The veteran voice actor Toru Furuya may well be 70 years old and something of a legend in the industry, having provided voices for such series as Conan, Gundam, Dragon Ball, and One Piece, but his career and status is currently facing ruin due to a sex scandal.
Furuya married his second wife in 1985 but rumors have long swirled that he is a little too friendly with his fans, including inappropriate touching at meet-and-greet events.
Earlier this week, Furuya issued a public apology in response to a report in the Weekly Bunshun tabloid that he been having an affair for more than four years.
This fan is a younger woman — and by younger, we mean 37 years younger! The 33-year-old was a mega-fan, having seen a Conan movie 45 times. She wrote him a letter and he then contacted her in early 2019. Two months later, they met at a hotel.
When she was understandably concerned that he had finished inside her, Furuya supposedly claimed that she wouldn’t get pregnant because his sperm is no good, having been unable to conceive with his wife for many years (though they did eventually have a son).
During sex, he allegedly whispered dialogue from Conan in her ear. Now that’s what we call fan service.
As the affair went on and Furuya refused to divorce his wife, they would argue. He even hit the woman once and gave her a nose bleed.
In 2021, the woman got pregnant and he persuaded her to have an abortion because of the impact it would have on his career.
The affair eventually ended in September 2023.
And it gets more complicated. According to one unconfirmed report, the fan was also a former sex worker who used her earnings to give money to Furuya’s fan club.
To Furuya’s credit, he has come clean and admitted to the details of the affair, even giving a long interview to Weekly Bunshun.
