Games
Idolmaster SideM: Koki Ino Takes Over Kanon Himeno
The new voice actor first appeared on September 1 in a SideM special broadcast, where he was already heard as Kanon Himeno.
Koki Ino will now take over the role of Kanon Himeno in THE IDOLM@STER SideM. As Anime!Anime! reports, the new voice actor was first introduced for the project in a special broadcast on September 1, 2026, where he was already heard as Kanon.
Kanon Himeno belongs to the children's idol unit Mofumofuen, together with Nao Okamura and Shiro Tachibana. The character was previously voiced by Ayumu Murase for about ten years. Murase's departure from the role was announced on August 18; at the end of August, the project confirmed Koki Ino as his successor.
Ino Appears on the SideM Stream for the First Time
According to Anime!Anime!, the special broadcast on September 1 began with information about the upcoming voice schedule for Kanon Himeno, as well as news about events, merchandise and story content. Ino was then introduced to the existing cast. Several SideM voice actors publicly welcomed him after the broadcast; Ino himself also commented after his first appearance.
For the transition, the previously announced division between old and new productions still applies. Murase can still be heard in content that was already planned, including THE IDOLM@STER SideM ～P@SSION CHALLENGE We are 315！～ MONTHLY THEME SONG 10 Mofumofuen as well as parts of the staging of THE IDOLM@STER SideM 11th STAGE ～EVER EVER＠FTER～.
Ino, on the other hand, takes over Kanon's voice for, among other things, 315 Production presents F＠NTASTIC BATTLE FES ～Wanna step in～ and related content. Ino is also planned for newly announced voiced content and products from August 28 onward. Voices already published in the 315 Production episodes are initially not to be generally replaced.
THE IDOLM@STER SideM launched in 2014 as the male spin-off of the Idolmaster franchise and has since been expanded through games, music, live events and other media. Bandai Namco continues to use cast and performance auditions for new projects as well; most recently, the company announced an audition for a new band IP.
With the special broadcast, the introduction of Koki Ino, originally announced for September 1, has now taken place. The change of voice actor does not affect a German date or a separate German-language release.