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It was announced on Wednesday, February 15, that the voice of Jujutsu Kaisen’s Suguru Geto will have their role replaced in the original TV anime series AYAKA. Takahiro Sakurai, likely best known for his current role as Geto in the anime adaptation of author and illustrator Gege Akutami’s aforementioned manga series, seems set to imminently lose this role as well.
The announcement regarding the beloved Jujutsu Kaisen voice actor came from the official Twitter account for the AYAKA anime, which claimed that the change was due to “various reasons.” However, fans are certain that this references the multiple affairs Sakurai was involved in, which were first reported on in late October 2022.
The AYAKA public relations team did not announce who would be replacing Sakurai for the role of Haruaki Kurama in their initial tweet on the matter. However, this seems to be the least of Sakurai’s problems, as fans are expecting a replacement for his role as Suguru Geto in Jujutsu Kaisen as a matter of when, not if.
Voice actor for Jujutsu Kaisen fan-favorite character Suguru Geto to supposedly lose role ahead of season 2 premiere in July 2023
The latest
Since news of Sakurai’s extra-marital affairs first broke in late October 2022, fans have been waiting for the other shoe to drop in terms of his work in the anime industry. The first consequence came in the form of the cancelation of a planned appearance at the Jujutsu Kaisen Jump Festa 2023 Super Stage.
While fans at the time speculated that a change in voice was coming for Geto, there was no precedent for this specifically relative to Sakurai’s work, it was purely speculation, with fans seemingly split on whether or not he should be replaced. The Super Stage’s announcement of the second season, in which Geto is a major character, releasing in July, 2023 didn’t help bridge the divide.
However, the original TV anime AYAKA’s recent announcement of their decision to replace Sakurai in the role of Haruaki Kurama doesn’t bode well for his future as Suguru Geto. While this role is admittedly much smaller and much more inconsequential than Sakurai’s performance as Geto, the neutral-at-worst response to this news may inspire change in Geto’s role as well.
Many leakers and news accounts, such as @king_jin_woo (Myamura), have shared their feelings that the change in voice actor for Geto now seems to be imminent. With the next Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 announcement set to come sometime in the coming weeks and months, fans are expecting the change in voice actor to be a part of the news.
Other significant current roles of Sakurai’s include Sae Itoshi in Blue Lock, Tsubame Ozuno in the latest Urusei Yatsura adaptation, Death-par in Ranking of Kings, and Diablo in That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. If Sakurai is replaced as Geto, some of these roles and production teams are likely to follow suit.
Follow along for more Jujutsu Kaisen anime and manga news, as well as general anime, manga, film, and live-action news as 2023 progresses.
