Aniplex of America participated in the Virtual Crunchyroll Expo 2020 that streamed online over Labor Day weekend. Aniplex is, of course, one of the biggest players in anime, being involved in the planning, production, and distribution of countless series. Think Demon Slayer, Sword Art Online, Cells at Work!, Your Lie in April!, Fairy Tale, Kaguya-sama: Love is War, Working!!, Anohana, and the Fate and Monogatari series to name a few. During their panel, Marketing Specialists Anthony Foronda and Rose Iwai discussed the company’s new visual novel brand, the latest home releases, a surprise video, and more.

Aniplex.EXE

The hosts first highlighted Aniplex’s recently launched brand dedicated to releasing visual novel games on PC via Steam, Aniplex.EXE. The first two titles, which are available now, are Atri: My Dear Moments and Adabana Odd Tales.

Atri: My Dear Moments

This game takes place in the world where a sudden and mysterious rise in sea levels has left most of the world underwater. During the summer months in a small town slowly being overtaken by the ocean, a boy and a robot girl meet. This light-hearted sci-fi story is made by the developers behind The Fruit of Grisaia.

Adabana Odd Tales

This game follows a girl named Shirohime who’s lost her memories and a mysterious boy named Kurofude. They travel through Japanese fairy tales that have become distorted in order to restore them to their proper form.

Visit the Aniplex.EXE page on Steam.

Blu-ray Releases

The hosts then moved on to giving details about Blu-ray release for three of their popular titles.

Demon Slayer Limited Edition Blu-ray Volumes 1-2

The limited edition Blu-ray of Demon Slayer Volume 1 was released earlier this summer. Volume 2 will be available on November 24, 2020.

Volume 1 contains episodes 1-13, along with a textless opening and ending, and audio commentary by both the Japanese and English casts. In addition, the limited edition set features box art and package illustrations by Character Designer Akira Mtsushima, a special art booklet, an illustration card set, and soundtrack CDs. Volume 2 will contain episodes 14-26, along with similar features. Both are available exclusively through Right Stuf Anime.

Fate/stay night – Unlimited Blade Works Complete Blu-ray Box Set

The Fate/stay night – Unlimited Blade Works Complete Blu-ray Box Set is available now and only through Right Stuf Anime. It contains the uncut versions of episodes 00-25, as well as the “sunny day” special OVA episode. It comes with textless versions of the openings and endings, a mini booklet, a package illustrated by Character Designer Takashi Takeuchi, and more.

Persona 5: The Animation Complete Blu-ray Box Set

The Persona 5: The Animation Complete Blu-ray Box Set will be available this month on September 29, 2020, exclusively through Right Stuf Anime. It features a brand new English dub for all 26 episodes and the two specials, a set of 12 illustration cards, textless openings and endings, and more.

Aniplex+ Figures

Aniplex+, Aniplex’s own online store, has three new figures coming soon.

Nezuko (Demon Slayer)

Nezuko, the lovable sister-turned-demon from Demon Slayer, has a poseable figure that comes with four different facial expression parts (standard, smiling, sleeping, and angry) and her box. Moreover, her clothing is made out of real fabric.

Inosuke (Demon Slayer)

Carrying his twin Nichirin swords, Demon Slayer‘s wild fighter Inosuke is always ready for a fight. His wild boar mask can be swapped out with a face part that shows his surprisingly handsome face.

Asuna “Goddess of Creation Stacia” (Sword Art Online: Alicization)

Asuna the Lightning Flash descends into the Underworld as Stacia the Goddess of Creation in the Alicization arc of Sword Art Online. A special paint was used on her armor to give it a cool effect.

Host Favorites

The hosts then took some time to talk about a couple of their favorite shows.

Blend S
This comedy series centers around Maika Sakuranomiya, a cheerful and innocent high school girl whose menacing smile literally scares people, and her daily life working at Café Stile. The cafe specializes in waitresses who roleplay as particular character types, such as the tsundere, the idol, the little sister and the older sister. Maika’s fearsome looks caught the eyes of Dino, the young Italian owner of the cafe, and he scouted her to play the role of a sadistic waitress. Now, she tries her best to act terrible to customers, even though it goes against her good nature. Drink up the silliness on Funimation or Crunchyroll.

Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online

This is a spin-off of the popular franchise about players in virtual reality worlds. This one focuses on a short girl named Llenn, who is also known as the Pink Devil for her speed and ability to defeat opponents in the shooter survival game Gun Gale Online. In reality, Llenn is shy, college student Karen Kohiruimaki, and she’s a tall girl with a height complex. Usually a solo player, she is challenged to join a team-based battle royale competition. She accepts, hoping to prove something to herself as well as to meet a friend in real life. Her story can be seen on Crunchyroll and Hulu.

Airing in Summer

The hosts then talked about two shows that were airing during the current summer season.

Sword Art Online Alicization: War of the Underworld: The Final Season

The end of the Underworld story arc is upon us. Kirito is still out of commission as Asuna, Alice, and the rest of the Human Empire battles against Emperor Vector and the forces of the Dark Territory. Meanwhile, in the real world, the assault on the Ocean Turtle continues, threatening the existence of the entire Underworld itself. The conclusion can be experienced on Hulu, Crunchyroll, Funimation, and HIDIVE.

In addition to highlighting the series, the hosts brought up the complete Blu-ray set for the first Alicization season with Kirito and Eugeo. It includes all 24 episodes (plus 18.5) across six discs, English and Japanese audio, textless openings and endings, audio commentary, an illustration card set, and the soundtrack on CD.

The Misfit of Demon King Academy

To end a long, bloody war between demons and humans, the absurdly powerful Demon King of Tyranny Anos Voldigoad sacrificed himself to create a peace between the two species. Two thousand years later, he reincarnated in order to see what the world had become. However, demons were not as powerful as they used to be. Also, when he enrolled in the eponymous Demon King Academy in order to prove himself of claiming the title, no one remembered him as ever being the demon king for some reason. Not only that, he’s labeled an unworthy misfit by the school because he’s not of a royal bloodline. Joined by new allies, he seeks to unravel the mystery and reassert himself as the Demon King of Tyranny. Watch him kick butt only on Crunchyroll. For those fans who prefer English voices, the dubbed version premiered on September 5.

However, that wasn’t all the panel had to talk about regarding the show. As a special surprise, they showed a short video that featured voice actresses Tomori Kusunoki and Yuuko Natsuyoshi who play sisters Misha Necron and Sasha Necron, respectively. They introduced their characters and answered basic questions about them. They also talked about their feelings about the series itself. In particular, they noted that it’s a story that will keep viewers on the edge of their seats, but also that there’s a sense of security knowing that Anos will solve everything. The two actresses also brought up the fact that they grew closer together as friends during the many sessions, eventually seeing themselves almost like sisters in real life. Finally, they hoped that North American fans would enjoy the series and find it inspiring.

The end of the video also brought the panel itself to a close. In short, Aniplex of America continues to deliver great anime, figures, and games to the North American audience. That’s Grade A entertainment in my book.