Kōji Yakusho is a highly acclaimed Japanese actor whose career in film and television began in the late 1970s. While he is internationally renowned for his extensive work in live-action cinema, he has also applied his craft to voice acting in anime, creating a notable body of work through his collaborations with a specific director.

Yakusho's entry into anime voice acting is closely tied to director Mamoru Hosoda. This partnership began with the 2015 feature film The Boy and the Beast, in which Yakusho voiced the lead character Kumatetsu, a gruff, powerful, and solitary beast who becomes a mentor to the human protagonist. He continued this collaboration in Hosoda's 2018 film Mirai, providing the voice for the role of the Grandfather. In the film, the grandfather is a character from the past who visits the young boy Kun during his imaginative journeys, appearing as a cool, motorcycle-riding young man. Their most recent collaboration was in the 2021 film Belle, where, at Hosoda's personal request, Yakusho voiced Suzu's Father. In this role, he portrayed a parent navigating a complex relationship with his daughter as she copes with grief.

These three roles for director Mamoru Hosoda constitute Yakusho's major and recurring work within the anime industry. His achievements in this field are therefore defined by this specific and successful partnership. His voice performances in these films contribute to stories that explore themes of family, personal growth, and fantasy, leveraging his considerable skills as a veteran actor to bring animated characters to life.