Report on the stage greeting celebrating the release of “Zegapain STA” with Asanuma Shintaro, Hanazawa Kana, Kawasumi Ayako, and director Shimoda Masami | They even talked about the recording and audition for the TV series 18 years ago!The anime series “Zegapain” began with a TV series broadcast in 2006, and “Zegapain ADP” was released as a movie in 2016. The latest work, “Zegapain STA”, which depicts the sequel to the TV series, started screening in theaters on Friday, August 16, 2024.

On Saturday, August 17th, the day after the release, a special stage greeting was held at Shinjuku Piccadilly, with Asanuma Shintaro, who plays Sogoru Kyo, Hanazawa Kana, who plays Kaminagi Ryoko, Kawasumi Ayako, who plays Misaki Shizuno, and director Shimoda Masami taking to the stage. They spoke about their current feelings about the sequel being released 18 years after the TV series, and what to look forward to.

This article will report on the event. Please note that as the stage greeting took place after the screening, some spoilers may be included. Please be careful if you have not yet seen the film.

The MC for this event was Yuji Hirooka. Although Hirooka has already retired, he was in charge of promoting the series from the time the Blu-ray Box was released through to “Zegapain ADP”. After five years, he was asked to be the MC for this stage greeting, and so he decided to take the stage.

As Hirooka’s talk reached a climax, the voice actors and Director Shimoda appeared on stage. Hanazawa and Kawasumi asked the Celebrants (a term used in the film, but which here refers to fans of the series) what they thought of the film, which elicited warm applause from the audience.

At the time, it was considered a masterpiece known only to a select few, but 18 years later, this work was made into a sequel to the TV series. Director Shimoda commented that he was overwhelmed with emotion to be able to deliver the new work to fans.

Asanuma revealed that when the first large-scale event was held for the 10th anniversary in 2016, he said, “That’s impossible (Kyo’s catchphrase).” Eight years have passed since then, but he was happy to be able to see the new work at such a time.

Hanazawa-san remembered her audition for the TV series. The materials sent to her included Ryoko’s character design and profile, and it described her as a girl with a machine gun-like way of talking. Hanazawa-san said that she was a laid-back girl at the time, and was worried about whether she would be able to talk like a machine gun.

Kawasumi-san expressed her feelings that she was happy just to have “ADP” from the TV series onwards. She didn’t think that more time would pass and we would be able to see the rest of the story, and said that the realization of this work was thanks to those who had not forgotten “Zegapain” for a long time.