On August 7th, the eve of Granblue Extra Fes 2026 Osaka, Inside Games posted an extensive interview with four members of the Official Cast. Let’s dig in!
(as always, translations are vibratingsheep’s, and any errors not noted otherwise are his and his alone.)
Granblue Fantasy is a mobile RPG that casts you in the role of a skyfarer, exploring islands floating in the sky with a crew of friends. The game draws attention not just for the story, but for its big annual event, known as Granblue Fes. An essential part of that event is the Official Cast (OC), who use the event as their stage.
The OC aren’t just cosplayers in official outfits or actors appearing for PR. They are tasked with turning the event floor into a place where GBF characters live and breathe in a very real world.
They put their effort into one-time-only stage performances, they appear at various sets on the floor, and embody the characters through dance, playing musical instruments, and stage combat. Their backgrounds are many, coming from dancing, modeling, and acting, and between character and performer a unique synchronicity forms.
In this interview, we delve into 7 topics about the allure of the OC in Nagoya, Sendai, and Osaka Extra Fes 2026. “Embodying characters in 3D”, “The passion of having only one take”, “Performing on the floor”, “Multiple disciplines coming together”, “the synchronicity between character and performer”, “The tricks of the trade”, and “the evolution of each Fes”. When you see them in person at the next Fes, you will see a completely different Granblue world.
We spoke to 4 of the Official Cast: TOMMY (Seofon), Kubo Ryuuichi (Walfrid), Igarashi Ryo (Seox), and Aim (Sandalphon).
What does the job entail?
Inside Games: What does the Official Cast do at GBF events?
Tommy: I think the most important role is to bring a character to life in a 3D world, both on stage and in the hall. As soon as the skyfarers can see us, they want to believe that the character is real.
As an example, Seofon loves swords of all kinds, and he can identify them on sight. If the sword belongs to an enemy, he’ll hate it, while his own swords will get shown off with pride. We see everything through the character’s eyes, and react accordingly.
The difference from cosplay: the work of an actor
Inside Games: When you were offered the role, how different did it feel from normal cosplay?
Igarashi Ryo: I come from an acting background, so it felt like an extension of 2.5D plays. From the very beginning, this wasn’t a cosplay job. The orders were to become the character 100%. Makeup, costuming, props, all those are done with the help of specialized staff, and I combine my performance with those elements. So I’ve never thought of it as “I’m cosplaying”, it’s much closer to “I’m playing an incredibly well-realized role on the stage.”
Kubo Ryuichi: I’m the same. At the core, I’m an actor playing a role, and cosplay elements are added on top of that. It’s a very unique job, but when it comes to the acting, it is very close to a normal role.
Tommy: I think the same way on a basic level, but I think the work has a lot more elements of cosplay than 2.5 stage acting. The costuming and modeling are amazingly accurate to the source material, and you spend a lot of time off the stage, standing on the grounds and posing. You have to make sure that no matter what angle the photo is taken from, it looks great. The silhouette of the pose, the lines of your body, the unique angles and leans of the character, all these are points of emphasis for a cosplayer, and are just as important as the acting.
Aim: I didn’t have any acting experience coming in, and GBF was my first audition. I didn’t know anything about GBF coming in, so I spent a lot of time studying Sandalphon’s character. So I don’t think of it as cosplaying, I think of it as becoming the character, embodying the character.
Lessons learned from cosplayers
Inside Games: There are members of the Official Cast who cosplay outside of the OC work. Has working with them influenced you?
Igarashi Ryo: You can tell that the cosplayers have much more experience with the variety in their posing and the ways that they show off. Working with them has taught me a lot about how to think about posing, the angles for photography, and how to integrate them into the work. Many of the cosplayers also do their own makeup, craft their own costumes, or make small adjustments as well. They have an incomprehensible amount of passion and skill. They are also always ready with great advice.
Kubo Ryuichi: I know! When we’re rehearsing, the advice we get from the cosplayers is great. We would never think about how to move like them. It isn’t just about hitting the right pose, it’s about the ideal way to move into and out of those positions. It’s really good advice.
