'Demon Slayer' set to bestow nearly $2bn on Japan's economy

Dec 06, 2020 | News On Japan

Dec 06, 2020 (Nikkei) - "Demon Slayer" keeps booming, arousing expectations that what began as a manga series will create 200 billion yen ($1.92 billion) or more in economic effects in Japan.

More than 120 million paper and digital copies of the entire series have been published, and a feature-length anime is on its way to setting a box office record. Collaborative products turned out by food and other consumer goods makers keep selling strongly, stimulating consumption dampened by the spread of the coronavirus.

With the boom likely to continue for some time to come, more tie-ins are expected to be released.

"I've enjoyed the story because it has been well balanced throughout the entire series," a 24-year-old female company employee said as she bought the last volume of the series, released on Friday.

The serialized manga -- known as "Kimetsu no Yaiba" in Japanese -- in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine tells the story of Tanjiro Kamado, a teenage boy on a quest to restore the humanity of his sister, who was turned into a demon by Muzan Kibutsuji, the story's main antagonist, whose attack killed the rest of Tanjiro's family.

The cumulative number of published copies topped 40 million when the 19th volume of the series hit stores in February. When each of the remaining four volumes was released, the publisher did print runs of 20 million for each.

According to the research arm of the All Japan Magazine and Book Publishers' and Editors' Association, the accumulated number of published copies has exceeded 100 million for only nine manga series, including "Dragon Ball," "Naruto," "One Piece" and "Slam Dunk."

For "Demon Slayer," which has created a rare boom in the manga market, each of its 23 volumes has ranked high in monthly sales.

The movie, released in October, is closing in on breaking a record itself. By Nov. 29, "Demon Slayer: Mugen Train," had topped 27.5 billion yen in revenue, exceeding the 26.2 billion yen generated by Japan No. 2 "Titanic," the 1997 Hollywood blockbuster. "Mugen Train" is now closing in on No. 1 "Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spirited Away)," which generated 30.8 billion yen in box office revenue.

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