The theatrical anime SEKIRO: NO DEFEAT held its completion screening stage greeting event on August 14 at United Cinema Toyosu in Tokyo. Taking the stage were Nagakawa Daisuke (Wolf/Ōkami), Sato Miyuki (Kuro), Tsuda Kenjiro (Ashina Genichiro), Ito Shizuka (Emma), and director Kusuna Kenichi.

Kuro’s Deeper Emotions in the Film

Following the screening, director Kusuna admitted he was nervous about the audience’s reaction — only to be met with a wave of applause. Nagakawa reflected on how demanding the original game recording had been, and expressed satisfaction that Wolf has more lines this time than just “Goui” (御意 — “As you wish”). Ito noted that roughly seven years had passed since the game recording, and said she was genuinely happy to perform alongside the other cast members, since “the game is basically a solo journey.”

The director explained that the film has far fewer lines than a typical anime, making each one carry significant weight. Kuro, however, has more dialogue than in the game. Sato said she was delighted to discover “sides of Kuro I never knew existed.” The director also noted that the careful distance maintained between Kuro and Wolf — never too close — is central to their dynamic.

Nagakawa Daisuke: Expressing Wolf Through Silence

When asked about his approach to playing Wolf, Nagakawa said, “Because he speaks so little, I made sure to value the moments when he doesn’t speak at all.” He described using ma (間 — the Japanese concept of meaningful pause or interval) to convey Wolf’s character, focusing on the precise timing of when the character begins to speak. The other panelists responded with admiration.

Director Kusuna elaborated that every character in the film carries complex feelings, and that trying to express those feelings in words risks making them feel trite. Instead, the approach was to “show a complex expression, wait through a complex moment, and let that convey complex emotion” — underscoring the importance of silence.

On the scene where Kuro says “thank you” to Wolf, Sato recalled agonizing over how to deliver the line. When she asked Nagakawa for his impression of her performance, he praised it wholeheartedly. The director added that Kuro is the character audiences are meant to emotionally invest in, and he felt Sato brought the role to vivid life.

Tsuda Kenjiro on Genichiro — and the “Ohagi Ghost” Incident

Tsuda described Genichiro as “very straightforward — the kind of person whose emotions come right to the surface, which I think comes from his youth.” He said he tried to maintain that youthful quality alongside the character’s strength, including going all-out on the lightning scenes. He also expressed surprise at the inventive direction of the battle sequences. Ito, meanwhile, said she played Emma with the constant feeling of wanting to be “even a small emotional support” for Kuro, who bears such a heavy fate.

The event’s biggest laugh came during the new information segment, when a collaboration with Koufukudo — the Japanese confectionery brand under Kakiyasu — was announced, featuring special ohagi (sweet rice balls coated in red bean paste). The hall erupted in surprise and laughter, largely because Tsuda confessed he had been eating ohagi right up until the moment the event started. “I’ve always wanted to eat ohagi. I love ohagi,” he said.

Nagakawa revealed he had heard Tsuda repeatedly calling out “ohagi, ohagi” from the green room, and joked: “With that deep voice, I thought some kind of ohagi ghost had shown up.” The entire stage burst into laughter.

A Closing Nod to the Game’s Infamous Difficulty

As the event wound down, Tsuda praised the film: “SEKIRO: NO DEFEAT is very much art, but it’s also very much entertainment — it has both, and I’m truly glad to have been part of it.” Nagakawa closed the event with a wink to the notoriously difficult source game: “Just like the game, I hope you’ll challenge the theater again and again.”

Film Details

SEKIRO: NO DEFEAT opens nationwide in Japan for a 3-week limited run starting Friday, September 4, 2026.

Staff

• Original Work: SEKIRO: SHADOWS DIE TWICE (FromSoftware)
• Director: Kusuna Kenichi
• Screenplay: Sato Takuya
• Character Design: Kishida Takahiro
• Sub-Director: Fukui Shunsuke
• Chief Animation Director: Mogi Kaito
• Action Animation Director: Mukaida Takami
• Art Director: Kaneko Yuji
• Color Design: Sasaki Azusa
• Photography Director: Nozawa Keisuke
• Editor: Murakami Yoshinori
• Sound Director: Nakura Yasushi
• Music: Hasunuma Shuta
• Produce: ARCH
• Animation Studio: Qzil.la

Cast

• Wolf (Ōkami): Nagakawa Daisuke
• Kuro: Sato Miyuki
• Ashina Genichiro: Tsuda Kenjiro
• Busshi: Urayama Jin
• Emma: Ito Shizuka
• Hanbei: Takase Mitsumitsu
• Fukuro: Haji Takaya
• Ashina Isshin: Kaneo Tetsuo