Yuru, a young hunter who lives in a small village deep in the mountains, hunts wild game and leads a humble life with Asa, his younger twin sister. Their peaceful lives are torn apart when a dragon’s roar echoes across the sky. What secrets lurk within their village? What fate awaits them? Enter a breathtaking mystical fantasy as exciting Daemon battles intertwine the mysterious and supernatural.
With the Crunchyroll Spring 2026 lineup kicking off, Nick L’Barrow spoke with the English dub voice actors from Daemons of the Shadow Realm, Ben Stegmair (Yuru) and Molly Zhang (Asa) about the work of Hiromu Arakawa, and what memes they would show their characters!
Nick: Knowing the previous work of creator Hiromu Arakawa, I’m never surprised at the immense depth within her storytelling and characters. I’m curious to know how you both approach a project like this, specifically thinking about how you’re going to balance honouring the source material, but also wanting to bring your own interpretations to the role?
Molly Zhang: When we’re recording in the booth, we’ll usually preview the performance of the Japanese version. And with this show, we definitely want to respect the source material, because this gold that you’re already working with. Rather than just dubbing over, I think of it more as an interpretation, and how can I then process that into English. With Asa, she’s got so many fun layers with it, and I think it’s really easy to follow the lead of the Japanese performer, but still manage to keep some of my own stuff in, even just vocally. I think we are actually such different voices, even though the performances are in the same vein. For me, the tone shift within Asa is always a lot of fun for me. I remember hearing in episode two, and watching the performances from the Japanese actor, when Asa has gone through Higashi Village, and found out her brother is alive, and she’s overwhelmed with emotion. And at the time, I watched the Japanese actor perform it, and she just collapsed to the floor and started crying. I hadn’t even performed the scene yet, and I was crying! But I deeply respect the source material, and the other performances. I just hope that I can bring a similar performance, but in a different language.
Ben Stegmair: Yeah, as you said, Hiromu Arakawa’s work is filled with such depth. She writes characters that have so many different layers, personalities, goals, opinions, dreams. It’s absolutely insane how many stories she’s written, and how many fantastic characters are in those stories that feel so fleshed out. They all have a part to play in the story. I actually read this manga around 2021, and I was completely blown away by the storytelling. I also had never read or watched Full Metal Alchemist. I started reading Full Metal as I was reading Daemons. I would have loved this anime even if I wasn’t a part of it. I would be watching as a fan. But since I am in it, I do feel like I have this special attachment to it. And every time I go into the booth, we try and give as much detail as we can to the characters without making things sound unnatural, or even sound like it’s being performed for the first time. We’re just very careful with our performance so that this show can feel just as timeless as something like Full Metal Alchemist.
Nick: Something I resonate with very much in the show is Yuru’s “old soul” demeanour. He’s just an old fashioned guy! Looking at life through the lens of Yuru – what is something that just makes no sense to you these days?
MZ: I don’t know the terminology these days. Like, what is “6-7”? People will say it to me at conventions, and I just don’t get it! I think the older I get – I mean I barely know English as it stands. This is a hard language! And now the kids just keep adding more to it! I can’t do it anymore [laughs].
BS: TikTok. I don’t get it. It’s just that one thing that really made me feel like an old soul. Everyone told me I should get it. And I was like, a Vine guy, you know? I loved Vine. Then people moved to TikTok and then I felt like a crotchety old man, laying in bed while my partner scrolls, saying, “You have to turn it down!” That’s probably the most old soul thing about me.
Nick: Molly, I saw that your Instagram bio says ‘Purveyor of Memes’. Is there a meme you would be excited to see how Yuru reacts?
MZ: Oh man. I trying to think of an appropriate one to say [laughs]. There’s one I posted to Twitter that I guess was slightly inappropriate. So, there is that one! I also like the Kim Kardashian one where she’s smiling like, “That’s what she deserves”. That’s how I feel about Asa when Yuru refuses to hug her. I want to post that meme for her.
Thank you so much to Molly and Ben for their time, and to Crunchyroll for organising the interview. Daemons of the Shadow Realm is available to stream now on Crunchyroll every Saturday at 9:00 AM PT / 12:00 PM ET.
