Anime Expo 2023

ANN’s coverage of Anime Expo 2023 sponsored by Yen Press!

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Taking place in one of the main halls at the convention center and packed to capacity, the special Demon Slayer panel kickstarted with a creditless screening of season three. It filled the entire hall with loud cheers. The hype levels for this panel were so high that there were cheers literally every couple of minutes. I guess that makes sense considering that Demon Slayer is, by far, one of the most popular shows to have come out. This panel was handled in a way that gave the franchise the appropriate amount of fanfare.

Special guests for the panel were Natsuki Hanae, Kengo Kawanishi, and Yūma Takahashi, with the first two introducing themselves in their character voices as Tanjiro and respectively. Yuma jokingly remarked that he doesn’t have a character to voice, so he’s simply going to say hello normally. This actually isn’t Natsuki’s first time in LA, and he expressed quite a fondness for America. He even went so far as to say that he’s been trying to learn English so that he could travel here more often. Kengo, however, has never been to LA but felt very welcome by everybody.

The next hour or so followed a relatively simple Q&A structure that was spiced up by referencing and showing specific scenes from the anime. Natsuki joked that this arc was very important for Tanjiro and Nezuko, so he wanted to do the series justice. He would later mention in the panel that he considers himself a fan who happens to voice the main character, getting hyped and invested with the series as much as everybody else does. One of the first scenes that was shown was the incredible finishing move in episode five. Natsuki mentioned how he had to rewatch the scene many times after it aired and was still impressed by its quality. Throughout the panel, Yuma would interject every now and then to talk about the technical and production side of things, really emphasizing that even something as short as 26 SECONDS requires multiple drawn frames to come together in a very specific way.

The character Muichiro, whom Kengo voices, didn’t have many appearances prior to the season, so Kengo was excited to learn more about him once he realized he would be taking the spotlight. The two scenes focusing on Muichiro were shown, with the first one being the emotional water scene from episode seven where he accepts the oxygen to break free. Kengo explains that the character has always felt alone, so accepting support was a big step for him. Yuma explains that bonds are important for overcoming difficulties. He praises Kengo’s voice acting, and the audience agrees. Overwhelmed, Kengo shouted in English, “I love you” to the fans.

Speaking of love, a question was asked about how Kengo approached voicing Muichiro and his twin brother during the flashback scenes. Kengo responded by stating that the season truly depicted the love between these two brothers, even though there might be limitations to what they can do for each other. Muichiro loves his brother, despite struggling to express it, which leads to his frustration. The second Muichiro scene shown is less emotional but effectively showcases the character’s ruthless side, as demonstrated by his mist-breathing technique and his defeat of a powerful demon.

The final scene shown was from episode eleven, where Tanjiro slays the demon concealed within his own heart. Natsuki thoroughly prepared for this scene, revisiting the manga and offering his interpretation during the recording. He felt a deep connection with Tanjiro and aimed to convey that. Revisiting the scene brings tears to his eyes, and he hopes fans experience the same emotions. This fight was particularly interesting because it unfolded during the day, and Yuma remarks on the impactful contrast in the presentation. However, the most powerful scene, perhaps, was when Nezuko finally stood in the sunlight, a moment that almost moved Natsuki to tears.

In between some of the scenes, we received some special video messages from other actors who were unable to come to LA but definitely wish they could, like Kana Hanazawa, who voices Mitsuri, and Akari Kitō, who voices Nezuko. I thought it was cute how both of them asked for souvenirs and how they really enjoyed many of the heartwarming scenes from the season. Both expressed a desire to visit LA, and I found it funny how the guests felt the pressure of bringing back good souvenirs because if they failed, their fellow actors might not want to visit anymore.

Finally, Yuma explains that he brought a little surprise from Japan, and the panel showed everyone a video of character designer Akira Matsushita drawing, inking, and shading a sketch of Tanjiro and Muichiro. Natsuki explains it was his first time seeing a live drawing and appreciated all the different strokes, while Kengo recognizes that many people use digital these days, so he still finds appreciation for those who have the time and desire to continue drawing with ink. But that wasn’t all because Yuma decided to round out the entire panel by gifting literally everybody present with a copy of the sketch that we just saw drawn. Everyone was excited to receive one including yours truly, and if you ask me, I think that was the perfect sendoff for season three of Demon Slayer. Now we patiently await the newly announced season four to come our way.