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D4DJ Franchise Recasts Maiko Irie as Rei Togetsu
posted on by Alex Mateo
The official website for Bushiroad's D4DJ project announced on Wednesday that voice actress Maiko Irie will replace Kanon Shizaki as the character Rei Togetsu in the franchise. She will begin her role in all D4DJ media on October 7. The D4DJ Groovy Mix smartphone game will replace Rei's original voice files in the Japanese version after October 25, and in the international version in a future update.
Shizaki stepped down from the role of Rei on August 15. The announcement did not announce the reason for Shizaki stepping down from the role, but Shizaki added in a statement on her Twitter account on the same day that continuing the role would have been "difficult" for her.
On January 18 earlier this year, Shizaki was diagnosed with vocal cord edema, and took a hiatus from work. She returned to work on March 1. Aside from playing Rei in D4DJ (and providing the singing voice of the character), Shizaki plays the character Rinko Shirokane in the Roselia band in Bushiroad's other music franchise BanG Dream! (which also involves singing and playing the keyboard in live events). The BanG Dream! franchise did not issue any announcements regarding her role in the franchise.
Shizaki left the Ace Crew Entertainment agency and has been working as a freelancer as of September. Ace Crew Entertainment confirmed on its website that Shizaki left due to a change in their exclusivity contract. Shizaki has been engaging directly with her fans through YouTube. In her debut video on August 31, she apologized for the suddenness of the announcements. She explained that she has been reevaluating her priorities as a voice actress and musician, and that she would like to focus more on music from now on. She plans to use her channel to introduce her fans to her music.
D4DJ First Mix, the main television anime in the franchise, premiered in Japan in October 2020. A series of anime shorts titled Pucchimiku D4DJ Petit Mix began airing within the franchise's variety program D4DJ Photon Maiden TV in February 2021. The D4DJ Double Mix special premiered on August 19. The special is a self-contained episode centering around the Merm4id and Rondo groups.
A second season of the main series, titled D4DJ All Mix, will premiere in winter 2023.
Photo from With Line
Sources: D4DJ franchise's website (link 2), Maiko Irie's Twitter account
