CURIOSITYHow Naruto Turned a Kid Who Couldn’t Pronounce Anime Into One of Its Biggest Stars5 min read
Stan Lee and the New York Comic Con Moment
The Genos role did something immediate. He went to New York Comic Con in 2016 for the first time. Chris Jai Alex, who played Boros in One-Punch Man and had worked Marvel sets including Civil War, was with him. Alex introduced him to Stan Lee. Stan Lee’s bodyguard was doing crowd control. Stan Lee waved the bodyguard off and walked straight over.
“I know that guy,” Stan said. He came right over to Aguilar and Alex.
That’s the kind of story that doesn’t come with a punchline. It just sits there.
Demon Slayer and an Unfair Standard
Then came Tanjiro. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba turned Aguilar into a different tier of voice actor entirely. The franchise shattered box office records globally, and his performance as Tanjiro Kamado was at the center of it. He also picked up roles in Dragon Ball Super and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure along the way — but Demon Slayer was the one that changed everything.
He’s thoughtful about what that success has done to the industry around him. When One-Punch Man Season 3 drew criticism over its animation quality, he put it plainly: Demon Slayer is setting a standard that’s genuinely unfair to everything else. That team is doing something extraordinary, and measuring other shows against it will always end badly for those other shows.
For fans upset about Season 3, he had patience but a clear view. The story — the actual manga story — is what committed fans should be watching for. And he loved being back. The dialogue made him laugh. The weird dynamics between characters still work. As for the production decisions he doesn’t have visibility into, he’s been on shows where the lead actor gets three weeks’ notice to record an entire series. Deadlines leak everywhere.
What He Actually Wants Now
Six years passed between One-Punch Man Seasons 2 and 3. He genuinely thought the animated series might just be done. Having it back at all felt like a gift.
His ask is simple: if fans want more One-Punch Man, say so. Tell the creators. Support the show. And while he’s at it — a theatrical One-Punch Man film. A superhero comedy on a big screen, the full cinematic treatment. He thinks it would be enormous. He’s probably right.
The kid who couldn’t pronounce “anime” at eleven now voices some of the genre’s most recognizable characters in English. That’s not a straight line. It’s a decade of callbacks, deep voices held for four hours, competitions won, and one very resourceful mother pulling her son out of school to chase something neither of them fully understood yet.