SpyXFamily and Kaiju No. 8

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2023「劇場版 SPY×FAMILY」製作委員会　©遠藤達哉／集英社

Between three tremendously popular seasons and a movie that grossed nearly 60 million dollars, it’s clear that Spy×Family and Kaiju No. 8 are TOHO’s latest anime darlings. It’s no surprise then that distributor/producer TOHO would bundle them together for an extra long power panel on day one of Anime Expo in the form of the Spy×Family / Kaiju No. 8 SPECIAL EVENT Hosted by TOHO animation. Fans of both or either property filled the Main Events space, and tracks from the jazzy Spy×Family: Code White soundtrack welcomed them to a panel that felt first and foremost for diehard fans of these properties.

Spy×Family anime series director, Kazuhiro Furuhashi, and Spy×Family: Code White director, Kazuhiro Furuhashi, took the stage first. Here they discussed their favorite scenes from their respective works and attendees got to see the rough animatics and line art versions of each of them. Furhashi’s favorite scene was the underground tennis match because, “the storyboard for this scene looks completely different from the final cut” and it was the result of “trying to find an even balance between this moment in the manga, and the artistic talents/direction of the animators on this scene.” Katagiri’s favorite scene in Code White was Yor’s fight scene, and he describes it as a “gathering of dozens of our animators and letting their talent shine where it could.”

Katagiri also showcased mock-ups of Anya’s outfit in the Code White movie, and noted that they ultimately decided to move away from a black and red color scheme as it, “felt a little too ‘Magical Girl.’”

Shortly after this statement, the panel entered an intermission to shift focus onto Kaiju No. 8, which motivated the mass exodus of at least one hundred panel attendees in the main events space! On some level, this is understandable as the back half of this panel overlaps with other high-profile events; like the Kodansha: New Licensing Announcements panel, TRIGUN STAMPEDE panel, presented by Crunchyroll and Orange, and the Tradition meets Anime – Japanese Sword Fight Performance. However, this room was at capacity and the line had to be cut, meaning that some people who wanted to see this panel couldn’t. This many departures, therefore, leaves a bad taste in my mouth as it’s fair to assume that people who would have stayed for the full panel couldn’t get in because of some folks who were just there for Spy×Family. Those who left mid-panel, also missed what was, by far, the most entertaining portion of the Spy×Family / Kaiju No. 8 SPECIAL EVENT.

The Kaiju No. 8 portion of the panel featured Kafka Hibano’s voice actor, Masaya Fukunishi, and Mina Ashiro’s voice actor, Asami Seto, taking the stage. Both were immediately charismatic and their crowd work was exceptional, with both often enthusiastically speaking in English to the primarily English-speaking audience. When asked how they reacted to being cast in Kaiju No. 8, Fukunishi, an apparent fan of the series, said he broke down in dramatic tears, while Seto accused her agent of lying to her.

The two also dubbed several scenes from the anime live to the audience, including a stretch of Kafka’s fight with Kaiju No. 9, one of Mina’s fights against a Kaiju, and a rare personal moment between the characters. Throughout this portion of the panel, Fukunishi repeatedly held a Phantom of the Opera-style Kaiju No. 8 mask in front of his face, which he brought with him from Japan.

The biggest surprise out of this panel was a special message from YUNGBLUD, the musical talent behind Kaiju No. 8’s distinctively English OP song. YUNGBLUD expressed his longstanding fondness for the Kaiju No. 8 manga and enthusiasm for being a part of this project. Ultimately, it’s this kind of earnestness from people like Masaya Fukunishi, Asami Seto, and YUNGBLUD that made this panel such a standout. If you’re not incredibly enthused by the panels you’re seeing at Anime Expo, many of them can feel like glorified commercials, and the entire event is far too consumeristic.

However, hearing creatives express their seemingly genuine happiness and excitement at contributing to the projects they’re attached to, made this panel feel far more human than most others. It reminds me that everything featured at or premiering at Anime Expo is made by people. Whatever trailer, artwork, or other media is on display could have been someone’s passion project. The happiness and excitement displayed at the Spy×Family / Kaiju No. 8 SPECIAL EVENT was, at the very least infectious and I left that panel in much higher spirits than when I marched into it.