×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Interest
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Voice Actors Comment on Anime's Worldwide Fandom

posted on by Ken Iikura-Gross

The cast of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba returned to AnimeJapan 2023 to prepare the audience for the upcoming season with a report from the international events they participated in over the past year.

As the Demon Slayer AnimeJapan 2023 began, the master of ceremonies encouraged the audience to be cut loose this year as some COVID restrictions have been lifted across Japan and for the stage show. He asked the audience to call out the names of each cast member, and hopefully they—Natsuki Hanae (Tanjiro Kamado), Akari Kito (Nezuko Kamado), Kengo Kawanishi (Muichiro Tokito), and Kana Hanazawa (Mitsuri Kanroji)—would reply. They all responded to the audience's calls in their own unique way, although Hanae pulled double duty for Kito as she was running late from a previous stage show.

Following the fun introduction of the cast members, they began their report of all the Demon Slayer events they had attended around the world. These included stops at Los Angeles, Paris, Berlin, Mexico City, Seoul, and Taipei. Each stop was clearly far different from the others, with Hanae noting the audience in Los Angeles would cheer quite often and Hanazawa saying it was as if the fans in Seoul and Taipei were native speakers of Japanese.

kimetsu1

Of note was definitely Hanae's trip to Mexico City. The video showed that the event was held in a rather large mall, with fans of the series lined up everywhere. Hanae spoke of how it's rare for Mexico to have voice actor events, thus fans will come out to see their favorite actors. He even mentioned how he tried to oblige every fan with an autograph, but the sheer number of people and limited time had him fist-bumping most by the end. A bit tragic, but also understandable. It was then announced that the world report would be aired on television as a pre-show for the upcoming season. We can only hope every fan across the world will have access to it soon as well.

kimetsu2

The fun didn't stop with the world report. A special viewing of the new season's opening without credits was aired, and the cast commented as best they could on what they were excited for and what the audience could expect. Kawanishi was undoubtedly excited, as this next season is Tokito's first major appearance since the Demon Slayer Corps' upper echelon met late in the first season. While Hanazawa joked about the pink flurries in the opening, she took on a serious tone when she mentioned Mitsuri's backstory was something she was excited for.

Hanae went into some detail about how he was missing some of the mainstays of the cast, but said he was excited to have two new Hashira, the highest-ranking members of the Demon Slayer Corps, fighting alongside him. Finally, the master of ceremonies brought up the final cut of the opening to Kito and in a solemn voice said the cut brings tears to her eyes. It's an intriguing mystery that will make any fan excited to see what she was talking about.

kimetsu3

As the show came to an end, the cast expressed their excitement for the upcoming season. Kawanishi and Hanazawa, though, added how they'd love to see the Infinity Castle as an attraction at [redacted] Studios Japan. Without missing a beat, the master of ceremonies quipped in a jovial tone how people in the Kansai region of Japan should get a hold of those involved in the production of Demon Slayer.

The Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba stage show at AnimeJapan 2023 hyped up the crowd for the upcoming season—although it was a more subdued excitement, as Japanese people can be at times. And who knows, maybe Kawanishi and Hanazawa's wish will come true, and an Infinity Castle attraction will be built at Universal [redacted] Japan.


discuss this in the forum (4 posts) |
bookmark/share with: short url

Interest homepage / archives