Sony announced on singing duo ClariS 's website on Monday that Alice- one half of the duo- will leave the unit on June 4, when the group's third album "PARTY TIME" (cover seen right) is scheduled to be released.

Alice left a comment on the website, saying that she is leaving the duo in order to focus on her studies. She thanked the fans, the staff, and those related to the group for supporting her for the three-and-a-half years since she debuted. Alice described her experience as a part of ClariS as one of a dream world filled with happiness, and that the experience will be a wonderful treasure for the rest of her life.

The duo ClariS debuted in 2010 as middle-schoolers with their single "irony," which served as the opening theme to the Ore no Imōto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai TV anime. From there, they performed the theme songs for the Puella Magi Madoka Magica TV anime and films, as well as the themes for Moyashimon Returns and Nisemonogatari . ClariS also performed the theme song for the Akiba's Trip PlayStation Portable game. Most recently, the duo provided two theme songs for the Nisekoi anime.

The duo has made one live performance, but they were only visible as silhouettes behind a curtain to their fans during the concert. Instead, ClariS is normally illustrated as anime characters by various artists, including Akio Watanabe , Ume Aoki , and Hiro Kanzaki . Alice is portrayed in the color blue, while Clara is represented by the color pink.

Thanks to Juhachi for the news tip.

Update: Typo fixed. Thanks, Shay Guy.

Via [Yaraon!]