Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#293
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Takahiro Sakurai works on versatility rather than volume, and the catalogue keeps proving that the quieter choice was the correct one.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Takahiro Sakurai appears in 36 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Takahiro. Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train is the clearest case: a film rated 8.2 by our editors, where the performance carries weight the script only implies.
The recognisable elements are versatility, transformation, quiet performance. Watch two of these films back to back and the method separates from the material — the same instrument, tuned differently for mystery, fantasy, animation. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Tomoaki Koshida, Yasuhito Kikuchi, Yuzuru Tachikawa and others, Takahiro Sakurai helped set a standard other performers now audition against. Awards bodies have been slower than the work, which is usually the sign of a career built on choices rather than campaigns.
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train (2020) as Giyu Tomioka (voice) · Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle (2025) as Giyu Tomioka (voice) · Jujutsu Kaisen 0 (2021) as Suguru Geto (voice)
Career snapshot
Ranked #293 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
36
2013–2026
Career length
13 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
8.2
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train
Average Nutevio score
6.0
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
10.0
Mononoke the Movie: Chapter III - The Curse of the Serpent
Most frequent director
Naoyoshi Shiotani
5 films together
Longest collaboration
5×
With Naoyoshi Shiotani
Most common genre
Animation
34 titles
Average runtime
1h 36m
Across catalogue work
Golden Globe wins
—
Unknown
Nutevio metric
Ten weighted categories, applied identically to everyone we cover.
Nutevio Performer Score
6.8
out of 10
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio metric
Cultural impact and legacy, measured separately from craft — how far the work travelled once it left the cinema.
Nutevio Influence Score
6.2
out of 10
A quieter influence — felt inside the films rather than across the industry.
How far the work travelled past the people who saw it first.
What survives once the release-week conversation has burned off.
Institutional acknowledgement, weighted but never decisive.
Years of chosen, relevant work rather than years merely employed.
Statuettes, read as evidence rather than verdict.
Roles named without needing the film named alongside them.
Directors who wrote parts because this performer existed.
The reading other performers now have to answer.
Actor DNA
A fingerprint derived from the roles themselves — register, range and the kind of film they carry.
The shape of a career
Every performance plotted in time. Hover a point to read the title behind it.
Peak years
Where the scores, the awards and the sheer volume of work agree with each other.
Best decade
2010s
6.6 average MV
The 2010s are where the work and the material meet. Mr. Osomatsu the Movie, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Sibling's Bond, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Re;surrection — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
2010s
6.6
Across 14 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
2010s
6.7
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
2010s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. Mr. Osomatsu the Movie, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Sibling's Bond, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Re;surrection.
Most productive era
2020s
22 films
The busiest stretch of the catalogue — volume that reads as appetite rather than availability.
Range, mapped
Genres down the side, decades across the top. Warmer cells mean stronger titles.
| Genre | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|
| Drama | 6.84 films | 3.85 films |
| Action | 6.56 films | 6.59 films |
| Thriller | — | 6.61 film |
| Comedy | 6.31 film | 6.93 films |
| Crime | 6.54 films | 6.82 films |
| Romance | — | 6.23 films |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
2013anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day - The Movie
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Atsumu "Yukiatsu" Matsuyuki (voice).
Highest rated performance · Career peak
2020Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train
8.2 on the Nutevio scale, the top of the catalogue for this performer. Weighing billing against the film's own quality, this is the point where everything aligned at once.
Most recent film
2026Sound! Euphonium: The Final Movie, Part 2
The current state of the argument, as Noboru Taki (voice).
Our order
Every performance in the catalogue, ordered by Nutevio Score.
Every title
Filter by genre or decade, and compare any two titles side by side.
