Takahiro Sakurai

Takahiro Sakurai (櫻井 孝宏, Sakurai Takahiro) is a Japanese voice actor who voices Rohan Kishibe in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: The Animation, Diamond is Unbreakable, and the Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan OVA series.

He is well known for his several other roles such as Cloud Strife in the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts series, Tentomon in Digimon, Suzaku Kururugi in Code Geass, Griffith in Berserk: The Golden Age Arc and Berserk (2016), Reigen Arataka in Mob Psycho 100, Diablo in That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Giyu Tomioka in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Suguru Geto in Jujutsu Kaisen, and Avan in Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai.

Sakurai's roles in the voice acting industry typically consist of handsome and/or arrogant young men. He was a member of voice talent firm, 81 Produce until 2014. He then joined the voice acting company, INTENTION,[1] but left the agency on March 31, 2023.[2]

Biography

Born in Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture, Sakurai was the eldest of three siblings born to a family that owned a rice shop. As a child, Sakurai became interested in voice acting after he saw an interview on TV with a voice actor he liked. Sakurai's passion for voice acting was further influenced when a Japanese language teacher in Junior High School told him that he should consider pursuing a serious career in the industry.

In 1996, after graduating from the Yoyogi Animation Academy in Nagoya and the 81 Acting Institute, he made his official debut voice acting in the anime series Bakuso Kyodai Let's & Go!!. Even before his official debut, he had already received work voicing in various radio dramas and other projects while he was in coaching school, however, there was a long period when he was unable to find work even after auditioning. After moving on from the coaching school, he became a member of 81 Produce under the influence of his admiration for Toshihiko Seki. In 1999, when he was 25 years old, Sakurai was considering quitting the voice acting industry, until he got two recurring roles in the anime Digimon Adventure and Sensual Phrase, and in the same year, he sang his first character song in his first starring movie, Gate Keepers.

When asked what he would've done had he not become a voice actor, Sakurai replied that he probably would've taken over his family's rice shop, which might've also been a good idea.

Controversy

On October 26, 2022, Sakurai admitted to cheating on his wife with a writer from his radio show. The two had been dating for 10 years, with plans of marrying; however, the writer was allegedly unaware of Sakurai's marital status. Sakurai had been married to a former voice actress for nearly 20 years, which he had kept a secret until September 2022. Upon discovering Sakurai's marriage, the woman was reportedly so shocked that she required hospitalization; eventually leading to her retirement from the broadcast writer business. Whether or not this impacted Sakurai's role as Rohan Kishibe is uncertain, but shortly after the announcement, he was notably absent from all events related to the series.[3]

In January 2023, another woman came forward to state that Sakurai was in an on-and-off relationship with her since 2006. On March 31, 2023, Sakurai announced that he had resigned from his voice acting agency, INTENTION. He apologized and stated that his resignation was solely to take responsibility for his inappropriate actions.[2]

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Roles

Title Media Year
GioGio's Bizarre Adventure Video Game 2002
Title Media Year
GioGio's Bizarre Adventure Video Game 2002
Title Media Year
Diamond is Unbreakable Anime 2016
Morioh RADIO 4 GREAT Radio 2016
Diamond is Unbreakable Drama CD CD 2016
Stardust Shooters Video Game 2017
Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan OVA 2016-2020
Diamond Records Video Game 2017
JoJo's Pitter-Patter Pop! Video Game 2019
Last Survivor Video Game 2019
All-Star Battle R Video Game 2022
Puzzle & Dragons Video Game 2022
Title Media Year
Diamond is Unbreakable Anime 2016
Stardust Shooters Video Game 2017
Diamond Records Video Game 2017
JoJo's Pitter-Patter Pop! Video Game 2019
Last Survivor Video Game 2019
All-Star Battle R Video Game 2022
Puzzle & Dragons Video Game 2022
Minor Roles
Role
Police Officer (voice)
Title Media Year
Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan
(Episode 1: Millionaire Village)
Drama 2020
Role
Radio (voice)
Title Media Year
Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan
(Episode 2: Kushagara)
Drama 2020
Role
Hospital Announcer (voice)
Title Media Year
Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan
(Episode 3: DNA)
Drama 2020
Role
Gym member (voice)
Title Media Year
Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan
(Episode 4: The Run)
Drama 2021
Role
Paramedic (voice)
Title Media Year
Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan
(Episode 5: From Behind)
Drama 2021
Role
Bus Driver (voice)
Title Media Year
Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan
(Episode 6: Mutsu-kabe Hill)
Drama 2021

Interviews

# Interview Type Media Published
1 Rurubu Moriohcho (March 2016)
Interview
Guidebook
March 18, 2016
2 Part 4 Finale Interviews (December 2016)
Interview
Website/Online
December 22, 2016
3 Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan OVA Interviews (June 2017)
Interview
Website/Online
June 28, 2017
4 Back to JOJO the Animation (March 2022)
Interview
Magazine
March 19, 2022

Gallery

Trivia

References

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