“YAIBA Samurai Legend” - Yoshimasa Hosoya (Takeshi Onimaru) Reveals Audition Secrets! Veteran Voice Actor Tomokazu Sugita Discusses the Unique Charms of Kaori Maeda

On ABEMA, the 56th episode of "SHIBUYA ANIME BASE" (#ShibuAni), aired live from 9:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Friday, August 8, 2025.

This time, special guests included Yoshimasa Hosoya, who plays Takeshi Onimaru in “YAIBA Samurai Legend,” and actress Mao Mita. There were plenty of exclusive stories behind Hosoya’s audition, as well as thorough highlights of “YAIBA Samurai Legend.”

Hosoya discussed one of the major highlights of “YAIBA Samurai Legend,” noting that “the anime preserves the feel of the original comic’s artwork.” MC Yuki Iwai (from comedy duo Haraichi) pointed out, “The art is different from ‘Detective Conan’ and actually reflects the previous ‘YAIBA’ style,” to which Hosoya agreed, saying, “It’s that early style.”

Moreover, when he auditioned for the role of Takeshi Onimaru, Hosoya recalled being told by the director that there were two candidates still in consideration. He confessed, “I was incredibly nervous, so before they started recording the audition tape, I tried to keep the conversation going with the director as long as possible, really trying to get myself remembered.”

He then shockingly revealed that, according to what he heard afterward, “apparently, there wasn’t even another candidate.” This left Iwai and everyone else in the studio astonished.