When Crunchyroll announced that the anime adaptation of Daemons of the Shadow Realm was coming to the streamer, it was an assured must-watch. How could it not be? It saw Fullmetal Alchemist mangaka Hiromu Arakawa unite once again with animation studio Bones Film (Gachiakuta) to bring her newest epic to life. In professional wrestling terms, that’s basically the equivalent of the Mega Powers of animation spinning the block on the animation industry. And with its first cour in the history books and its second cour airing now, the show’s more than lived up to fans’ lofty expectations.
Turns out everyone’s GOATs, Arakawa and Bones Film, are still as much of an animation dream team with our new sibling heroes, Yuru and Asa, as they were when they defined the anime landscape in the early aughts (twice!) with the Elric Brothers.
io9 got to chat with Kensho Ono and Yume Miyamoto, the Japanese voice actors for Yuru and Asa, about the show’s shocking premiere episode twist, how they brought the estranged siblings’ tumultuous relationship to life, and the pressure to live up to the production studio and mangaka’s joint legacy as the stars of their latest anime.
Light spoilers ahead for the first cour of Daemons of the Shadow Realm.Isaiah Colbert, io9: Episode one delivers a major surprise when the story reveals it isn’t a historical period piece but is actually set in the modern day. Were you just as shocked as viewers at that reveal when you first learned about it?
Kensho Ono: I think I had the exact same reaction as a lot of the fans did when they first saw that reveal. Because of the nature of my work, I, of course, read the manga before performing on the anime. But I imagine the readers felt that some anime fans would feel this. I also think, back before the anime came out, we were doing a little promotional tour, and a lot of the media outlets would ask the same question: “What kind of anime is this?” And I couldn’t talk about that much because I knew that reveal would be a huge spoiler. I remember it being hard to talk about the anime without addressing directly the fact that this isn’t going to be a kind of period piece.
Yume Miyamoto: Again, with the manga and different eras coexisting, I think, for me, it was a huge shock. When that got adapted into an anime, I think the sound design effects I thought were very interesting because you’re thinking about these people who are cutting wheat with their sickles. At the same time, we hear gunshots and airplanes. So, the fact that those two sound designs can coexist in one anime, I think, was also surprisingly not as jarring as I thought it would be. But it was very different to what you’re expecting to see.
io9: Yuru and Asa’s bond is central to the anime’s emotional core and its themes of pairs. When performing their scenes together, what aspects of their sibling dynamic did you focus on to bring out the warmth, tension, and unspoken history between them?
Miyamoto: (Laughs) I feel a lot of that was watching and listening to how Kensho performed Yuru, trying to download that rhythm and those vibes, and then use it in my own performance to kind of mimic certain areas that I think would be able to kind of close the gap between that bond and that pairing.
Ono: Thinking of how Yuru was raised in this village and only having one… there’s sort of this support system of family and blood connection. But after coming into contact with the real Asa, all of that has turned on its head, and I think he can’t really accept her as his sibling. Watching the character from episode one through episode twelve, I think we see that kind of evolve. I know Asa also has this blood relation with Yuru, and she is much quicker to accept it. Then she keeps closing the distance to Yuru. I think that kind of helps bridge that.
Whereas Yuru is having a hard time accepting that suddenly he has a different sibling now. Asa’s constant approach, I think, is slightly embarrassing for Yuru. But at the same time, it shows us a different side of the character. Because he’s normally very calm and collected, but only around Asa, you can kind of see his age and how kind of adolescent he is.
io9: Of the daemons we’ve met so far in the anime, which one stands out as your personal favorite, and why?
Ono: Of the many daemons that exist, Tenaga-Ashinaga (Long-Arm and Long-Leg) comes to mind right now because they’re this truly, inherently bad daemon. And until that point, I didn’t think that something pure evil could exist. And the two actors performing them have a massive amount of power and energy in their performances. It comes across through the characters. For me, it becomes very worthy of my character to stand against.
Miyamoto: I play Asa, so, of course, Yin and Yang come to mind. I think it was also the first time [the anime] taught us and the audience that daemons also have hearts too. They’re not just tools to be constantly used. When we’re fighting together, I think we were able to show that to the audience for the first time. That was my reaction to Yin and Yang-chan.
io9: Daemons of the Shadow Realm marks a major reunion of creative forces behind the scenes—that being Bones and Hiromu Arakawa. How does it feel to be part of a project that has generated so much excitement and seems poised to become another standout hit? Does that ever add any sense of pressure or excitement for you as the show’s leads?
Ono: When we’re recording episode one in the booth—and this happens for a lot of projects—aside from the director, a lot of so-called grownups come to see the recording of episode one. They’re all greeting each other, we’re going to start this production, and it’s going to be great, et cetera. But, with regards to Daemons of the Shadow Realm, there were more grown-ups that I saw greeting each other—exchanging business cards—than I saw for any other project.
I think that speaks to the level and caliber of people involved in the project. And for me, more so than the pressure, it was more about the fact that I got to work on a project written by Arakawa-sensei.
Miyamoto: Everything that he mentioned about the first day and the greetings is all true. But for recording sessions of this nature, people of a similar age and vocal tone usually take the same auditions. So there’s this sort of guessing game: “Okay, they probably got the part because they’re starting to go a little M.I.A. around this time.”
Before the cast was officially announced, and more so than any audition or product I’ve worked on, a lot of my peers were asking me, “Hey, what’s it like on set? What’s it like working with them?” So I think that is something that is telling of the weight or caliber of what this project represents.
For me, what I tell them is—because I’m in the recording sessions, I can say—”The performances of a lot of these veterans and very talented actors are super top tiers.” There’s a lot to be excited about, and I respond to them saying it’s going to be a really cool project.
io9: Looking back on the first season, do you have a favorite quirk about your character—or a funny scene—that still sticks with you as an especially memorable or enjoyable recording session?
Ono: For me, it’s a scene where Asa places her hand on my back. I think that’s the first time that there was this realization for my character that he has a little sister. Given Yuru and Yuru’s circumstances, it’s hard to know what’s real and what’s not. So he’s questioning everything. But for the first time, there is some relationship—something he can believe in. I think it was a very important moment for Yuru, so that left an impression on me.
Miyamoto: For me, it’s episode seven where my character dies once to gain even greater power so that it can help my brother. I think it was a huge turning point for my character where it was almost like a don’t look back anymore, constantly looking forward type of moment. And we really get to see Asa’s determination.
Any time I lose sight of the character and I want to refocus, I’ll watch episode seven to remind myself of that determination that Asa now has. That she can face other situations and circumstances with that same kind of resolve.
Daemons of the Shadow Realm is streaming on Crunchyroll and Netflix.
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