©Koyoharu Gotoge / SHUEISHA, Aniplex, ufotable
*The following is a press release by Aniplex of America*
SANTA MONICA, CA (OCTOBER 9, 2019) – Aniplex of America released the English dub trailer of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba revealing five of the English cast members ahead of the show’s premiere on Cartoon Network’s Toonami on October 12th. Zach Aguilar (ALDNOAH.ZERO, Fate/Apocrypha) and Abby Trott (Asterisk War, Neon Genesis Evangelion) lead the cast as the famous siblings, Tanjiro Kamado and Nezuko Kamado, while Aleks Le (Record of Grancrest War) voices the comical Zenitsu Agatsuma and Bryce Papenbrook (Sword Art Online series, Blue Exorcist) as the wild Inosuke Hashibira. Veteran voice actor Johnny Yong Bosch (Bleach, Blue Exorcist, Durarara!!) rounds out the cast voicing Water Hashira and fan favorite character, Giyu Tomioka. The English cast is under the direction of English Voice Director Steve Staley, who is most recently credited for his work on the English voice direction for the hit show The Promised Neverland.
“I was ecstatic, to say the least, when I heard I got the role of Tanjiro,” Zach Aguilar shares about finding out he was cast as the main character Tanjiro. “As a fan of the show, I’m extremely honored to be able to be a part of such a fantastic anime. I’m giving this character my all, and I’m looking forward to going through Tanjiro’s journey!”
“Nezuko as a human is a sweet, caring sister to her many siblings,” Abby Trott describes her character. “And even as a demon, when it comes to Tanjiro and family, she mus protecc. I definitely relate to her sentiments about protecting those people (and pets) that I hold dear!”
“When I got the news, I jumped out of my seat and unleashed a thunderous shriek,” Aleks Le explains of receiving the news that he had been cast as Zenitsu. “I was shaking with excitement. Being on the main cast of a show and getting to spend a lot of time with and play such a fun character is something I’ve always wanted to do. I’m over the moon and can’t wait to share what we’re doing with the rest of the community!”
Lauded as one of the best anime of 2019, the smash hit series has incited nothing short of a rousing response from fans since the subtitled version was released in April even trending worldwide on Twitter in August. Much of the show’s success is credited to the brilliant work by studio ufotable, who’s previous projects include the popular Fate/stay night [Unlimited Bladeworks], Fate/Zero, and most recently the Fate/stay night [Heaven’s Feel] trilogy, and exceptional story based on the popular manga published in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine by Koyoharu Gotoge.
Set during the tumultuous Taisho period (1912 to 1926) in Japan, the series follows two siblings, Tanjiro and Nezuko Kamado, who must learn to survive after their family is viciously slaughtered by demons. The sibling’s journey is told across 26 episodes with a movie sequel in the works titled DEMON SLAYER -KIMETSU NO YAIBA- The Movie: Mugen Train.
Haruo Sotozaki (Initial D: Third Stage, Naruto: Konoha Sports Festival) serves as the director with Akira Matsushima (Maria Watches Over Us, Tales of Zestiria the X) handling the character design. In addition to animation production, ufotable is also in charge of the screenplay with esteemed composers Go Shiina from God Eater and Today’s MENU for Emiya Family and Yuki Kajiura from Sword Art Online and Puella Magi Madoka Magica teaming up to create the music for the series. The opening theme song for the series “Gurenge” by renowned anisong singer LiSA (Sword Art Online, Fate/Zero) recently certified platinum by the Japan Record Association.
Aniplex of America plans to reveal more of the English cast as the story progresses the official Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba English Facebook page as well as other exclusive behind the scenes look into the English dub production at https://facebook.com/demonslayer.anime.
About Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba:
It is the Taisho Period in Japan. Tanjiro, a kindhearted boy who sells charcoal for a living, finds his family slaughtered by a demon. To make matters worse, his younger sister Nezuko, the sole survivor, has been transformed into a demon herself.
Though devastated by this grim reality, Tanjiro resolves to become a “demon slayer” so that he can turn his sister back into a human, and kill the demon that massacred his family.
For more information on Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, please visit the official website: http://www.demonslayer-anime.com/
STAFF
Original Story: Koyoharu Gotoge (Weekly Shonen Jump / SHUEISHA)
Director: Haruo Sotozaki
Character Design: Akira Matsushima
Sub Character Design: Miyuki Sato, Yoko Kajiyama, Mika Kikuchi
Screenplay Production: ufotable
Conceptual Art: Koji Eto, Masaru Yanaka, Kasumi Takeuchi, Yuri Kabasawa
Directors of Photography: Yuichi Terao
3D Director: Kazuki Nishiwaki
Color Setting: Yuko Omae
Editing : Manabu Kamino
Music: Yuki Kajiura, Go Shiina
Animation Producer: Hikaru Kondo
Animation Production: ufotable
English Voice Direction: Steve Staley
ENGLISH CAST
Tanjiro Kamado: Zach Aguilar
Nezuko Kamado: Abby Trott
Zenitsu Agatsuma: Aleks Le
Inosuke Hashibira: Bryce Papenbrook
Giyu Tomioka: Johnny Young Bosch
About Aniplex of America Inc.
Aniplex of America, Inc. (Santa Monica, California) is a subsidiary of Aniplex, Inc. (headquartered in Tokyo, Japan), a division of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan), Inc., and a leading provider of anime content and music production and distribution in Japan. The company’s ever-growing lineup of shows includes: Sword Art Online, FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST: BROTHERHOOD, Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works], Fate/Zero, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, March comes in like a lion, Blue Exorcist, KILL la KILL, Gurren Lagann, Monogatari series, anohana -The Flower We Saw That Day-, Cells at Work!, The Promised Neverland, and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba. In 2017, the company released the English version of the popular mobile game, Fate/Grand Order, followed by the release of mobile game, Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story’s English version in the U.S. and Canada in June of 2019.
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What do you think about the English cast? Feel free to tell us in the comment section.