Takahiro Sakurai (櫻井 孝宏, Sakurai Takahiro) is a Japanese voice actor who is most notably known for voicing the character Rohan Kishibe in Diamond is Unbreakable and Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan.
He is well known for his several other roles such as Cloud Strife in the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts series, Suzaku Kururugi in Code Geass, Griffith in Berserk: The Golden Age Arc and Berserk (2016), Reigen Arataka in Mob Psycho 100, and Diablo in That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime.
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. After leaving the company in 2014, he joined the voice acting company, INTENTION.[1]
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 her to retiring from the broadcast writer business. Whether or not this will impact on Sakurai's role as Rohan Kishibe is uncertain, but he has since been absent from recent events related to the series.[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 (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 |
| Title | Media | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan (Episode 1: Millionaire Village) |
Drama | 2020 |
| Title | Media | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan (Episode 2: Kushagara) |
Drama | 2020 |
| Title | Media | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan (Episode 3: DNA) |
Drama | 2020 |
| Title | Media | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan (Episode 4: The Run) |
Drama | 2021 |
| Title | Media | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan (Episode 5: From Behind) |
Drama | 2021 |
| Title | Media | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan (Episode 6: Mutsu-kabe Hill) |
Drama | 2021 |
Gallery
Signature
Yuki Ono and Takahiro Sakurai - MR4G #12
Yuki Ono and Takahiro Sakurai and Batta - #13
Yuki Ono and Takahiro Sakurai (Live) - #14
Yuki Ono and Takahiro Sakurai - #15
Yuki Ono and Takahiro Sakurai - #16
Yuki Ono and Takahiro Sakurai - #17
Yuki Ono, Yuki Kaji, Wataru Takagi, Takahiro Sakurai, and Daisuke Ono - #21
Yuki Ono, Yuki Kaji, Wataru Takagi, Takahiro Sakurai, and Daisuke Ono - #22
Morioh RADIO 4 GREAT stats
Animage August 2017
Sakurai & Part 4 Final Episode Cast
Trivia
- Sakurai was an avid reader of Weekly Shonen Jump growing up, though he wasn't particularly into JoJo at first. His favorite part is Diamond is Unbreakable and his favorite character is Tonio Trussardi. He initially thought Rohan was an awful person when reading about him.[3]
- Sakurai is a big fan of Hirohiko Araki's previous works like Cool Shock B.T., Gorgeous Irene and Baoh the Visitor. He also remembers at the time acknowledging how much JoJo went out of its way to avoid standard manga conventions such as having the main character die.[3]
References
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