AX 2025 HSR x Fate UBW Panel featuring Ayako Kawasumi 川澄綾子
today. Wow, this is a lot of people. Hopefully uh you guys have enough space to stand here. If you don’t me, hello guys. I am Gigak. You may know me as Restless Vagrant from Hongkey Star because this is a panel that collaborates Face Day Night Unlimited Blade Works and Hongai Star Rail. Anyone here play Hong Kai Star realm? Anyone here a fate fan? Anyone here both? I feel bad for your wallets. Well, guys, uh for anyone who is unaware, I have some talking points here uh that I’m not going to need because I’ve said this enough time. Um, Hongkey Star Rail is a free-to-play mobile space RPG that has won multiple awards, uh, and has over 100 million downloads, uh, and that has a Fate collab coming soon. Woo! No, no, no, no. Save your cheers because I have a very, very special guest with me today who will be joining me up on stage, an absolute legend, the voice actress of Sabre herself in Fate Night Unlimited Playwards. It’s Ayako Kawasumi. [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] Yeah. Hey. Hello, I’m Ayako Kasu and I voice Saber for the collaboration for the whole Kai style, you know, collaboration with Unlimited Liverse. I hope everybody has a great time today. [Applause] So, uh, I just wanted to start off. How does it feel voicing Sabre in Hongkey Star? [Music] So when I learned that Saber was going to be in the world of Hongkey Star Rail, I was just, you know, how is this collaboration going to happen? How is how is Saber going to be involved in this? and how is she going to change and what the story is going to be. So that was a lot of a lot of excitement for me that I thought, you know, I’m just looking forward to how everything entails. Yes, it was such a surprise for me when the collaboration got announced as a fan of both franchises. How would how did you guys react when this collaboration got announced? Are you the cosplayer from last year? Uh so uh little bit of a tangent. So at the Hongkey Star panel last year, he got chosen as the giveaway winner. Hey, a few months before the announcement of the Fate Night Unlimited Blade Works collab and Hongai Star Rail. Woo. Oh, are you in the industry? You’re not industry, are you? But but bringing it back to you, Kelsey, uh what would you say are the differences and similarities when you voice saber in collab than in other fake franchises? Fore speech. Fore. [Music] So obviously the trailblazer. Oh, Saber this time in this collaboration is going to be the master is the trailblazer. Um, and obviously the Travelers is different than say um, Shido from the Fate franchise from Fate Day Night and everything. And so, um, it’s it was very interesting and it’s a lot of fun. Um, I I know that there was a lot of interactions between Saber and the Trailblazer. Um, and there was some chemistry definitely between them. Um, and so when Saber awakens in the the Pentagon, you the the star, um, first Saber is bewildered at, you know, when she awakes there. Um, but eventually, you know, she finds her stride and she, you know, she still becomes the Saber that we all know. She has a strong will and, you know, she hasn’t changed much even though she’s in a different environment. So, I think that change or the dichotomy, but yet she’s still the same is very interesting. So, I hope you guys all look forward to that. Yeah, because actually uh they’ve gone above and beyond. They actually have uh both Archer and Saber have original new designs just for Hong Kong Star. We got Archer right there. And then uh I believe we also have Saber as well. Oh, look at that. Look at that. Majestic. Uh, so, uh, these are designed by Takiuchi. And, what do you think of the new outfits for Hongkey Star or Saber and Archer? Fore! Foreign! Foreign! [Music] When I first saw Saber’s visual, um, I received it with the script, too. And so I thought, “Wow.” First, my first impression was, “Wow, she’s in a minikrt. She’s wearing a a short skirt.” Um, I know that Takuchan really loves Saber. And so I think that he wrote, he drew this design, this he did this designing thinking, hey, I kind of want to put Saber in a different outfit or, you know, in what he envisioned, what some something that he wanted. Um, and so, you know, having this collaboration with Starell, you know, she’s different. Saber is different from the um the world of fate that we all know. And so it’s very exciting to know, again, like I mentioned earlier, it’s exciting to know how she’s going to interact or how she’s going to act with this this different world that she’s going to be in. And uh how did you feel seeing Archer for the first time? Can we get the previous uh slide up with us? I can Well, I mean, first of all, Archer is very cool looking as always. Um, but you know what? I’m as Saber, I just strictly focus on Saber. And so, you know, um, all I can say is Archer is really cool. But you know what? I’m the first thing that that the one thing I want to say is that Saber is I was just so happy that she was in a minikrt. That’s all I’m happy to see her in that. So visuallywise, if you’re looking at the archer visual here, um, if anybody who is familiar with the fate series should everybody, this visual should kind of induce kind of remind you of a certain noble fantasm scene if you look at it very closely. So just look at it really closely. You