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A3! Anime Replaces Ren Ozawa With Tomoru Akazawa
posted on by Egan Loo
The official website for Liber Entertainment's A3! franchise announced on Friday that Tomoru Akazawa (stage versions of Hakuōki, Mobile Suit Gundam 00, Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE!) will take over the Kazunari Miyoshi role from Ren Ozawa in the anime. Akazawa has already been playing Kazunari Miyoshi in the franchise's stage productions since 2018. Akazawa will also take over the role in the game version as soon as his voice can be added.
The 24th and final episode of the anime will air with Akazawa's voice. The staff is delaying the anime's sixth, seventh, and eighth Blu-ray Disc volumes by two months "due to production issues." The 18th, 20th, and 24th episodes on these volumes will feature the cast change.
Ozawa resigned from the role of Kazunari Miyoshi in the franchise last week. Liber Entertainment had said then that the character in the app will not have voiced lines for the time being.
Ozawa's agency AIS revealed on December 14 that it had terminated its contract with Ozawa, after reports surfaced on the Bunshun Online website of allegations of Ozawa committing domestic abuse against an ex-girlfriend. AIS stated it confirmed with Ozawa himself that the details of the report were true, and apologized to the woman involved.
The report on Bunshun Online also alleged that the ex-girlfriend had suffered sexual abuse and mental abuse, that Ozawa had forced her to get an abortion, and that the woman attempted suicide in late November.
Aside from playing Kazunari Miyoshi in the A3! franchise including the A3! Season Spring & Summer anime, Ozawa is also an actor and stage actor who has acted in Kamen Rider Gaim and has also starred in stage plays for the Ace of Diamond, Hakuōki, Mr. Osomatsu, and Fairy Tail franchises. He also starred in the live-action Dansui! series.
Sources: A3! franchise's website, A3! anime's website, Comic Natalie
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