Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

Synopsis

Setting

In Taishō era Japan, a secret organization known as the "Demon Slayer Corps" has waged a war against demons for centuries. Demons are former humans who possess supernatural abilities such as enhanced strength, rapid regeneration, and unique powers referred to as "Blood Demon Arts". Demons can only be killed if they are exposed to direct sunlight, decapitated with weapons crafted from an alloy called Nichirin, or injected with a poison extracted from wisteria flowers.

In contrast, the Demon Slayers are entirely human but employ specialized elemental breathing techniques known as "Breathing Styles". These techniques grant them superhuman strength, heightened abilities, …

Production

After Gotouge's previous manga, Haeniwa no Zigzag, published in Weekly Shōnen Jump in 2015, failed to become a serialized work, Tatsuhiko Katayama, Gotouge's first editor, suggested Gotouge to start a series with an "easy-to-understand theme". Gotouge's debut work Kagarigari would become the basis for an initial draft, titled Kisatsu no Nagare (鬼殺の流れ) since it had concepts like swords and demons, which would be familiar to the Japanese audience. However, due to its serious tone, lack of comic relief, and dark story, this draft was not accepted for serialization, so Katayama asked Gotouge to try writing a brighter, more average character in the same setting. The original title…

Manga

Written and illustrated by Koyoharu Gotouge, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba was serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from February 15, 2016, to May 18, 2020. Shueisha collected its chapters in 23 individual tankōbon volumes, released from June 3, 2016, to December 4, 2020.

Shueisha simultaneously published the series in English on the Manga Plus service starting in January 2019. Viz Media published the first three chapters in its digital magazine Weekly Shonen Jump as part of the "Jump Start" program. During their panel at San Diego Comic-Con on July 20, 2017, Viz announced that they had licensed the manga for the North American market. The first volu…

Anime

A 26-episode first season of an anime television series adaptation by studio Ufotable, directed by Haruo Sotozaki and produced by Hikaru Kondo, was broadcast from April 6 to September 28, 2019.

A second season, with the first part adapting the "Mugen Train" story arc, aired for seven episodes from October 10 to November 28, 2021. The second part of the season, adapting the "Entertainment District" story arc, aired for eleven episodes from December 5, 2021, to February 13, 2022.

A third season, covering the "Swordsman Village" story arc, aired from April 9 to June 18, 2023. A fourth season, covering the "Hashira Training" story arc, aired from May 12 to June 30, 2024.

Compilatio…

Films

A film, titled Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train, premiered in Japan on October 16, 2020.

A film trilogy adapting the "Infinity Castle" story arc premiered in Japan on July 18, 2025.

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Light novels

A light novel, titled Demon Slayer: The Flower of Happiness (鬼滅の刃 しあわせの花, Kimetsu no Yaiba Shiawase no Hana), by Gotouge and Aya Yajima, was published in Japan on February 4, 2019. It chronicles the lives of Tanjiro and Zenitsu before the start of the main series, as well as glimpses into the lives of Aoi and Kanao. It also features a single chapter of an alternate universe where the characters attend an ordinary high school. A second light novel, titled Demon Slayer: One-Winged Butterfly (鬼滅の刃 片羽の蝶, Kimetsu no Yaiba Katahane no Chō), by Gotouge and Yajima, was published in Japan on October 4, 2019. It details the lives of Shinobu and her sister Kanae before and soon after …

Video games

A video game based on the series was announced in 2020. Titled Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles (鬼滅の刃 ヒノカミ血風譚, Kimetsu no Yaiba Hinokami Keppūtan), it is developed by CyberConnect2, and published by Aniplex. The game was released for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, and Steam on October 14, 2021, in Japan. Sega published the game worldwide for the same platforms on October 15, 2021. It was released for the Nintendo Switch on June 9, 2022. In December 2024, a sequel was announced. Titled Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles 2 (鬼滅の刃 ヒノカミ血風譚2, Kimetsu no Yaiba Hinokami Keppūtan Ni), the game was …

Stage plays

A stage play adaptation of the manga was announced by Weekly Shōnen Jump in September 2019. The stage play was performed from January 18–26 in Tokyo at the Tennōzu Ginga Gekijō and from January 31 to February 2, 2020, in Hyōgo Prefecture at the AiiA 2.5 Theater Kobe. Kenichi Suemitsu scripted and directed the play and Shunsuke Wada composed the music. The cast includes Ryota Kobayashi as the protagonist Tanjirō Kamado, Akari Takaishi as his sister Nezuko, Keisuke Ueda as Zenitsu Agatsuma, Yūgo Satō as Inosuke Hashibira, Reo Honda as Giyū Tomioka, Tomoyuki Takagi as Sakonji Urokodaki, Mimi Maihane as Tamayo, Hisanori Satō as Yushirō, and Yoshihide Sasaki as the main antagonis…

Other media

A collaborative kabuki exhibition featuring the characters from the series was held at Kyōto's Minami-za theater from November 6–23, 2020. An art exhibition of the series ran in Tokyo's Mori Arts Center Gallery from October 26 to December 12, 2021. The exhibition displayed numerous artworks drawn by Gotouge and also sold original goods. The exhibition ran in the Grand Front Osaka from July 14 to September 4, 2022.

From September 17, 2021, to February 13, 2022, Universal Studios Japan hosted attractions based on the series, including the "Demon Slayer XR Ride". Other attractions include the "Hollywood Dream the Ride" and Demon Slayer Corps special training sessions. Universa…

Reception

Popularity and cultural impact

In 2020, the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba franchise generated an estimated annual sales revenue of ¥1 trillion ($8.75 billion). In January 2021, it was reported that Japanese sales of print books and magazines fell 1% in 2020 compared to the previous year, being the smallest per-year decline since 2006. This small decline was attributed to an increase in reading in Japan due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the "successful boom" of the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba manga and its related media. According to CharaBiz, a database for character licensing business in Japan, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba was the highest-grossing franchise of 2020, sur…