Anime NYC welcomed special guests Kenichirou Matsuda, the voice of the Narrator and Bond, and Emiri Kato, the voice of Becky Blackbell from Spy x Family. It was officially their first time in New York City, and they described the experience as feeling “like being stuck in a movie” and noted how “talkative and friendly” the locals are. Emiri-san even mentioned that some of the dogs she saw looked just like Bond. You’ll be able to read more about their NYC adventures in a future interview article!
Portions of this panel have been lightly edited for clarity, and there will also be spoilers ahead
Additional Guest Appearance
Atsumi Tanezaki, the voice of Anya, made a surprise appearance through a special recording to share her excitement with fans and reveal some news about Season 3 of the anime. She teased that the upcoming season will include flashbacks to Loid’s past and the appearance of a certain character’s mother. Many fans speculated that Anya’s biological mother might be shown in these flashbacks, but for now, it’s confirmed that Melinda Desmond (Damian Desmond’s mother) will officially appear in Season 3.
Before handing things back to Kenichirou Matsuda and Emiri Kato, Atsumi-san asked them a few fun questions, including their favorite scenes and which character they would bring to New York City from the series.
Q&A
Kato-san’s favorite scene was when Anya and Becky went shopping in Episode 24, “Shopping with Friends.” What started as an attempt to help Anya get closer to Damian quickly turned into Becky’s moment to shine as she tried to attract Loid Forger’s attention. Despite their plan going off track, the two continued their day together, enjoying the simple joy of spending time with a friend for the first time. Their friendship was further solidified when they bought matching sheep keychains of the mall’s mascot.
Another memory was when it involved a rumor about pastries that would make anyone who ate it, an imperial scholar. In Episode 29 “The Pastry of Knowledge” (Season 2 Episode 4), Anya, Becky, Damian and his friends attempted to receive this treat by racing and then finishing it off with a familiar card game “Old Maid”. Anya was close to losing, but was given the last pastry by Damian who couldn’t resist her innocent charms. Kato-san loved the dynamic between Anya and Damian, hoping to see their relationship grow more as the series continued.
Matsuda-san’s favorite scene was the same as Tanezaki-san’s: the moment when Bond was first told he would become part of the Forger family. Bond had been raised in a secret laboratory as an experiment designed to predict the future, the very ability that shaped how much he could trust others. Because of this, being welcomed into a loving family meant everything to him.
In Season 2, Episode 12, “Behind the Scandal,” Loid and Bond spend a day together, with Bond doing his best to save people from small misfortunes. He prevents someone from dropping their ice cream, stops a bicycle accident, and even rescues Daisy the puppy from a fire. Matsuda-san shared that he loved this scene because it allowed him to portray Bond’s voice in many different ways, such as out of breath, happy, worried, among other things.
Kenichirou Matsuda-san: “I remember voicing that scene where Bond was depicted as thin, so when I did the ‘woof,’ the director asked if I could make it deeper.”
After sharing some of their favorite scenes from the series, Matsuda-san and Kato-san wrapped up the Q&A by answering which character from Spy x Family they would bring to New York City and why.
Matsuda-san said that Loid or “the Handler” (Sylvia Sherwood) would be his top choices because of their leadership skills and survival instincts. With either of them by his side, he would feel safe and well-prepared in such a busy city, confident they would always have a plan in mind.
Kato-san chose Becky, explaining that New York City can be quite expensive to explore alone. With Becky, she could enjoy all kinds of luxuries (food, sweets, designer clothes) and travel around in style in a limo. She even joked that if Becky owned the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, she would make it a whole lot bigger (laughs).
Live VA
After the Q&A, both Matsuda-san and Kato-san prepared to give a live voice acting demonstration from various scenes in Spy x Family.
Kato-san performed the scene from Episode 6, “The Friendship Scheme,” where Becky first meets Anya during the welcoming ceremony at Eden College. She also voiced the scene from Episode 29, “The Pastry of Knowledge” (Season 2, Episode 4), where Becky and Anya race to the cafeteria for the infamous pastry of knowledge.
Matsuda-san began with the Narrator, reenacting the opening scene from Season 2, Episode 1, “Follow Mama and Papa,” where he explains Operation Strix and the true objectives of the Forger family. Afterwards, he performed the scene from Season 1, Episode 21, “First Fit of Jealousy,” where Bond’s jealousy leads to Anya’s beloved penguin being brutally torn apart.
Janken Game Conclusion
Before wrapping up the event, the entire audience stood for a chance to win signed posters from both Kato-san and Matsuda-san through a spirited game of rock-paper-scissors (Janken). In the end, only five lucky winners were left standing. It was truly an unforgettable experience, especially with how Matsuda-san and Kato-san ran across the stage multiple times to personally wave and say their farewells.
You can stream both seasons of Spy x Family and the film Spy x Family Code: White on Crunchyroll, with Season 3 now airing every Saturday. We would like to thank TOHO, Crunchyroll, and the Anime NYC staff for arranging this wonderful event. We can only hope that Matsuda-san and Kato-san will one day return to NYC for more “waku waku” adventures!
Images: Crunchyroll
© Tatsuya Endo, Shueisha, TOHO, Crunchyroll, Anime NYC, Spy x Family Project
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