updated on Art Feature TV

‘Demon Slayer: To the Swordsmith Village’ Premieres in Los Angeles

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Production company Aniplex hosted a world tour with the talent and creators of Demon Slayer in celebration of the series’ upcoming season three release. The first stop on the world tour was Los Angeles, where the special premiere event took place at the Orpheum Theatre, a venue built in the same time period the anime takes place in. The sold out event brought fans celebrity appearances, a special musical performance, and a first look at the first episode of the new season.

The event kicked off with a casual red carpet, with fans crowding the gates in hopes of getting a glimpse of their favorite celebrities. Abby Trott (English voice actor for Nezuko), Aleks Le (English voice actor for Zenitsu), Brandon Mcinnis (English voice actor for Gyutaro), Bryce Papenbrook (English voice actor for Inosuke), Natsuki Hanae (Japanese voice actor for Tanjiro), Ray Chase (English voice actor for Tengen), Zach Aguilar (English voice actor for Tanjiro), and Yuma Takahashi (producer) were among those who walked the carpet, as well as Twitch streamers, YouTubers, and other influencers. The unique experience also featured kigurumi (cartoon-character costumes) of Inosuke, Nezuko, Tanjiro, and Zenitsu, who walked alongside their voice actors, posing for photos and loitering around behind the actors as they conducted each interview. Each of the voice actors dressed up in subtle ways to match their characters, with most opting to coordinate the colors in their outfits. Meanwhile, Aleks Le even went above and beyond, creating a custom blazer jacket with gold lighting streaks on the side and the Demon Slayer Corp signature “滅” on the back.

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Once everyone made their way inside, fans were greeted with gift bags on their seats containing blind boxes, figurines, and more. The event began in a timely manner, kicking off with an onstage Q&A with Natsuki Hanae, Yuma Takahashi, and Zach Aguilar. The trio went through a variety of topics, discussing what they’d love to do if they hung out together, offering advice they have for one another, and even doing a special live reading of a line from Tanjiro in both English and Japanese. Once the quick Q&A was over, singer Aimer was welcomed to the stage to perform both the opening and closing songs of season two, “Zankyosanka” and “Asa ga Kuru,” with the opening sequence and montage of the Entertainment District Arc playing on the screen behind her. Her performance brought on loud cheers from the crowd, as hearing the songs live along with the videos playing only created more anticipation for the main event to come.

Soon after Aimer’s performance, the lights dimmed as a recap of seasons one and two played to signal the long awaited screening. After playing episodes 10 and 11 from season two, the last 45 minutes of the event were then dedicated to watching episode one of season three. The audience screamed and cheered as their favorite characters graced the big screen with surround sound, and the whole theater rumbled with the excitement. A first look at season three gave fans a taste of what is to come, leaving them hungry for the new season set to air in April.

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