Ayaka, the upcoming original anime that is scheduled to premiere this year, announced that Takahiro Sakurai will no longer be a part of the main cast. Sakurai was supposed to voice Haruaki Kurama but the role will be recast due to various circumstances. Additional information will be announced soon.
Takahiro Sakurai is known as Giyu Tomioka in the Demon Slayer series, Arataka Reigen in Mob Psycho 100, Rohan Kishibe in the Jojo series, and more. He is currently voicing Tsubame Onotsu in the Urusei Yatsura reboot. In late October, the voice actor confirmed allegations of a decade-long extramarital affair and apologized in a statement issued on his agency’s website. His affair partner, who was a producer of his radio show, did not know that he was married.
Other than Takahiro Sakurai, the main cast of Ayaka includes Yuto Uemura as Yukito Yanagi, Takuma Terashima as Jingi, and Yuichiro Umehara as Aka Ikubi. Studio Blanc is animating under Nobuyoshi Nagayama’s direction. The story is an original concept by GoRA nad King Records. A character trailer featuring Jingi and Yukito was revealed recently.
Crunchyroll announced that it will be streaming the anime outside of Japan. The streaming platform describes the plot as:
The story follows Yukito Yanagi, an orphan who one day encounters an eccentric disciple of his father’s. The strange man takes him to his birthplace on Ayakajima, made up of seven islands where mysterious beings called “Mitama” and dragons are rumored to reside. There, Yukito meets his father’s two other disciples, who protect the harmony of Ayakajima… which soon threatens to collapse.
Source: Official Website
©GoRa/KING Records/Project AYAKA