English-dubbed anime often gets a bad rap. Purists insist no dub can ever match the original voice actors, while others argue it’s more convenient, and sometimes more immersive, than reading subtitles. The truth usually falls somewhere in between, with quality judged on a case-by-case basis. Still, dub voice actors face a unique challenge: How closely should they mirror the original performance?
Anime fans will face this debate once more as Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle hits U.S. theaters this weekend, featuring veteran voice actors alongside A-lister Channing Tatum. Ahead of the release, Polygon spoke with Zach Aguilar, who voices series lead Tanjiro, about catching up on anime, meeting Natsuki Hanae — the Japanese voice of Tanjiro — and the key piece of advice Hanae gave him on bringing the character to life.
Aguilar has worked as a voice actor for several anime besides Demon Slayer (he also played David Martinez in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and Genos in One Punch Man), but as a fan, he can’t help but praise the Big Three. “I love Naruto. I love Bleach. Currently, I’m trying to catch up with One Piece,” although he admits to being a few hundred episodes behind. “I do my best to catch up on that in my free time.”
However, Aguilar says his top pick is a much less well-known anime. It’s also the one that helped connect him to Tanjiro’s original voice actor. “My favorite anime is actually a show called Your Lie in April,” Aguilar says. “It’s funny because, in Japan, the voice actor, Natsuki Hanae, who plays Tanjiro, also plays the main character, Kousei, in that show — I loved his performance.”
Aguilar described the anime as “a show about a pianist, basically,” but that hardly captures its depth. The story follows Kousei, who loses the ability to play piano after his mother’s death, with the heartbreaking reason only revealed later. One especially devastating scene resurfaces online every year, going viral for its raw, tragic impact. “I grew up playing piano, so I really related to it heavily, especially, like, during the piano recital moments,” he told us.
It sparked the relationship he now has with Hanae, although “it’s kind of hard” to maintain due to schedules and being “across the sea from each other,” but Aguilar says “every interaction I’ve had with Hanae-san is incredible. He is super sweet, just an amazing dude, and he’s given me some great advice, too, as to what my interpretation is for Tanjiro in English.”
Aguilar then shares the advice Hanae gave him about their shared role.
“He told me to just make it my own,” Aguilar says. “He said, ‘You are Tanjiro — play him the way you see him.’ He even complimented my performance. He’s just such a great guy.”
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle hits theaters worldwide on Sept. 12, 2025.
