Ryusei Ryo Leaves Ken-On After 16 Years: “I’ll Never Forget the Kindness I Received”

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The story

Actor Ryusei Ryo (33) has announced his departure from Ken-On, the talent agency he’s been with for 16 years since his debut. On his Instagram, he wrote, “I’ll never forget the kindness I received.” On 5ch, threads lit up with speculation — tied to a possible sequel — over whether Shinjo, the character he played in the TBS drama VIVANT, is alive or dead, along with posts comparing him to fellow actor Ryusei Yokohama and looking back at his past roles, including his stand-in casting in the taiga drama Hikaru Kimi e and his role as Niini in the morning drama Chimudondon. Given the Ken-On connection, the conversation also branched into the current affiliations of Misaki Ito and Kumiko Goto.

Mon, 8/31, 15:40

Actor Ryusei Ryo (33) announced on the 31st that he has left Ken-On, the talent agency he had been with for 16 years since his debut.

He posted a statement to his Instagram Stories: “I am writing to announce that I will be leaving the agency that has looked after me for the past 16 years.”

Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here

What people said

17AnonymousAug 31, 2026 16:33
He's officially dead in VIVANT, but he's gotta be alive
20AnonymousAug 31, 2026 16:35
Re: #17
If he really did just get shot dead and that's the end of it, that'd be wild too lol
21AnonymousAug 31, 2026 16:35
Re: #17
It's a pretty forced way to show it, but I'd bet he's still alive
18AnonymousAug 31, 2026 16:34
Actors in their early 30s who aren't quite lead-tier are at a real crossroads
Either they fade out or survive as a supporting player
66AnonymousAug 31, 2026 17:12
Re: #18
Popularity aside, this guy's led multiple prime-time network dramas
19AnonymousAug 31, 2026 16:35
He's ended up living in Ryusei Yokohama's shadow
Even though he's the better actor of the two
52AnonymousAug 31, 2026 17:01
Re: #19
These past few years he's probably done better than Ryusei
22AnonymousAug 31, 2026 16:36
His peak was probably the lead role in Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinju
24AnonymousAug 31, 2026 16:40
Re: #22
I think he landed a great role there
130AnonymousAug 31, 2026 18:52
Re: #22
The deliberately wooden rakugo performance in episode 1 — I thought he varied it well scene by scene
25AnonymousAug 31, 2026 16:40
Checking Ken-On's website, the one that caught my eye was Misaki Ito
Turns out she didn't just marry rich and retire after all
85AnonymousAug 31, 2026 17:42
Re: #25
Surprised Gokumi (Kumiko Goto) is still with Oscar Promotion too
Thought she'd quit
28AnonymousAug 31, 2026 16:41
He had the halo ring on in the villains' meeting room, so he's dead
144AnonymousAug 31, 2026 19:30
Re: #28
The guy director Fukuzawa called a "palate-cleanser episode"
33AnonymousAug 31, 2026 16:43
Kyoryu Red, Daigo Kiryu (Kyoryuger)
Chimudondon, Niini
VIVANT, Shinjo-kun

One of the more memorable actors out there
Keep it up
40AnonymousAug 31, 2026 16:48
Re: #33
What about the cop in Hiyokko, which is in reruns right now?
94AnonymousAug 31, 2026 17:53
Re: #33
If it weren't for Chimudondon, I feel like his work would've dried up even more
122AnonymousAug 31, 2026 18:32
Re: #33
The taiga drama stand-in role got good reviews too, if I remember right
47AnonymousAug 31, 2026 16:55
So VIVANT's finished filming entirely?
Is Shinjo really dead?
There was a hint via the "Jai-memo" that a major character turns up in the villains' meeting room — could that be Shinjo?
140AnonymousAug 31, 2026 19:19
Re: #47
Every episode's already fully filmed
48AnonymousAug 31, 2026 16:58
This guy and Chokky's scenes were the funniest part
53AnonymousAug 31, 2026 17:01
Re: #48
Looking back, yeah that's true
These days it's just gotten creepy
51AnonymousAug 31, 2026 17:00
His Fujiwara no Takaie in Hikaru Kimi e was the best
54AnonymousAug 31, 2026 17:01
Re: #51
Never expected he'd be brought in as a pinch hitter
59AnonymousAug 31, 2026 17:04
Nanoka Hara's had plenty of work even after leaving Ken-On, so if it's an amicable exit there's no issue
61AnonymousAug 31, 2026 17:06
Re: #59
Her… honestly I feel like she flopped from being crammed into too many dramas
It's turned into a "Nanoka Hara, really?" kind of reaction now
They marketed her wrong
63AnonymousAug 31, 2026 17:09
Re: #59
She's already moved over to Oguri's agency, hasn't she
74AnonymousAug 31, 2026 17:22
I love his acting and his voice, but his figure's almost too good, which makes him hard to cast — feels like he'll get sidelined
You can't exactly stick him next to a short, pretty-boy lead
77AnonymousAug 31, 2026 17:28
Re: #74
The undertaker in Unnatural was great — kept you thinking something was up with him, but he was just suspicious the whole way through lol
79AnonymousAug 31, 2026 17:34
Maybe they'll say Shinjo had his face changed and recast him with a different actor
87AnonymousAug 31, 2026 17:45
Re: #79
I already told you, filming's done
83AnonymousAug 31, 2026 17:38
Hiroshi Abe said he's incredibly cheeky
88AnonymousAug 31, 2026 17:47
Re: #83
Was that on A-Studio?
93AnonymousAug 31, 2026 17:51
I wonder if the character name Shinjo in VIVANT comes from his birthplace, Shinjo City in Yamagata Prefecture?
97AnonymousAug 31, 2026 17:58
Re: #93
All the names are baseball-related, so isn't it after manager Shinjo?

Background and Talking Points

Ken-On is a major talent agency whose roster includes names like Misaki Ito and Kumiko Goto (“Gokumi”), so the thread also touched on the status of other people at the agency. Ryusei Ryo had been with the agency for 16 years since his debut, and neither the reason for leaving nor his next destination was disclosed in his own announcement. VIVANT was a TBS drama that aired in 2023; Ryusei’s character Shinjo is shot during the show, and the story ended without confirming whether he lived or died, which is why the thread split between “he’s alive” and “he’s dead” theories. One poster also noted that the sequel has already finished filming in full, so Shinjo’s fate may become clear once it airs. The comparison with his same-generation peer Ryusei Yokohama also came up, though it wasn’t meant to rank the two by popularity or skill so much as point out differences in how often each has landed lead roles. Whether the agency departure itself was amicable can’t be determined from the article, and it’s worth remembering these are just posters’ speculation.

*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News Plus) thread “Ryusei Ryo Leaves Ken-On, the Agency He’s Been With Since His Debut: “I’ll Never Forget the Kindness I Received” — VIVANT’s Shinjo Role Also a Hot Topic“.

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