Japanese Voice Actor Taihi Kimura on Voicing Chihiro in The Anime Kagurabachi

The anime KAGURABACHI made a major impact at this year’s Anime Expo 2026, bringing fans a special premiere screening of the first twenty minutes of the first episode and absolutely delighting them with how strong that early footage of the anime was. While not overly vocal within the 20 minute screening, protagonist Chihiro Rokuhira has a bunch of memorable and impactful lines, many of which prompted loud cheering from the audience upon deliver. Japanese voice actor Taihi Kimura, responsible for the impressive delivery Chihiro had, did a fantastic job conveying Chihiro’s silent strength and basic desires in just a few minutes.

We had the opportunity to sit down with Kimura-san and talk through his process and experience for voicing Chihiro. The actor gave us some unique perspective and explained what goes into putting forward one of 2027 anime’s coolest protagonists.

Portions of this interview have been edited for clarity. This interview was conducted with the assistance of an interpreter.

Q: When you first received the role, was there any advice or guidance you were given about how to construct Chihiro’s voice? Did any major part of the sound change?

Kimura-san: When I started recording, I initially used a voice with grief, with anger, with pain. But when I did that, it was too heavy in the tone, and it didn’t sound like an 18 year old. So, I tried to act more naturally. Like myself.

Q: Did you approach Chihiro first as the son of a swordsmith rather than as a swordsman? How did Kunishige’s influence shape the way you thought about his voice and emotional rhythm?

Kimura-san: It was the other way around. I started acting as a swordsman, then the swordsmith. That’s why for the question before it was too heavy for Chihiro as an 18 year old boy. So I approached the character as the son of a swordsmith, then a swordsman. It was a little bit the other way around. And I didn’t have a chance to meet Kunishige’s voice actor [Tomokazu Seki] before. It was our very first time meeting at the recording studio. So it was exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time, but because he was there, we were able to construct a relationship as father and son.

Q: Were you aware of the series before being cast as Chihiro? What were some of your first impressions of it?

Kimura-san: I knew of it, of course, before the anime. It was a cool revenge story with a little unique tempo, so it’s very, very interesting and a very new experience for me to read.

Q: Chihiro has a gloomy, edgy personality, but still has softer or more delicate moments to his character. How do you approach maintaining his usual personality while making room for different sides of him to shine?

Kimura-san: He has a mindset of achieving revenge for his father, but has a delicate place and feelings deep inside him. When he was young, it wasn’t like that. Although he is not as talkative or a really happy person, keep in mind that he has that sort of mindset. He’s not just blue at all times. I think it’s important to always keep that part of Chihiro’s mindset in mind to act as the character.

Q: Which relationship helped you understand Chihiro the most: his father, one of his allies, or one of his enemies?

Kimura-san: It’s his father. They used to live together and the conversation they had in the past is actually a very important factor for me to act as Chihiro.

Q: During especially intense scenes with lots of violence or action, how do you keep your voice acting dynamic and matching the intensity of the animation?

Kimura-san: Chihiro is not the sort of a character that shows expression in an intense scene, it’s not like that. I keep things in a natural way. I act according to the way things happen, not making things up too much, even in the intense scenes and violent scenes.

Q: Unlike a lot of other shonen characters, Chihiro does not seem to consider himself much of a hero. How does that kind of disposition affect the way you voice him?

Kimura-san: He doesn’t get help from many people. He’s quite introverted in a complex character personality sort of way, but also sometimes he believes in somebody really quick. It’s a complicated thing, and it’s very difficult, so I’m still learning what Chihiro is like as a character.

Q: What do you think are the highlights of the series, or things that a reader or watcher should pay the most attention to?

Kimura-san: Our highlight will be the intense action scenes. I also want the viewers to look forward to the ups and downs of Chihiro’s emotions too in the series.

Q: What’s something that you think the viewers of Anime Expo 2026’s screening might not catch yet about Chihiro?

Kimura-san: Chihiro is still just an 18 year old boy. That’s something I want the viewers who watched today’s premiere to understand.

Q: You heard the reactions of the fans during the premiere. What was it like experiencing the reaction to your work and what were some scenes that you maybe were surprised got as much of a reaction as they did?

Kimura-san: I was really motivated with the energy the fans had, and I was really grateful for that too. I was quite surprised that during the action scenes, they all went “Woo!” They were so fully excited. I was surprised about that too. Global fans are passionate and very energetic, and I love both Japanese fans and global fans. This was an awesome experience.

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We’d like to thank Taihi Kimura for taking the time to speak with us about the anime KAGURABACHI following its anime premiere at Anime Expo 2026. Anime Expo 2026 was the first stop of the Kagurabachi Anime World Tour Part 1. Additional advance screenings of the first 20 minutes of Episode 1 are detailed on the official website. Select events also feature staff panels.

The anime KAGURABACHI is scheduled to premiere in April 2027 and will stream on Crunchyroll, MUSE, SMG HOLDINGS, and other platforms.

Official links to the anime official website and social media pages can be found below:

• Official Website
• Official X: @kb_anime_en
• Official TikTok: @kb_anime_en
• Official Instagram: @kb_anime_en

©Takeru Hokazono/SHUEISHA,Project Kagurabachi