"Aura is a Character That Will Remain in Everyone's Hearts," Says Ayana Taketatsu at Anime 'Frieren: Beyond Journey's End' 2nd Anniversary Screening Event

From the anime 'Frieren: Beyond Journey's End,' a stage greeting was held on Saturday, October 11th, commemorating the 2nd anniversary of the broadcast with a special screening event titled "Season 1 Retrospective Special Screening Memories of the Journey". Coinciding with the screening of Chapter 2 "Aura the Guillotine Arc," Ayana Taketatsu, who plays the immensely popular character Aura, took the stage and spoke about the appeal of 'Frieren: Beyond Journey's End' in front of fans for the first time.

The anime 'Frieren: Beyond Journey's End' is based on the manga of the same name, currently serialized in "Weekly Shonen Sunday," with the original story by Kanehito Yamada and artwork by Tsukasa Abe. Set in a world "after" the Demon King has been defeated, it tells the story of Frieren, a mage who has lived for over 1000 years, as she embarks on a "journey to understand people." The original comic, which has received high acclaim and won numerous awards, currently has 14 volumes published, with the series exceeding 30 million copies in worldwide circulation. Additionally, it has been confirmed that the second season of the television anime will begin broadcasting on January 16th, 2026.

As this was Taketatsu's first appearance at an event for this work, she took the stage to joyous applause from fans who had just finished watching Chapter 2 "Aura the Guillotine Arc" on the big screen. "I'm nervous about appearing on stage alone. I'm so happy to be able to stand on stage as Aura," she expressed her delight at appearing at this event.

Despite appearing in only three episodes, Aura, a Great Demon, captivated many fans with her overwhelming presence. Looking back on the broadcast of Season 1, Taketatsu commented on when her casting was decided: "When I received the offer to appear, 'Frieren: Beyond Journey's End' was already a hot topic and I knew the name, and since she was a popular character in the original work as well, I was very happy."

Regarding her impression when she was cast as Aura, she commented: "As a demon who has lived for 500 years, she's a character who is cold-blooded and cunning, existing somewhat removed from human emotions." Reflecting on the recording sessions, she said, "Since (Aura) has lived for 500 years, I thought she must have had various experiences, so I got the impression that she wouldn't waver over minor things. So I thought if I could feature her cunning parts and intelligent aspects without being emotional, but rather quite matter-of-factly."

In fact, during the recording session, she revealed a behind-the-scenes episode: "For the line 'Himmel is no longer here, is he?' I initially said it in a somewhat provocative way, but the director instructed me to 'convey that (Himmel) is gone matter-of-factly, as if it were natural, without any malice.'" She reflected on the atmosphere at the time, saying, "We were able to record together with everyone, and it was so warm and homey. It was so peaceful that you wouldn't think we were recording a scene where someone kills people."