[00:02] Expo, but this one very specific reason is why I keep coming back.
[00:19] channel and to another video. And today we are going to be talking about the we are going to be talking about the Demon Slayer panel at Anime Expo 2026. This is my fourth year attending Anime Expo and I've pretty much made a
[00:32] dedicated video to the Demon Slayer panel specifically every single year that I've attended. The only time I did not was actually for last year because last year it was just a concert where they had a live band play music [music]
[00:44] from season 1. Hanae San did attend, but he was only out there for probably [music] 5 minutes total to perform some lines from season 1. It was absolutely something I really needed to make a video about because it was just that.
[01:00] This year, however, was an incredible panel and in attendance was Natsuki Hanae, the Japanese voice of Tanjiro, Takahiro Sakurai, the Japanese voice of Giyu, and for the first time at Anime Expo, Saori Hayami, the voice of
[01:13] Shinobu. So, I want to talk all things Demon Slayer panel at Anime Expo 2026, this video, subscribe the channel, and leave a comment your thoughts. If you are interested in fun perks like getting access to my videos early, fun emojis,
[01:27] amongst other things, you can join my channel membership. For a small fee, you get access to all of those perks and more, and you help support my dream of So, if you are interested, hit the join button below. But with that, let's get
[01:41] into it. And for the record, I attend these panels not [music] because I expect information. I actually posted on Twitter the day of the panel after it ended [music] that I was going to post a thread just about what happened and what
[01:55] people said in the panel, and I haven't done it yet because I've been very, very busy, and I was planning on doing it while I was still possibly there, but >> long story short, at the end of that panel day, my phone got stolen, so I was
[02:08] without a phone for a little while. I had to go to the AT&T store the day after to pick up a new phone. You know, I'm sure I'll look back and laugh at that at some point, but it was terrifying when it happened. But, I got
[02:20] an interesting reply in that tweet, which I think just sums up my frustration with the fandom of Demon Slayer in general. This reply said, anything for the second movie, so there's nothing for you to talk about."
[02:34] That's word for word what this person said, and that's just like such a weird comment to make and so disrespectful because the idea of only attending these because the idea of only attending these events to get information on what's next
[02:47] events to get information on what's next is kind of crazy. I am a huge fan of the seiyuu industry, and of course Natsuki Hanae. I've talked about him in length on my channel. I love him. I got to attend the Witch Hat Atelier panel right
[03:00] before this panel, and got to get up super close to him and actually like wave at him and give him hand hearts, which he did back. That was insane, by these events is I want to hear from the voice actors. I love the questions they
[03:15] get asked. They usually do some live dubbing. That's all very interesting to me, and I just can't wrap my head around the idea that if [music] there's no big announcement made at an event, there's no reason to go.
[03:28] But, that's just me. And for the record, at this panel, they made a bigger announcement than they have ever made at this event because they usually make no of you who don't know, when it comes to Demon Slayer, they always make the big
[03:42] announcements in Japan at specific [music] Demon Slayer events. I have said that so many times on this channel. I wish there was some way for that to just reach the entire fandom. I know that's impossible, but I really wish some
[03:56] because this is what's been happening for the entirety of Demon Slayer and it's never going to stop, but they make big announcements, aka information on big announcements, aka information on the next project at specifically Demon
[04:09] >> in Japan. The Japanese audience gets the big announcements first, then we get the announcements or we get it at the same time if they stream it around the world. there was not going to be any information regarding movie two at this
[04:24] event. It is first of all too early, especially if the movie's not coming out second of all, they are not going to announce anything at a non-Demon Slayer specific event that's in America. Like
[04:38] lot of people have been trying to say they lied that they said they were going to say something. Um they said that they were going to reveal information on one of Ufotable's other projects, which they did. They uh gave us a trailer on Witch
[04:51] quite good, so I'm interested in watching that. But that's what they said they were going to do. But of course, they did announce, in fact, Hirasawa himself in English announced that Demon Slayer Infinity Castle is coming to
[05:03] Crunchyroll on July 28th, which I do want to note that that is going to be pretty much the exact same time it releases on Blu-ray in Japan. Because it actually comes out on Blu-ray in Japan on July 29th, so you might look at it
[05:18] then?" No, that's to account for the time difference. Pretty much, if it's the 28th here, it's the 29th there. In fact, I think it comes out at 8:00 a.m. Pacific time here on the 28th, which is midnight the next day for Japan, which I
[05:32] would assume that's when you can officially buy it or something along those lines. But I do think it's a really good sign that they are releasing length about the delay that we would
[05:44] I was thinking we weren't going to get the movie on Crunchyroll until September-ish. So, to be getting the movie on Crunchyroll and Netflix, and it'll be available to purchase on other digital platforms at the same time that
[05:58] it's coming out in Japan is actually quite a big deal, which is really exciting. I will be watching it at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, July 28th. >> [laughter] >> And I will continue to watch it. I'm
[06:11] already thinking of all the videos that I'm going to make once I have access to the movie and can pause and rewind and do all those things. So, getting that out of the way, let's talk about the real reason why I come to these events.
