Demon Slayer, which used to get released in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine back in February 2016 with its final chapter concluding on May 18, 2020, has been a popular cult among fans over all these years. Written and Illustrated by Koyoharu Gotouge, the manga has sold over 150 million copies including digitized versions making it the 9th best-selling manga of all time.
Demon Slayer was later on adapted into an anime series of 26 episodes by Ufotable that aired from April 2019 to September 2020. That was the first season of Demon Slayer and after that, the team of Demon Slayer never had to look back as it gained a solid response from the audiences. Demon Slayer franchise released a film that is a sequel to Season 1, called Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train in October 2020 was the highest-grossing anime film and Japanese film of all time.
It then continued with Season 2 with 18 episodes covering the parts of the Mugen Train arc within 7 episodes and the rest 11 episodes contained the Entertainment District arc. In February 2023, the Demon Slayer franchise released a second film named Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – To the Swordsmith Village, a compilation of the Entertainment District arc and Swordsmith Village arc. Currently, Demon Slayer Season 3 is running and released up to 5 episodes till now.
Why is Demon Slayer so popular?
What makes this anime series so special? Why is it so popular among the fans creating a whole cult? Let’s find out!
Breathtaking Animation
The first thing that always comes to mind while thinking about what makes this anime series a fan favorite is its animation. Everyone agrees that this anime series has one of the best animations, the series that actually bagged 6 awards in Crunchyroll anime awards. Best Animation is one of them. So clearly this anime series has won the hearts of its fans with its breathtaking animation.
All the credit goes to Ufotable for their mind-blowing work with the manga character designs. With bright artwork and fast action scenes, Ufotable’s animation in the Demon Slayer anime, particularly in the Mugen Train movie and Entertainment District arc, brings the series’ conflicts to life aesthetically and wonderfully.
The unique abilities/power of the characters.
The demons possess unique blood demon art: Yahaba was able to create and control arrows as weapons, Daki could manipulate her belt to imprison her victims, and Lady Tamayo could use her blood to perform spells. Demon slayers like Zenitsu who has special hearing abilities employ thunder breathing, which boosts his speed. Inosuke uses beast breathing, which strengthens his muscles. Fans are always excited and curious to know about these powers of the Demons and their slayers.
The writing style that covers the family dynamics and friendships
The main plot of the anime is about a young boy named Tanjiro losing his family to the Demons and the only survivor, his young sister, Nezuko turned into a demon. This traumatic event where Muzan, the most powerful Demon that killed his family and turned his sister into a Demon, led Tanjiro to join the Demon Slayer Corps, an organization that specializes in hunting Demons. Not only Tanjiro or his family, but this anime series also deals with such serious dramatic events for the demons as well, having traumatic pasts.
In particular, when they face demons, notably in the first season, when they first meet Rui and his family, Goutouge compares their strong affinity with some of the more unpleasant interactions they have with them.
After turning into a demon, Rui, who was formerly a frail and physically weak youngster, developed strength. Nevertheless, in order to survive, he turned violent and murdered someone. His parents decided to murder him and themselves in order to pass away as a family out of terror for what their son had turned into. Rui, who was oblivious to his family’s entire scheme, awoke just as his father was ready to murder him in his sleep.
He then killed both of his parents dead in a fit of wrath. To replace the connection he believed his parents had, Rui as a demon started to create a new family with other demons. Although, he would often mistreat and attack the members of his new family, especially his mother and sisters, unconsciously feeling terrified by the prospect of being deceived once more.
Loss, hope, and tenacity serve as Demon Slayer’s important key themes. Demon Slayer is so well-liked because it explores relatable issues that almost everybody can relate to.
The Aesthetics!!!
The anime’s events take place in a fictitiously formed Taisho era of Japan. Japan had a rapid transformation throughout the Taisho period. As a result, individuals like Tanjiro who grew up in rural areas find modern innovations like railroads to be a tremendous surprise. People tend to forget or overlook demons as technology and industry advance, and most people strongly disapprove of carrying swords in public. These are just a handful of the creative ways Demon Slayer makes use of its environment to forge its own distinct personality.
In establishing a connection between the characters and the viewers, the Demon Slayers’ producers are effective. Demon Slayer has always been the preferred anime of everyone dealing with real-life emotions, and its gripping animations, outstanding artwork, and stunning cinematography combined with the enthralling soundtrack and the compelling performance from the voice actors, who beautifully convey it.
With all these components and meticulous thought given to it, Demon Slayers had to be popular.
