Last month, the anime community was shaken when allegations regarding legendary voice actor Toru Furuya and a fan first came to light. According to an interview with Weekly Bunshun, Furuya admitted to being involved with a fan for the past four and a half years, which included striking her once and also pressuring her into an abortion. As a result of the scandal, Furuya has stepped down from his active roles.
Detective Conan and One Piece No More
The joint announcement was made by both Furuya and the talent agency Aoni Production. It states that Furuya will no longer play the role of Toru Amuro in the Detective Conan franchise and Sabo in the One Piece franchise. It’s likely that this does not only impact the anime television series but also any other extensions of the IP such as audiobooks and video games. This decision came from the agency which states that after repeated discussions, it has decided that he had directly and significantly damaged the image of the works involved as well as the characters he portrayed. Furuya has accepted this decision.
In the announcement, Furuya also apologized once again for the burden he has placed on others due to his selfish actions. He says that stepping down from both of these roles is the only way he can make amends to those involved in the series and to his fans.
What’s Next For Furuya?
Not much it seems. Atlus, the video game development company responsible for the Persona series, also recently shared that Furuya will no longer be involved in the studio’s upcoming role-playing game, “Metaphor: ReFantazio.” Furuya’s X account has also been deactivated. It appears the voice actor will be laying low for the time being. It remains to be seen whether he will make a comeback.