[06:23] And that is, of course, for the voice actors. I don't watch Demon Slayer dubbed. I only watch it in Japanese. This is partially just for preference, partially because I'm learning Japanese. So, the dub voice actors go everywhere
[06:36] of interest in that just because I don't watch it that way. That is the main reason why I like to go to these is because I get to hear from the voices that I actually listen to when I watch it. And it just so happens that this
[06:49] year my top two favorite characters were there. And Shinobu, and Shinobu's voice before, so it was really incredible. They did a quick Q&A where they talked about each other's respective scenes, and then they did a live dubbing before
[07:05] they announced that Demon Slayer's coming to Crunchyroll. They gave us some coming to Crunchyroll. They gave us some official art that is exclusive to Anime Expo. I'll show that to y'all in a minute. And it was overall, as always,
[07:17] attending the Demon Slayer panel event at Anime Expo since 2023, and every year it's just an absolutely incredible experience that makes me so excited. It
[07:29] reignites my love for the show if I even lost it in the first place, which I haven't. And it just makes me truly excited for what is to come. So, first things first, the voice actors got asked about what it was like recording for
[07:42] this movie. It came out almost a year ago in Japan, which means they recorded a lot sooner than that. It likely means they were recording probably around 2023 as it seems based off of information that we've gathered from before that
[07:56] they are roughly 2 years ahead of the release date when they record the voice first things they do actually. They got asked what their approach was like and what it was like in the studio with the other voice actors. Hanae San mentioned
[08:11] that even when reading the manga, he knew it was a very important scene. So, when this part came out in the manga, he was already playing Tanjiro, so he was reading it with the knowledge that he was going to be voicing this scene
[08:25] eventually. And he mentioned that he knew this was a little bit different, Tanjiro, that it is the start of the climax of the story for him. He said that he couldn't wait to do it and he was looking forward to recording these
[08:38] sessions long before he ever got the script. He said he was nervous while recording, but it was a lot of fun. And then as he finished, someone screamed, "I love you!" which was not the first time or the last time. Takahiro Sakurai,
[08:51] the voice of Giyu, just more really talked about how intense it was in the studio for recording the Akaza fight. There was only the three of them in the studio. So, usually with Demon Slayer, I believe there's usually a lot more
[09:04] people in studio, but they had just the three of them in there. And he specifically called out the power of Akira Ishida's voice acting, who is Akira Ishida's voice acting, who is Akaza, and how he felt intimidating in
[09:18] the studio just the way he was acting. And he felt like he had to kind of live up to his voice acting because it was like so energetic and hot, I think is one of the words he used. Saori Hayami mentioned that she also read the manga,
[09:33] so she knew exactly what was going to happen to Shinobu when she was getting ready to record this scene and that helped her know how much resolve Shinobu felt so she could channel that. She was quite nervous because this was such a
[09:45] big moment for Shinobu but she did her best. They then kind of sectioned it off to each fight so they talked to Hayami-san a little bit about Shinobu's fight and then they talked to Hanae-san and Seki Dai-san about the Akaza fight
[10:01] for a little while. We're not allowed to record anything so I'm kind of pulling a little bit from memory but one of my highlights of what Hayami-san said was that she mentioned Miyanason, Mamoru Miyano who is the voice actor for Doma
[10:16] question in Japanese before they translated it she said his name and translated it she said his name and people freaked out. He is very famous. He's also, you know, Dazai, he's Light, he's
[10:29] so many characters it's kind of crazy. But she said that she's worked with him in the past and she knows him but when she was working with him specifically during this scene she kept on thinking
[10:42] ah I got to get this guy. I don't like him very much and >> she said that actually helped her with the emotions of the scene even though obviously with Miyanason she knows who he is and they've worked together a lot
[10:57] but in this situation with him voicing Doma she was able to kind of get in touch with those emotions that Shinobu was feeling. When they spoke to Hanae-san and Seki Dai-san about the Akaza fight Hanae-san went more deep
[11:11] into how Tanjiro has changed throughout the series and how he's had to kind of adjust the way that he has performed Tanjiro over the course of the six years
[11:23] that the show has been running. He also mentioned the fact that like his family and his dad are kind of always that thing that gets him out of a pinch and that sort of thing. And he liked this scene because it called back to his dad,
[11:38] which really hadn't happened since season 1. And it was fun to see how much season 1. And it was fun to see how much Tanjiro has changed from season 1 until now. So, Sakurai-san mentioned the fact that Giyu has not really had many
