Animation studio Maho Film announced the news on Wednesday, where Yanase had been a full-time employee since 2023. The production committee of the ongoing anime series, Saikyou Degarashi Ouji no Anyaku Teii Arasoi (The Insipid Prince’s Furtive Grab for The Throne), also released a statement regarding his sudden death.

“We are still unable to accept this sudden news and are filled with deep sadness. Director Yanase dedicated tremendous effort to the production of this anime. We offer our most sincere gratitude and heartfelt condolences,” the committee shared.

Yanase made his directorial debut in 2017 with Isekai wa Smartphone to Tomo ni.. He was a prominent figure at Maho Film, directing several of the studio’s titles, including Uchi no Ko no Tame naraba, Ore wa Moshikashitara Maou mo Taoseru kamo Shirenai. (If It’s for My Daughter, I’d Even Defeat a Demon Lord), Kami-tachi ni Hirowareta Otoko (By the Grace of the Gods), Leadale no Daichi nite (In the Land of Leadale), and Level 1 dakedo Unique Skill de Saikyou desu (My Unique Skill Makes Me OP Even at Level 1). He most recently directed Sekai Saikyou no Kouei: Meikyuukoku no Shinjin Tansakusha (The World’s Strongest Rearguard) in Summer 2026.

Source: Sponichi Annex

Studio KAI was founded in 2019, and their name “KAI” means “oar” in Japanese. Since an oar is a tool used when rowing a boat, Studio KAI’s mission is to row boldly into the endless ocean of animation with passion and determination. The result of this is the breathtaking character acting and jaw-dropping action that we saw in Sentenced to Be a Hero.

On Day 2 of Anime Expo, the creative minds behind Sentenced to Be a Hero discussed the adaptation which captivated fans from all over the world with its rich and dark fantasy world where the scent of death lingers.

Guests:

Note: MyAnimeList also had the opportunity to send a few follow up questions after the panel!

Kinetic Action

──Nakakouji-san, as Sentenced to Be a Hero‘s assistant director, what was your approach to making the action scenes have such immersion and impact?

Yoshiki Nakakouji: First of all, thank you to everyone who watched the first season.

Although he’s not here at the panel today, I often talked with the director, Hiroyuki Takashima, about how we don’t want to create action just for the sake of action. The idea is that as the story progresses, the character’s emotions change before and after certain events, and the action animation serves as a technique to effectively depict those changes.

Throughout the entire series, our goal was to convey situations through visuals rather than relying on the dialogue or monologues. This is why during the action scenes, we paid close attention to the characters’ expressions, reactions, sense of weight, and overall visual clarity of each shot.

We were also highly particular about the first-person perspective action scenes that appear frequently throughout the series. For example, in episode 1, we incorporated POV shots using various techniques such as 3D mapping and hand-drawn background animation.

Through these methods, I think we were able to bring the realism and intensity of this dark, fictional world right to the viewer.

©2024 Rocket Shokai/KADOKAWA/Project Sentenced to Be a Hero

Vividly Alive Characters

──Noda-san, could you tell us about your core philosophy when animating characters?

Takeru Noda: The thing I was most conscious of when designing the characters for the Sentenced to Be a Hero anime was the facial expressions and nuanced gestures of each character. As human beings, we don’t have a one-dimensional set of expressions or gestures. Rather, our complex inner emotions inevitably pile up and manifest themselves on the surface.

To transform a verbal story filled with fantastical elements into a convincing drama, it was important to treat these characters like real people with human-like expressions and gestures. While I correct as many cuts as possible as an animation director, I can’t fix every cut. So when creating the character design reference sheets, I made sure to emphasize their standing postures and various expressions so that our entire animation staff could instantly grasp the characters’ personalities.

©2024 Rocket Shokai/KADOKAWA/Project Sentenced to Be a Hero

──Kimura-san, as a chief animation director, what specific details did you focus on?

Yasutaka Kimura: Given the creative direction, just as Noda-san mentioned, I focused on creating silhouettes and character acting that were instantly recognizable. To achieve that, I needed to deeply understand their personalities, what kind of past they have, their hobbies and preferences, as well as their regrets. I also needed to know what kind of future awaits them. To firmly lay that foundation, I constantly reread the original light novels to deepen my understanding of the characters.

