Kei Nagai, the brooding anti-hero of Ajin: Demi-Human, has been making the rounds at comic and anime conventions pushing the series to American audiences. Despite limited access on streaming on-line, the show has gained a cult following – a large cult following judging by the crowd which gathered to hear Kei speak and to ask him questions. Unlike his character, Kei is actually friendly and outgoing, seeming to enjoy the time spent with his fans. We managed to steal a few moments to talk to him privately.

Question: What has your experience been touring the United States?

Kei: Great. I know there aren’t that many fans of the show yet, but the ones we have are so into the whole Ajin thing. They’re like old friends or family.

Q: You are quite different than your character in real life.

K: I hope so.

Q: How did you develop that character?

K: I based him on a classmate of mine. No names, but he’s kind of a jerk and a bully. I never once saw him smile. But he’s a fan of the show, and told me so once. I didn’t tell him I based the character on him. Hopefully he won’t hear about this interview. Well, he doesn’t know much English anyway.

Q: What was your off screen relationship with Satou?

K: He’s actually a pretty cool guy, and a very experienced actor. He gave me several tips when we did scenes together. He told me if I fell disgust towards someone, don’t look him in the eye. The audience will know how I feel just by what they see. Little things like that have a big impact.

Q: What’s Satou like in real life?

K: Not too different than what you see on the TV. Only he doesn’t kill people. He said that playing the villain like he was a nice guy makes him look more evil. That’s another lesson he taught me.

Q: Any other actors help you out?

K: Yeah. There was Izumi Shimomura. I remembered her from Baccano. She was like a big sister to the younger cast members. She was our union rep, so she was always on the set even when her character was not needed.

Q: How are you handling fame?

K: (Laughs) It goes off and on. I like talking with the fans. Sometimes they tell you stuff about the show you didn’t know. But sometimes it does get to be too much. If I’m out with friends, for example. I try to keep a happy face, but I can see they are annoyed when some fan wants my autograph or to do a selfie.

Q: What can you tell me about the third season?

K: I know as much as all the rumors say. Other than that, I am sworn to secrecy. I will say that I thought the ending of season two was perfect. I am willing to do a third season, provided we don’t get into a rut and repeat seasons one and two. I would like to take on other roles as well. Maybe a coming of age romance, as a switch.

Q: Any romance in your life?

K: (Laughs) Naw. Not now. I’m not ready to be serious about anyone. I hang out with friends, guys and girls. There’s about six of us. All of us are pretty busy with other stuff. School is tough in Japan, and that’s enough pressure for us. Plus I have my acting career.