guys like the saber mini skirt as well? Yeah. Look at that. Fantastic. [Music] So cute. So cute, right? Everyone else thinks she’s cute, right? So, now that you’re voicing Saber in a totally different environment, a totally different world, do you have anything fun to share when you voice Saber for this collab? [Music] So as everybody knows, Saber is this beautiful and cool character, but then she also has a different side of her where she is a gourman, she loves food. Um, and so that’s another thing that I hope everybody looks forward to because when she is in the world of Star, she is, you know, what kind of with the Trailblazer with she and the Trailblazer, what kind of food is she going to eat or will she eat anything? So, I hope everybody looks forward to that and to how she’s going to interact with the world and stuff. So, I hope everybody looks forward to it. Well, as a fan of both, I am very excited to see what kind of uh what parts of Sabre’s character we are going to see in Hong Kongai Star Rail. And just a quick reminder to you guys that the collab including Saber and Archers banner uh and the special event story line will be a will be available longterm from July 11th. So that is not a lot of time. So I hope you’re not spending too much today at Anime Expo. Uh, and in case you are unaware of what is going on, we have a uh we can have a look at the 3.4 trailer together with you guys. All right, are you guys excited to have a look? [Applause] All right, let’s uh load up the trailer. [Music] You guys see? Yeah. Is Is there audio? What are you voice? Yeah. [Music] Lazar. [Applause] Oh, Kawasuman says, “Can we play it again?” She wants to hear the audio this time. [Applause] All right. Hopefully this time. Okay. [Music] [Applause] Heat. Heat. [Music] I am save. [Music] So, now that you’ve seen the trailer with audio on this time, do you have any thoughts? So, I know this is the first time we’ve seen this scene in the trailer, but have you seen the cool teaser also? Does anybody say has Yes, we’ve got scene. Yeah. All [Music] right. Well, so that Excalibur scene or in the trailer, the movie actually or at least the visual was completed when I actually voiced against it. And so in when I was doing it in sync, it was really cool. And in star rail um the champ is slightly different um compared to the fate. Um so it’s slightly different. And so that’s something that I hope everybody looks forward to and focus on. And I am I was very impressed with the movie quality that for Star Rail um that they make for Star Rail. And so I hope again it is great. I hope everybody looks forward to it. And you know I I hope everybody enjoys it. Were you excited seeing the quality of Hungai Star getting to voice some iconic lines and iconic scenes? Uh, it’s Oh, sorry. Were Were you excited um were you excited seeing the movie quality of Hong Kong Star as you said and getting to voice some of the iconic lines and iconic scenes that Saber is known for? Fore! Foreign! Foreign! forchech. So obviously there are scenes here in the story that it was very fat like or is very fate. But however, one of the things I also want everybody to focus on is that the fate there are certain things that things that would never have been that Saber would never have done in the fate world or said um so when she is in the new star um you know this is Saber where there’s there’s a moment where Saber is um not it’s a point where she hasn’t become king yet where um where she hasn’t um pulled out the sacred sword. Um and you know this scenario scenario script was actually wr um written or supervised by um Nasan and so that’s a lot of um that’s something that is going to be a story is going to be very great and it’s everybody should be excited about um and so to be able to voice something that Saber has either never done or will hardly do is something that was very refreshing to me and it was very exciting for me. Um, so anybody who has um who is a fate who loves Fate should play this game or at this play this event and see a different side of Saber. And those who have played um who are the fans of Star Rail who don’t know Fate, maybe this is a great um opportunity for you to be interested in the Fate franchise as well too. So you to be interested in both worlds and both great worlds and again look forward to it. Well, thank you very much. Just before we end this, do you have any final words for the American audience right here? Fore. All right. Well, so again, I am happy, very extremely happy to be a part of the Hokkai to for the Hungai world um and the family um voicing this for this collaboration. I just want to what I felt the most was um this is what the first collaboration with Hungai Star Rail with anything and it’s such an honor to be the first one and to be a collaboration with with Star Rail. Um, and this collaboration is beyond what a collaboration what I think would a collaboration would be because the story is so voluous and it’s a lot and it’s so I hope everybody plays it so that they can experience this collaboration that is great and so again look forward to it. I hope you everybody plays it. Thank you. Well guys give one more round of applause for Kawasuman. You guys going to be pulling for Saber yourselves? Yeah. But before we go today, uh do you guys want to take a quick picture together? Let’s do it.
