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INTEREST: Jump Editor-in-Chief Explains What's Unusual About Demon Slayer's Success

It's kind of funny to me how Demon Slayer has come out of nowhere after everyone was hyping up Promised Neverland as the next big shonen hit but now it feels like most people have already moved on from it. Like I'm sure it has manga readers but I rarely see people talking about it on social media like I do Demon Slayer.

"Normally, a manga gradually sells more copies throughout the anime's run, but Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba's sales shot up straight after the anime ended," he said, indicating that a large number of people watched the anime through streaming services after it ended rather than watching it weekly. "The way people interact with anime has changed, and I feel like we've entered a new phase."

Bueller wrote:

Quote: "The way people interact with anime has changed, and I feel like we've entered a new phase." Nah, Demon Slayer's success has to do with production and advertising. If it had been a more traditional adaptation, it probably wouldn't have become so famous (the manga, by itself, never was). On the other hand, if Black Clover or Dr Stone had the same treatment they would have become big hits too.

I disagree with that last sentence about Black Clover. That anime failed to take off because it's source material just isn't very good. I mean the beginning of Black Clover is so shamelessly derivative of other works that any adaptation would've had a hard time trying to get something worth while out of it.

Kisuke525 wrote:

ThatMoonGuy wrote: Replica_Rabbit wrote: Wish, World Trigger was this successful. Anyway, glad Demon Slayer is successful. Probably should get around and read/watch it. It is odd, that demon slayer is the only Jump manga I avoided. I don't know why I would read Black Clover over it (and I not a fan of Black Clover) Ditto. WT was my favourite jump manga when it was running there and though I deeply love Kimetsu no yaiba a part of me wishes that WT had gotten this kind of traction. Also, while the anime played a big role on the rise of the manga that wouldn't have lasted so long if it wasn't for the merits of the story itself. KnY is Jump Manga realized to its full potential. I completely agree with the second part of your post. There is no doubt that the anime played a big role in its massive popularity, but it isn't the only reason. If people didn't enjoy the manga they would stop buying it after a few volumes and the sales would start to fall off in the later volumes, but the later volumes are selling just as well as the earlier ones.

Well, Ashihara's health is pretty bad. Even before he went on hiatus for 2 years, he would frequently take several unscheduled breaks. So even if the series blew up, it still would've eventually hit a wall.

But make no mistake about it; although World Trigger didn't blow up like Demon Slayer, if you look at how well the volumes were selling before it went on hiatus for 2 years, it was one of the best-sellers in WSJ, consistently selling better than series like My Hero Academia. Really, the only series in WSJ it wasn't outselling during the anime's run was extremely popular series in Japan (at the time) like One Piece, Gintama, Assasination Classroom and Haikyuu. When you look at the newer manga in Jump at the time (WT included in that group), it was easily the best-seller. And surprisingly, sales per volume have gone up since the the manga returned. So although it didn't blow up massively, it's done an incredible job of retaining the fans it got during it's peak (especially when you consider all the 2-year hiatus and several other sudden breaks).

Cardcaptor Takato wrote:

It's kind of funny to me how Demon Slayer has come out of nowhere after everyone was hyping up Promised Neverland as the next big shonen hit but now it feels like most people have already moved on from it. Like I'm sure it has manga readers but I rarely see people talking about it on social media like I do Demon Slayer.

I mean, is it really surprising though? Both The Promised Neverland and Dr Stone, could have never been as huge as Demon Slayer, because they are lacking the classic Shounen Jump tropes. To make it short, they don't have fights. Of course, you could argue that they do, but it should be clear what I mean by that.

Special attacks, Names for your moves, Training Arcs etc. Demon Slayer stays true to what people expect from Shounen Jump, while Dr Stone and especially The Promised Neverland, are pretty different.

AutoOps007 wrote:

Kisuke525 wrote: ThatMoonGuy wrote: Replica_Rabbit wrote: Wish, World Trigger was this successful. Anyway, glad Demon Slayer is successful. Probably should get around and read/watch it. It is odd, that demon slayer is the only Jump manga I avoided. I don't know why I would read Black Clover over it (and I not a fan of Black Clover) Ditto. WT was my favourite jump manga when it was running there and though I deeply love Kimetsu no yaiba a part of me wishes that WT had gotten this kind of traction. Also, while the anime played a big role on the rise of the manga that wouldn't have lasted so long if it wasn't for the merits of the story itself. KnY is Jump Manga realized to its full potential. I completely agree with the second part of your post. There is no doubt that the anime played a big role in its massive popularity, but it isn't the only reason. If people didn't enjoy the manga they would stop buying it after a few volumes and the sales would start to fall off in the later volumes, but the later volumes are selling just as well as the earlier ones. Well, Ashihara's health is pretty bad. Even before he went on hiatus for 2 years, he would frequently take several unscheduled breaks. So even if the series blew up, it still would've eventually hit a wall. But make no mistake about it; although World Trigger didn't blow up like Demon Slayer, if you look at how well the volumes were selling before it went on hiatus for 2 years, it was one of the best-sellers in WSJ, consistently selling better than series like My Hero Academia. Really, the only series in WSJ it wasn't outselling during the anime's run was extremely popular series in Japan (at the time) like One Piece, Gintama, Assasination Classroom and Haikyuu. When you look at the newer manga in Jump at the time (WT included in that group), it was easily the best-seller. And surprisingly, sales per volume have gone up since the the manga returned. So although it didn't blow up massively, it's done an incredible job of retaining the fans it got during it's peak (especially when you consider all the 2-year hiatus and several other sudden breaks).

I like WT and miss it, and although the reaction to the adaptation was a surprise (it not only saved the manga from cancellation but also made it popular), it was far from anything big. It beat Toriko, but in its second volume Boku no Hero was already selling more.

Ditto. Demon Slayer's story is really nothing special, but when you cover it with jaw dropping, gorgeously directed animation that puts many feature films to shame, and also inject some angsty blood 'n guts to hook the teens, yeah you got a recipe for success.

Maybe this show will make producers realize putting some effort into their adaptations instead of slapping out some rushed, half-assed garbage will pay off more in the long run. (Though probably not)

It doesn't help that TPN moved far away from its initial premise to the point that the mangá is barely recognizable. It begun as a escape thriller and then went on a completely different direction. Honestly, as it is now I find TPN to be an OK manga at most. People were selling the manga a lot on the first arc but everything else is downhill from there.

It's kind of funny to me how Demon Slayer has come out of nowhere after everyone was hyping up Promised Neverland as the next big shonen hit but now it feels like most people have already moved on from it. Like I'm sure it has manga readers but I rarely see people talking about it on social media like I do Demon Slayer.

Promised Neverland was already a big shonen hit before the anime even came out. Hell the manga sold seven million freaking copies in 2019 alone. Those aren't the numbers of a manga that "people have already moved on from". If anything it looks more like a shonen title that a helluva people have started paying attention to.

But you look at Demon Slayer and it's sold over 40 million copies as of February 2020. As I said, Promised Neverland definitely still has it's following but if you look at the broader fandom, I feel like it didn't make quite the same pop culture mark that Demon Slayer has.

JonDoe wrote:

Promised Neverland was already a big shonen hit before the anime even came out. Hell the manga sold seven million freaking copies in 2019 alone. Those aren't the numbers of a manga that "people have already moved on from". If anything it looks more like a shonen title that a helluva people have started paying attention to.

But you look at Demon Slayer and it's sold over 40 million copies as of February 2020. As I said, Promised Neverland definitely still has it's following but if you look at the broader fandom, I feel like it didn't make quite the same pop culture mark that Demon Slayer has.