Mononoke Anime Film Delayed, Takahiro Sakurai Will No Longer Reprise Medicine Seller Role

Twin Engine announced on Tuesday that the Mononoke anime film is delayed. The staff also announced that Takahiro Sakurai will no longer reprise the role of the protagonist the Medicine Seller as originally planned. The film was previously slated to premiere this year.

Twin Engine stated in the notice:

...the animated film "MONONOKE" sets in Ōoku (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.

The staff will announce the new release date and the new cast this summer.

The Weekly Bunshun tabloid newspaper reported on October 26 that Sakurai had been engaged in an extramarital affair for at least 10 years with a writer for his P.S. Genki Desu. Takahiro travel radio show. Sakurai's talent management agency Intention published a statement the following day that acknowledged the article's report and apologized to the unnamed woman, Sakurai's fans, and all involved.

After the report, Sakurai did not attend the Jump Festa '23 in December as originally planned. Additionally, the staff of the GoRA and King Records' original anime project Ayaka: A Story of Bonds and Wounds announced earlier this month that they are replacing Sakurai as the voice of Haruaki Karuma, one of the anime's main characters.

Kenji Nakamura will return to direct the Mononoke film, with production at Twin Engine.

The Mononoke anime premiered in 2007 and aired for 12 episodes. The series is a spinoff of the Ayakashi - Samurai Horror Tales anime. Specifically, it follows the medicine seller from the "Bakeneko" (Goblin Cat) arc. The Mononoke anime has five arcs, the last of which is titled "Bakeneko."

Kenji Nakamura directed the television anime at Toei Animation, and Takashi Hashimoto designed the characters and served as chief animation director. Yasuharu Takanashi composed the music.

The anime previously streamed on Crunchyroll, but is currently available on other streaming services such as The Roku Channel. New Video Group released the series on DVD in North America in 2014.

Sources: Twin Engine's Twitter account, Oricon News