'One Piece' Star Hospitalized for Injury: Kappei Yamaguchi Shares Update

The actor underwent surgery after injuring his shoulder while working out.

By Allison Schonter

One Piece star Kappei Yamaguchi, who voices Usopp in the Japanese anime series One Piece, is on the mend following a recent hospitalization. In back-to-back social media posts last week, the actor revealed that he was hospitalized and underwent surgery after he suffered a painful exercise-related injury.

Yamaguchi revealed his health scare in a May 29th post to X (formerly Twitter), telling fans, "I'm going to be hospitalized for a bit starting today. It's for surgery on my shoulder because I overdid it weightlifting." He went on to joke that he would "come back with cyborg shoulders," adding, Let's stay lively and energetic."

In a follow-up post on May 30, the actor informed fans that he "was hospitalized" and was set to undergo surgery the following day, adding, "after that I have to go without food for a whole day."

News of his hospitalization sparked a flurry of well wishes for the actor. Replying to his post, one follower wrote in a translated message, "Please take care of yourself. I wish you a speedy recovery!" Somebody else added, "Take care of yourself! I hope your surgery goes well!"

"Thank you for all your messages of support," Yamaguchi wrote on May 30 amid the show of support. "I did too much weight training and tore my shoulder, and since it's an area that doesn't heal naturally I had to have surgery. So, it's not that important and I'm sorry for worrying you. Starting tomorrow, I'll be a cyborg with only my shoulders hacked."

In a June 1 health update, the actor shared a photo of himself sporting a new accessory: an arm cast. He told his followers, "Even if your dominant hand is not convenient, Humans learn all kinds of skills."

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Yamaguchi is a prolific voice actor who is best known for voicing Usopp in One Piece. The Japanese anime series is based on Eiichiro Oda's manga series of the same name, which also inspired the recent Netflix adaptation. The series follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and his crew of Straw Hat Pirates as they explore the Grand Line in search of the world's ultimate treasure known as the "One Piece" in order to become the next Pirate King. The anime has aired more than 1,100 episodes since its premiere in 1999, with Yamaguchi voicing Usopp, the sniper of the Straw Hat Pirates, in more than 500 episodes from 2000 through the present day, per his IMDb profile.

Outside of One Piece, Yamaguchi is also well-known for voicing Inuyasha in the anime Inuyasha, based on the manga of the same name, and L in Death Note. He also voices Shinichi Kudo and Kaito Kid in Detective Conan and d Teddie in Persona 4, with his other credits including Ranma 1/2 and more.

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