One of Azura’s voice actresses makes a heavy decision on her future.
As posted on her official site and Twitter, Japanese music artist Renka has announced she’s taken a hiatus from future activities as of March 2021.
The pop singer is notable within Fire Emblem circles for being scouted by Intelligent Systems to kick off her personal music career, debuting with the main theme song of Fates, “Lost in Thoughts All Alone” (also known by its Japanese title, “if ~Hitori Omou~”) as Azura.
In a separate post, Renka writes to her fans who’ve supported her over the past five years and subsequent album releases, which we’ve translated below:
To all the fans,
Thank you for your support. There’s something I’d like to say to everyone. This might come off as a shock, but I, Renka, have chosen to take a break from performing as of this March.
I’ve been thinking about my future as an artist, and it’s become challenging for me to share the live shows I cherish most of all with you. While I’m filled with regret, I came to this decision after careful thought and consideration.
Thank you so, so much for your warm support. It’s thanks to all of you that we’ve been able to come this far.
The voice of each and every single one of you will remain etched on my heart forever.
Should we meet again someday, somewhere, let’s do so with smiles on our faces.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for supporting me for the past five years since my debut.
With my heartful gratitude,
Renka
While Renka doesn’t elaborate further on why she’s needed to take a hiatus, we wonder if it could potentially be related to the coronavirus pandemic, which has impacted other music artists from performing (such as the English rock band Anathema). If so, it could be possible she may resume in the future, since this isn’t exactly framed as a permanent retirement.
Renka’s most recent involvement with Fire Emblem was back in 2019, when her staff released a duet version of “Lost in Thoughts All Alone” commemorating Fates with Lynn (Azura’s other Japanese voice actress) as part of her album, “The Fluttering Night of Stars”. In case Renka resumes her performances, it’s possible we could see similar relevant events involving her once more.
