Kaiju No. 8 Sets Anime NYC 2026 Panel With Masaya Fukunishi and Yuta Bandoh

What was announced

The official Japanese account for Kaiju No. 8 confirmed that the series will hold a special panel at Anime NYC 2026, hosted by TOHO animation. The announcement graphic attached to the post places the panel on Friday, August 21, within a convention that runs August 20 to 23 in New York. Two guests are named on the card: Masaya Fukunishi, the Japanese voice of Kafka Hibino and of Kaiju No. 8 itself, and composer Yuta Bandoh. The show's English-language account posted the same news the previous evening, billing Fukunishi's appearance as a chance to see him live at the special panel.

Anime NYC had already introduced both names on its own feed earlier that day, in back to back guest announcements. Its post on Fukunishi notes that he was born on February 24, hails from Nara Prefecture, and that Kafka Hibino is his first leading anime role. The convention also lists him as Ken Ryuguji in Tokyo Revengers and as Ryu in NOMAD Megalobox 2. Its second announcement describes a composer and musician who works mainly in contemporary music while also scoring film and television, with credits that include Mamoru Hosoda's Belle, Kaiju No. 8, and the 2026 Hirokazu Kore-eda live-action film Look Back. The Kaiju No. 8 account is the source that names that composer as Bandoh.

What we know

Beyond the date, the host, and the two guests, the announcement is deliberately light. The panel card closes with the line "Get your first look this summer," and none of the official posts explain what that first look covers. No programming time, no additional cast, and no separate reveal has been announced yet, so the tease is worth noting rather than reading into.

What the announcement does establish is the shape of the appearance. This is a production side panel rather than a dub focused one: a Japanese lead actor and the composer, presented under the TOHO animation banner. For a series whose score has been one of its most discussed elements, putting Bandoh on a New York stage alongside the voice of its protagonist is a notable pairing, and it is the kind of billing that usually accompanies something to show.