The End of An Era for Toei and One Piece

On January 26, 2026, it was announced that Hidenori Arai, the sound designer who was in charge of sound effects for the One Piece anime has officially retired.

He has been working with Toei since 1981 with the release of Dr. Slump, the anime adaptation of Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama’s first series.

Many fans have complained about the sound effects of the One Piece anime, as they feel outdated or too silly or unfitting in certain scenes.

This also is not helped by how One Piece and Dragon Ball share similar sound effects, especially by the post-timeskip with more prominent or similar laser beam usage and the similarities between Soru, the Rokushiki teleportation-esque technique and other speed movements of One Piece and Dragon Ball’s Instant Transmission, as well as the aura sound effects for both series.

Effective April 5, 2026, he is replaced by Ryuuta Nakahara (a sound effects assistant for the One Piece special, Heart of Gold).

Although Nakahara has been in charge of sound effects for various anime since 2016, this will be his first try taking charge without Arai’s input.

Would this lead to significant changes to the sound effects?

Considering that the sound designer, Naofumi Jinbo, is also new, there is a higher chance of change, potentially for most Toei properties moving forward as Arai’s library of sound effects has been the mainstay for the past 45 years.

Source: Twitter

OFFICIAL 🚨🚨🚨

Hidenori Arai who was in charge of sound effects for the OnePiece anime has officially retired after over three decades of work on the series. pic.twitter.com/X31DZaXvEa

— Pew (@pewpiece) January 25, 2026

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