Japanese voice actor and singer Kenichi Suzumura (鈴村健一) has announced that Intention, the talent agency he has run since 2012, will dissolve on March 31, 2027. The agency also represents Yuma Uchida (内田雄馬), Nao Toyama (東山奈央), Yuichi Nakamura (中村悠一), Aya Endo (遠藤綾) and several other voice actors.
In a statement posted to its official website, Intention said the closure is tied to Suzumura’s adjustment disorder. “Doctors have told him that his condition will not improve as long as he continues to be involved in management,” the agency wrote, calling the decision to dissolve “a painful one.”
Despite the announcement, Intention says it will keep operating as usual for its roster for another year and a half. The agency pledged to support each performer’s career going forward, asking fans to “watch warmly over each person’s activities and future” through the transition period and beyond.
Suzumura disclosed in May 2024 that he was taking a break from work to focus on his health, without detailing the diagnosis at the time. The latest announcement offers the clearest explanation yet for that hiatus and confirms it has had a lasting effect on his ability to keep running the company.
Who is Kenichi Suzumura?
Kenichi Suzumura made his voice acting debut in 1994 in the anime Macross 7 and went on to become one of the most recognizable male voice actors of his generation. He later built a parallel career as a singer, releasing his debut single “INTENTION” in 2008 and his first full album, “Becoming,” the following year. He has headlined numerous tours since, including the annual outdoor “Manten LIVE” concerts he launched in 2015 and a 2016 tour that took him to Hong Kong, Taiwan and China. In 2017 he marked his 10th anniversary as a musician with a show at Pacifico Yokohama, followed by a best-of album in 2018. Suzumura founded Intention in 2012 after leaving his previous agency, Arts Vision, and has run it as both a performer and company representative ever since.
Author’s Comment
An agency boss explaining his own stress-induced health collapse in a corporate press release is peak seiyuu-industry transparency, and honestly, I respect it more than a vague ‘personal reasons’ statement. Running a roster full of some of anime’s biggest names while also touring as a solo artist would wreck anyone’s nervous system, so I’m not shocked his doctor drew a hard line. The part I actually care about is what happens to Uchida, Toyama, and everyone else on that roster once the safety net disappears — a shuttered agency can mean a soft landing at a bigger house or months of awkward limbo, and there’s no telling which yet. Eighteen months of notice is more generous than this industry usually bothers with, so credit where it’s due. I’d bet half that roster has already quietly lined up their next desk by spring.
