At Anime Expo, Dorkaholics spoke with key producers from the series Mashle: Magic and Muscles and the upcoming Grow Up Show -Sunflower Circus-.
- Yu Sasaki, animation producer of Mashle: Magic and Muscles
- Kanta Kamei, director of Grow Up Show -Sunflower Circus-
- Shota Fujii, animation producer of Grow Up Show -Sunflower Circus-
When asked about what made each of them dorks growing up, they shared anime series that they were into such as Cowboy Bebop and Gundam for Sasaki and Kamei, respectively.
“When I was in college, I was very much into Bakemonogatari,” Fujii recalled.
Mashle: Magic and Muscles
For producer Sasaki, he found the global appeal of Mashle: Magic and Muscles to be its balance of action with comedy.
“I really think this is due to the brilliant balanced feel of the show combining tons of varied action with a strong comedic element,” Sasaki explained.
When asked to identify his favorite funny moment from the first two seasons of the series, he highlighted the opening of season two as his favorite part.
“This isn’t really a funny scene, but for me personally, my favorite was the Season 2 opening with Creepy Nuts – ‘Bling-Bang-Bang-Born,’” Sasaki said.
Fans can look forward to the action in Season 3 being dialed up.
“Definitely I would say the action is something I’d like viewers to really look forward to for Season 3,” Sasaki shared. “With the staff working on this season, the action is much more elevated and enhanced. I would absolutely love for viewers to take note of that.”
Grow Up Show -Sunflower Circus-
As a series that takes place in the 1950s, Grow Up Show -Sunflower Circus- incorporates elements of historical accuracy but began with character development.
“I’d say we worked backwards, starting with the characters of Himawari Circus, which is made up of children,” director Kamei explained. “They are, I would say, like post-war orphans, but we didn’t want to go into depicting more of an unfortunate experience, and were using more so the environment or the period of the 1950s and the economic boom of the country related to it.”
The focus of historical authenticity was on accurate props that would have been used during that time.
“And in terms of pursuing the historical reality within the show, we looked towards props that were used during that time,” Kamei said. “We also had a period advisor that advised us on accuracy for the scenes, and that’s also reflected heavily.”
One of the oldest circuses in Japan is Kinoshita Circus and they helped the series by offering research visits.
“Kinoshita Circus supported this show and allowed us to visit and research their circus,” Kamei said. “When visiting, we were really able to get a feel of the circus and the feel of the audience and the crowd watching the show.”
During Kamei’s visit, he was able to see things behind the scenes prior to the performances, which gave him the opportunity to see the view from high on the swings.
“I got to experience the perspective of being up that high on a level of elevation. So I think we were able to reflect that in the show,” said Kamei.
And being that it was also his very first time at the circus, Kamei had an experience that simply had to be lived not just seen in a reference video.
“Being there and feeling the live performance, the breath of the performers, and the energy was something I very much felt,” Kamei said.
For Fujii, he noted his experience of seeing the tent from outside as a large place that grew smaller upon entering.
“Another thing I noticed was that before entering the tent, the tent looks very large – it looks enormous. But once you enter, it’s a much smaller or more intimate space,” Fujii explained. “That added to the emotional experience and heightened experience of getting to experience the live show.”
Visiting the United States and Attending Anime Expo
With this trip being the first time in the United States for Sasaki and Fujii, Sasaki pointed out that American fans came across as open and passionate.
“I do feel that U.S. fans seem to be very open about sharing what they love,” Sasaki said. “They do that very passionately without really hiding what they enjoy.”
For Kamei, who had been in the U.S. before, this was his first time at Anime Expo.
“I think back in the day, anime lovers enjoyed anime more privately, or on their own, kind of secretly,” Kamei said. “But I would say that U.S. fans definitely feel very open to sharing their passions and this very positive feeling of sharing their love for whatever they enjoy.”
And in his perspective, this form of fandom has made its way back to Japan.
“I think that sentiment has been almost reverse imported to Japan,” Kamei shared. “Japanese fans now feel like, ‘oh, I can also openly express my love for whatever I enjoy’.”
For Fujii, the cosplayers were a sight to behold.
“I saw that there are so many cosplayers here. Maybe even more people in cosplay than not in cosplay, which is very cool,” Fujii said. “In Japanese events, there are some cosplayers, but not to this degree as I’ve seen here.”
And the size of Anime Expo was something that he felt as well, as well as the love of Japanese culture.
“I do feel that the sheer magnitude, or bigger scale, of this event is something I felt very much as well,” Fujii said. “I’m simply just happy to see Japanese culture and media being so openly embraced and loved by fans from all over.”
Grow Up Show -Sunflower Circus- is out now on Crunchyroll and the third season of Mashle: Magic and Muscles will be out January 2027. Stay tuned to Dorkaholics for more updates from Anime Expo and anime year round.
