Mickey Mouse is an cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks.
Spider-Ham
Spider-Ham (Peter Porker) is a superhero appearing in Marvel Comics. The character is an anthropomorphic pig and is a parody version of Spider-Man. He was created by Larry Hama, Tom DeFalco, and Mark Armstrong.
KENEDA
Kaneda, the leader of a motorcycle gang in Katsuhiro Otomo’s classic anime feature AKIRA (1988).
Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck was created by Tex Avery for Leon Schlesinger Productions. He has appeared in cartoon series such as Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, in which he is usually depicted as a foil for either Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, or Speedy Gonzales.
Imagine a land of Orwellian doublethink, where heroes are regarded as criminals. It’s a land where the government assigns suicide squads to battle demons. There’s no pardon for the criminals. They continue their assignments to slay more monsters. They, like the monsters, are regarded as lower than dirt.
Welcome to the world of Sentenced to Be a Hero.
Our hero—that is, “hero”—is Xylo Forbartz of Penal Hero Unit 9004. He’s a condemned goddess killer. Not even death will release him from his sentence. Even when slain, he’ll resurrect to continue his assigned demon-killing.
Besides fighting monsters, he has to deal with Teoritta, the “Goddess of Swords,” whom he regards as a pest despite her attempts to help and garner praise for herself. Then there’s Patausche Kivia, Captain of the 13th Holy Knights, who initially distrusts Xylo, viewing him as little more than a criminal weapon of the state. Will she ever see a more honorable side of him? One wonders.
Teoritta is voiced by Emi Lo, whose vocal credits include Young Hawks in My Hero Academia, Akane Sawatari in Chainsaw Man, Maomao in The Apothecary Diaries, and Hei in The Legend of Hei.
Captain Kivia is voiced by Dawn M. Bennett, known online as the VTuber Dapperling, a flower demon avatar inspired by her love of botany and taxidermy. Her voice roles include Aigis in Persona 3 Reload, Frosch in Fairy Tail, Charlotte Smoothie in One Piece, Marnie in Pokémon: Twilight Wings, and Lusamine in Pokémon Evolutions.
I spoke with both actresses at the Crunchyroll virtual press junket on March 4. They shared their thoughts about their characters, how music influences their performances, and a message for their fans.
Sentenced to Be a Hero: The Prison Records of Penal Hero Unit 9004 began as a Japanese web novel in October 2020, followed by a manga adaptation in Dengeki Comic Regulus web magazine in March 2022. Studio Kai later adapted the story into an anime series, which began streaming on Crunchyroll in January 2026. The first season runs for 12 episodes.
In the U.S., Sentenced to Be a Hero carries a TV-MA rating for mature viewers, meaning, it’s suitable for adults over the age of 17. This rating reflects the show’s graphic violence, gore, and dark themes.
Special thanks to Crunchyroll senior publicist Stephanie Wong and her staff.
W.R. Miller – known informally as “Bob” – has written for Starlog, Comics Scene, Animation Magazine and Animation World Magazine. Bob has been involved in animation for two decades, as a writer, character animator, special effects animator, and storyboard artist – For more information about Bob, check his website: http://wrmilleronline.com/.
He has just completed Batman: The Animated Interviews, a five-volume work featuring the executives, producers, directors, writers, actors, designers, storyboard artists and composers involved with the making of Batman: The Animated Series and its spinoffs. BearManor Media is the publisher.
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INTERVIEW: Emi Lo and Dawn M. Bennett of “Sentenced to Be a Hero”
I spoke with both actresses at the Crunchyroll virtual press junket on March 4. They shared their thoughts about their characters, how music influences their performances, and a message for their fans.
