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Voice Actress Rie Tanaka's Agency Responds After Disrupted Neptunia Event

The staff of voice actress Rie Tanaka's management agency reported on her official blog on Sunday that she suffered a bruised knee and other minor injuries at Saturday's disrupted screening of Chō Jigen Game Neptune The Animation (Hyperdimension Neptunia the Animation). Although Tanaka's physical injuries are not severe, the staff said that she is suffering from emotional distress after a man allegedly appeared carrying a knife at the event.

Tanaka's staff said that she was injured as she lost her footing on some steps in an attempt to flee the incident. The staff apologized to attendees, fellow performers, and fans for causing them to worry, and asked for support as the actress gets better.

Her staff members also noted that they are very concerned about the incident but are unable to give further comments at this time. According to the post, the staff's priority is helping Tanaka return to her peaceful everyday life.

The Twitter account for Afilia Saga, the female singing group contributing the ending theme song to the anime, reported on Sunday that the members were very disappointed by the cancellation of Saturday's event. The account added that the members were not injured, and they performed at their concert event on Sunday as scheduled. The group will continue to contribute to Neptunia and asked for their fans' support.

The Cinema Sunshine Ikebukuro theater hosted the disrupted "TV Anime Hyperdimension Neptunia's Earliest! Advance Screening Event" in Tokyo. The event screened the first two episodes of the upcoming anime and held a talk show with several guests, including voice actresses Tanaka (Neptune/Purple Heart), Asami Imai (Noire/Black Heart), and Rina Satō (Vert/Green Heart).

According to the police at Tokyo's Ikebukuro station, they received an emergency phone call from the event's staff at around 1:40 p.m., about halfway through the event. The caller said, "There's a man acting violently on stage."

The suspect was allegedly carrying a knife with a blade 10 to 20 centimeters (about 4 to 8 inches) long in the theater at around 2:00 p.m. Under the current Japanese law that was revised in 2009, it is illegal to carry daggers or double-edged knives with blades 5.5 centimeters (2.2 inches) or longer.

The Hyperdimension Neptunia anime adapts Compile Heart's popular role-playing game franchise of the same name. The anime will premiere on July 12.

Image © 2013 Idea Factory, Compile Heart/Neptune Production Committee