Jujutsu Kaisen voice actor Takahiro Sakurai abruptly breaks ties with agency

Jujutsu Kaisen voice actor Takahiro Sakurai and talent agency Intention together announced on Friday, March 31, 2023, that the two parties were breaking their ties immediately. As per the agency, Takahiro Sakurai himself requested to get his contract terminated to take sole responsibility for the matter.

Takahiro Sakurai used to previously work for 81 Produce, following which he ended his contract and subsequently became a freelancer. Soon after, he joined Intention in July 2014 and bagged several significant roles, including the likes of Jujutsu Kaisen's Suguru Geto and Blue Lock's Sae Itoshi.

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Jujutsu Kaisen VA Takahiro Sakurai was with Intention for eight years

Takahiro Sakurai worked at Intention for nearly eight years, following which he decided to mutually terminate his contract with the agency. The voice actor of Suguru Geto worked alongside Satoru Gojo's voice actor Yuichi Nakamura and many others during his tenure.

However, after a report published by the tabloid newspaper The Weekly Bunshen, Sakurai's life took a turn. As per the report, Sakurai was engaged in an extramarital affair for at least 10 years with a writer for his P.S. Genki Desu Takahiro travel radio show.

Suguru Geto as seen in the Jujutsu Kaisen anime (Image via MAPPA)

Following that, Intention published a statement acknowledging the article's report, all while apologizing to Sakurai's fans, the unnamed woman, and all that were involved.

However, the matter did not end there, as Suguru Geto's VA ended up not attending Jump Festa 2023 as originally planned. Soon after, the staff of the GoRA and King Records' original anime project Ayaka: A Story of Bonds and Wounds announced a key cast change. Kousuke Toriumi was to replace Takahiro Sakurai as one of the anime's main characters, Haruaki Karuma.

Notice released by TWIN ENGINE over the delay of the film and cast change (Image via TWIN ENGINE)

Later in February 2023, Twin Engine announced their decision to fire Sakurai from the cast of Mononoke anime film, following which the anime was set to be delayed. Sakurai was set to voice the story's protagonist, the unnamed Medicine Seller. Due to the significance of the role, the movie is set to be delayed.

Following such backlash, the Jujutsu Kaisen voice actor finally decided to take action and wrote an apology letter for the trouble he caused due to his "inappropriate behavior." He did not want to cause his agency Intention any more harm, thus he decided to part ways with the company. He vowed to reflect on his actions and move forward to restore the trust he lost.