iDOLM@STER Producer Yozo Sakagami Retires From the Franchise After 18 Years
One of the most fun parts of THE iDOLM@STER franchise is watching the producers try and get all the idols in line but above all the animated counterparts is franchise’s general producer Yozo Sakagami, affectionally known as GamiP, who has been with iDOLM@STER since its beginnings as an arcade game in 2005.
Everything has to come to an end though, with GamiP announcing today that he’ll be retiring from the series after 18 years. Sakagami said in a statement that he’s been pondering his retirement for a while now, originally looking to retire after the 15th anniversary of the franchise but due to COVID-19 stayed on a little bit longer until the “situation calms down.” Now that he’s “regained [his] composure” he’s decided now is the right time to retire. Sakagami’s retirement is set for the end of March 2023.
アイドルマスター総合プロデューサーよりみなさまへ #idolmasterhttps://t.co/RThJxt9r6a
— アイドルマスター公式ツイッター (@imas_official) March 22, 2023
RELATED: THE iDOLM@STER Shiny Colors Game Gets TV Anime in Spring 2024
Sakagami first job on THE iDOLM@STER franchise was location scouting for the first arcade game in 2005 and has since produced everything in the series from the games, anime (including the original The Idol Master TV anime), live performances and more. Sakagami thanks all the producers and fans for their support of the franchise over the past 18 years, ending his statement with a riff on Haruka Amami’s dream “and so! Let’s aim to be the top idol!”
The next iDOLM@STER TV anime series will be THE iDOLM@STER Shiny Colors, which is set to premiere in Spring 2024 with Mankyu (THE iDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS Theater, The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague) directing at Polygon Pictures.
Source: iDOLM@STER on Twitter
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Daryl Harding is a Senior Japan Correspondent for Crunchyroll News. He also runs a YouTube channel about Japan stuff called TheDoctorDazza, tweets at @DoctorDazza, and posts photos of his travels on Instagram.
