Michael McFarland (July 14, 1970 – September 9, 2026) was an American voice actor, automated dialogue replacement (ADR) director, script writer and line producer who worked on English dubs of Japanese anime. He was known as the original English voice of Master Roshi and Yajirobe in Funimation's dubs of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z. McFarland's other notable roles included Teppei Sugo in Psycho-Pass, Jean Havoc in Fullmetal Alchemist, Buggy the Clown in the Funimation dub of One Piece, Jean Kirstein in Attack on Titan, and Mashirao Ojiro in My Hero Academia. He voice directed on multiple Funimation titles, including Dragon Ball, Fullmetal Alchemist, Case Closed, and Attack on Titan, the Rebuild of Evangelion films, and Summer Wars.
Early life and career Mike McFarland was born in Texas City, Texas, on July 14, 1970. McFarland joined Funimation in 1997 and was cast in his first major role as Master Roshi in Dragon Ball two years later. McFarland also served as the ADR director for the Dragon Ball franchise. These roles played an important part in shaping the franchise's legacy in the United States. McFarland would subsequently be cast in other prominent roles, including Buggy the Clown in One Piece, Jean Havoc in Fullmetal Alchemist, and Jean Kirstein in Attack on Titan, among many others. He also worked as the ADR director for numerous titles from ADV Films, Funimation, and Crunchyroll, including YuYu Hakusho, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Attack on Titan, which helped to popularize them in the West. McFarland also worked on modern anime, such as My Hero Academia. Nick Valdez of ComicBook.com wrote that "McFarland has been one of the key drivers behind English dubs and their popularity in the United States".
McFarland stated that he tried to keep the same tone and feel as the original Japanese version when he produced an English dub, rather than creating something different like the English dubs for Crayon Shin-chan and Ghost Stories. He cited the English dubs of Cowboy Bebop and Wolf's Rain as inspirations for his work. McFarland stated that he tried to have a unique approach for every series that he worked on, which included watching the original Japanese version and paying attention to the performance of the voice actors. He also wanted the dialog to be as realistic as possible and to match the tone of the scene.
Illness and death In January 2025, Central Florida Comic Con announced that McFarland would not be attending the event as previously scheduled due to an illness. Subsequently, voice actress Colleen Clinkenbeard posted that McFarland visited the hospital for what he thought was an ear infection. Instead, he immediately underwent emergency surgery when it was discovered he had a brain tumor. Fellow voice actors J. Michael Tatum and Brandon McInnis launched a GoFundMe page to help McFarland afford specialized care. McFarland had a second surgery in April to locate an unknown infection. In August, it was announced that McFarland had been diagnosed with glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer.
McFarland died in a Dallas health facility on September 9, 2026, at the age of 56. Several anime voice actors offered condolences, including Tatum, Matthew Mercer, AmaLee, Sarah Natochenny, Veronica Taylor, Casey Mongillo, Dawn M. Bennett, Ryan Colt Levy, and Clifford Chapin. Crunchyroll also issued a statement that highlighted the impact he had in the anime industry.
