To celebrate the release of Demon Slayer’s latest season and the show’s fifth anniversary, Aniplex invited Demon Slayer stars Natsuki Hanae (voice of Tanjiro) and Takahiro Sakurai (voice of Giyu), along with the show’s producer, Yuma Takahashi, to this year’s Anime Expo. Taking a trip down memory lane, the two voice actors and producer discussed the beloved characters and their growth from season one until now.
The first season of the show premiered in April 2019, and in the first episode, Tanjiro meets Giyu, the Water Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps. In this scene, Giyu is ready to kill Tanjiro’s younger sister, Nezuko, who has just been turned into a demon. Despite not yet acquiring much battle experience, Tanjiro is fully prepared to defend and protect his sister, which causes some conflict between the two boys. “There weren’t that many cast members at the time, and it was such a large recording room with few people,” Hanae began. “Tanjiro was in a place where he couldn’t do anything, and he was very devastated by that, so I was very intentional with the grief I was carrying in the scene.” For Sakurai, he felt motivated by seeing Hanae’s dedication to the scene. “I showed up in the latter half of the episode, and I watched Tanjiro and Nezuko’s performance, and I really thought I had to do my best. I was very focused on my first line, because it really solidifies who Giyu is.”
Five years later, the show has just finished airing its latest season, the Hashira Training Arc. Rather than focusing on fighting any demons like the previous two seasons, this fourth season focused on the Hashiras and the Demon Slayer Corps. Knowing now that Nezuko can walk in the sun, the Demon Slayer Corps decides to focus on training as they prepare for their final battle against the main antagonist, Muzan Kibutsuji. “With this arc, the whole crew made sure to include a lot of detail. Taking the project from manga to anime, we made sure to treat each individual manga panel with respect,” producer Takahashi shared. The season kicked off with a special scene featuring Snake Hashira, Obanai Iguro, and Wind Hashira, Sanemi Shinazugawa, fighting demons in an abandoned castle, a unique scene that was not present in the manga. “This was completely original, so it was really exciting to see the two of them unleash their breathing techniques,” Hanae shared, before Sakurai chimed in in agreement. “Both [Obanai and Sanemi’s] voice actors had so much fun recording the scene, and I also liked that we got to catch just a glimpse of the Infinity Castle, too.” Takahashi also explained why it was important to see the two in action. “We haven’t seen much of the Snake or Wind Hashira yet, so [this scene] helps portray their strength before we see them go into teaching and training others. Also, I heard Kenichi Suzumura (voice of Obanai)’s family members were quite happy they finally heard him talk in an episode,” he finished with a laugh.
Aside from that opening scene, there are many more glimpses into the backstories and powers of other Hashiras within the season. “I was really happy [watching this season] and seeing so much more of Stone Hashira, Gyomei Himejima, featured,” Hanae said. For Sakurai, it was also a chance to share more of his own character. Once the Hashiras decide to host training sessions, Giyu declines to participate and retreats to his own home. This prompts the Demon Slayer Corps’ leader, Kagaya Ubuyashiki, to request Tanjiro pay him a visit and convince him to join. “We really delved into Giyu’s past in this arc, so we took a lot of care to capture what he’s experienced. Tanjiro isn’t doing the convincing with ill intent, and it comes from a place of kindness and camaraderie, but Giyu’s feelings are quite complicated. But, it’s only because Tanjiro convinced him to join that Giyu gets to also reflect on his past.”
Thinking back to the first episode again, when Giyu was scolding Tanjiro and telling him how he should live, this scene also felt like a full circle moment for the pair. “The moment of realization that Giyu has saved Tanjro, and now Tanjiro has also saved Giyu was so meaningful. We’ve all grown and come to save and help each other,” Sakurai said, before Takahashi agreed. “Creator Koyoharu Gotouge was absolutely brilliant to have made this juxtaposition showcasing their growth.”
Throughout the series, we’ve also seen that Demon Slayer isn’t a show in which the good guys always win. For many, including the cast, there are often reminders of Sound Hashira, Uzui Tengen, who retired due to his vast injuries from fighting in the Entertainment District Arc, and Fire Hashira, Kyōjurō Rengoku, who unfortunately lost his life in the Mugen Train Arc. Uzui still participates in the Hashira Training Arc, serving as the first trainer for the Demon Slayer Corps members. And despite no longer physically with them, both Sakurai and Hanae agreed that Rengoku’s spirit lives on, even in this latest season. “We really get to see the Demon Slayer Corps’ intentions and heart. Of course, no one wants to die, but everyone knows it’s more important to defeat Muzan. It affected my acting too, knowing we were all so passionately chasing the same goal,” Hanae said. “All the Hashiras as so strong, but seeing them all training so hard really makes you think of Rengoku,” Sakurai began. “I really think everyone would agree that Rengoku’s presence could be felt strongly throughout our training.”
Now that the show has finished airing, the only thing left is the final Infinity Castle Arc. Rather than continuing on as a show, the last Infinity Castle Arc will be split into a movie trilogy slated for theatrical releases. No further details have been provided yet regarding release dates or trailers.
