Posted in: Hulu, streaming, TV | Tagged: exclusive, Gannibal, hulu, interview, Yuya Yagira

Gannibal Star Yuya Yagira Talks Horror Series, Global Reach & More

Gannibal star Yuya Yagira spoke with Bleeding Cool about tackling Hulu's psychological horror series, the show's international reach & more.

With the advent of streaming services, new opportunities arose in domestic and international markets starved for new content. One such TV series taking Disney streaming services by storm in Japan is the live-action horror series Gannibal, based on the manga of the same name, from producer Terohisa Yamamoto and writer Takamasa Oe. The series follows Daigo Agawa (Yuya Yagira), a newly hired police officer in Kuge Village. Wrestling with his guilt over a traumatic event that led to his daughter becoming selectively mute, things start off promisingly for the new arrival and his family before he finds out there's more to the mysterious village than he realizes, much to his detriment. Yagira spoke with Bleeding Cool (via an interpreter) about the series, how it feels to be reaching new audiences like in America via Hulu, and his acting inspirations growing up.

Entering Daigo's World in Gannibal

Bleeding Cool: What intrigued you about 'Gannibal?'

Yagira: [The subjects 'Gannibal' touches on with] are very heavy. People think about whether people are going to be eaten and then Disney is producing it. I got very excited by this project, and I was interested also to see how it was going to happen.

With the streamers being more available globally, have you experienced a new wave of fandom? How does it feel to have access to more audiences?

I heard [Gannibal] is going to be produced by Disney, and it's going to be streamed worldwide. In Japan, some domestic films or series are delivered to Asian countries but are not available not worldwide. Now with the efforts of Disney Japan, we are here in Los Angeles, a corner of Disney and even myself, though I'm not speaking English, being here for me, it's something really new. What I feel the most about this, I have to participate in these events [laughs].

Playing the role of Daigo, what was the biggest challenge of getting to the headspace of being the dark material, and was there any scenes that you struggled through compared to the others?

This is a story about whether there might be people being eaten in this village, but the biggest theme of this series, it's more about love, justice, and the love that Daigo has for his family. He will want to protect his family with his sense of justice and sometimes go to the extreme. It's also a story which a description of your psychological aspect of it, so I become numb while I was shooting this. When I reviewed it afterward, I thought that was a pretty challenging part.

What were some of the figures you grew up with that inspired you to get into acting?

There are many figures I like from Al Pacino and Brad Pitt. I've been watching their movies ever since I was five. 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' is my super favorite movie [laughs].

Gannibal, which also stars Sho Kasamatsu, Riho Yoshioka, and Kokone Shimizu, is available on Hulu.

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