Koji Yamamoto, planning producer for the film trilogy from the Mononoke franchise, posted an apology on his X account on Friday and also announced that he is stepping away from producing.
In the statement, Yamamoto confirmed that the staff brought back a voice actor who had previously been replaced, and he apologized for how the information was handled. Oricon confirmed that the trilogy’s third film features Takahiro Sakurai returning to voice the “Medicine Seller” from the original TV series in a cameo appearance.
Moviegoers who saw the film in theaters noticed the cameo and pointed out that there had been no advance announcement about Sakurai’s return, sparking debate among some fans. Some supported the decision, while others disagreed with it.
On Monday, the staff later released a new trailer for the film showing the Medicine Seller from the original series with spoken lines, but still did not identify the voice actor.
Koji Yamamoto’s Apology and Statement
Yamamoto apologized to fans for causing confusion and said he was taking responsibility for what happened by resigning from his role as producer.
(Note: The following contains story details from Mononoke The Movie: Chapter III – The Curse of the Serpent.)
Yamamoto explained that while the staff were planning the story for the third film and searching for a way to deal with the villain who appears near the end, the idea arose to “summon” another Medicine Seller. The staff could have chosen a Medicine Seller other than the character from the original TV series, known as “Medicine Seller Ri,” but they wanted to respond to fans who wished to see that character return and believed they could bring the character back in a “good way” that would make waiting fans happy.
Yamamoto also said he wanted fans to experience the character’s reunion without knowing about it in advance. That was why the staff did not announce the character’s appearance until June 1, three days after the film opened. However, he acknowledged that doing so “deprived those who did not want to encounter the original Medicine Seller of the right to decide for themselves whether or not to see the film”, and he apologized for the lack of consideration.
Yamamoto said he will focus on management and developing the next generation going forward. In the past, he served as producer on many well-known works, including anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, The Ancient Magus’ Bride, Eden of the East, Lu over the Wall, Princess Jellyfish, Psycho-Pass, ZENSHU., and The Tatami Galaxy.
Background of the Scandal and Sakurai’s Recasting
The situation began in October 2022, when the tabloid Weekly Bunshun reported that Takahiro Sakurai had carried on an extramarital relationship for more than 10 years with a writer on his radio program P.S. Genki Desu. Takahiro.
The report stated that the writer did not know Sakurai was married until around the recording of the program’s final episode in October 2022, because Sakurai had kept his marital status secret until revealing it to Weekly Bunshun in September 2022. The writer was so affected that she had to go to the emergency room and later ended her writing career.
Sakurai’s agency, Intention, issued a statement the next day acknowledging the report and apologizing to the unnamed woman, fans, and all parties involved.
In February 2023, Twin Engine announced a delay for the first film in the trilogy and stated that Sakurai would no longer return as the Medicine Seller as originally planned. The company explained:
The film “MONONOKE” is set in the Ooku, the inner chambers of Edo Castle where women resided, and seeks to portray women’s suffering and healing. From the perspective of the story, we have decided to change the voice actor for the Medicine Seller.
In the end, Hiroshi Kamiya replaced Sakurai as the Medicine Seller in the film trilogy. The Medicine Seller in the films is a different character from the one who appears in the original TV series.
Source: ann_jp
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