Tommy: When I’m getting into a role, I consult with the fans and cosplayers of the character. “What do you want from the character in this situation?” “The character would never do this, right?” The player and cosplayer perspective teaches me a lot. They teach me things I would never consider, and I absorb that fan perspective and reflect that in how I behave and I act. The Official Cast of GBF comes from many fields, and since the cosplayers are closest to the fans, their perspective is invaluable.
Passing the audition
Inside Games: How did it feel when you first landed a role on the Official Cast?
Aim: At the time, I didn’t comprehend just how much weight the role held. I was told that Sandalphon is a very important character, but it didn’t really register with me at first. But each time I’ve been on that stage, the reactions of the crowd and the weight of the story reinforce to me that he really is an amazing character. I remember feeling that the rest of the cast around me was so passionate, I had to match their energy or I would be left behind. It really pushed me to take the role seriously.
Igarashi Ryo: It came at a time when I wasn’t passing any auditions, so I felt a huge amount of relief and happiness. I didn’t know much about GBF or Cygames at the time, and I approached the audition the same way I would audition for a role in a play. I was so nervous in that first rehearsal… but as I’ve gotten more reps, I’ve gained a lot of respect for the skill and passion of the other cast members on the floor. I don’t want to be left behind by them, and I also want to repay them for all they’ve helped me. Even now, I feel like our rehearsals show how much we grow and craft the roles year over year.
Kubo Ryuichi: When I first auditioned, I tried to get the role of Eugen. I saw him in the materials, and at the time I had long hair and a beard that made me think I could definitely fit. I worked on my posing and went in for the audition. After a while, I was given the role as Walfrid. Part of it was my resemblance to the character, so I feel like there was a lot of luck involved. It gets more fun the more I do it, and it’s been a great experience to carry out the game’s story on the stage.
Tommy: I didn’t come from cosplay, or dance, or acting. I mainly did modeling for catalogs and advertisements. When I talked to my agency about the audition process, they asked me which of the characters would be best, and I thought that I would be a fit for Vane or Siegfried. Somehow I ended up as Drang (laughs). On the day of the audition, my previous shoot ran long and I showed up late wearing the same business casual outfit from the shoot. I made the producers fall on their faces trying to hold in the laughter (laughs). When I asked later, they told me that I reminded them of Drang’s sketchiness and that played into their decision. It was a happy accident, but every time I work with them, I’m impressed by how well the other performers really fit their character.
The focus of each performance
Inside Games: When you’re at the event or on stage, what is a particular thing that you have to focus on as a member of the Official Cast?
Kubo Ryuichi: I have to make sure not to overdo it. Even if it makes the audience happy, there are things that the characters would never do, and we never cross that line. The work on the event floor involves a lot of ad-libbing, but even as we expand what we do as the character, we have to make sure we don’t stray far from the source material.
Igarashi Ryo: Whether I’m doing a dance or a combat sequence, I try to make sure that I don’t actually look like too much a dancer. Even with the same choreography, the way you shift your weight or angle your hands changes the feel of the character. I lead a lot of the dance sessions for the Official Cast, and it’s so difficult to express these characters as they dance, so we go through a lot of trial and error to get it right.
Kubo Ryuichi: It’s pretty tricky, first you learn the choreography, and then you insert the character and break it.
Igarashi Ryo: Exactly. First you build the foundation of the choreography, and then you tear it apart to be more like the character.
Tommy: I think that you have to learn how to draw the line between the source material, the fans, and yourself. If you try to overact in a way that makes the fans happy, it’s possible that people will say that you’re not being faithful to the source. If I think “I want to try this out”, I’ll consult with the staff first and get approval before I work on it.
Kubo Ryuichi: You also have to pay attention to how the character has changed over the course of the story, and update how you think.
Igarashi Ryo: Some of the characters have changed so much that they feel like different people. Seox and I have both become softies (laughs).
