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With the Demon Slayer anime series set to return in April 2023 with the Swordsmith Village arc, fans are incredibly excited to see what news is revealed in the coming months. Similarly, with the 2023 convention scene resuming, fans are eager to learn what new information about the arc will surface.
Likewise, Anime Japan 2023 is perfectly timed as taking place in the days leading up to the release month of April 2023 for the Demon Slayer anime’s Swordsmith Village arc. With this in mind, fans are expecting major news and a strong presence from the smash-hit anime franchise ahead of the upcoming season’s premiere.
Follow along as this article fully breaks down the upcoming Demon Slayer presence in Anime Japan 2023, including the timing, the cast present, what to expect, and more.
Demon Slayer presence at Anime Japan 2023 likely to premiere full-length trailer for upcoming arc, confirm release date, and more
The Demon Slayer stage at Anime Japan 2023 is set to be part of their day 1 festivities, which begin on March 25, 2023, in Japanese Standard Time (JST). From 11:35 AM to 12:10 PM, the series will be on the red stage. The panel is not expected to run long or begin late, considering the massively packed schedule the overall convention has for fans.
Fans who are attending in person will obviously be able to attend the Red Stage itself in order to see the proceedings. However, most international fans won’t have this luxury. While there is a way to stream the event, it’s certainly less than ideal. There will be no English subtitles for the events, and (based on last year’s streaming process) fans will need to pay a per-day premium to stream the convention stages.
The Demon Slayer stage is set to begin at the following times in the corresponding time zones and regions:
- Pacific Daylight Time: 7:35 PM, Friday, March 24, 2023
- Eastern Daylight Time: 10:35 PM, Friday, March 24, 2023
- Greenwich Mean Time: 2:35 AM, Saturday, March 25, 2023
- Central European Time: 3:35 AM, Saturday, March 25, 2023
- India: 8:05 AM, Saturday, March 25, 2023
- Philippines: 10:35 AM, Saturday, March 25, 2023
- Japanese Standard Time: 11:35 AM, Saturday, March 25, 2023
- Australian Central Time: 1:05 PM, Saturday, March 25, 2023
Cast
As of this writing, four confirmed cast members have confirmed their attendance at the stage panel, which will be emceed by Yuma Takahashi. Takahashi is a long-standing Aniplex employee, first joining the team in a publicity role in 2004. After joining the production department in 2017, he joined the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba adaptation team as the series’ producer, a role he currently remains in.
Natsuki Hanae, Akari Kito, Kengo Kawanishi, and Kana Hanazawa are among the cast members who will appear. Hanae plays protagonist Tanjiro Kamado, while Kito plays Tanjiro’s demon sister, deuteragonist Nezuko Kamado. Kawanishi plays the fan-favorite character Mist Hashira Muichiro Tokito, while Hanazawa plays another fan-favorite character, Love Hashira Mitsuri Kanroji.
While it’s possible that additional guests will be joining them, this seems unlikely given the overall timing of the panel. Likewise, anime conventions typically announce the full guest list for each stage and panel well before the stage begins. While such surprises are certainly a possibility, fans shouldn’t be counting on their occurrence.
What to expect
The Demon Slayer stage at Anime Japan 2023 will undoubtedly focus on the upcoming Swordsmith Village arc for the smash-hit television anime series. This is further supported by the presence of Hanazawa and Kawanishi, whose respective characters of Tokito and Kanroji play key roles in the upcoming story arc.
There's also the fact that, as of this writing, the release window for the upcoming arc has yet to be narrowed down beyond a general April 2023 release window. Fans are certainly getting impatient for a full-fledged release date, and the adaptation team appears to have the ideal opportunity to build hype for the season and the announcement until the very last second.
It’s also likely that this release date announcement will come via or alongside a full-fledged trailer for the upcoming season. While fans have received several trailers for the upcoming season thus far, none have been a full-fledged feature trailer previewing the season overall. However, the adaptation team may choose not to release one such trailer, instead announcing the season’s release date on its own.
Follow along for more Demon Slayer anime news, as well as general anime, manga, film, and live-action news as 2023 progresses.
