What's Demon Slayer? And Why Is It Dominating the Box Office?
Before Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another) and Gabby’s Dollhouse battle it out for the box office crown, there’s one movie that’s been atop the box office for the last two weeks that might have some people scratching their heads. Despite new theatrical releases like The Long Walk (a well-reviewed Stephen King adaptation) or Downton Abbey: A New Era (also well-reviewed) opening, a new theatrical movie for the long-running Japanese Anime, Demon Slayer, took the box office. That’s putting it lightly.
According to CNN, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, which is distributed in North America by Sony Pictures Entertainment-owned Crunchyroll, destroyed a 26-year box office record for Anime features, grossing many more times than Warner Bros. Pictures’ 1999 anime feature, Pokémon: The First Movie. It ended up taking home $70 million domestically alone (that first weekend), and it’s considered the sixth-largest September opening. Internationally, the film has been shattering records as well. In Japan, it has surpassed the box office gross of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli’s masterpiece, Spirited Away, to become the second-highest-grossing film in the country.
That brings us to the topic I wanted to discuss for this newsletter:
- What is Demon Slayer?
- Can Demon Slayer reach Pokémon heights in America?
- And what does this mean for the Anime Industry?
What is Demon Slayer?
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is adapted from the manga series of the same name, telling the story of a teenage boy who slays demons. It’s a pretty typical Shonen anime series, where our hero Tanjiro Kamado goes through a series of powering up, fighting ever increasingly difficult foes, and powering up again. It has always reminded me of another popular series, Fullmetal Alchemist, not only because of the Shonen tropes, but because of our hero’s travel companion. In Fullmetal Alchemist, the heroes are looking for a cure so that the younger brother can be returned to his body (he’s basically the Tin Man). In Demon Slayer, Tanjiro’s sister, Nezuko, hasn’t fully been turned into a demon, and there’s hope that Tanjiro can find a cure.
While the story for Demon Slayer is solid, what I always found most interesting about the show was the animation from studio Ufotable. I had seen their work previously in other anime adaptations (Fate/Zero, The Garden of Sinners), and I was always blown away. It made sense that a lot of the projects they worked on were on an OVA scale. When Demon Slayer came out on TV and had that same quality of animation, nothing could compete.
I’ve talked a lot about the TV show already, but there the four movies to discuss as well. Two of the movies are known as compilation movies. These compile episodes of the TV series into one feature-length movie, usually editing footage and exercising filler material. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Movie: Mugen Train is considered the first feature film of the Demon Slayer franchise. It adapts material from the manga into an original feature. The newest movie (the one this newsletter is about) also adapts material from the manga and is the first of a planned trilogy to finish the Demon Slayer story.
Are the movies any good? If, IF, you have been following along with the Demon Slayer anime, the movies are fine continuations of a story that’s already pretty good. If you’ve never seen a second of Demon Slayer and plan on enjoying these movies, don’t bother. They aren’t an entryway into Demon Slayer and are certainly for fans only.
Since Demon Slayer is a Shonen and often features fantasy violence, in my opinion, I’d suggest the audience age of 10+ (Common Sense Media says 14+). Certainly, if you have children who can handle it at a younger age, go for it. There are actually two other recent hits, Jujutsu Kaisen and Dan Da Dan, that’d likely rate 14+ (but that’s neither here nor there). Japanese anime, especially Shonen, is written for an audience of young teenage boys. That’s why in the classic series, Neon Genesis Evangelion, a young boy is the one who’s tasked with saving humanity.
To sum it up, Demon Slayer is an international sensation that began its life as a manga, became a TV series, and then evolved into theatrical box office gold. If you are interested in watching Demon Slayer, yourself or with your family, you can stream it on Hulu, Crunchyroll, and Netflix. Crunchyroll has the most episodes available, while Netflix has the first few seasons. I do recommend Demon Slayer. It isn’t my favorite currently airing Shonen, but it does a lot of things well.
Can Demon Slayer reach Pokémon heights in America?
Demon Slayer has surpassed Pokémon in the theatrical box office, but what would it honestly take for Demon Slayer to become more popular in America? For this question, I looked at a newsletter from White Box Entertainment, Anime by the Numbers.
There’s no question that many millennials remember Pokémon fondly, as it really reached its apex in the late 90s. With the video games, trading cards, and the cartoon, Pokémon was everywhere. When it came time to release the first movie, it was a big deal, and the movie was given the first wide release of an anime in North America, helping it surpass the previous Japanese Anime feature by 30 times the amount. No other anime movie, including those by Studio Ghibli, has come close to that kind of release and box office.