Just as it seemed to be breathing easy after backlash from the latest manga chapters,Rent-A-Girlfriendlands itself back into the talks of the anime community with its latest drama. It was announced online thatone of the voice actors from the main cast would be bowing out due to conflicts with their schedulingand future projects.
Rent-A-Girlfriendis a pretty beloved series, though it’s also been the cause of fans' vexations due to how the manga has prolonged the main couple getting together. Written by Reiji Miyajima, the story follows Kazuya Kinoshita, who is inexperienced with relationships, so he decides to rent a girlfriend after being dumped after only a month by his last girlfriend.
What was meant to be a short-term affair quickly derails into a series of misunderstandings between family and friends, leading to Kazuya not wanting to end the relationship too soon. That, coupled with his own feelings for Chizuru Mizuhara, leads him to try and woo his rented girlfriend so they can end up staying together.
Aleks Le Steps Down from Kazuya’s Voice Role in Rent-A-Girlfriend
Due to Scheduling Conflicts and Outside Forces Unrelated to the Anime
Afterbreaking the news through social media,Aleks Le, the English voice actor for Kazuya inRent-A-Girlfriend, revealed that he would not be returning to the anime. He further explained that his schedule is far too packed with other projects, as well as sentimentality due to the original crew no longer being at the studio when he initially started.
As the main character, Kazuya’s voice changing partway through the series might initially be jarring, but in the voice-acting and anime dubbing hemisphere, it’s been known to happen on occasion. And while many were saddened by his departure, they understood his circumstances and left it at that. However, others would posit that it was due to his hating the role.
Aleks Clarifies That There Are No Ill Feelings Towards the Anime
Wishing Rent-A-Girlfriend’s New Production Team Continued Success
Due to recent talks about how voice actors might come to dislike their roles, a subsection of viewers believed that Aleks may have stepped down due to not liking the show or Kazuya. He’s stated that isn’t the case, and he quite enjoyed working onRent-A-Girlfriend, even if it presented its challenges to him as a new voice actor.
“Also, I’ve seen people echo the sentiment that ‘Aleks hates RAG’ which is not true at all, haha. I tried to candidly talk about how I initially wasn’t interested in auditioning for the project as it had sexual scenes/themes & funny stories from having to learn to handle acting out those kinds of awkward scenes in a room full of people as a brand new actor.”
Though it came as a sudden shock, Aleks has reassured fans that his leaving was not due to having problems with the anime and has expressed his love of the project and work throughout his tenure.Rent-A-Girlfriendmay get itself into many new controversies,but this one was snubbed as quickly as it arose.
Rent-A-Girlfriend
Cast
Rent-a-Girlfriend follows Kinoshita Kazuya, a 20-year-old college student who, after a breakup, resorts to hiring a girlfriend through a rental service. He meets Mizuhara Chizuru, sparking unexpected developments in their relationship. The series explores themes of love and self-discovery, blending romance with comedic elements.
