The official Major League Baseball (MLB) X account tweeted yesterday with a new image promoting an upcoming collaboration with Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. The image only features the MLB and Demon Slayer logos, it’s unknown what kind of collaboration it will become. This new tease comes not long after the One Piece collaboration with the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team. The One Piece and Lakers’ collaboration featured new artwork with the Strawhats wearing Lakers jerseys and a brand-new animation. Crunchyroll also reported that Demon Slayer previously partnered with the Yomiuri Giants baseball team from Japan in 2021.
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The Demon Slayer and Yomiuri Giants collab included exclusive baseball merchandise designed to match the anime, including character-themed mittens and baseball bats. One Piece also collaborated with the MLB and the Boston Red Sox in 2024; the partnership included a new special-theme night at the Las Vegas “Sphere.” The Red Sox will collaborate with One Piece again for a special “One Piece Theme Day” on May 3rd. The upcoming Red Sox collaboration will include a new special Red Sox and One Piece jersey that fans can gain on the May 3rd game between the Red Sox and the Minnesota Twins. The event will also include unique One Piece-themed “entertainment and activation.”
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What Will the Demon Slayer and MLB Collaboration Include?
The tweet doesn’t specify when fans can expect the Demon Slayer and MLB collaboration other than a vague “Coming soon.” These kinds of cross promotions typically include exclusive merchandise like sports gear themed around the anime series. The MLB may release exclusive images and animation similar to what the NBA did for the Lakers and One Piece partnership.
The MLB didn’t identify which baseball team Demon Slayer will partner with. The Major League Baseball organization is made up of around 30 teams. With the Red Sox already laying claim to One Piece, it’s unlikely that the Boston team will collaborate with Demon Slayer. It’s also possible the Demon Slayer cross-promotion may be an organization-wide promotion involving all the major league baseball teams in the United States.
What’s Up With All The Anime and Sports Collaborations?
Anime has become an absurdly popular medium and is set to become even bigger in 2025. All these different companies and organizations want to take advantage of the growing mainstream acceptance of anime, especially among the younger generations. We now live in a time where anime icons like Goku and Luffy can have balloons at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. McDonald’s has even made cross-promotions with Yu-Gi-Oh! and Evangelion. People’s growing acceptance of anime led to more collaborations with American brands, including the MLB and NBA.
It should be noted that these US companies only collaborate with the most popular animes. Demon Slayer and One Piece are some of the most popular series currently airing. These collaborations help promote upcoming animation projects for these big anime brands. A trilogy of Demon Slayer films is scheduled to premiere in July 2025 whereas One Piece has an ongoing anime that’s been airing since 1999. Fans shouldn’t expect cross-promotions of this magnitude with more niche anime like Zoids. These anime collaborations also help sell exclusive merchandise that both sides of the partnership can profit from.
H/T: The MLB on X (formerly Twitter)
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