Demon Slayer Manga Shortage Causes Panic and Price Spikes

To say Demon Slayer has been a hit this year would be putting it very lightly. The title has become one of Shueisha’s most valuable thanks to its almighty anime debut. Earlier in the year, international audience ate up Demon Slayer after its first season debuted, and the manga is thriving thanks to the success. Just, it seems like the series might be a little too popular for its own good.

Over in Japan, fans learned exactly how popular Demon Slayer was after its latest volume went live. The manga put out its 17th volume in Japan on October 4, and it seems like no one expected the copy to sell like it did. In a matter of days, bookstores all over Japan sold out of the copy, and the need for the volume is only growing by the day.

As reported by Crunchyroll, bookstores in Japan have completely sold out of Demon Slayer‘s new volume as well as two companion novels. The stores have had to post signs to inform fans of the bad news, and many of them do not know when they will get the volume back in stock due to the high demand.

For fans, this sold-out status is as exciting as it is frustrating. Fans are plenty proud seeing how well Demon Slayer is doing, but they are also miffed they cannot read its latest volume. For some, they’ve gone ahead and picked up the entire series before volume 17 to show their support, and many anime viewers are picking up the series at volume 7 where the show ended.

Given how in-demand this new volume is, there are some Demon Slayer fans willing to go to extreme measures to get it, and they can find secondhand sellers online willing to part with volume 17. Right now, Mercari and Yahoo are hosting users auctioning off their new volumes for some seriously insane money.

Have you almost completed your collection of Demon Slayer? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump in February 2016. You can read its synopsis here: “Since ancient times, rumors have abounded of man-eating demons lurking in the woods. Because of this, the local townsfolk never venture outside at night. Legend has it that a demon slayer also roams the night, hunting down these bloodthirsty demons… Although their lives may be hardened by tragedy, they’ve found happiness. But that ephemeral warmth is shattered one day when Tanjiro finds his family slaughtered and the lone survivor, his sister Nezuko, turned into a demon. To his surprise, however, Nezuko still shows signs of human emotion and thought… Thus begins Tanjiro’s request to fight demons and turn his sister human again.”