Filmography Anime +List of dubbing performances in anime Year Title Role Notes Source 1999–2003; 2005 Dragon Ball Z Master Roshi, Yajirobe, Pui Pui, Mez, Android 8 Funimation dub, assistant ADR director, ADR scriptwriter 2000 Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks Master Roshi Funimation dub, TV Special 2000 Dragon Ball Z: Bardock – The Father of Goku Tora, Toolo Funimation dub, TV Special 2001–2003Dragon BallMaster Roshi, Android 8, Yajirobe, Little Flower's FatherFunimation dub, assistant ADR director, ADR director 2002–2006YuYu HakushoKomada, Butajiri, M3/Kai, Kazemaru, Rishoassistant ADR director 2002–2003Fruits BasketRitsu Soma 2003–2005 Dragon Ball GTBaby, Master Roshi, Yajirobe Funimation dub 2004–2005 Fullmetal Alchemist Jean Havoc ADR director, ADR scriptwriter 2004 Dragon Ball GT: A Hero's Legacy Master Roshi, Baby 2005The Galaxy RailwaysBruce J. SpeedCo-ADR director2005GantzGiant Buddha Statue, Male Teacher2005Burst AngelLeo Jinno2005Baki the GrapplerKitazawa2006Diamond DaydreamsDr. Amakasu2006Desert PunkHaru Kawaguchi2006Trinity BloodCain NightRoadADR director, line producer, Script Adaptation2006Black CatBelze Rochefort, Gilberth2007Beet the Vandel BusterAlside2007School RumbleJiro Yoshidayama2007Mushi-shiKoroADR director, line producer, ADR scriptwriter2007Gunslinger GirlFranco, GiorgioADR director, line producer2007Beck: Mongolian Chop SquadMusic director2007–2026One PieceBuggy the Clown, Helmeppo (episode 68 onwards), Richie, Eyelash, Masshikaku, YokozunaADR director, ADR scriptwriter, ADR Producer (Funimation dub)2008Ouran High School Host ClubRyoji "Ranka" Fujiokaline producer2008–2009Hetalia: Axis PowersEstonialine producer2009Romeo × JulietTybalt2009Kenichi: The Mightiest DiscipleUkita Kozo2009Eden of the EastOsamu YamamotoADR director, line producer2010Case ClosedGeorge Kaminski, Jeremiah, Michel, Albert Jordenly, Archie Gailand, Old Man, Dr. Charles Lanning, Stu HoganADR director2010Oh! Edo RocketAnkles2010ShikiYuukiADR director, line producer2010–2013; 2017–2018Dragon Ball Z KaiRoshi, Yajirobe, Pui Pui, Android 82010–2011Fullmetal Alchemist: BrotherhoodJean HavocADR director, line producer2011Phantom: Requiem for the PhantomAbel2011Fairy TailNab Lasaro2011Heaven's Lost PropertySky Master2012Panty & Stocking with GarterbeltFlat U. Lance2012Space Battleship Yamato 2199Saburo Kato2012A Certain Magical IndexHajime Hitotsui2013Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine Goemon Ishikawa 2013 Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing Alex Row 2013Sankarea: Undying LoveJogoro Furuya2013Aquarion EvolIzumo Kamurogi2013Hyperdimension Neptunia: The AnimationADR director, scriptwriter 2014–2024 Attack on TitanJean Kirstein ADR director 2015NoragamiRaboADR director2015Attack on Titan: Junior HighJean KirsteinADR director2015Parasite DollsMeyers2015Blood Blockade BattlefrontDeldro BrodyADR director2015Show by Rock!!Crow2016–2025My Hero AcademiaMashirao Ojiro, Ectoplasm, Bird Hero Hitchcock-a-DoodleADR director (season 7)2016Grimgar of Fantasy and AshBrittanyCo-ADR director2016Chaos DragonKaguraba Raihou Gramstahlscriptwriter, assistant ADR director2016ServampBelkia2016One-Punch ManCarnage KabutoADR script adaptation2016No-RinADR director2016BarakamonADR director2016Handa-kunADR director2016TricksterYoshio's FatherADR director2017Sakura QuestDoku (Young)2017Tokyo GhoulKotaro AmonADR director; also :re2017HyoukaADR director (eps 1–12, 18–22)201718ifADR director2017–2019Dragon Ball SuperMaster Roshi, YajirobeFunimation dub2018Space Battleship Yamato 2202Saburo Kato2018Junji Ito CollectionMoriADR director (eps 1–10)2018Legend of the Galactic HeroesMurai2018Double Decker! Doug & KirillWilliam JeffersonADR director2018That Time I Got Reincarnated as a SlimeFuze2018–2021Zombie Land SagaHochu2019Boogiepop and OthersJin Asukai5 episodes, ADR director (eps 1–9; 14–18), assistant ADR director (eps 10–13)2019Magical Girl Spec-Ops AsukaKim Kanth 2019The Quintessential Quintupletsassistant ADR director2019AfterlostTaiyoADR director2019–2021Fruits BasketRitsu Soma2019 reboot2019Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's StrongestADR director2019Kemono MichiSaigo2019Dr. StoneArgoADR director Eps. 58-692019African Office WorkerSheep2020BofuriDread2021Bottom-tier Character TomozakiCo-ADR director2022Odd TaxiHiroshi OdokawaCrunchyroll dub; ADR script writer2022Date A Live IVBig Bad Wolf2023Trigun StampedeE.G. Mine