Aim: Sandalphon has also changed over the course of the story. But as for what I focus on when I’m working, it’s that I never stop playing the role, even for a moment. Every blink, every expression can change how I look, so whether I’m on stage or on the floor, I maintain character as Sandalphon at all times. People love taking photos rapid-fire, and if I break character for a moment it has a strong chance of appearing. So I can’t break character, even for a moment.
Rehearsals and a job well done
Inside Games: Could you tell us about how long you rehearse, and then what it feels like once the event is done?
Aim: It is so satisfying when you’ve practiced a new program and new ideas, and nailed it on the day of the show. Some of us will flex or start crying the moment that they step through the curtain to backstage. Everyone rehearses with those emotions, and the amount of work that goes into those one-time-only performances is enormous.
Tommy: Unlike a play, you don’t ever repeat any performances. Each show is only run one time at Fes, and everyone works so hard on that one take. Every show requires different sound effects, lighting, and stage work, and the whole team focuses on the one shot we get. The backstage high-fives after we finish the show feel great.
Igarashi Ryo: When you act in a play, you get reps and improve the show as you go, but at Granblue Fes you have to go 120% from the very beginning. Because of that, no detail goes overlooked at rehearsal and the show itself feels like you’re unleashing a storm.
Kubo Ryuichi: Depending on the Fes and how many performances we have, we start rehearsals in earnest about a month and a half before the show. Sometimes the choreography changes between each Fes, and sometimes the rehearsals overlap and run in parallel.
Individual styles during rehearsal
Inside Games: Tell us what you worked on during rehearsals and practices.
Tommy: I started with no experience on stage, so I started with the basics. I first had to learn the meaning of the numbers on stage, and practiced moving within a 90-centimeter space at a park. Since Seofon is the greatest swordsman in the skies, I made sure to learn how to swing a sword like him. I tried to be sneaky about it and practice early in the morning, but some kids on summer vacation found me and thought I was the coolest person in the world. So after that I limited myself to rehearsing at home (laughs).
Kubo Ryuichi: It’s about repetition. The dances, the combat sequences, the expressions, I believe that I have to burn them into my body so whether I’m at home or at rehearsal I keep shadow training. Everybody is a specialist in their own field, and I don’t want to show them how hard I have to work (laughs) so I do a lot of it where they can’t see.
Aim: I’m not the kind of person who’s always in motion, so I work better when I take breaks and spend those breaks working on the image. I spend an hour focused and in motion, and then I take a one-hour break. During that time I visualize the dances and movements, and when I start again I try to enact what I imagined. I’ve always had an active imagination, and I can get a little chuunibyo sometimes (laughs), so a lot of the moves I come up with in my head are meant to be magical.
Igarashi Ryo: I have a strong foundation in dance, so I can learn the choreography fairly easily, but the difficult part is practicing how to bring out the character in all of the moves. For Seox, I have to change how I move my hands when I’m doing “Kimi to Boku no Mirai” and shine like an idol, while I have to move my fists like a fighter in combat. I’ve experimented with Shaolin style, kung fu, Kyokushin karate, boxing, and many other fighting styles in order to make my hands move less like a dancer and more like a seasoned fighter.
Accidents and bloopers
Inside Games: Could you share stories of some bloopers and accidents from rehearsal or the main stage?
Igarashi Ryo: When we were rehearsing a battle between Wilnas and Seox, I accidentally kicked Kubo-san really hard. I’m pretty sure it hurt a lot, but we checked in on each other, made sure we were both alright, and it was okay.
Aim: Sandalphon spends a lot of time on his knees, so there have been a few times that I’ve taken my outfit off and realized that my knees are bloody. The adrenaline is pumping when I’m on stage so I don’t feel any of the pain, and I only realize what’s going on after it’s worn off.
Kubo Ryuichi: When I was Bob at Extra Fes Nagoya 2026, I made a big entrance multiple times by doing a knee slide. I ended up with a lot of bruises, and during rehearsal there was some bleeding.
Tommy: Whether we’re rehearsing or at Fes, our instructors and the support staff focus on our safety. But once the outfit comes on and the show starts, emotions and energy run high and sometimes we make accidental contact with each other, or have little flubs. We all have those little stories of the hype getting to us.
