Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (Japanese: 鬼滅の刃, Hepburn: Kimetsu no Yaiba, lit. "Blade of Demon Destruction"[4]) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Koyoharu Gotouge. It follows Tanjiro Kamado, a young boy who wants to become a demon slayer after his family is slaughtered and his younger sister Nezuko is turned into a demon. It was serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from February 2016 to May 2020, with its chapters collected in 23 tankōbon volumes. It has been published in English by Viz Media and simulpublished by Shueisha on their Manga Plus platform.
A 26-episode anime television series adaptation produced by Ufotable aired in Japan from April to September 2019. A sequel film, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train, premiered in October 2020 and became the highest-grossing anime film and Japanese film of all time. A second season, titled Kimetsu no Yaiba – Yūkaku-hen, will premiere in 2021.
As of February 2021, the manga had over 150 million copies in circulation, including digital versions, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time. Meanwhile, the anime series has received critical acclaim, with critics praising the animation and fight sequences. It has received numerous awards and is considered one of the best anime of the 2010s.[5][6][7][8] As of December 2020[update], the Demon Slayer franchise is estimated to have generated total sales of at least ¥270 billion ($2.6 billion) in Japan.
The story takes place in Taishō-era Japan. It follows Tanjiro Kamado and his sister Nezuko Kamado as they seek a cure to Nezuko's demon curse. Tanjiro and Nezuko become entangled in the affairs of a secret society, known as the Demon Slayer Corps, that have been waging a secret war against demons for centuries. The demons are former humans who sold their humanity in exchange for power, they feed on humans and possess super natural abilities such as super strength, magic and regeneration. Demons can only be killed if they're decapitated with weapons crafted from an alloy known as Sun Steel, injected with poison extracted from wisteria flowers, or exposed to sunlight. The Demon Slayers, on the other hand, are entirely human, however, they employ special breathing techniques, known as "Breathing Styles", which grant them superhuman strength and increased resistance.
Tanjiro Kamado is a kind-hearted and intelligent boy who lives with his family in the mountains. He has become his family's sole source of income after the passing of his father, making trips to the nearby village to sell charcoal. Everything changes when he comes home one day to discover that his family has been attacked and slaughtered by a demon. Tanjiro and his sister Nezuko are the sole survivors of the incident, with Nezuko being transformed into a demon, but still surprisingly showing signs of human emotion and thought. After an encounter with Giyū Tomioka, a demon slayer, Tanjiro is recruited by him and sent to be taught by Sakonji Urokodaki, another member of the Demon Slayer Corps, to also become a demon slayer, and begins his quest to help his sister turn human again and avenge the deaths of the rest of his family.[9]
In 2013, Koyoharu Gotouge debuted in the 70th Jump Treasure Newcomer Manga Awards with the one-shot work Kagarigari (過狩り狩り).[10][11] Three more one-shots, Monju Shirō Kyōdai (文殊史郎兄弟) published in the 2nd issue of Jump Next! in 2014, Rokkotsu-san (肋骨さん) published in the 39th issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump in 2014, and Haeniwa no Zigzag (蠅庭のジグザグ) published in the 21st issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump in 2015, followed.[12] After Haeniwa no Zigzag failed to become a serialized series, Tatsuhiko Katayama, Gotouge's first editor, suggested to start a series with an "easy-to-understand theme".[13] 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.[13] Due to its serious tone, lack of comic relief and dark story, this draft was not accepted for serialization. Katayama asked Gotouge to try writing a brighter more normal character in the same setting.[13] The original title was Kisatsu no Yaiba (鬼殺の刃), but they felt the character "satsu" (殺, lit. "kill") in the title was too overt. The word "kimetsu" (鬼滅) seemed easy to understand, and although it is a made up word, Gotouge thought it would be interesting to abbreviate the series' title that way, while the word "yaiba" (刃, lit. "blade") implies a Japanese sword.[13]