In its first season, Demon Slayer became a legend. Here’s everything we know about Demon Slayer Season 2, the return of an anime phenomenon.
From the mind of artist Koyoharu Gotoge, Demon Slayer is an unstoppable global anime sensation. Beginning with a manga series, it was transformed into a critically acclaimed anime series and box-office record-breaking movie. Now with Demon Slayer Season 2 set to drop sometime this year, the hype is real.
Before Demon Slayer Season 2 hits the screens, now is the best time to catch up on the back story of this phenomenon, plus, find out all there is to know about one of the most anticipated series launches of the year.
Backstory
Are demons getting you down lately? Spare a thought for Tanjiro Kamado, the teenage protagonist of Demon Slayer. Upon entering his home one fateful day, he discovers that demons have killed his family and transformed his younger sister, Nezuko, into a demon herself. There’s no ambiguity in the title of the story: Tanjiro is out for revenge. The demon slayer is born. Insert training montage.
In this tale that unfolds in the early 20th century (the Taishō period), Tanjiro joins the Demon Slayer Corps, which is populated with misfits who bring their own special skills to the cause. They’re out to destroy Muzan Kibutsuji, the Demon King.
https://twitter.com/KnyPictures/status/1432803696816099333
The plot thickens as Nezuko, though technically a demon, fights off her instinctual hunger for human flesh to work alongside her brother and the Demon Slayer Corps. It creates tension within the group as the Hashira (the elite inner sanctum of the corps) struggles to trust her.
The series — (its official title is Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba) first ran in 2019 and features a massive 26 episodes (at the time of writing it’s still available to be streamed on Netflix in Australia). The award-winning and critically acclaimed series made a huge impact, especially in its native Japan. But with the movie, the cultural gravity of Demon Slayer was felt all over the globe.
The big screen
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train was released in October 2020 in Japan and rolled out internationally over the next six months. Though it might have seemed an unhinged strategy to launch a major film for the cinema at the height of the pandemic (it actually coincided with a lifting of cinema restrictions in Japan), things worked out much better than anyone could possibly have foreseen.
Remarkably, the movie became the biggest box office taker worldwide for the year, grossing over $500 million. It was the non-Hollywood movie to achieve the accolade and became the highest grossing anime and Japanese film (of any style) of all time.
Interestingly, the movie wasn’t a random spinoff from the series. It was a direct sequel. Tanjiro, Nezuko, and two other characters from the series, Zenitsu and Inosuke take a train ride on their way to a demon hunting mission.
And while you can find the synopsis, it’s probably best you avoid spoilers. Why? Well, in the strange world of Demon Slayer, the second season will actually chronologically follow the movie. So series, then movie, then back to series — still with me?
Demon Slayer: Season 2
Picking up from the conclusion of Mugen Train, the second season is titled Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Entertainment District Arc. Its setting is the Yoshiwara suburb of Tokyo, which was historically famed as a red-light district.
A demon is on the loose in Yoshiwara and Tanjiro and his buddies are sent in to put a stop to it. We can expect a deepening of the intrigue surrounding Nezuko’s status as a demon/demon slayer, along with further exploration of the aforementioned Hashira.
So when’s it gonna land? According to this report in Yahoo Japan, Demon Slayer Season 2 should drop in October in its home country. There’s also speculation of an announcement regarding the specific launch date on September 25. And if you are in Japan, you actually won’t be able to escape it, as it will be broadcast on 30 domestic TV channels! Just another indication of its status.
And if you’re outside of Japan? The is set to be simulcast on anime streamer, Funimation. Here’s what they had to say about the new season:
“We can officially reveal that the television anime from Aniplex of America and ufotable will stream on Funimation in its English-speaking territories, including the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand when it arrives in 2021.”
Still excited for Season 2?!
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Entertainment District Arc coming this year on Funimation! ✨ pic.twitter.com/NnIGGlzbiv
— AnimeTV チェーン (@animetv_jp) August 29, 2021
And if you need to catch up on the movie before launching into the new series, you can also find it on that particular streaming service.
The runaway success of Demon Slayer doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon. In Japan especially, it has completely dominated the zeitgeist. Take the theme song to the first season, Gurenge by LiSA, as one example. It’s a chart-topper in Japan and has featured on the Billboard Global 200. It’s pulled in some huge streaming numbers, which is to be expected.
But when Tokyo passed on the baton at the end of the recent Olympic Games, what song did they choose as a celebration of their culture? You guessed it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-mQGMMUAdE
