“Whenever happiness is destroyed, there’s always the smell of blood.”
Aniplex of America proudly announced yesterday that Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba will be available on Hulu, Crunchyroll, and FunimationNow starting April 6, 2019. This highly anticipated new series produced by ufotable (Fate/stay night [Heaven’s Feel] trilogy, Fate/Zero) is based on a popular manga by Koyoharu Gotoge, which quickly became a major hit in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine since it was first published in 2016 and currently boasts over 3 million copies in print. Set during the tumultuous Taisho period (1912 to 1926) in Japan, two siblings must learn to survive after their family is viciously slaughtered by demons. Aniplex of America recently hosted a special premiere event at the Aratani Theatre in Los Angeles on March 31, where lucky fans got to see the first five episodes of the series specially edited together as a feature-length film.
The series stars Natsuki Hanae (Your lie in April, Fate/Aporcypha) and Akari Kito (BLEND-S, Record of Grancrest War) as siblings Tanjiro and Nezuko Kamado, alongside Hiro Shimono (Durarara!!x2, WWW.Working!!), Takahiro Sakurai (Cells at Work, Fate/Grand Order), and Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (Sword Art Online, Eromanga Sensei) in supporting roles. Haruo Sotozaki (Initial D: Third Stage, Naruto: Konoha Sports Festival) serves as the director with Akira Matsushima (Maria Watches Over Us, Tales of Zestiria the X) handling the character design.
In addition to animation production, ufotable is also in charge of the screenplay with esteemed composers Go Shiina from God Eater and Today’s MENU for Emiya Family and Yuki Kajiura from Sword Art Online and Puella Magi Madoka Magica teaming up to create the music for the series. It was recently revealed that renowned anisong singer LiSA (Sword Art Online, Fate/Zero) sings the opening theme for the series titled “Gurenge.” I’m really excited about this news because her songs give us that classic 90’s feel.
About Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba:
It is the Taisho Period in Japan. Tanjiro, a kindhearted boy who sells charcoal for a living, finds his family slaughtered by a demon. To make matters worse, his younger sister Nezuko, the sole survivor, has been transformed into a demon herself.
Though devastated by this grim reality, Tanjiro resolves to become a “demon slayer” so that he can turn his sister back into a human, and kill the demon that massacred his family.
Don’t sleep on this anime it may pan out to be one of the highest rated shows of Spring. How will it stand up against big shows like Attack on Titan, Fruits Basket, Ace of Diamond Act II, and The Rising of the Shield Hero?
For more information on Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, please visit the official website: http://www.demonslayer-anime.com/
STAFF:
Original Story: Koyoharu Gotoge (Weekly Shonen Jump / SHUEISHA)
Director: Haruo Sotozaki
Character Design: Akira Matsushima
Sub Character Design: Miyuki Sato, Yoko Kajiyama, Mika Kikuchi
Screenplay Production: ufotable
Conceptual Art: Koji Eto, Masaru Yanaka, Kasumi Takeuchi, Yuri Kabasawa
Directors of Photography: Yuichi Terao
3D Director: Kazuki Nishiwaki
Color Setting: Yuko Omae
Editing : Manabu Kamino
Music: Yuki Kajiura, Go Shiina
Animation Producer: Hikaru Kondo
Animation Production: ufotable
Opening Theme: “Gurenge” by LiSA
CAST:
Tanjiro Kamado: Natsuki Hanae
Nezuko Kamado: Akari Kito
Zenitsu Agatsuma: Hiro Shimono
Inosuke Hashibira: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka
Giyu Tomioka: Takahiro Sakurai
Sakonji Urokodaki: Hochu Otsuka
Sabito: Yuki Kaji
Makomo: Ai Kakuma
Genya: Nobuhiko Okamoto
Black-haired Guide: Aoi Yuki
White-haired Guide: Shiori Izawa
Haganezuka: Daisuke Namikawa
Kasugai Garasu: Takumi Yamazaki
Demon in the temple: Hikaru Midorikawa
Teoni: Takehito Koyasu