One of the most popular anime series of 2019 has been Kimetsu no Yaiba, aka Demon Slayer, the story of a boy named Tanjiro whose family is killed by Michael Jackson a terrible demon, except for his sister Nezuko, who gets turned into an (adorable) half-demon girl. In order to find a way to save her, he becomes a “demon slayer” and learns how to fight and kill demons. The show was a huge hit around the world, showing up regularly in memes posted to J-List’s Twitter account, but here in Japan, it’s starting to become an actual social phenomenon.
According to news reports, the newest volume of the manga is selling so well that it’s sold out in many bookstores, causing them to panic at not having anything to sell to customers.
The show keeps getting more and more popular, sucking fans into it like a whirlpool. Supposedly many young people in Shibuya are asking their hairdressers to dye their hair in the unique style of the anime, with black hair on top and bright color at the tips, to match the style of the characters in the show.
Writing about the popularity of Kimitsu no Yaita in Japan, which is so popular, it’s beginning to influence hair styles. pic.twitter.com/mtSA9yeMQZ
— Peter Payne (@JListPeter) December 9, 2019
One thing Japan loves to do as Christmas nears is light up its cities to create “illumination events” that attract visitors from far and wide. The city of Ashikaga is winning big this month, as fans from all over Japan flock to the illuminated flower display at Ashikaga Flower Park, which recreates a scene from the anime.
Something the Japanese positively love is ranking things, and there was even a populate late-night show called Rank Kingdom that ranked everything from popular music and manga to idol photobooks to mundane things like household appliances and slippers to keep your feet warm. The Demon Slayer manga has gotten so popular, it’s managed to unseat the mighty One Piece, which had remained at the top of the sales charts for the past 11 years. It’s even getting some cross-marketing love from big companies like Tower Records, which amazingly still exists in Japan.
If you love Kimetsu no Yaiba, we’ve got good news: we stock many awesome figures and related products from the series for you to collect. See all the Demon Slayer products here!
Did you know that the Nintendo Switch and Sony PS4 are region free? This means you can play awesome anime games from Japan on the platforms, and we’ve got lots of great games to show you during our big 50% off EMS shipping sale. Grab a bunch of games now!