Rather than relying on standard textbook anime acting, I think we were able to incorporate nuanced movements that make the audience think, “Yeah, this character would definitely do that.” Of course, this applied not just to the main cast, but to the faeries, the demon blights, the colorful background characters—even down to the smoke, explosions, and the gory, brutal scenes. We aimed to connect the characters’ emotions with their environment to create cohesive, convincing visuals.

©2024 Rocket Shokai/KADOKAWA/Project Sentenced to Be a Hero

Building an Unforgiving World

──Nakakouji-san, what did you focus on when animating the ruined cities, harsh battlefields, and overall atmosphere of this particular world?

Yoshiki Nakakouji: For this series, there were two things the creative team aimed for alongside the background art team. First, it was to depict a true dark fantasy world and second, to utilize the play of light and shadow for storytelling.

To depict a dark fantasy world, we used Northern Europe as a real-world reference to express a cold, stark atmosphere. After finishing the setting, thanks to the ideas from our world-building designer Nobutaka Ike, we paid special attention to how the sky was depicted. I think figuring out how to express the darkness and coldness while portraying a gruesome and cruel world was truly the central theme of this production.

Regarding the latter, when utilizing light and shadow for storytelling, we worked closely with our art director Yuusuke Watanabe and color designer Hiroko Umezaki to carefully craft the lighting, shadow, and color palette of the town. I think the striking colors and background art in the final episode represents what the director and our team set out to achieve.

©2024 Rocket Shokai/KADOKAWA/Project Sentenced to Be a Hero

Grotesque, Colossal Creatures

──Nakakouji-san, how did you bring these terrifying monsters with such overwhelming presence to life as tangible horrors rather than generic enemies?

Yoshiki Nakakouji: When director Takashima and I were brainstorming the creature designs, we decided to build everything around the word “nightmare,” which is a huge keyword in the original novels. Rather than going for something simply powerful or cool, we wanted them to appear truly alien and deeply unsettling within the world.

So we started with the keyword “nightmare,” and we used eyes as a shared motif. Specifically, every demon blight shares the same eye motif as its defining feature, while the faeries are designed with their eyes completely covered by slime mold. Also, to keep the fantasy world grounded, we used real-world organisms as our design inspiration instead of just making up completely imaginary monsters.

©2024 Rocket Shokai/KADOKAWA/Project Sentenced to Be a Hero

MyAnimeList’s Questions

──Looking back on the first season, is there a scene that best represents the kind of series you wanted Sentenced to Be a Hero to be, and what makes that moment stand out to you?

Nakakouji: I would actually choose two scenes.

The first is the opening sequence of episode 1, from Dotta’s escape through Couveunge Forest to the moment Xylo comes to his rescue. The second is the scene in the final episode where Patausche kills Marlen in his room.

The episode 1 sequence remains especially memorable because it represented our first fully realized vision of what Sentenced to Be a Hero should look and feel like. We spent a great deal of time experimenting and feeling our way through the process, so seeing that vision come together left a lasting impression on me.

As for the final episode, it showcased the artistic “scheme” developed through the director’s vision and realized through the combined efforts of the art, color design, and animation teams. It was a particularly distinctive style of direction, and the fact that we were able to achieve it during the final episode, despite having extremely limited resources at that stage, left me with a genuine sense of relief and satisfaction. I remember thinking, “Thank goodness we pulled it off” (laughs).

Kimura: The scene that stands out most to me is the ending of episode 12, where Patausche is sentenced to be a hero.

One of the central themes of Sentenced to Be a Hero is Xylo’s struggle to overcome his trauma, inner conflicts, and anger, ultimately surpassing himself. In contrast, Patausche is gradually consumed by her doubts, pride, and sense of identity, and is pushed into a situation where she too must transcend herself. While the two characters are opposites in many ways, they each embody a different color of despair, and I find that contrast particularly compelling.

