Kōji Yamamoto, the veteran producer behind the Mononoke film trilogy and CEO of planning and production company Twin Engine, has announced his retirement from producing following controversy over the secret recasting of voice actor Takahiro Sakurai in the trilogy's third film.
The Retirement Announcement
On June 4, 2026 (Japan time), Yamamoto posted a statement on X/Twitter (@koji8782) announcing he would retire from producing, citing a "disconnect between [his] own sensibilities and those of the times and of the audience." He stated he was "taking responsibility" for the situation and that he felt "happy that Mononoke was [his] final work as a producer." Moving forward, he will focus on management and training the next generation at Twin Engine.
"Until now, there have been many moments where things that I forcibly pushed through became a source of trouble. I increasingly felt a disconnect between my own sensibilities and those of the times and of the audience."
— Kōji Yamamoto, via X/Twitter
The Recasting Controversy
The controversy traces back to October 2022, when Weekly Bunshun magazine reported that Takahiro Sakurai — the original voice of the Medicine Seller in the 2007 Mononoke TV series — had been engaged in a 10-year extramarital affair. In February 2023, Twin Engine announced Sakurai had been replaced in the Mononoke film trilogy, with Hiroshi Kamiya taking over as a new iteration of the Medicine Seller character.
When Mononoke The Movie: Chapter III – The Curse of the Serpent opened on May 29, 2026, theatergoers discovered that Sakurai had secretly returned to voice his original Medicine Seller in a cameo appearance — without any prior announcement. A trailer released on June 1 showed the original character but still did not identify the voice actor. Oricon News later confirmed Sakurai had voiced the cameo.
In his statement, Yamamoto explained the secrecy was intended to preserve the surprise for fans, but acknowledged it "deprived those who did not want to see the original Medicine Seller to choose on their own" whether to see the film.
Kōji Yamamoto's Legacy
At 51, Yamamoto leaves behind a remarkable producing career spanning over 20 years. As a longtime producer for Fuji TV's noitaminA block, he was instrumental in bringing numerous landmark series to air. He founded Twin Engine in 2014, which now oversees multiple animation studios including Studio Colorido, Studio Chromato, NUT, Geno Studio, and EOTA.
Notable Works
- Psycho-Pass — Producer
- Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day — Chief Producer
- Eden of the East (TV + films) — Producer
- The Tatami Galaxy — Producer
- Princess Jellyfish — Producer
- The Ancient Magus' Bride — Executive Producer
- Dororo (2019) — Planning, Production
- Penguin Highway — Producer
- Burn the Witch — Executive Producer
- ZENSHU. — Producer
Community Reception
The anime community has reacted with a mix of respect for Yamamoto's career and criticism over the handling of the Sakurai situation. Mononoke Chapter III has received strong reviews — ANN's review calls it "visually stunning, musically strong, and a fantastic capstone to the trilogy" — but the production controversy has overshadowed the film's release. Many fans have expressed appreciation for Yamamoto's body of work while noting that the secrecy around the cameo created an avoidable controversy that ultimately led to his retirement from the role he loved.
What This Means
Yamamoto's departure from producing marks the end of an era for the noitaminA-influenced wing of the anime industry. His track record of supporting distinctive, auteur-driven projects — from Masaaki Yuasa's The Tatami Galaxy to Tatsuki's Dororo — leaves big shoes to fill. While he remains at Twin Engine in a management capacity, the loss of his producing instincts will be felt across the industry. For the Mononoke franchise, the trilogy's conclusion now carries the bittersweet weight of being both a stunning artistic achievement and the project that ended one of anime's most storied producing careers.