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Yamakan Lashes Out at Wake Up, Girls! Cast on Twitter

Anime director Yutaka Yamamoto (Wake Up, Girls!, Kannagi) showed his anger at Wake Up, Girls! cast members last week after he interpreted their remarks at a talk event as a gibe against him. He tweeted an image of what appears to be a partial transcript of a conversation voice actresses Kaya Okuno (voice of Kaya Kikuma), Mayu Yoshioka (voice of Mayu Shimada), and Nanami Yamashita (voice of Nanami Hisami) had at a recent talk event.

Okuno asked the others at the event if they were happy about their characters' underwear not being shown in the newest Wake Up, Girls! anime series.

Okuno: Hey, I want to know. You can't see the characters' underwear in the performance scene. Does that make you happy?

Everyone *riotous laughter*

Okuno: This comment says their are lots of people who are unhappy.

Yoshioka: They say that, but the reality is there isn't anyone!

Okuno: It's always been bothering me, from 4 years ago.

Yamashita: Definitely none!

Four years ago was around the time when the original Wake Up, Girls! anime directed by Yamamoto debuted.

In response to the comments, Yamamoto tweeted, "I'll remember this the rest of my life." He also tweeted an apparent reference to Devilman about no longer having anything to protect. In another Tweet, Yamamoto said "they" had figuratively stepped on a landmine.

Yamamoto seems to have taken offense at the voice actresses' implication that he had especially wanted to show the characters' underwear in the anime. The voice actresses apparently had been uncomfortable or frustrated with some of Yamamoto's decisions, but they never told him how they really felt. Yamamoto also posted a message suggesting the decision to show characters' underwear had originated from Avex Pictures.

Since his initial comments, Yamamoto has retweeted other Twitter users expressing dismay at the changes in the new show.

Yamamoto previously tweeted about his separation from Wake Up, Girls! on apparently poor terms in June.

The Wake Up, Girls! Shin Shō (Wake Up, Girls! New Chapter) television anime premiered on Tuesday, and Crunchyroll is streaming the series as it airs in Japan. Shin Itagaki (Wake Up, Girls! episode 10 storyboards, Teekyū) is replacing Yamamoto as director.

[Via Otakomu]