Prior to an incredibly enthusiastic, full-room world premiere of the Kagurabachi anime series, Taihi Kimura sat down with Anime News Network to talk about his role as Chihiro Rokuhira. Before Kimura landed his role as the black-cloaked main character, he took home the Best New Actor Award at the 20th Seiyū Awards. He also happened to voice another red, black, and white colored swordsman in a separate role-playing game.

During our conversation, Kimura spoke about how he landed the role of Chihiro as well as his experience working with Tomokazu Seki, the voice actor for Kunishige Rokuhira. At the panel, the award-winning voice actor shared how the veteran voice actor “led the way” for him, making it easy to “get started.”

How did you land the role of Chihiro Rokuhira? Was it through an audition, or were you specifically asked to be in this role?

Taihi Kimura: I landed the role through an audition. After a tape audition, those who were selected from that initial process would be called to do an audition at the studio with the production staff there.

What was your first impression of Kagurabachi and Chihiro?

KIMURA: I thought the manga was absolutely beautiful, and its composition was very movie-like. As for Chihiro, a young man driven by revenge, I was drawn to his journey as a character.

Congratulations on winning the Best New Actor Award at the 20th Seiyū Awards this year. How has voicing Chihiro helped you grow as a voice actor?

KIMURA: Thank you. Kagurabachi‘s anime is in the process of being recorded. I’m hoping people know more about me through watching the anime.

Which aspect of Chihiro was most challenging for you to act out?

KIMURA: I would describe myself as a talkative person, but in terms of Chihiro, he’s more reserved and not so talkative. He has something he’s concealed inside him, and he doesn’t show much through his expressions. That’s one of the most challenging points I had to face while acting as him.

In the trailer, we hear a little bit of Chihiro using a powerful, menacing, yet subtle voice. How did you channel that?

KIMURA: The message within that trailer is that Chihiro has an unwavering, strong resolve inside him, and I had to push that feeling to the surface. But it was very challenging for me because I couldn’t push it out too much. I still have to maintain Chihiro’s calm character, but showing that strong feeling within him was a challenge for me.

What were the easiest aspects of Chihiro to act?

KIMURA: I would say the happy days when Chihiro was a 15-year-old with his father, Kunishige. His life wasn’t as complicated compared to when he grew up. In other words, not exactly complicated, where he’s both mature and not very childish. He’s much more complex after that.

Regarding the sword-fighting sequences, did you do anything special to practice for when you vocalize the fighting or slashing?

KIMURA: Actually, I haven’t recorded many of those scenes yet. However, I try not to make much noise because many strong sword masters don’t do that. If a great effort went into the vocalization, it would sound like he is trying too hard.

Can you talk about a memorable moment you had with Tomokazu Seki, who voices Chihiro’s father?

KIMURA: Hearing the very first line spoken by Tomokazu Seki-san(as Kunishige), I felt that I was being led by him. This was our first time working together, so I hope we get to spend more time together.

Do you have a message for the global Kagurabachi fans?

KIMURA: The anime is going to be superb, and as a fan myself, I’m excited to see more episodes. I hope the audience feels just as pumped as I do.

The Kagurabachi anime series will premiere in April 2027 and stream in North America on Crunchyroll. You can follow the anime’s official X account @kb_anime_en for more updates.

Dong-geun Joo, the creator of the popular webtoon All of Us Are Dead, visited Los Angeles to participate in an event at the Korean Culture Center Los Angeles celebrating Korean webtoons on September 11.

Joo made his debut in 2009 with All of Us Are Dead, which was serialized in Korea until 2011 and quickly gained popularity. The series stood out for making zombies its central theme at a time when zombie stories were relatively uncommon in Korea. It was later adapted into the hit Netflix live-action series of the same name.

Thanks to the success of All of Us Are Dead, Joo has traveled to eight countries to meet fans. After his Los Angeles appearance, he said he would be heading directly to Mexico.

Joo spoke with Anime News Network about his debut, the influences behind his work, the Netflix adaptation, and his latest series, Adonai.

Wonhee Cho (ANN): Why did you choose zombies for your debut?

Dong-geun Joo: I thought that if I was going to draw something, I should draw what I liked the most. The first thing that came to mind was a zombie story.

I’ve always been a huge fan of zombie movies. When I was in college, two of the movies I enjoyed the most were Dawn of the Dead and 28 Days Later. So creating a story about zombies felt very natural to me.

Were you influenced by Japanese manga or anime?

