Mike McFarland

Mike McFarland’s Place at the Heart of English Anime Dubbing

Texas City, Texas gave the anime industry one of its most enduring behind-the-microphone figures. Mike McFarland arrived at Funimation in the late 1990s, entering at a moment when English dubbing of Japanese animation was still finding its footing as a craft. Working under the Funimation banner from the outset, he built a dual career that few in the industry have matched: a working voice actor with a catalogue spanning hundreds of roles, and a seasoned ADR director whose fingerprints are on some of the most-watched dubbed titles in history.

Master Roshi, Dragon Ball, and the Funimation Foundation

The role that defined McFarland’s public profile came early. His first professional credit – Master Roshi in the Funimation dub of Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies – launched a decades-long stewardship of the character across Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Super, and the theatrical films. Alongside Roshi, he voiced Yajirobe, the gruff swordsman who occupies a small but memorable corner of the Dragon Ball universe. These dual anchors gave McFarland a permanent connection to one of anime’s most globally recognized franchises.

Attack on Titan, One Piece, and Fullmetal Alchemist

Outside Dragon Ball, McFarland accumulated a second tier of landmark credits that underscored the breadth of his range. Jean Kirstein in Attack on Titan, Buggy the Clown in the Funimation dub of One Piece, and Jean Havoc in Fullmetal Alchemist each occupy different emotional registers – from the morally conflicted soldier to the cackling pirate to the loyal subordinate. His Attack on Titan work earned him a Behind the Voice Actors Award for Best Vocal Ensemble in 2015, a recognition shared with a cast that shaped how Western audiences received the landmark series.

The Director’s Chair – Shaping English Dub Culture

Equal in weight to his acting credits is McFarland’s record as a voice director and ADR script adapter. His directing work covers Case Closed, Fullmetal Alchemist, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, the Rebuild of Evangelion film series, Summer Wars, Attack on Titan, and Chainsaw Man, among many others. That output reflects an understanding of how to carry a Japanese narrative’s rhythm and emotional weight across a cultural and linguistic gap without losing either.

Health Challenges and Community Support

In January 2025, McFarland underwent emergency surgery after a hospital visit revealed a brain tumor. A crowdfunding campaign organized by fellow voice actors J. Michael Tatum and Brandon McInnis surpassed its initial goal rapidly. By August 2025, a glioblastoma diagnosis was confirmed, and the campaign was updated to address ongoing care costs, ultimately raising over $219,000 – a measure of the bonds McFarland forged across more than two decades in the industry.