Yu Shirota's acting career began from 2003 to 2004, when Shirota became the 7th actor to play Tuxedo Kamen (Tuxedo Mask) in the Sailor Moon Musicals. His first official performance as Tuxedo Kamen was on January 2, 2003, in the "2003 Winter Special Mugen Gakuen – Mistress Labyrinth (Kaiteiban)". He also demonstrated his ability to play acoustic guitar on stage live, during the "Starlights – Ryuusei Densetsu" performances. The "2004 New Legend of Kaguya Island" was Shirota's last performance as Tuxedo Kamen. That night, on September 5, 2004, after he performed his final rendition of "Prince of Earth", he announced his graduation from the role and received flowers from Kousei Amano who had previously played Tuxedo Kamen in the original "1999 Kaguya Island" musical. He also began working for a year on the Japanese program, "Hanamaru Cafe", as part of the Hanamaru apron team, often leaving set for locations and displaying prizes for viewers during game corners.