The common ground between the character and yourself
Inside Games: What do you and your characters have in common?
Tommy: Drang and Seofon are both easygoing and kinda shifty characters, like me. They both make sure to observe and read the situation before they act, so I like to think that I share the thoughtfulness before action with them. The secretive and tight-lipped nature of both Seofon and Fantasy Seofon, as well as their tendency to be firm in their belief that what they’re doing is right, is a lot of fun for me as I imagine the results of making different decisions at the same point in time.
Kubo Ryuichi: Wilnas is larger-than-life and boisterous, but also smart, and I really like that about him. I don’t know how much of that I share, but I enjoy his mirth and his cheer, it’s fun to step into the role that way.
Aim: A lot of people around me say that even when I’m at rest I remind them of Sandalphon, so I guess that my look and my vibe match his pretty well. When I take interest in something I get completely absorbed in it and if I’m not interested in it I ignore it entirely, just like him, and sometimes I can be brusque like Sandalphon was when he was first introduced.
Igarashi Ryo: The easiest resemblance is the mole under the eye, and it’s become one of the easy ways to spot me on the floor at Fes. I’m a method actor, and when I get into the role, it’s easy for the role to impact how I feel and how I live. The longer I play Seox, the harder it is for me to look people in the eye, and I start to understand why he wants to wear that mask so much. There are plenty of other ways that the role has affected my personal life. I think Seox and I can be both sincere and a little misguided at the same time as well.
The surprise unveiling of new outfits at Fes 2025
Inside Games: How did it feel to surprise the crowd with the new main story outfits for Sandalphon and Seox?
Igarashi Ryo: Because Seox was raised by the main character’s father as Xing, the ending of the Estalucia arc was very moving for him. When Seox takes off his mask at the end of the story, I felt like he was freeing himself from the weight of his past and felt both happy and a little left behind. When the door opened to the show floor with the letter in my hand, I wanted everyone to see the new Seox. I felt like it was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime moment, and I put all of that emotion into opening that door.
Aim: It made me feel how much Sandalphon has loosened up. Out of all the other stage outfits, it expresses the most change within him. When I was backstage, I must have practiced coming out of that tiny doorway like 20 times trying to figure out the best way to do it (laughs). When we did it live, it felt like the spotlight didn’t stay on for very long at all, and I felt like I wanted to show off more of the new Sandalphon. I truly wanted everyone to have the time to take it in.
Portraying both of Sandalphon’s songs
Inside Games: How do you approach Ain Soph Aur and Orison?
Aim: “Ain Soph Aur” has strong themes of grief and doubt, and I make sure to reflect that in my expression, often looking downward. “Orison” takes Sandalphon’s feelings toward Lucifer and turns them into a determination to move forward, so the song and dance evokes an optimism that isn’t there for Ain Soph Aur. It is fun to portray Sandalphon’s growth between those two, but I try to make sure that I don’t betray my personal enjoyment on my face.
Seox and Nehan’s Shirube
Inside Games: What do you emphasize during Seox and Nehan’s song Shirube?
Igarashi Ryo: I was the lead choreographer for Shirube, and I wanted to express both the lyrics and the relationship between Seox and Nehan through their movement. Nehan has been grievously wounded, so I wanted to focus on showing that through only using the left side of the body. I crafted it so that even the smallest movements, from the elbow down, show a great deal.
Seox’s movements provide a contrast to Nehan’s, moving decisively, dramatically, and even a little violently. Even as they mirror each other, I made sure that you can see a lot in the different ways they move.
Inside Games: Every small movement has so much thought put into it. Was there anything else you focused on?
Igarashi Ryo: Depending on which character that Seox is with, his expressions and sense of personal distance change, whether that’s with Nehan, Seofon, or Lyria. His complicated past with Nehan mean that while he can’t look straight at him and talk, he wants to mend that relationship… and that conflict can be seen in every move he makes.
The Two Seofons
Inside Games: You’ve played Seofon, Fantasy Seofon, and now Seofon disguising himself as Fantasy Seofon. That’s three versions of the same character. How do you keep them apart?
