The ‘Daemons of the Shadow Realm’ Cast Breakdown Duality [EXCLUSIVE]

One of 2026’s main events on Crunchyroll is Daemons of The Shadow Realm. The Mary Sue was honored to talk with Ben Stegmair and Molly Zhang about the new anime. Yuru (Stegmair) and Asa (Zhang) are two siblings dealing with “demon pairs” and the fate of their village.

We asked Stegmair and Zhang about the honor of being in Hiromu Arakawa’s latest story. Anime fans know their work from Full Metal Alchemist and other amazing entries in the medium.

It’s not lost on these actors that they are bringing to life greatness. In particular, the man who brings Yuru to life isn’t taking the trust in this team for granted. BONES is bringing some of these breathtaking images straight to the small screen.

Talking to Zhang, the scope of the love for this story cannot be understated. “ This show has to see. The pedigree is indescribable. There’s no way to talk about the show without mentioning the legacy it carries,” she told us. “But, Ben [Stegmair] has a much more philosophical answer… Every time I walk out, I have goosebumps from recording. I just can’t believe it. I can’t believe it.”

Stegmair began, “ It’s not me making it bigger than it is. It’s the highest honor of my career so far to be a part of it. Hiromu Arakawa is such a wonderful creator and Bones is a fantastic studio. They’re my favorite animation studio ever.”

Daemons of the Shadow Realm and Duality

“I’m so honored to work on it. And similarly to Molly, it just hasn’t hit me yet.  I’ve been off of conventions just for the past few weeks to focus on directing and acting,” he added. 

“And, a lot of people are sending me photos of cosplays and people who are excited for the series… I’m so stoked that this is a show that people love,” Stegmair hoped. “And, I hope that it’s one of the roles that I am remembered for for a very long time.” 

Talking about one of the siblings here, Asa is a mystery to the viewer. And that feeling of uncertainty deepens after the first couple episodes. So many performances lurking inside o this woman.

Zhang explained, “ There’s so much going on with Asa. I remember when I was doing the auditions, I was not expecting so much Asa.”

“ In episode one, we’ve got Child Assa. Which, we’ve done a child’s voice for her. She’s a little baby. Then, she shows up and blows her younger form up,” she smirked. “And that’s a different voice as well. By later on, She’s more settled. She’s more, this is her daily life?”

So, that’s about 3-4 Asa’s and maybe more lurking out there? Who’s to say?

 “The duality is you watching the show through Yuru’s perspective,” Zhang admits. “ You’re following his journey. Whereas, her journey is more off to the side. I had to come in with a lot more knowledge of what was going on to accurately portray the character because I knew very well in advance that she was going to have so many different forms. 

“Our ADR director Sean Gann, our writer Matthew Greenbaum. I feel like I’ve had multiple hour long conversations with them talking about what this character is,” the star added.

Breathtaking animation everywhere you look

 There are so many amazing moments in Daemons of the Shadow Realm so far. It’s hard to pick just one stand-out moment. But, that’s what I asked the duo to do. I feel like I should shout out Stegmair’s answer here. Because, it’s tremendous folks.

“Easy answer for me. It’s the greatest arrow animated in history at the end of episode five. I’m a sucker for a good Stinger,” Stegmair admitted. “Oh my God, that episode ended so well. Molly I’m sure you experienced it too, where you record it and you’re just like, ‘My God that was so cool!’”

“ Whenever he shoots the arrow and the arrow just goes and zooms in on the yin and Yang damons eyeballs? Then it ends?,” he recalled. “I was like, ‘oh that is so good.’ It was awesome. I love that scene”

I cannot stress enough that that isn’t hyperbole. There are multiple sequences throughout Daemons of the Shadow Realm that will absolutely send your eyebrows off. We have to thank both of these talented voice actors for taking the time to talk to us about the new show on Crunchyroll. 

If you want to catch up as the show will run for 24 episodes, Daemons of the Shadow Realm is available to stream now on Crunchyroll every Saturday at 9:00 AM PT / 12:00 PM ET.

(featured image: Crunchyroll)

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