One Piece anime officially set to change Sabo's voice actor following Toru Furuya controversy

Modified Jun 22, 2024 20:34 GMT

One Piece anime officially set to change Sabo's voice actor following Toru Furuya controversy (Image via Toei Animation)

Saturday, June 22, 2024, talent agency Aoni Production and Toru Furuya jointly announced that the voice actor would be stepping down from his role as the One Piece anime’s Sabo and others. The agency specified that it requested Furuya to step down, which he obliged, meaning he’ll no longer voice Sabo or Detective Conan’s (also known as Case Closed) Toru Amuro.

Atlus also announced on June 11 that it had removed Furuya from the cast of its upcoming Metaphor: ReFantazio fantasy role-playing game, citing “various circumstances.” Atlus confirmed it would announce the replacement cast member in July, not previously announcing the character or role Furuya would play.

As of this article’s writing, there’s no word on when Toei Animation will announce Furuya’s replacement in the Detective Conan or One Piece anime roles.

Toru Furuya officially confirms departure from the One Piece anime and other projects

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In addition to the above announcement regarding his One Piece anime role and others, Furuya apologized again for the great burden he has caused everyone involved in the matter. The controversy began in May with a report by the Weekly Bunshun magazine regarding an affair Furuya had allegedly had with a fan. Furuya was interviewed for the article and publicly acknowledged it via his X (formerly Twitter) account on May 22.

Furuya admitted that he had been in a romantic relationship with a female fan for four and a half years until it ended in September 2023. He claimed he first became attracted to the fan for her earnest support for him, confirming that he contacted her first to begin the affair. He also admitted that at one point in the relationship, he raised his hand to strike her during an argument. He also admitted to causing the woman to have an abortion during their relationship.

The admission immediately impacted Furuya’s bookings and schedule, with Animate canceling its July 27 Detective Conan event, where Furuya would have spoken. Furuya also voluntarily left a stage reading production scheduled for August 10 to 11. This is in addition to Furuya’s aforementioned professional departures due to this information. After the latest news, Furuya’s X account was also taken offline on Saturday.

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Furuya’s career as a voice actor surpasses 50 years of experience, being credited with over 100 titles. His most notable roles are as Sailor Moon’s Tuxedo Mask, Mobile Suit Gundam’s Amuro Ray, Dragon Ball’s Yamcha, Saint Seiya’s Pegasus Seiya, Kimagure Orange Road’s Kyosuke Kasuga, and Mobile Suit Gundam 00’s Ribbons Almark.

As mentioned above, the staff behind the One Piece anime have yet to confirm or deny any information regarding Furuya’s replacement in the role of Sabo as of this article’s writing. However, with Sabo set to become a temporary focal point in the ongoing Egghead arc, it’s expected that this news will come sooner rather than later.