Mononoke will experience a delay in its premiere due to its removal of Takahiro Sakurai, known for his portrayal of Suguru Geto in Jujutsu Kaisen.
The official account of the anime film Mononoke has tweeted a notice of postponement in the film’s release as it would recast the role of the Medicine Seller, previously held by Sakurai. The film was initially supposed to premiere sometime in 2023. Given that the film takes place in Ōoku, historically the women’s quarters of Edo Castle, and “tries to depict the suffering and remedy of women,” TWIN ENGINE has decided to recast the Medicine Seller to align with the moral themes of the film. The studio apologized to the fans and asked that they “be patient with us.” While the studio does not have a new date yet, they revealed they would announce the new release date and new cast sometime in the summer.
How Takahiro’s Affair Has Affected His Career
Following news about his 10-year extramarital affair with a staff writer on his radio show, Sakurai has lost many of his roles. Although MAPPA has yet to announce it, speculation has arisen regarding recasting Geto in Jujutsu Kaisen, especially since the voice actor pulled out of appearing in Jump Festa 2023 and his name has disappeared from the VA Cast of Upcoming Anime for 2023. Ayaka: A Story of Bonds and Wounds replaced Sakurai for the voice of Haruaki Karuma earlier this month.
On Oct. 26, 2022, the Weekly Bunshun newspaper reported Sakurai had engaged in an extramarital affair with a staff writer for 10 years despite being married to a former voice actor for over 20 years. After acknowledging the affair in his radio show, “P.S. Genki Desu. Takahiro” ended. Sakurai is currently the voice of Sae Itoshi in Blue Lock and Tsubame Ozuno in the reboot version of Urusei Yatsura. He recently finished wrapping up voice acting for the final season of Mob Psycho 100, where he portrayed Reigen Arataka.
The History of the Mononoke Anime
Mononoke started as an anime series produced by Toei Animation, premiering in July 2007. Acting as a spin-off of the horror anthology series Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales, the series follows a wandering being known only as the Medicine Seller who encounters numerous mononoke, a type of ayakashi that bind themselves to negative human emotions. After learning who the mononoke is and their story, the Medicine Seller exorcises it. Many of the spirits that the Medicine Seller encounters are women, including a pregnant woman in the first two episodes and a woman suffering from domestic abuse. Historically, women who lived in the Ōoku could not leave the castle without express permission and could not have a relationship with a man. Directed by Kenji Nakamura, the anime series contains 12 episodes. The series earned praise for its avante-garde animation, directing and storytelling approach. Mononoke announced an anime film in June 2022 to celebrate its 15th anniversary, with Nakamura returning to direct.
The anime series Mononoke is available to stream on Crunchyroll.
Source: Twitter
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