[11:51] speaking lines throughout the show, and it's been a little bit hard to voice him just because he's been so kind of mysterious and quiet, and the directors don't give him much direction because he just has to walk in and talk like two
[12:04] lines most of the time. But, he was able to really feel for his character and start to understand him a lot deeper because of those inner monologues and the desire to protect Tanjiro and everything. And he felt like he got to
[12:16] learn more about Giyu as he recorded those lines. He also mentioned how cool it was to see Tanjiro and how he was experiencing Tanjiro's growth through Giyu's eyes as well, about how they go all the way back to episode 1 and then
[12:30] end up here and how much Tanjiro has changed. He really felt Giyu's emotions in those moments. The Q&A part of the panel was pretty fast. That was pretty much all they really talked about, which is fine because what we got after was
[12:43] live dubbing, and I >> [laughter] could record this kind of stuff so that I have this memory that I can hold on to
[12:56] and listen back on. It almost feels like having the memory of it is not enough. I having the memory of it is not enough. I wish I had a physical copy of it. And for the record, for people who don't listen to the rules and still post
[13:09] listen to the rules and still post recordings online, please note that when you do that, you are possibly making it so that these voice actors don't want to come back. So, please stop doing that. Thank you. Your inability to follow the
[13:22] Thank you. Your inability to follow the rules and post for clout is possibly going to affect everyone, the voice actors included. They asked for no recording because they value their privacy in that way. It is our job to
[13:35] honor those requests so that they continue to come back to Anime Expo. So, the scene that Hayami-san did, she went first for Shinobu, was the scene where she confronts Doma about her sister. And the thing that I remember the most from
[13:51] this was watching her, and it's kind of hard when you're watching them live like live dub this stuff because you want to watch the anime and you want to read the subtitles because obviously they're doing it in Japanese, but my attention
[14:05] was always more on them. I was like, "I've seen this scene. I know in general what's being said because I've seen the movie so much. I want to watch them do this because that's what's interesting to me. I want to know what techniques
[14:20] they have, what their face looks like, does it change when their character gets angry and that sort of thing." And she looked pissed the entire time. She got so into it, she was moving her body so much, and she looked like genuinely
[14:34] upset. I found that to be so interesting because as I've attended more and more of these events, it's been interesting to kind of watch these voice actors because they all kind of do it a little bit differently. They all
[14:46] For example, Hanae-san tends to look kind of for the most part pretty like straight-faced the entire time even if Tanjiro's being emotional, he usually kind of has a bit less emotions on his face. Well, I remember watching a video
[15:03] of Oh, who was it? I think it was Tengen's voice actor, and he was live District, and he was so into it that he was practically jumping up and down. don't I'm not saying that there's like a right or wrong. I think that's just what
[15:17] find it really interesting to watch them because obviously when we watch the anime, we're not watching them, we're hearing them. So, that's why I turned my attention more to watching them than watching the anime on the
[15:31] screen. But, yeah, so Hayami-san did an incredible job. It gave me chills on chills. She did such an amazing job in this movie in general. I think I've I think her performance was one of the highlights for me. So, getting to see
[15:47] even a small snip of her scene against Doma and have it be that part where she Doma and have it be that part where she starts freaking out on him was honestly it felt like an honor to be in the room. Next was Hanae-san, and we all know I'm
[16:01] Next was Hanae-san, and we all know I'm his biggest fan, so I freaked out, and they actually had him do the scene where Akaza shows up, and it ended with him shouting Akaza. Um
[16:15] The only way I can describe this is he was straight up aura farming. Like, there's no other way to describe this, because he went all in. I've heard him Tanjiro's scream, and I feel like usually live he kind of holds back. I
[16:30] think it's probably because his voice is a little bit tired from all the work he's done. When he does, especially the live dubbing in Japan where they do like a whole show of it, like a whole 2-hour show,
[16:43] Tanjiro talks and screams so much. I can only imagine that his voice has got to be tired by the end of that. So, I feel like he tends to maybe hold back just a tiny bit. He did not hold back here. Oh my goodness. And you can actually uh
[16:56] watch a video on the Anime Expo Instagram page where they actually included the clip of him shouting Akaza live. So, if you want to see right here. >> [music]
