Here's How Demon Slayer's Anime Boosted the Manga Sales

If there is one series that got a glow-up this year, it would have to be Demon Slayer. The [...]

By Megan Peters

If there is one series that got a glow-up this year, it would have to be Demon Slayer. The franchise has been around for a couple years now, but it hasn't been a global hit until this year. In the last few months, fans have come out saying Demon Slayer is the best manga of 2019, and that title was nabbed thanks to its increased visibility.

And why exactly did its visibility rise up? Well, it is all thanks to ufotable and its handling of Demon Slayer's anime.

Earlier this year, Demon Slayer made its TV debut. The manga was adapted into an anime which the studio ufotable oversaw. Of course, fans were intrigued by the release given its inclusion in Shonen Jump, but no one expected Demon Slayer to become the hit it has.

Over on Twitter, a user known as otakujp wanted to breakdown the exact point when Demon Slayer blew up. After all, the series has been around since 2017, but its fanbase seemed to expand in conjunction with the anime. It turns out fans were not wrong about the anime's impact on the manga, and the above chart shows how.

As you can see, Demon Slayer sales have always risen with each release. From the beginning, the manga never dipped with fans which surely helped ufotable agree to do an anime adaptation. But once the show went live this year, fans can see a sharp spike in manga sales which has risen exponentially.

In terms of numbers, Demon Slayer sold a total of 5 million copies when it has 13 volumes to its name. This means 400,000 copies or so of each volume were sold. After the anime went live, Demon Slayer has 20 million copies between 17 volumes which averages out to 1.2 million sales per volume. Clearly, a big shift happened with the series, and it seems that change is all thanks to the anime.

Have you checked out Demon Slayer's manga yet? 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."

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