiser Knuckle, in addition to "I'll do it!", he also shouts, "Dancouga!" in some scenes. He also sang a song called "YATTE YARUZE!", which is included in his 1986 album YAO.
After working for Haikyō, M-Company, and Sigma Seven, he became a member of Max Mix on June 1, 2009.
On December 8, 2024, the staff of the One Piece anime television series announced that Yao would be stepping down from his role as Franky, the staff stated in an announcement that this was part of a long discussion process. A "graduation ceremony" for Yao was held on December 22 of that year during Jump Festa, where the show announced his replacement as Subaru Kimura.

Filmography

Television animation

Dancouga – Super Beast Machine God Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ NG Knight Lamune & 40 Wedding Peach Detective Conan VS Knight Lamune & 40 Fire Harelya II Boy Initial D Detective Conan Beast Wars Neo Betterman Monster Rancher One Piece Great Teacher Onizuka Digimon Adventure 02
Unknown dateAgatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple Beast Wars Black Jack Captain Tsubasa Corrector Yui Doraemon Grenadier Gunslinger Girl Hanada Shōnen Shi Inuyasha: The Final Act Jankenman Marchen Awakens Romance Pretty Sammy TV Saint Seiya Omega Street Fighter II V Tenjho Tenge Yaiba

Original video animation (OVA)

The Heroic Legend of Arslan Rance: Sabaku no Guardian
Unknown dateAmon: The Apocalypse of Devilman Bastard!!

Theatrical animation

Violinist of Hameln Berserk: The Golden Age Arc

Video games

Angelique Demonbane Dynasty Warriors: Gundam Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2 Earnest Evans Initial D Arcade Stage series Linda Cube Last Bronx Kaiser Knuckle Maji de Watashi ni Koishinasai! S One Piece Puyo Puyo CD Puyo Puyo Tetris Super Robot Wars series Tales of the Abyss

Drama CDs

Tokusatsu

Ninja Sentai Kakuranger Gekisou Sentai Carranger B-Robo Kabutack Voicelugger Moero！！ Robocon, Police Mirai Sentai Timeranger vs. Go Go V Mahou Sentai Magiranger GoGo Sentai Boukenger Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger Unofficial Sentai Akibaranger Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger Shuriken Sentai Ninninger Kamen Sentai Gorider

Dubbing

Live-action

Gridlock'd, Alexander "Stretch" Rawland Kung Fu Hustle, Brother Sum Lost Boys: The Tribe, Edgar Frog Snatch, Franky Four-Fingers That Thing You Do!, Lenny Haise

Animation

Adventure Time, Billy

Other