36 of 36 films
as Giyu Tomioka (voice)
Directed by Haruo Sotozaki
as Giyu Tomioka (voice)
Directed by Haruo Sotozaki
as Suguru Geto (voice)
Directed by Shota Goshozono
as Suguru Geto (voice)
Directed by Sunghoo Park
as Hinakawa Shou (voice)
Directed by Naoyoshi Shiotani
From the library
Every movie and TV credit stored for this name in the Nutevio catalogue — filter by media, role or sort by rating.
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The defining work
#1
Giyu Tomioka (voice)
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle (2025)
Performance score8.2
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Giyu Tomioka (voice) gives Takahiro Sakurai a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Giyu Tomioka (voice)
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train (2020)
Performance score8.2
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Giyu Tomioka (voice) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Suguru Geto (voice)
JUJUTSU KAISEN: Hidden Inventory / Premature Death - The Movie (2025)
Performance score7.8
JUJUTSU KAISEN: Hidden Inventory / Premature Death - The Movie asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Suguru Geto (voice) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Suguru Geto (voice)
Jujutsu Kaisen 0 (2021)
Performance score7.8
Jujutsu Kaisen 0 asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Suguru Geto (voice) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movieStart here
A guided path through the work, ordered so each film explains the next.
Best entry point
as Giyu Tomioka (voice)
Start here. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle is the clearest statement of what Takahiro Sakurai does — accessible, 156 minutes, and rated 8.0 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Takahiro at the most legible performance, then move forward in time so each film reads as a response to the one before it rather than a repetition of it.
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train (2020)
Same director as Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle, different problem to solve. Watching them in order shows how much of the effect was the collaboration.
Psycho-Pass 3: First Inspector (2020)
Keeps the action register of Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train but asks for a colder reading of it.
Jujutsu Kaisen 0 (2021)
Keeps the action register of Psycho-Pass 3: First Inspector but asks for a colder reading of it.
JUJUTSU KAISEN: Hidden Inventory / Premature Death - The Movie (2025)
Keeps the action register of Jujutsu Kaisen 0 but asks for a colder reading of it.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Naoyoshi Shiotani
Director
5 films together
Notably Psycho-Pass 3: First Inspector
Hiroyuki Seshita
Director
3 films together
Notably Godzilla: The Planet Eater
Haruo Sotozaki
Director
3 films together
Notably Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train
Tatsuyuki Nagai
Director
2 films together
Notably anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day - The Movie
Shota Goshozono
Director
2 films together
Notably JUJUTSU KAISEN: Hidden Inventory / Premature Death - The Movie
Taichi Ogawa
Director
2 films together
Notably Sound! Euphonium: The Final Movie, Part 1
Yasuhito Kikuchi
Director
2 films together
Notably That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Scarlet Bond
Naoko Yamada
Director
1 film together
Notably Liz and the Blue Bird
Yuta Murano
Director
1 film together
Notably Seven Days War
Hiroyuki Kato
Director
1 film together
Notably Lupinranger vs Patranger vs Kyuranger
Tatsuya Ishihara
Director
1 film together
Notably Sound! Euphonium the Movie - Our Promise: A Brand New Day
Fuminori Kizaki
Director
1 film together
Notably Human Lost
Youichi Fujita
Director
1 film together
Notably Mr. Osomatsu the Movie
Tomohisa Taguchi
Director
1 film together
Notably Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna
Takuya Sato
Director
1 film together
Notably Happy-Go-Lucky Days
Koichi Sakamoto
Director
1 film together
Notably Ultra Galaxy Fight: The Destined Crossroad
Shoji Kawamori
Director
1 film together
Notably Macross Delta: Zettai Live!!!!!!
