The official website for the BanG Dream! franchise announced on Wednesday that Kanon Shizaki (seen right) will replace Satomi Akesaka in the role of the Roselia band keyboardist Rinko Shirokane. The website will announce the timeframe for the role change in the BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! smartphone game in the future.

Akesaka "graduated" from the project's Roselia band in September due to sudden hearing loss. Akesaka's agency Amuleto reported that doctors diagnosed her with the condition, which makes it difficult for her to continue performing concerts and rehearsals in the band. However, she will still continue her voice-acting career outside BanG Dream!

Amuleto reported that Akesaka experienced sudden hearing loss twice in March. Despite recovering from both incidents with early treatments, doctors determined that it would be difficult for her to continue performing music without the danger of recurrence.

The franchise announced in May that the franchise's main anime will premiere two more seasons by the SANZIGEN Animation Studio in January and October of 2019, respectively. The staff also announced then that the BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! game app is inspiring DMM.futureworks and Sanzigen's BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! ☆ Pico mini anime which premiered on July 5.

Yuki Nakashima replaced Yurika Endō as the voice actress of the Roselia band member Lisa Imai, when Endō retired from the entertainment industry after a final live concert on June 1.

The main BanG Dream! television anime's first 13-episode season from ISSEN and Xebec premiered in January 2017, and Anime Network Online and Crunchyroll streamed the first season as it aired in Japan.

Sentai Filmworks released the first season with English subtitles on home video on June 19, and it describes the story:

When she was a child, Kasumi Toyama (played by Poppin' Party's lead singer, Aimi) felt a heart-pounding thrill every time she gazed at the stars, and she's been looking without success for something that could inspire the same feeling ever since. One day, she comes across a star-shaped guitar in a rundown pawnshop and, for the first time, discovers the thrill she's been searching for. Kasumi becomes determined to form an all-girl band, and her search leads her to four like-minded souls: Saya, Arisa, Rimi, and Tae (all brought to life by the members of Poppin' Party). Does this band have what it takes to make their dreams of stardom come true?

Bushiroad launched the BanG Dream! multimedia project in January 2015, and the company formed the Poppin' Party band for the project in February 2015. The project's other bands include Happy World!, Pastel*Palettes, Afterglow, Roselia, and most recently, an all-male Argonavis band in a separate world setting. The band members consist of voice cast members who portray the characters in the story, and they play the same instruments as their characters.

The BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! smartphone game launched in Japan in March 2017, and an English version launched this past April.

Source: Bang Dream! franchise's website via Yaraon!