Umehara was hospitalized in May after being diagnosed with autoimmune disease

The official website for Trigger and A-1 Pictures ' DARLING in the FRANXX anime revealed on Friday that Daiki Hamano is replacing Yuichiro Umehara as Goro. Hamano will debut in the role in the anime's 23rd episode on Saturday.

Umehara was hospitalized in May after being diagnosed with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, an autoimmune disease that affects the nervous system. The actor is focusing on treatment and recovery and is taking an indefinite hiatus from work. Umehara is also being replaced in several other current and upcoming roles.

DARLING in the FRANXX premiered on Tokyo MX , Tochigi TV , GTV , and BS11 at 11:30 p.m. on January 13. The anime is also airing on ABC , Mētele, Hiroshima Home TV , BSS, BBC (Biwako Broadcasting Co), and AT-X . Crunchyroll is streaming the series with English subtitles as it airs in Japan, and Funimation is streaming an English dub .

The story is set in the distant future. The land is ruined, and humanity establishes the mobile fort city Plantation. Pilots produced inside Plantation live in Mistilteinn, also know as the "birdcage." Children live there knowing nothing of the outside world or the freedom of the sky. Their lives consist of battling to carry out missions. Their enemies are mysterious giant lifeforms known as Kyōryū, and the children pilot robots called Franxx to face off against them. For the children, riding the Franxx proves their existence.

A boy named Hiro is called Code:016, and he was once known as a prodigy. However, he has fallen behind, and his existence seems unnecessary. Not piloting a Franxx is the same as ceasing to exist. One day, a mysterious girl known as "Zero Two" appears before him. Two horns grow out of her head.

Atsushi Nishigori ( The [email protected] , character designer for Gurren Lagann ) is directing the series, and Toshifumi Akai (chief animation director for Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic , Sound of the Sky ) is assistant director. Nishigori and Naotaka Hayashi (director for Girl Friend BETA , Morita-san wa Mukuchi ) are in charge of series composition. Masayoshi Tanaka ( anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day , Highschool of the Dead ) is designing the characters and is chief animation director. Shigeto Koyama ( Michiko & Hatchin , Ancien and the Magic Tablet ) is providing the mechanical designs. Hiroyuki Imaishi (director of Gurren Lagann , Kill la Kill ) is supervising the action. Mika Nakashima ( NANA ) and L'Arc-en-Ciel 's HYDE are collaborating on the opening theme song "Kiss of Death." HYDE wrote and composed the song while Nakashima provided the vocals.