Takaya Kuroda

Takaya Kuroda is best known abroad as the Japanese voice of Kazuma Kiryu in the Yakuza video game series. He has also voiced the villain Yaiba in GoGo Sentai Boukenger and Masamichi Yaga, the Kyoto Jujutsu High principal, in Jujutsu Kaisen.

Kuroda voices Masamichi Yaga, the sorcery teacher and cursed corpse specialist who runs Kyoto Jujutsu High School and created the character Panda. His deep, commanding register suits a character who spends much of the series as a calm mentor figure.

Kuroda is recognized internationally as the Japanese voice of Kazuma Kiryu, protagonist of the long-running Yakuza video game series. That role has made him one of the more widely known Japanese voice actors among Western gamers.

Kuroda stepped into the role of Starscream in Transformers: Cybertron after the death of veteran actor Hirotaka Suzuoki, whose vocal style he closely resembled. It's one of several roles where his low, commanding register has been put to use outside anime.

Beyond voice acting, Kuroda fronts the rock band Takaya Kuroda & Goodfellas as lead singer. He has worked professionally since 1984, and his deep bass voice carries over from acting roles, including Masamichi Yaga in Jujutsu Kaisen, into his music.