Animation +List of voice performances in animation Year Title Role Notes Source 2016–2017 RWBY Fennec Albain, Mayor Volume 4–5
Films +List of dubbing performances in direct-to-video and television films Year Title Role Notes Source 1998 Dragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle Master Roshi, Count Lucifer, Ghastel Funimation dub 1999 Chuck E. Cheese in the Galaxy 5000 Harry the Hermit Chuck E Cheese special 2000 Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure Master Roshi, Emperor Pilaf, Gatchans 2001 Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug Master Roshi, Yajirobe 2002 Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge Doore, Yajirobe, Master Roshi assistant ADR director 2002 Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler Master Roshi, Yajirobe 2003 Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13 Master Roshi 2003Dragon Ball: The Path to PowerMaster Roshi, Android 8 2003 Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan Master Roshi ADR director 2004 Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound Master Roshi Funimation dub 2005 Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone Master Roshi Funimation dub 2005 Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest Master Roshi Funimation dub 2005 Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might Master Roshi Funimation dub 2006 Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the Dragon Master Roshi Funimation dub 2006Fullmetal Alchemist: Conqueror of ShamballaJean HavocADR director2008VexilleMurataADR director, line producer 2010 Evangelion 1.0: You Are Not Alone Makoto Hyuga, Eva ADR director, line producer 2010Summer WarsShota JinnouchiADR director, line producer2010Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood RubiesMaster RoshiFunimation dub2012Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of MilosADR director 2011 Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance Makoto Hyuga ADR director, line producer 2012Dragon Age: Dawn of the SeekerLazarroADR director2012Tales of Vesperia: The First StrikeYurgisADR director, line producer 2013 Wolf Children Kuroda ADR director 2013Blood-C: The Last DarkKuroto MagamiADR director2014HalNepaleseADR director2014One Piece: Film ZHelmeppo2014Dragon Ball Z: Battle of GodsMaster Roshi 2014 Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo Makoto Hyuga ADR director 2015Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F'Master Roshi2015Joseph: Beloved Son, Rejected Slave, Exalted Ruler Joseph 2016The Boy and the BeastADR director 2016 Psycho-Pass: The Movie Teppei Sugo 2016The Empire of CorpsesAlexei KaramazovADR director2016EscaflowneMole ManFunimation dub2019Dragon Ball Super: BrolyMale Saiyan C2019One Piece: Stampede Buggy, HelmeppoADR Director2022Sing a Bit of Harmony Class Teacher2023Psycho-Pass ProvidenceTeppei Sugo
Video games + List of dubbing performances in video games Year Title Role Notes Source 2002–2024 Dragon Ball games Master Roshi, Yajirobe, Baby Vegeta, Android 8, Pui Pui, Doore, Tora, Dodoria Dodoria in Raging Blast only 2004 Seven Samurai 20XX Additional voices 2009 Case Closed: The Mirapolis Investigation George Kaminsky 2012 Street Fighter X Tekken Paul Phoenix 2016 Street Fighter V Nash 2017 Orcs Must Die! Unchained Blackpaw 2020One-Punch Man: A Hero Nobody KnowsCarnage Kabuto 2020 Fire Emblem Heroes Caellach
References
External links
Mike McFarland at Crystal Acids English Voice Actor & Production Staff Database