lit a candle 11 Sept 2026A man who poured his gifts into bringing art across language and ocean. May he rest in peace, knowing what he created still speaks.
Their story
Michael Charles "Mike" McFarland (14 July 1970 - 9 September 2026) was an American voice actor, ADR director, script writer, and line producer whose nearly three decades of work helped define how English-speaking audiences heard modern anime. Born in Texas on 14 July 1970, he became one of the earliest…
Michael Charles "Mike" McFarland (14 July 1970 - 9 September 2026) was an American voice actor, ADR director, script writer, and line producer whose nearly three decades of work helped define how English-speaking audiences heard modern anime. Born in Texas on 14 July 1970, he became one of the earliest performers hired by Funimation Entertainment in 1997, when the Texas studio was still building its identity around Dragon Ball. Within a few years he was the Funimation English voice of Master Roshi and Yajirobe across Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, later Kai and Super, films, and games, roles that made his gravelly comic timing part of the franchise's Western sound.
McFarland's career was never only about one character. He voiced Buggy the Clown and Helmeppo in Funimation's One Piece dub from the mid-2000s until his death, Jean Havoc in Fullmetal Alchemist and Brotherhood, Jean Kirstein in Attack on Titan (while also ADR-directing the series), Ritsu Soma in Fruits Basket (2001 and 2019 reboot), Baby in Dragon Ball GT, Carnage Kabuto in One-Punch Man, Mashirao Ojiro and Ectoplasm in My Hero Academia, Kotaro Amon in Tokyo Ghoul, Hiroshi Odokawa in Odd Taxi, and dozens more across Case Closed, Evangelion Rebuild films (Makoto Hyuga), Lupin III (Goemon in several titles), Psycho-Pass, Black Clover, and video games including Street Fighter V (Nash) and Street Fighter X Tekken (Paul Phoenix). Behind the glass he was equally prolific: ADR director or key staff on Fullmetal Alchemist and Brotherhood, large stretches of One Piece, Attack on Titan through its final seasons, Case Closed, Mushi-shi, Eden of the East, Noragami, Barakamon, Tokyo Ghoul, Blood Blockade Battlefront, Chainsaw Man, Hell's Paradise, the Rebuild of Evangelion films, Summer Wars, Wolf Children, and many others. He also wrote ADR scripts, produced lines, adapted lyrics, and served as music director on Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad.
Colleagues remembered a craftsman who treated dubbing as translation of performance, not just words. In a 2015 Otaku USA interview he said the Japanese track dictated his approach: he played original performances for actors every time and aimed for a "beautiful level" where animated characters sounded like a filmed universe rather than a cartoon. Directing Attack on Titan, he cast experienced actors across the US (including Los Angeles) rather than only the Dallas pool when the schedule allowed, chasing the right voice for each part under holiday deadlines. At conventions he spoke plainly about the physical grind of high-intensity shows and the 17-to-25 hours it could take to record a single episode.
His illness became public in January 2025 when he withdrew from Central Florida Comic Con. Fellow voice actor Colleen Clinkenbeard explained he had gone to a doctor for what he thought was an ear infection and learned it was a massive brain tumor; he underwent emergency surgery. J. Michael Tatum and Brandon McInnis launched a GoFundMe so he could hire live-in medical help; the campaign far exceeded its first goals. A second surgery followed in April 2025. In August 2025 the campaign and Anime News Network reported a glioblastoma diagnosis, with McFarland moving toward skilled nursing care as the disease progressed faster than hoped. Friends from the voice-over community visited the Dallas facility in his final months to sing and tell stories. Brina Palencia told TMZ he died on Wednesday, 9 September 2026, aged 56, surrounded by friends and family, and that he would have wanted memorial gifts to St. Jude's or the SPCA.
Crunchyroll called him an incredible talent and a good friend who brought so much to anime fans. J. Michael Tatum, a friend and mentee of more than twenty years, wrote that a rarer soul the world would never know, addressing him by the nickname "Salt." Tiffany Vollmer (Bulma) and Clifford Chapin were among many who posted remembrances. Across nearly thirty years McFarland helped turn Texas-based English dubbing into a mainstream craft and left a catalog of performances that remain the default voices for some of anime's most watched series in the West.
This memorial is for Michael Charles McFarland (1970-2026), the Funimation/Crunchyroll English voice actor and ADR director known as Master Roshi, Buggy, Jean Havoc, and Jean Kirstein. It is not for other people named Mike or Michael McFarland.
Biography adapted from Wikipedia Mike McFarland; ANN; TMZ; Independent; Variety; Deadline; Crunchyroll; Otaku USA 2015; BTVA; IMDb.
In their own words
“To me, the original track that they did in Japan dictates what I should do.”
Otaku USA interview (Jason Moses, 22 Oct 2015) on fidelity when directing dubs such as Attack on Titan.
“You're helping to create art, you're trying to tell an eastern story to a western audience and lose nothing.”
Same Otaku USA interview, on the director's responsibility after being inspired by Cowboy Bebop / Wolf's Rain dubs.
“A character opens their mouth and the tone of their voice... seems completely normal, like you're just looking in with a telescope on a world where everyone just happens to be animated.”
Otaku USA 2015, describing the "beautiful level" of dub performance he aimed for.
“I'm very happy to have been cast as Baby in Dragon Ball GT. The bad guys are much more fun!”
Quote listed on Behind The Voice Actors profile.
“Mike McFarland, my dear friend and mentor of over twenty years, is gone. A rarer, more beautiful soul this world will never know. Rest in peace, Salt.”
J. Michael Tatum tribute on X, 10 September 2026.
“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 statement to Deadline / Crunchyroll News / X, 10 September 2026.
Photos
1Mike McFarland
by People Forever
Agreed. The way he directed actors to honor the original performance showed real respect for the medium.