'Rui on the Wall' Season 2: Lead Voice Actress Confirmed to Return — Her Name Revealed for the First Time
Studio Kishibe announced on the 30th that the voice actress behind the heroine 'Rui' in the TV anime 'Rui on the Wall' will return for its second season — and revealed, for the first time outside the show itself, that the actress is Akari Himeno, 25. The studio also said there were no plans to cast Haruna Mochizuki, whose name had circulated among fans after the previously reported key-visual reveal.
As previously reported, Studio Kishibe declined to confirm whether the lead voice actress would return or be recast when it unveiled the key visual on the 18th, saying only that "an announcement will follow later." In today's announcement, the studio confirmed her return and, for the first time outside the show's own credits, named her: Akari Himeno, 25. Studio head Taku Kishibe explained, "During the first season, we wanted viewers to see the role purely as the role. Going into the second season, since we're entrusting the voice to her again, we felt it was right to properly introduce her, name included."
As previously reported, some fans had hoped for the casting of Haruna Mochizuki, currently starring in Tomoshibi Animation's "The Lightkeeper," following the key-visual reveal. Studio Kishibe explicitly denied this today, saying "there are no such plans." Asked for comment, Mochizuki said, "I watch 'Rui on the Wall' as a fan myself. If there's someone who can keep carrying the voice forward, that's the best possible outcome."
"During the first season, not having my name out there meant I got time to be judged purely within the role," Himeno said. "For the second season too, I want to be a voice that doesn't give Migiwajima's supporters anything extra to think about." Asked about playing a role widely seen as modeled on a real athlete, she said, "I'm told she isn't the model, but during every recording session there's a line where I think, 'Migiwajima would probably say it like this.' I hope I can get that feeling into the voice naturally enough that no one notices."
Rui Migiwajima, 17, of Tokei RC — the athlete widely seen as the model for the heroine — was asked about the news at the same day's previously reported Monthly MVP announcement. "I'm glad it's the same voice continuing," she said with a smile. "If the voice changed, it would start to feel like a different Rui."
A programming official at Bayside Television, which holds the spring broadcast slot, commented, "We'd heard from the production side early on that she'd be returning, but hearing her name today was new to us too. I think fans will be glad to hear it." Broadcast remains set for next spring, with Studio Kishibe saying recording will move into full swing after the new year.