Sunghoo Park
Director
1 film together
Notably Jujutsu Kaisen 0
Yoshiaki Kyougoku
Director
1 film together
Notably Laid-Back Camp the Movie
Shinji Higuchi
Director
1 film together
Notably Thunderbirds 55/GOGO
Susumu Mitsunaka
Director
1 film together
Notably HAIKYU!! The Dumpster Battle
Yuzuru Tachikawa
Director
1 film together
Notably Mob Psycho 100 Celebrates Its 10th Anniversary
Tomoaki Koshida
Director
1 film together
Notably Mononoke the Movie: Chapter III - The Curse of the Serpent
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Naoyoshi Shiotani
Director
5 films together · 6.7 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 5 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Psycho-Pass 3: First InspectorHaruo Sotozaki
Director
3 films together · 7.8 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 3 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen TrainHiroyuki Seshita
Director
3 films together · 6.4 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 3 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Godzilla: The Planet EaterShota Goshozono
Director
2 films together · 6.9 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
JUJUTSU KAISEN: Hidden Inventory / Premature Death - The MovieYasuhito Kikuchi
Director
2 films together · 6.8 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Scarlet BondTatsuyuki Nagai
Director
2 films together · 6.7 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day - The MovieTaichi Ogawa
Director
2 films together · 0.0 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Sound! Euphonium: The Final Movie, Part 1Sunghoo Park
Director
1 film together · 7.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Jujutsu Kaisen 0Tomohisa Taguchi
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution KizunaSusumu Mitsunaka
Director
1 film together · 7.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
HAIKYU!! The Dumpster BattleNaoko Yamada
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Liz and the Blue BirdYoshiaki Kyougoku
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Laid-Back Camp the MovieTatsuya Ishihara
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Sound! Euphonium the Movie - Our Promise: A Brand New DayTomoaki Koshida
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Mononoke the Movie: Chapter III - The Curse of the SerpentKoichi Sakamoto
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Ultra Galaxy Fight: The Destined CrossroadShoji Kawamori
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Macross Delta: Zettai Live!!!!!!Yuta Murano
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Seven Days WarYouichi Fujita
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Mr. Osomatsu the MovieTakuya Sato
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Happy-Go-Lucky DaysHiroyuki Kato
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Lupinranger vs Patranger vs KyurangerFuminori Kizaki
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Human LostYuzuru Tachikawa
Director
1 film together · 0.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Mob Psycho 100 Celebrates Its 10th AnniversaryShinji Higuchi
Director
1 film together · 0.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Thunderbirds 55/GOGOSix degrees
Follow the thread outward — director, film, co-star, and the film after that.
Categories of our own
Six editorial categories we apply to every performer we cover.
Most rewatchable
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train
as Giyu Tomioka (voice)
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Liz and the Blue Bird
as Noboru Taki (voice)
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train
as Giyu Tomioka (voice)
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
HAIKYU!! The Dumpster Battle
as Akiteru Tsukishima (voice)
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle
as Giyu Tomioka (voice)
If the career had to be argued in a single scene, our editors would pick one from this film and rest the case.
In their films' words
“You can build a whole film around a performer who knows when not to speak. Takahiro Sakurai has known it for a long time.”
Head to head
Put two careers on the same scale and see where the argument actually sits.
Ours alone
Recognitions handed out by this desk, on criteria no awards body uses.
Modern Classic Performer
Awarded
Defining performances delivered inside the last twenty-five years, in films already being taught rather than merely remembered.
Animation Legend
Awarded
34 catalogue titles in animation, each one a reference point for the films that followed.
Our desk
Best ending, best opening, best twist and the rest — categories we apply to everyone we cover.
Best ending
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train
as Giyu Tomioka (voice)
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train
as Giyu Tomioka (voice)
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Sound! Euphonium: The Final Movie, Part 1
as Noboru Taki (voice)
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Mononoke the Movie: Chapter III - The Curse of the Serpent
as (voice)
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train
as Giyu Tomioka (voice)
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Godzilla: The Planet Eater
as Metphies (voice)
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Tears of the Azure Sea
as Diablo (voice)
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Human Lost
as Masao Horiki (Voice)
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
If you like this performer
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Bonnie Hunt
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Morgan Freeman
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Jamie Harris
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Have your say
Community
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Reference
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