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Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun's Cast and Staff Bring Mokke and Candy to AX

Fans of popular anime series, Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun, were in for a treat as the voice of Hanako-kun, Megumi Ogata, made an appearance alongside two producers. Producers Yūki Katayama (TBS) and Shōta Komatsu joined Ogata on stage and explained their relationship to the anime production of Hanako-kun. Komatsu explained his role as a transmedia/media mix producer for the title. “We take manga or original content and make it into anime, live-action, and stage plays. That's what I do at Square Enix.”

This report contains some spoilers for next week's episode.

Heading straight into a discussion around the series, the speaker asked Ogata what Hanako-kun means to her. “From a long time ago, I've always played the role of 14 year-old boys. Japanese fans call me forever fourteen,” smiled Ogata. “I know this character, Hanako-kun, looks thirteen or fourteen, but he's been in the toilet for quite some time.” She went on to share a tidbit of information from the casting process. “When we were casting the Japanese talent, there was one thing the producers were careful about. The students were cast as these young up-and-coming Japanese voice actors, while the Seven Wonders were cast by these veteran actors, who tend to play younger characters. They're like Japanese yokai who hang around the industry for a very long time.”

Turning to Katayama, the speaker asked how it felt to return to the series after five years. “I'm extremely happy to be in LA in front of Hanako-kun fans. I think the reason why season two exists is because of the Japanese fans and the US fans. It's because of your support that made season two happen. In the last five years, I've moved from my 30s to my 40s, but in spite of that, I'm really happy.”

“You're a monster,” added Ogata. “Me too.”

Going back to Katayama, and asked him if there were any challenges leading up to season two's release. “There were none, because we had the pleasure of working with a legendary voice actor like Ogata.” After a brief moment, he continued, “In season one, we only had twelve episodes and there were things that didn't quite make the series. Season two is two cour, so there's a lot that we can do, which is what I'm excited about.“

Moving onto Komatsu, he was asked how he felt about witnessing the popularity of Hanako-kun. “It's hard to describe how I'm feeling when I can see all these fans!”

Unfortunately, their time with the audience was coming to a close before the screening of season two episode thirteen and a preview of next week's episode. They each shared a separate message for the fans who came.

Komatsu grabbed a Mokke and made it move, while Ogata provided some fan service and said, “Candy, candy? Give me candy!” The producer added that the animation team did an amazing job translating the manga into the anime. “Director Fukui and the amazing voice actors gave color to the series and I think it's going to be an amazing experience.” Katayama asked for the crowd to go on an emotional journey with them. “Hanako-kun is an interesting mixture of some romance and comedy. In season two, that's going to get boosted and powered up. Let's get emotional and scared together.“

Ogata brought their segment to a close by tying her message back to her comment earlier. “I know I mentioned the Japanese cast, the students, are these up-and-coming voice actors. But with five years in between the series, they've gotten tougher. The yokai, too, have gotten tougher, but they've stayed 14 years old,” laughed Ogata. ”The original cast, all of us, work daily with the staff and we put a lot of care into how the characters are portrayed. I'm very confident that what we have achieved in this anime is top shelf quality. I hope you can look forward to it.”

Before leaving the stage, they pointed to an extra large Mokke in the crowd and took a commemorative picture today. Afterwards, the panel screened the most recent episode of season two that just released on the same day. Right after that, they showed a five-minute sneak peak of episode fourteen.

The snippet starts off with the Kanome Gakuen Seven Wonders convening amongst themselves ahead of Urabon (or Obon). As they banter between each other, Hanako-kun steps in to say that perhaps the gods will allow for some flooding of spirits during Urabon. Kako thinks they should be dealt with and suggests Number Six deal with them. Switching back to Aoi as she's been taken by Shinigami-sama, the two briefly engage in a light conversation before he reveals he needs Aoi as a sacrifice. The episode cuts as he reveals his face to her.