Rena Hasegawa (長谷川 玲奈, Hasegawa Rena, born March 15, 2001) is a Japanese voice actress, singer and former idol group member. Hasegawa started her career as a member of the idolgirl groupNGT48 in 2015, debuting as a regular member of the group's Team NIII. In 2018, she was transferred to Team G, which later merged with Team NIII to become a unified first generation in 2019. On May 18, 2019, she left the group to pursue voice acting.
Early life
From her fourth year in elementary school to her third year in middle school, Hasegawa played baseball on a co-ed team,[2] in which she served as second baseman.[3] After leaving the school's baseball club, she subsequently joined into the track and field group, where she received offers from over 10 different schools as a result of her achievements.[3]
Hasegawa auditioned for AKB48's then-upcoming Niigata-based sister group, NGT48, having been fascinated with idols after she watched AKB0048.[4] After passing the audition for the group's first generation on July 25, 2015,[5] at the opening show of NGT48's theater on January 10, 2016, she debuted as a regular member of the newly established Team NIII.[6] As part of NGT48, she subsequently made her major label debut on April 12, 2017, with the single "Seishun Dokei."[7] In 2018, Hasegawa appeared in the live-action film adaptation of the novel Midnight Bus.[8] She was later transferred to the group's newly established Team G. She also participated in the South Korean reality competition series, Produce 48, representing NGT48 with Team NIII's Yamada Noe.[9][10] Hasegawa was eliminated during the first round and finished at 71st place.
In 2019, after Team G co-captain Yamaguchi Maho was forced by the NGT48 management to apologize for publicly alleging that she was assaulted in December 2018, Hasegawa removed "NGT48" off her social media profiles to show support.[11] The NGT48 management responded by merging Team NIII and Team G together into a "first generation" group, with their final performances as their original teams on April 21, 2019.[12][13] During Team G's performance on April 21, Hasegawa, along with Sugahara Riko, announced her decision to graduate from NGT48 in solidarity with Yamaguchi.[14][15] Hasegawa held a final performance with Yamaguchi and Sugahara on May 18, 2019.[16]
Voice acting career and other post-graduation activities
During Hasegawa's graduation speech, she announced she was pursuing voice acting.[8] On June 10, 2019, Hasegawa announced that she signed with Crocodile Ltd. with the help of Yasushi Akimoto.[2] She took voice acting lessons from the sound company BloomZ.[17] She was first assigned as the PR reporter for the second season of Dropkick on My Devil! and later made her voice acting debut as Konomi Seki on Sapporo Otome Gohan.[17][18]
Since its inception in 2019, Hasegawa also participated in the cross-media project Idol Bu Show, playing the part of the character Kokoro Kakegawa[19] in the correlated radio drama shows and events, among other things, and taking part in the productions of two CD albums as part of the in-story unit X-UC: Current Xanadu,[20][21] released on January 8, 2020, and Papier Mache Idol,[22][23] released on October 7, 2020.
This was later followed up in with yet another participation, announced in June 2020, in another cross-media project: Denonbu, produced by Bandai Namco. In it, Hasegawa plays the role of the character Shian Inubousaki.[24]
As a Vtuber, ever since 2019 Hasegawa has been providing voice and movements for the official mascot of the Daiei supermarket group, Mokkun, in the children educational videos published regularly on the mascot's YouTube channel.[25][26]
A native of Tainai, Hasegawa had been serving since September 2019 also as a tourism PR ambassador for the city to engage in promotional campaigns and events for it, with her appointment being renewed over the subsequent years.[27][28]
CD release, performing as part of the in-scenario idol unit X-UC
Additionally to the titular track, also performed in the B-side tracks "Smile×Work!" and the collaborative cross-unit track "SENRAN! Idol Tenkado he" (SENRAN!アイドル天下道へ)
Papier Mache IDOL
October 7, 2020
POCE-92109
CD release, performing as part of the in-scenario idol unit X-UC
Additionally to the titular track, also performed in the B-side track "Brave Call! -& Just Now We Come!-"
YEAH SAY YEAHHH!/Mugen Nihon Rettou LOVE/Pastel Gray (YEAH SAY YEAHHH!/無限日本列島LOVE/パステルグレイ)
June 22, 2022
POCE-12183
CD release, containing the songs performed in the Idol Bu Show anime movie
Songs within Denonbu
Title
Release date
Notes
Hyper Bass (feat. Yunomi)
September 9, 2020
Unit song as the in-scenario Harajuku-based unit Jingumae Sandou High School electronic music club; digital distribution release
good night baby (feat. Moe Shop)
Solo song; digital distribution release
Future (feat. Midy) (Future (feat. ミディ))
November 25, 2020
Unit song originally included as a new song in the first physical mini-album "New Pallet" by the in-scenario Harajuku-based unit; later received a digital distribution re-release on June 12, 2021
Unit song by the in-scenario Harajuku-based unit originally included as a new song in the physical album "Denonbu Best Album - Season .0 - "
Akuma no Lullaby (Prod. KiWi) (悪魔のララバイ (Prod. KiWi))
July 17, 2021
Unit song as the in-scenario Harajuku-based unit; digital distribution release
Eat Sleep Dance (feat. Moe Shop)
September 2, 2021
Solo song; digital distribution release
Distortion (feat. Yunomi)
November 1, 2021
Unit song as the in-scenario Harajuku-based unit; digital distribution release
Find Me (feat. Midy) (Find Me (feat.ミディ))
November 18, 2021
Unit song as the in-scenario Harajuku-based unit; digital distribution release
You Are The Light
June 29, 2022
First song featuring all of the Denonbu characters; digital distribution release and included as a new song in the physical album "Denonbu Best Album - Season .1 - The Lights"
Prayer (Prod. picco)
January 26, 2023
Solo song; digital distribution release
Tokyo Bug Night (feat. Moe Shop)
March 8, 2023
Solo song; digital distribution release
Full Moon
June 13, 2023
Unit song as the in-scenario Harajuku-based unit; digital distribution release
Change
June 21, 2023
Unit song as the in-scenario Harajuku-based unit; digital distribution release
Infinite Colour
February 29, 2024
Unit song as the in-scenario Harajuku-based unit; digital distribution release
Maboroshi no Hoshi (まぼろしのほし)
August 25, 2024
Unit song as the in-scenario Harajuku-based unit; digital distribution release
Airing every Sunday from 19:30 to 20:00 on the Niigata Broadcasting station, and every Saturday from 00:30 to 00:45 on the Tochigi Broadcasting station. Continuation of Nezucchi, Hasegawa Rena no Seiyuu-san Totonoimashita!.[37]
Airing every Sunday from 05:30 to 06:00, features golf-centered talk and is co-hosted with golfer Tatsuaki Nakamura, and personality Yuusuke Kondo.[38]
Umibe no Machi de mou ichido, ano Hi no Kanojo ni Aeta nara
Rena
On-stage reading play co-starring also Yurie Kozakai, Ma Chia-ling and Momoka Ōnishi. Also going by the official English-styled title of "If I could see her again that day in the seaside town".[44]
Emily Diary
Emily Dyer
Theater play based on the role-playing game Identity V[45]
Kimi to Boku no Saigo no Senjou, Aruiwa Sekai ga Hajimaru Seisen
^"山口真帆ら「NGT48」表記消えた ファンも心配" [Maho Yamaguchi removes "NGT48" from her profile, fans worry]. Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). February 3, 2019. Retrieved November 11, 2019.