In a world defined almost entirely by despair, when Patausche finally drives a sword into her own neck, I felt what I can only describe as a “nightmarish hope.” To me, that “nightmarish hope” captures the essence of the world of Sentenced to Be a Hero more vividly than anything else.

©2024 Rocket Shokai/KADOKAWA/Project Sentenced to Be a Hero

──Masuo-san, from your perspective as the animation producer, what made Sentenced to Be a Hero a particularly unique project to work on?

Masuo: One of the defining characteristics of this series is its extremely dark world, where humanity’s habitable territory has been reduced to only a very limited area. We worked hard to ensure that viewers could immediately sense this atmosphere simply by looking at the backgrounds and overall visual presentation.

Director Takahashi and Ike, who was responsible for the world-building, carefully developed every aspect of the setting in great detail. As a result, every frame came to embody what people would instantly recognize as the world of Sentenced to Be a Hero. Maintaining that level of quality and preserving the show’s distinctive atmosphere was incredibly challenging, but I believe the effort resulted in something truly unlike any other anime.

Another unique aspect was the creatures featured throughout the series. Their designs were unlike anything we had seen before, and their presence helped deepen and enrich the world-building even further.

──Was there a character or moment that you unexpectedly grew attached to while working on the series?

Masuo: The most memorable part of the production for me was episode 12. At the time, the schedule was under tremendous pressure, and one of our greatest concerns was figuring out how we could possibly bring the episode together under those circumstances. However, the director took the lead by presenting clear and concrete creative solutions, guiding the entire team through the process. The finished result ultimately became something genuinely moving.

What impressed me most was that the final version far exceeded what I had originally envisioned during the scenario development stage. The director consistently communicated his vision to the staff, from environmental design and character shading to the subtle nuances of the performances. I believe that unwavering commitment to a clear creative direction is what enabled episode 12 to achieve such a remarkable level of quality.

Nakakouji: It’s not exactly that I was surprised by it, but as the production process became increasingly intense, there were many moments when both the staff and I personally felt pushed to our limits. I imagine that’s true of almost any production environment (laughs).

Whenever that happened, however, I found myself gaining a deeper understanding of the heroes sentenced to punishment, especially their unique, almost unhinged sense of heroism and their deeply personal motivations. The more I understood them, the more I empathized with them, and the more attached I became to each character.

That experience was something refreshingly new in my career, and it remains one of the most memorable aspects of working on this project.

Kimura: In terms of personality and humanity, Xylo is definitely my favorite character. I was particularly moved by his line in the second half of episode 6: “I want to believe I’m not done for yet.” The fact that he still refuses to give up on himself in such a harsh world is something I deeply respect as a fellow man.

Of course, I like Xylo, but surprisingly, I also grew very fond of Venetim. It was a lot of fun making such a handsome, composed-looking character perform embarrassing and pathetic moments (laughs).

©2024 Rocket Shokai/KADOKAWA/Project Sentenced to Be a Hero

Looking to Season 2

──Masuo-san, could you share Studio KAI’s vision for the future, along with a final message for all the amazing fans who gathered here at AX?

Masashi Masuo: We give all our thanks to our incredible fans around the world who supported season one. Because of you all, we are able to bring you season two. We’re truly grateful.

In season two, we’re diving way deeper into the dynamic between Xylo and Teoritta with fiercer battles for the penal hero unit, and with even more terrifying new creatures and battlefields on a massive scale. The entire team at Studio KAI is pushing their limits to deliver a season that exceeds your expectations. We will continue to give our all to bring you even more excitement and unforgettable stories.

Beyond Sentenced to Be a Hero, we’re actively tackling major new titles and original projects and hope that you’ll enjoy them. Please keep rooting for Xylo and the Studio KAI team, and keep supporting us on our journey!

This panel was conducted through an interpreter and has been edited for clarity.

Watch Yuusha-kei ni Shosu (Sentenced to Be a Hero) on: https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/GT00356809/

Follow the official X (Twitter): @yushakei_PJ

See the official site: https://yushakei-pj.com/

Add the anime to your list: https://myanimelist.net/anime/56009/

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