The Seven Deadly Sins has been a reliably popular franchise for both Kodansha and Netflix for the past decade, so it was only a matter of time for the series to receive a sequel with The Four Knights of the Apocalypse, which began serialization in Weekly Shonen Magazine about a year after the conclusion of SDS and was developed and published in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Ahead of the series’ fall premiere in Japan, several key members of the The Four Knights of the Apocalypse team came to Otakon to promote the series; Shou Komura (voice of Percival), Kanna Nakamura (voice of Anne), Takuma Kishida (producer for TMS), Yuya Matsuda (manga editor for Weekly Shonen Magazine).
We had an opportunity at Otakon to sit down with the Four Knights team to talk about the upcoming series, discussing with Matsuda what it was like to develop the idea for the manga during the pandemic, asking Kishida about the production timeline of the series, and hearing Komura and Nakamura’s thoughts on playing their first leading roles as characters in a series that’s part of a long-running franchise.
The following interview has been edited for brevity, clarity, and emphasis.
INTERVIEW WITH SHOU KOMURA, KANNA NAKAMURA, TAKUMA KISHIDA, & YUYA MATSUDA | OTAKON 2023
MM: Hello, thank you for meeting with me today to talk about the upcoming Four Knights of the Apocalypse anime! I am very excited as a fan of the series.
Four Knights Team: Thank you very much.
MM: Have you been enjoying your time at Otakon and in Washington D.C. so far?
Four Knights Team: YES! (in english)
MM: That’s awesome. (laughs)
Well, I’d like to first start with a question for Matsuda-san. How closely did you work with Nakaba Suzuki-sensei to develop the premise of Four Knights of the Apocalypse? And, as the series’ editor, what has been your role in guiding the direction of the series?
Matsuda: So, all this kinda started about two to three years ago, and back then, we were talking with Suzuki-sensei about what might happen in the very early stages of Four Knights of the Apocalypse. We had a storyboard going on already, so we talked about it in-depth with Suzuki-sensei, and basically this is what came from it, from the talks I had [with Suzuki-sensei].
MM: Excellent. So what’s the process like working with Suzuki-sensei on chapters of the series? What is a weekly schedule like for a manga editor at Weekly Shonen Magazine?
Matsuda: So, as a manga that has a new episode (chapter) coming out every week, we are talking about it almost every single week. And it often happens in Izakayas, where we talk around at. Izakayas, as you might know, are Japanese bars, basically. So, first Suzuki-sensei would have basic storyboards there, and so I would look at it and maybe provide some feedback, and maybe provide some concerns that I may have or some questions that I might have, and that gets fixed by Suzuki-sensei. Then, you have the work showing up as a manga. So that’s like the basic process that happens with me and Suzuki-sensei.
MM: Awesome. Four Knights of the Apocalypse began serialization while still in the midst of the pandemic and quarantine. Did that affect the process at all of working on the series?
Matsuda: So, yeah, just a bit. Because uh, well, Nakaba-sensei really likes alcohol. And as being such, many of those meetings were held in Izakayas. But then, when the pandemic happened, and I’m pretty sure it happened in other work I do but, bars and things like that kind of shut down early and everything. So, we were kind of forced into using rental rooms and offices and things like that. And I would constantly hear Nakaba-sensei say “wrap this up! Wrap this up so we can go drinking, ok?” and things like that. It was an interesting time.
MM: Okay. (laughs) That’s fun!
(everyone laughs)
MM: So, I’m interested when did discussions start between Kodansha and Telecom/TMS to start work on the Four Knights of the Apocalypse anime?
Kishida: So, I think the first time we actually had the talk about this together was one year into the COVID situation. So, basically before the manga started for The Four Knights of the Apocalypse, there was a one-shot in between that time. So during that time when the one shot manga happened, basically, we heard that there’s something new coming. So that’s pretty much the time when we started talking about it, the talks between Kodansha and TMS.
MM: Wow, so discussions started before the series even began publication?
Kishida: Well, basically we – Kodansha and TMS – were in good relationships, so that’s probably one of the reasons why we were able to have an early start and get the talks going.
MM: Awesome. And so then what was the planning process like for the production of the anime? You know, beginning these talks before the manga had even been serialized – like how far off did you plan?
Kishida: So, since this (manga) was an ongoing thing while we were having talks, lots of things were happening in parallel. We were seeing how the manga’s story was going on, seeing the timing of everything, etc.. So, we did plan until what part we may animate up until, but then lots of things were happening in parallel, and adjusting appropriately.
MM: I see. As producer on the project, what has been your key role in guiding the development of the series, and what have been some of the challenges, if there were any, in the process?
Kishida: So I guess the biggest was that since The Seven Deadly Sins, the previous series, is basically a huge franchise. So having The Four Knights of the Apocalypse, which is a new series, and TMS had decided that we will have this animated by Telecom Animation Film… making that decision and having talks like that I think were some of the biggest challenges in how we could get such a huge franchise into the production studio over there.
So The Seven Deadly Sins, as you might know, was before The Four Knight of the Apocalypse, and this is a completely new thing with new characters, and this is a story about the growth of the characters and everything. And since lots of people are fans of The Seven Deadly Sins, they already have a certain kind of expectation for it. So being able to catch the new team and kind of wanting to do something on-par with the high level of creativity that happens in The Seven Deadly Sins is something that I believe might be one of the challenges I guess.
MM: So, last question I want to ask; for you, Komura-san and Nakamura-san, what was the auditioning process like for the series and what has been your favorite part about portraying your characters of Percival and Anne?
Komura: So, I am Komura Shou, doing Percival. With regards to the audition, basically the audition for Percival is that basically since Percival is an energetic character lots of the lines in the audition were energetic. But, Percival also has moments that he’s really cool when he’s saying certain lines. So, saying lines both energetic as well as cool is something that’s important for Percival. In fact, my motto for doing Percival is doing “cool Percival” as well as a “happy Percival,” and balancing them both.
Nakamura: So, I’m Nakamura, doing Anne. In the audition, the first part of the audition is what you would call a “tape audition,” where you were provided lines and we record the provided lines, and the second stage is where we will go up to the actual studio where the staff and everyone are listening to you perform. And the thing about Anne is that she’s a responsible and energetic person, but at the same time she has moments where she would be in comedic situations while she is completely serious. So being in a role of doing a comedy, but then at the same time the person that’s talking is completely serious is one of the things that is interesting about Anne.
MM: Totally. Anne is actually one of my favorite characters in the manga, so I’m very much looking forward to your portrayal of her. And your portrayal of Percival, (Komura-san.)
Komura & Nakamura: Thank you very much!
MM: Well, thank you so much for this interview. I’m really looking forward to the anime when it comes out. I’ve been following the manga since it started, so it’s very exciting.
Do you have any final comments you want to share with the fans about the series?
Komura: So, I believe that like The Seven Deadly Sins, The Four Knights of the Apocalypse is going to be something that you’ll be able to invest emotionally in. And, as doing Percival, I believe that the best way you might be able to do that is to kind of think of yourself as part of the Percival squad and having their adventures so that you’d be able to feel their excitement along with Percival and the crew.
MM: Awesome, I’m looking forward to it!
Four Knights Team: Thank you!
Thanks so much to the Otakon press team for helping us arrange this interview. Look forward to catching The Four Knights of the Apocalypse on Netflix throughout 2024!
