Of all of the things 2020 has come to be known for, movie releases breaking box office records wasn’t one in every of them. However one film defied the odds. Launched in Japan on Oct. 16., the animated film Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train ended a 19-12 months record held by the Studio Ghibli traditional Spirited Away. Hitting $313 million in ticket sales in December, the movie overtook director Hayao Miyazaki’s magnum opus to develop into the country’s highest-grossing film of all time.
In the months since, the film—based on the manga Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba by Koyoharu Gotouge—has broken one other record beforehand set by Spirited Away: Mugen Train is now the highest-grossing anime movie within the world. It is set for theatrical launch within the U.S. and Canada on April 23, in each a subtitled model and an English dubbed version.
Before the film made headlines for shattering records, the Demon Slayer franchise was already amassing a dedicated international fanbase. Each the manga that was first printed in 2016 and the television series adapted from the manga have recorded feats of their own. Ahead of the North American launch of Mugen Train, right here’s everything to know about Demon Slayer, the author-illustrator behind it and the meteoric success of the manga, television series and film.
What’s Demon Slayer about?
In this fictional world set in early twentieth century Taishō-period Japan, man-consuming demons roam the land every night. thirteen-12 months-old Tanjiro Kamado’s world is turned upside down when he returns house one morning to find his whole household murdered save for his sister Nezuko—who has turned right into a demon. Determined to avenge their deaths and discover a remedy that might transform Nezuko back right into a human, Tanjiro sets out on a journey to train for the Demon Slayer Corps. The story follows him as he joins this underground group of skilled fighters who dedicate their lives to protecting humans from the vicious creatures.
Who’s Koyoharu Gotouge?
Koyoharu Gotouge (recently featured as a part of the 2021 TIME a hundred Subsequent) wrote and illustrated Demon Slayer. The mangaka, or manga creator, has not publicly revealed their identity, and instead makes use of the pen name Gotouge and seems as an avatar of an alligator in glasses when making announcements about the series. Despite not a lot about Demon Slayer’s author being known to the public, those who collaborate carefully with Gotouge are acquainted with their work ethic. «I have known Gotouge sensei [the honorific term for trainer in Japanese] since the start of their career, and so they weren’t necessarily without fault firstly,» Kohei Ohnishi, an Editor-in-Chief of Weekly Shonen Jump who edits Demon Slayer, tells TIME. «However through hard work and perseverance, they had been able to grow considerably as a mangaka.»
Though Gotouge’s schedule has not been shared before, the each day work routines of manga authors are reputed to be rigorous. For example, Oda Eiichiro—the creator of One Piece—has shared about sleeping repeatedly from 2 AM to five AM to work on his manuscript. Ohnishi cites Gotouge’s strong sense of integrity and dedication to their work, and says the mangaka is «very aware of how readers are responding to their work.» Asked about essentially the most impactful element of Gotouge’s writing and artwork, Ohnishi references the strong characters and dialogue. «Their characters are all distinctive, yet still rooted in reality, and that’s a really troublesome balance to strike,» Ohnishi says. «In addition, there are a number of memorable lines filled with originality in Demon Slayer.»
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