All the News from Anime Expo 2024

DanMachi Panel Honors Syr's VA to Kick Off Season 5, Unveils New Key Visual

ANN's coverage of Anime Expo 2024 sponsored by Yen Press and Ize Press!

Warner Bros. Japan's DanMachi panel was a feast for the fans clamoring for the anime's fifth season. It dedicated itself to all of the loyal DanMachians in attendance, but a special spotlight was cast on dub voice actress Juliet Simmons, whose longtime commitment to the series made her a special guest of honor. Known for her work as Syr, Simmons discussed her work with a contagiously dazzling sense of glee. "This is crazy," Simmons said. "I'm a huge weeb. I've been to Anime Expo a few times, but this is the first time I'm here as a job!"

Simmons relayed some of her origins to the crowd. "My first voice-over job was difficult because I was pretty young," she said. "It was around the moment I turned 18. I had followed my sister [Genevieve] and was like, 'I love anime. I should be the one in there!'" Her voice trembled its way through a sardonic goblin-esque cadence upon the latter half of the statement, garnering a genuine chuckle from the audience. "Anyway, I was weird, I was creepy and they were like, 'Let's give that creepy girl a chance.'"

Naturally, Simmons discussed her start working on DanMachi. Still, just a young college student doing voice-over, Simmons was picked up for the role when director Kyle Colby Jones noticed her knack for voicing elf maids. Five seasons and ten years have passed and Simmons remains as dedicated to DanMachi as ever.

The answer was obvious when asked who her best girl was: "Syr! I have to say: she's got that heart of gold. And she also has that little catch phase where she's all 'fufufu'."

Meanwhile, her decision for best boy? "Welf! Easy! He has the passion, he has the drive, and he likes Hephaistos! And don't we all?"

EGG FIRM president Nobuhiro Osawa would later join Simmons on stage to discuss more about DanMachi's production. After a brief synopsis of the anime's production history, the panel replayed the trailer to season five released earlier this year, followed by a new key visual.

Osawa told fans to pay keen attention to the details here, noting that a character from the previous key visual is not in this new one. He also noted what would happen to Syr: "So it starts with her at the festival," Osawa said. "You'll see a lot of lovey-dovey scenes you don't typically see. But this is DanMachi, so expect things to get sinister real quick."

A pre-recorded video of Syr's Japanese voice actress Shizuka Ishigami would reveal that this season of DanMachi would show a different side of Syr, namely the one that finally has her confessing her love to Bell. However, what really wafted the room with joy was when Osawa recalled hearing samples of Simmons' work as Syr. He noted how surprised he was by how similar Simmons sounded to Syr's Japanese VA, prompting Simmons's face to flush with a flood of crimson. "I'm speechless, I love her so much," Simmons quipped. "I would be amazed if I could ever act with her. She is my goddess!"

The panel ended with a quick quiz show where participants could win prizes. The questions ranged from questions only fans would know—what is the name of the popular pub Syr works at?—to the intentionally obvious—which streaming service can you watch DanMachi? The latter was met with roars of "HIDIVE!" followed by impassioned tribal chants of "DAN-MA-CHI! DAN-MA-CHI! DAN-MA-CHI!"

The panel concluded with Osawa commenting on working for DanMachi for a decade, noting how much he has changed while the characters remain the same as ever. As one final gesture of gratitude, the panel's host and the audience thanked Simmons and Osawa for their time. As the usual bout of group photos took place, the faces of fans and panelists gushed with exactly the type of joviality you'd expect from diehard fans eagerly anticipating the fifth season of their beloved series.

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