Gundam Studio Comes Under Fire After Anime Star Recalls Degrading Audition with Sunrise
Sunrise has long been a producer of some of the biggest anime franchises the world over, [...]
Sunrise has long been a producer of some of the biggest anime franchises the world over, responsible for the likes of Mobile Suit: Gundam and Cowboy Bebop, but has recently come under fire thanks in part to the revelation of voice actress Yurina Hase who went on record stating that she had run into a "casting couch" scenario during one of her auditions. In a livestream for "Showroom", Hase described her experience wherein she was offered a role if she were to perform "sexual favors", and after refusing, was not given the role, noting that this was the only time in her career as a voice actor where something like this had happened.
Yurina Hase is a singer and voice actor who has done voices for, mostly, video games such as Idolmaster, Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, Rune Princess, Dawn of Mana, Aquapazza, Amaneka of Dawn and the Deep Blue-Golem, and recently, Bombergirl. Prior to the livestream, Hase had taken to social media to let her followers know that she was ready to "resolve to end everything" and that she was ready to "reveal how I really feel". On top of this, she also told fans during the livestream to watch out for male voice actors as she had recollected a past story wherein her male cohorts would try to "immediately" lay their hands on female actors.
Hase unfortunately has had a tough past in the world of voice acting, having received death threats in 2009 for her presence online and her works in the world of anime and video games. With police officers and detectives becoming involved, Hase took a break from social media and the online world as a result. Taking a break also from the world of voice acting, Yurina would eventually return to once again lend her talents to bringing to life some big video game characters that appear across several different consoles.
This isn't the first incident of "casting couch" stories being shared within the world of voice acting as Hiroko Konishi, the voice actor for such popular franchises as Digimon, Guilty Gear, Persona, Grandia, and Tenchi Muyo had shared a similar encounter last year.
Sunrise has yet to respond to the allegations shared by Yurina Hase with regards to the "casting couch" incident but we'll be sure to keep you posted on any new developments when it comes to this story down the line.