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Live Report: Chiwa Saito and Emiri Kato featuring MagiReco Panel Stream, live from Anime Expo! (5PM PDT, 00:00 UTC)

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Article by sondenise

Anime Expo Stream

Source: Anime Expo Stream via Twitch.tv

Announcements

  • Ren Isuzu event "My Diary With You" starts July 9.
  • 100 Magia Stone AX Commemoration Reward in the Friend Points shop.

Live report

Chiwa Saito and Emiri Kato thanked the crowd for being here and were excited to be at such a large event with so many people that love anime. They discussed their favorite foods and places they've visited while here in the states. 

It's been eight years since Madoka Magica was released. A timeline of the series was skimmed over. 

Saito and Kato received a lot of feedback after the initial airing of episode three of the series. They voiced their lines with no sort of images of their character at the time. They discovered the final product as it aired alongside everyone else and were surprised at how well it was trending after episode 3. 

They were asked what was their favorite memories of the series. Saito remembers that episode 10 was at the time during a tragedy that occured in Japan so there's a lot of feelings toward that episode. She worried people would even want to watch anime at a time like this, but people clamored for it and they were happy to be able to bring something to everyone at such a time. Kato's favorite part is when Kyubey explained the nature of soul gems to Sayaka.

When asked about their favorite moments in the movie Rebellion, Saito stated she liked the purity of Homura's character. Kato remembers recording Kyubey's iconic line over and over by herself hundreds of times. Kato loved recording the lines of the different kinds of Kyubeys in the game. Cute ones, little ones, her favorite being the Uncle Kyubey.

They were pleased to hear that fans were playing the game in North America and Canada. Kato also recorded the lines for the small Kyubey and lots of lines as the regular Kyubey. She kept in mind how Kyubey would interact with Madoka all the time but now there was a small Kyubey around. 

As to revisting their roles, Kato stated she had to revisit being Kyubey practicing all of Kyubey's lines at least once a day. Saito laughed and said she had to do similar for her lines as Homura, especially since the script called for Regular Homura, Eyeglasses Homura, and Akuma Homura. She had to keep in mind the differences in each character as she practiced her lines. 

Saito asked if they weren't in our hearts since some people in the audience hadn't started playing the game yet. Kato said in Kyubey's voice that they would all be turned into magical girls if they didn't. Saito asked in Homura's voice if they weren't going to start playing, and threatened to find them if they didn't. 

The voice actresses were asked to read some of their characters' iconic lines. 

The producer Yusuke Toyama joined them, introducing himself. They played the trailer for Magia Record. Toyama said he was pleased to bring the game to the Americas after it was first announced in April 2019. He then asked the audience how many people had seen the anime. Toyama explained it was a separate story as it took place in Kamihama and had new characters. They had Shaft work on the animation since they had animated the original series.

In addition to a new story, they gave each magical girl their own background as well. He was looking forward to the release of the PvP system Mirrors Ranking. There are five different rankings: S, A, B, C, D, with S being the highest. In the Japanese ranking, Mirrors Ranking has occured five teams, with Toyama never having reached S rank to the present day. 

Misaki Sato, the producer of f4samurai joined the stage. He introduced himself and showed trailers of some of the characters, including Ren Isuzu and her event, The Diary With You. The story is of a magical girl who tries to save her. 

Mitsutoshi Kubota, the president of Shaft joined them due to the new anime that was being made based on the game. The PV for the game was aired, announcing its 2019 release. Both the movie and anime staff are working on the Magia Record anime at this moment. The anime will be based in Kamihama city with new magical girls. Each magical girl has an animated transformation scene in the game. The anime will show the daily lives of all of these new characters. 

They then showed a video that hadn't premiered anywhere else. A video showed character pages for Iroha, Yachiyo, Momoko, Kaede, Rena and another character. They emphasized the change in Yachiyo's magical girl design, specifically the beads. They then rewound the video and showed the character pages for a brand new character that isn't even in the game. The small Kyubey's character page was shown as well. As for the anime's title image, the characters were given more serious expressions to emphasize the situations they're in. 

Each of the guests gave their final thanks. Kubota hoped they would have moving scenes available before long and that the voice actresses would get to recording their scenes soon. Sato loved several animes and hopes that others will also have fond memories of Magia Record. Toyama said there was serious consideration towards releasing a magical girl that would be exclusive to the NA release. Kato looked forward to recording her lines for the new anime and emphasized the characters' cuteness in the new game. Saito shared she had two young children and discussed how difficult it was for her to attend conventions, in particular ones so far away. But now that she's here she's so happy to be surrounded by everyone's love and thanked the audience again. She then interrupted the good byes to say that the Madoka Magica series hasn't ended yet, promising that Homura will come back again. Toyama announced the final surprise of 100 magia stones in exchange for support points starting later that day. 

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