Joo: There weren’t that many zombie stories in Japan at the time, so I wasn’t directly influenced by them.

I’m a fan of horror and thriller stories in general, not just zombies. I grew up reading Japanese manga, including Junji Ito‘s works, so I think those works probably influenced me subconsciously.

Personally, I think creators have to be careful about being influenced by other works. When I was working on All of Us Are Dead, The Walking Dead was the most popular zombie series around. I really wanted to watch it, but I deliberately avoided it because I was afraid it would influence my work. I eventually watched it and loved it. (laughs)

Why did you choose a school as the setting for All of Us Are Dead?

Joo: When I started drawing it, I had only recently graduated from high school. I simply wanted to draw a world that I knew best.

I also think of a school as a miniature version of society. So many different kinds of characters gather in one place, and I thought there would be a lot of stories I could tell.

How involved were you in the live-action adaptation?

Joo: Director Jae-kyoo Lee, who contacted me about adapting All of Us Are Dead, was already a huge star in the industry at the time. I considered the live-action series to be a separate creative work from my webtoon, so I didn’t get very involved.

The director even gave me the script, but I never opened it. Rather than reading the script and imagining what it would look like, I wanted to see it as a finished piece of video.

As a creator, I respect Lee, so I was more interested in seeing how he would reinterpret my work.

When a live-action series or film is based on a manga or webtoon, fans are always very interested in how closely the adaptation follows the original. But from the original creator’s perspective, it’s sometimes more interesting when the adaptation differs from the source material.

People who discover the story through the live-action series may become curious about how it differs from the webtoon and seek out the original. I think that’s a positive thing.

All of Us Are Dead has brought you fans around the world. Is there a memorable fan encounter?

Joo: Thanks to All of Us Are Dead, I’ve been able to visit eight countries. I’m grateful that so many fans came to meet me wherever I went.

Recently, I’ve also started to feel that the webtoon platform itself has grown significantly.

In the past, most fans would tell me that they had watched the live-action series first and then found the webtoon. But since last year, I’ve met many more people who tell me, “I read the original webtoon first. I’m a fan of the original.”

Is there another one of your works you would recommend?

Joo: All of my works are like children to me.

But if I had to recommend one, I’d choose my most recent work, Adonai. It deals with a cult and aliens. It’s similar to the Netflix series 3 Body Problem.

Readers had very divided opinions about the ending, so I’m curious to see how English-speaking readers would respond to it.

There isn’t an official English translation yet, but I hope to meet readers overseas soon.

Manga launched in 2023

Retailers are listing the third compiled book volume of Satoshi Shiki‘s Casshern R manga — the adaptation of Tatsunoko Production‘s Shinzō Ningen Casshan original television anime — as the final volume. The volume will ship on December 18.

The manga’s story centers on Tetsuya Azuma, who transforms into Casshern to fight mankind’s enemy Andro and his army.

The manga first launched in Monthly Champion RED in September 2023. Chabo Higurashi is writing the manga’s script. Satoshi announced in November 2023 the manga’s move from Monthly Champion RED to Akita Shoten‘s Manga Cross website. The manga restarted its serialization on the website from the fourth chapter in April 2025.

Tatsunoko Production‘s Shinzō Ningen Casshan original anime first aired in Japan in 1973. The anime’s Casshan: Robot Hunter animated video remake released in Japan in 1993, and Kazuaki Kiriya‘s live-action movie remake released in 2004. Streamline Pictures and ADV Films both released Casshan: Robot Hunter in North America, and Go Fish Pictures released the Casshern live-action movie remake.

The anime’s latest remake titled Casshern Sins aired in Japan in 2008. Funimation streamed the anime with English subtitles, and also released it on Blu-ray Disc and DVD in North America. 

Shiki ended his Akuma Kōjo (The Devil Princess) manga, the adaptation of Biyori Harunohi‘s original story, in May 2024. The manga launched in Kodansha‘s Monthly Shonen Sirius magazine in May 2022. Kodansha published the manga’s third and final compiled book volume in August 2024.

Shiki (XBlade, XBlade Cross, Daphne in the Brilliant Blue) ended the Attack on Titan: Before the Fall manga in March 2019.

Seven Seas Entertainment is releasing Shiki’s The Legend of Dororo and Hyakkimaru (Dororo to Hyakkimaru-den) remake manga of Osamu Tezuka‘s Dororo manga in English. Shiki launched the manga in Monthly Champion RED magazine in October 2018.

Source: Amazon