[17:16] And also what was interesting is I perform a lot. Like I've watched a lot of videos. I've seen him do it live a couple of times now. I was actually surprised to see a lot of anger in his
[17:30] surprised to see a lot of anger in his face when he in the scene went from Tanjiro kind of like he's kind of trying to figure out what's happening to saying, "Oh, this I know what this smell is. It's Akaza." And there's an obvious
[17:44] shift in Tanjiro's voice. Interestingly enough, there was an obvious shift in like his stance and his face and his performance even though he's a voice performance even though he's a voice actor. And he went in on the Akaza
[17:59] actor. And he went in on the Akaza scream. Like he let it loose. And you many times. He knows how loud the audience can get. You could tell that he was kind of letting that happen, letting the cheers happen, and it was really
[18:13] awesome. Finally, they had Sakurai San go and he live dubbed the part where Giyu shows back up after getting kicked back. So like his first hurts." which the entire audience laughed at because I don't think that
[18:28] line is meant to be funny, but everybody finds it funny. So and it went through until I don't know, maybe like 30 seconds into his little fight against Akaza. It stopped right after I think Giyu used his first water
[18:42] breathing form in that fight. And a little bit more of a calm scene and he was definitely a lot more calm than the other two. He just kind of performed it as if he were probably in the studio just standing there because Giyu while
[18:56] he did, I think Giyu is still a very monotone character in this moment. So it's still absolutely incredible. I gave standing ovations to all three of them because I'm extra and I was like this is incredible. I'm so honored to be able to
[19:12] sit here and witness this, but it's it's like one of those core memory things, you know, getting to to see that. And they do this a lot in Japan, but because I'm obviously not Japanese, and when I go there, I miss out on this stuff by
[19:24] just just a little bit because if you didn't know, I went to Japan last year, and they had the live dubbing for Hashira Training the day after I left. I was literally at the building where it was held, I think like 3 days before
[19:39] they had it. But by the time they actually had it, I was on a plane home, or I was already home, I can't remember. But I missed it by that much. I even thought about entering the lottery. The problem was is they had the final open
[19:55] available day to do the lottery the day we arrived, and you had to go to a 7-Eleven if you didn't have a Japanese address. So I it just didn't happen. I they haven't done the Infinity Castle, maybe they'll randomly do it in November
[20:09] this year, and I'll get to go. But overall, the experience of watching them live dub is like nothing I can really describe. It's magical, it's incredible. They are all such professionals, and what's amazing, too, is you can hear all
[20:24] their regular speaking voice. Like you can hear it, you can tell each one of them voices that character. But there was something obviously different about all three once they started actually acting, where you don't realize how much
[20:39] they're changing their voice until you hear the difference right next to each interesting. After this is when they announced that Demon Slayer was coming to Crunchyroll, and announced this in English. He did a
[20:52] great job. And then they also announced that there was going to be Anime Expo exclusive illustration, and then they announced that they were going to be announced that they were going to be giving it to us as a gift. So each
[21:05] person in attendance, which that room was full. So, the Peacock Theater was where it was held and the capacity is 7,100. I would say it was probably 7,100. I would say it was probably mostly full. There were probably 6,500
[21:19] people in there. And I believe every single person left with one of these. single person left with one of these. So, let me grab it. Here it is.
[21:35] reflection on it. But, it is Tanjiro and Giyu. I I think I mentioned this not long ago. I really like any artwork where Tanjiro is not just like
[21:48] especially right now, because where we're at in the story, like he's not happy. Like, he's he's more angry than anything. He's fighting for his life. anything. He's fighting for his life. He's in a life-or-death situation. And
[22:01] unfortunately, we're not going to see him smile for a while. I actually think I know the next time we see him smile, and I don't want to talk about it. So, >> [laughter] >> um yeah, so this is really, really cool.
[22:15] You got Giyu's mark, as well. Um this is the water bros. Like, I can't ask for anything more. My two favorite characters in one exclusive artwork is incredible. They showed us a video where
[22:28] the artist was drawing it, and I just feel so blessed. I just feel so Like, I know this is like a special thing that I get to do. That going to Anime Expo can be very hard for a lot of people. So, I'm just feeling really blessed that I
[22:43] get to experience So many times. I have another exclusive art from the panel in 2023 when they had um they were talking about Swordsmith Village, so it was Tanjiro and Muichiro. So, I have this one right here.
