The Mononoke anime’s Twitter account has announced the upcoming Mononoke movie’s postponement and the removal of Takahiro Sakurai as the voice of the main character, the Medicine Seller.
The official statement explained that the period-era supernatural film is set “in Ōuku (historically the women’s quarters of Edo Castle) and tries to depict the suffering and remedy of women. Judging from the standpoint of the story, we decided to change the cast of the medicine seller.” Sakurai was revealed in recent months to have had a 10-year affair with a writer who worked on his P.S Genki Desu. Takahiro radio show as well as a 15-year affair that began in 2006.
In the case of the former, the tabloid magazine Weekly Bunshun wrote that the writer had been involved with Sakurai without knowledge of his previously private marital status, with the shock of the discovery reportedly causing her to be admitted to the emergency room. She was also reported to have later retired from the broadcast writing industry. Sakurai’s talent agency Intention issued an apology and acknowledged his culpability in a statement responding to the report.
Sakurai was previously dropped from the upcoming original anime Ayaka.
The Mononoke movie was announced last June at the 2007 anime series’ 15th anniversary event and was meant to be released this year. The Toei Animation-produced anime is a spin-off of 2006’s Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales, which featured the Medicine Seller in three of its episodes. The series’ director Kenji Nakamura (Gatachman Crowds: Insight) is reprising his role for the movie.
Crunchyroll describes the original show as:
In feudal Japan, evil spirits known as mononoke plague the countryside, leaving a trail of fear in their wake. One mysterious person has the power to slay the mononoke where they stand; he is known as the Medicine Seller, and he vanquishes the spirits using the power of his Exorcism Sword. In order to draw his sword he must understand the Form, Truth and Reason of the mononoke. Armed with a sharp wit, the Medicine Seller wanders from place to place, striking down the evil spirits in his wake.
A few months ago, the Mononoke movie entered the spotlight due to critical tweets from the series’ character designer Takashi Hashimoto (Gekijoban Revue Starlight co-main animator, Fate/Grand Order THE MOVIE: Paladin: Agateram co-storyboard artist) that were related to his lack of involvement in the new project. The tweets prompted a public response from producer Kouji Yamamoto, the founder and representative director of planning and holding company Twin Engine, whose claims included personal details regarding Hashimoto’s state. Last October, Hashimoto tweeted that he had had a discussion with Yamamoto and Twin Engine, and that the two parties had agreed to resolve various matters amicably.
Source: @anime_mononoke