Tommy: Mentally, they each have their own sense of what is right and how they should put it in action, and I keep that in mind at all times. Seofon wants everyone to have fun in a peaceful world, and everything he does works toward that goal. Fantasy Seofon chose the most extreme version of that, seeking to recreate the whole world in order to impose his ideals on it.
When I’m playing those two, I change the pace of my breathing and think about what the two characters use to talk. Seofon talks with his forehead, waggling his eyebrows a lot. Seofon talks from his throat, and his expression betrays little. He’s level-headed and his breathing is slower and deeper than our Seofon. When I played Seofon disguising himself as Fantasy Seofon, I mixed those two together, and every once in a while I would let Seofon’s expressions slip through. There are other things too, but those are trade secrets (laughs).
How to approach battles on stage
Inside Games: What’s the most important part of the show when you’re on stage and wielding your weapons?
Tommy: Seofon is an old-school purist of a swordsman, and he is very straightforward in combat, so when he gets in a fight he does things “the right way”. Fantasy Seofon doesn’t have any such restrictions, so he’ll attack from unorthodox angles or do some no-look swings. We’ve looked at action games like Granblue Fantasy: Relink with the stunt team, and incorporated some animations that we want to use ourselves into the routine. The swords we use are very different from standard weapons, so the way we swing them has to be different in order to make sure that no matter what angle we’re photographed from, the silhouette looks good. The swordsmanship and the look are both important for this.
Igarashi Ryo: Seox fights with claws and fists, and his stance will change depending on which he’s using. Sometimes, I’ll pose in ways that haven’t been depicted in his art yet, and those will be when I extrapolate from the story and the materials to think of how he would fight in that situation.
Going on stage and the floor as Bob
Inside Games: How does it feel to play Bob the NPC along with Wilnas and Walfrid?
Kubo Ryuichi: When they asked me to play the Male NPC Bob, I was a little bewildered, but this year was fun. I got to see the duels from the best seat in the house as referee and have fun with the audience, and I made sure to enjoy those to the fullest. I did a tour of the photo spots and sets on the floor, and the skyfarers followed me as if I was leading a parade (laughs). It’s hard to imagine that kind of love for an NPC. They give me a lot of freedom with how I interact with the other characters, so I hope everyone enjoys the unique NPC that I play.
Inside Games: Kubo-san, you’ve played Wilnas, Walfrid, Bob, and others. How do you keep them separate?
Kubo: Those three are very different from each other, so it’s pretty easy to keep them apart. Walfrid is cool and collected, so he’ll never give you a big smile, he just curls up the corners of his mouth a little. Wilnas will laugh with his whole body, while Bob is Bob and has a lot of freedom to work with. The most important things are balance and swinging big. Each character is unique in their own way, and I pour my performance into what makes them unique.
Inside Games: Wilnas playing the drums on the Character Concert stage was very memorable. Was it difficult to do that in character?
Kubo: I made sure to move boldly and stay dynamic. Actually, one time I was a little too dynamic, and one of the rings flew off. After the performance, there was a scene where we returned to the stage, so I was able to ad-lib and pick it back up as an in-character recovery. Even the little accidents let me show how grandiose Wilnas is as a character.
The energy going into the next Fes
Inside Games: How do you feel going into Extra Fes Osaka?
Tommy: Every year GBF Fes gets bigger and more ambitious! We’re excited to see what’s waiting for us at the show. We get to enjoy the festival atmosphere right there with the audience, and I hope everyone has fun with the moments that you can only have while at Fes. Let’s make this year the best one yet!
Kubo: What will Wilnas do as an encore after being away from Osaka for a year? I hope you’re as excited as I am!
Aim: I play Sandalphon every year, but everyone on the Official Cast evolves and improves every day. I hope everyone can see that in Osaka. From the stage combat to dance and music, we have so many ways to express ourselves now!
Igarashi: Osaka is the last Extra Fes of the year, and we always rehearse extra hard for the finale. I hope everyone is as fired up as we are at the show!