All the News from Anime Expo 2024

Reincarnated as a Slime, Wistoria, 7th Prince Editors, Producers Take Fans to Another World

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

Crunchyroll hosted their isekai panel, "That Time There Was A Lot Of Isekai Anime on Crunchyroll," within the spacious halls of JW Marriot's Platinum Ballroom on Day 1 of Anime Expo. Moderated by Curt Richy with Mike McNamara assisting with translation, the panel hosted editor Riichiro Umetsu and producer Shinichirō Narita of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime fame, I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince producer Makoto Oda, Wistoria: Wand and Sword producer Katsuki Aoyama, and 7th Prince and Wistoria editor Shiro Yamano. Packed with fans with a lust for otherworldly fantasy epics, the panel satisfied their cravings with some Q&As detailing production plus a special premiere of Wistoria's first episode.

The initial Reincarnated as a Slime portion of the isekai panel had Narita and Umetsu reflecting on the series' popularity and how it has impacted the production of the ongoing third season. When reflecting on how Slime's manga creator felt about the story's success, the two stressed how important audience reception was since the novels were developed differently.

"Once it's been released, the author takes a lot of feedback from our audience and tries to integrate that into the story," Umetsu said. "It's in its final arc, so to speak, but it's been rewarding that both author and audience can appreciate and contribute collectively."

As to avoid spoilers, Narita and Umetsu were rigidly tight-lipped when asked what fans could anticipate during the latter half of Slime's third season. However, they did reveal that the staff has been placing a lot of attention on the show's food and other delicacies. Also unveiled was a cute, bubbly sketch of Rimuru drawn by Slime's manga creator Taiki Kawakami thanking everyone for coming to Anime Expo 2024.

When it came time to discuss Reincarnated as a 7th Prince, the series' opening sequence boisterously burst onto screens to introduce things, followed by the announcement that it had become the No. 1 best-selling manga on Kodansha's Magazine Pocket app. The Q&A had Makota Oda and Shiro Yamano get into the thickets of 7th Prince's production, from the animation to the direction. The two noted how the show's biggest advantage was its in-house animation.

"Normally, when you make anime of this caliber," Oda said, "You would have to hire freelancers or outsource. But the studio [Tsumugi Akita Anime Lab] does [it] all in-house, which makes them quite unique. For anyone who has or hasn't seen it yet, I'd like you to pay attention to the end credits because, more so than many other anime, the same names appear. We didn't have to switch teams up, which is what I think lent itself to its high quality and consistency throughout the series."

Oda also highlighted the importance of director Jin Tamamura. A committed multi-tasker, Tamamura would handle all of the storyboarding of 7th Prince as well as the direction. "Normally, you would split up duties between directing and storyboarding," Oda commented. "But Tamamura did all of it himself, and I think that's how we're able to accurately recreate a lot of what's happening in the manga into the anime itself. There's a lot of love here."

Yamano added another cool anecdote: "In the last episode, episode twelve, due to time and schedule constraints, we actually thought, 'Hey, maybe we should cut out the onsen scene.' But it was the animation studio and director who said, 'No, we gotta put this scene in!' We, of course, are very thankful for that."

Finally, the Wistoria Q&A focused on Tatsuya Yoshihara's involvement with the series. When asked how Yoshihara originally got involved, Yamano noted that several different studios actually raised their hand at the opportunity to adapt the manga, but when it was found that Yoshihara and his studio were in the running, the choice couldn't have been more obvious. "It was meant to be," Yamano said.

The very first episode of Wistoria then aired as a delightful special premiere to all attendees. Regarding the show's presentation, Yamano and Aoyama noted how, despite all of the action, they really hoped that the audience could pay attention to and appreciate the score and (naturally) the more kawaiiness of the female characters.

Reincarnated as a 7th Prince announced its second season back in June, but no official date has been announced as of yet. In the meantime, you can stream it on Crunchyroll, as well as Reincarnated as a Slime and Wistoria.