[22:56] one right here. So, I now have two exclusive illustrations that were made specifically for Anime Expo, and I just think that's really, really cool. So, anyway, that is pretty much all they did
[23:09] after that. They showed the video of the them drawing the illustration, and then which of Holy Night or Which on Holy Night. And then the voice actors came back out, said like, "Thank you so much.
[23:22] I really appreciate it. I love LA. I love you guys." And that was pretty much love you guys." And that was pretty much it. So, again, like short and sweet, but just really incredible. That day was just crazy because there was that panel,
[23:34] there was the Witch Hat Atelier panel right before that where I actually got bit. And then right after that was Demons of the Shadow Realm, which I just recently got into. And then after that was The Apothecary Diaries, which is my
[23:47] third favorite anime. So, if you want me to talk about that one as well, I'm more than willing. By then, I was very tired and very exhausted. And my night had only just begun. But they were incredible. They voice
[24:01] or live dubbed the frog scene was one of the scenes they did, and the audience went crazy. But overall, just incredible experience. So, you might be asking how did my phone get stolen? So, after I left the Peacock Theater, I had this
[24:16] backpack with me the entire time. And for the entirety of the con, I had my phone pretty much in my hands the whole time or tucked away in like a pocket within the big pocket because of knowing that like this is a very crowded con.
[24:32] People are constantly just bumping into you. So, it is very easy for someone to swipe something out of your bag if it's like open. So, I wasn't doing this, but for I think it was like maybe 3 minutes, I put my phone in my outside cup holder
[24:47] something. And in those 3 minutes, someone swiped it out of my backpack because I retraced my steps. I went all the way back to the Peacock Theatre, talked to a security guard, asked them, you know, if I could
[25:02] look for it. They let me in. It was not there. The nice man asked like let me use his phone, so I was able to call a friend who I wasn't traveling with, but was there, and she, thank goodness, was able to order an Uber, come and get me,
[25:16] and help me figure things out because I was just like I went there by myself. I drove there by myself. I was staying at a hotel by myself. And when you don't you suddenly don't have a phone, that's a terrifying feeling because you just
[25:30] don't know what to do. I also thought my husband was going to be asleep. His number was the only number I knew by heart, but I wanted to call my friend on, and I was able to look up the contact number, call her. She came. Then
[25:44] He kind of walked me through what we needed to to do next. They all kind of their hotel that night, and then I was able to get a new phone at the AT&T store the next day, but um guys, don't put your phone in the outside cup holder
[26:00] pocket ever. That was stupid of me, but especially at Anime Expo because from what I've heard, there was like legitimate phone swiping people there because a lot of people lost their phones. For the record, in mine had just
[26:16] been lost. However, it got turned off immediately. Like it wasn't pinging. It wasn't like it was going straight to voicemail. I couldn't find it on my find my iPhone app on my watch. So, obviously, it was like a professional
[26:30] swipe because they were able to turn it off and get it in a situation where it wouldn't ping immediately. They have not turned it back on. It's set up where if they turn it back on, it like wipes everything so that they don't have
[26:42] access to my information, but goodness me, that was a crazy experience. Getting your phone stolen in LA feels like a very LA experience that I've never had. So, that was the end of my night. I did not go to bed until like 2:00 a.m. and
[26:57] it's so crazy cuz I was so tired during the Apothecary Diaries panel, which is the Apothecary Diaries panel, which is from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. And I was just some food here so I don't even have to worry about ordering Uber Eats when I
[27:10] get to my hotel so I can just sleep cuz I was so tired. And I ended up being I was so tired. And I ended up being awake for another 4 hours. So, I'm still catching up from my sleep from the con, but that was it's still an incredible
[27:22] day. Now I can look back on it fondly, but definitely was terrifying that night. So, if you want to hear more about my general Anime Expo experience, let me know. I don't know if I'm going to talk directly about just the con in
[27:36] general. I have in the past and my thoughts on it have not changed. I love this con. It's my favorite anime convention. Again, mostly because of the Japanese voice actors that come. I don't know if I would go if they didn't offer
[27:49] that. I'm not going to lie. So, I still love the con. I think that you just got it's going to be busy and you're going to be shoulder to shoulder with people the entire time. If you go in not expecting that, then you're probably not
[28:03] ready to go to Anime Expo. But, that is going to be it for today's video. If you video, subscribe the channel, leave a comment your thoughts, and I will see comment your thoughts, and I will see you all in the next one. Matane.