One-Punch Man Artist Comments on Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba's Success

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is currently one of the most popular franchises now running in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump (for the time being, anyway) and there's no doubt to many fans that the anime adaptation of the series helped catapult the original manga to new success. The manga continues to break sales records long after new volumes hit shelves as curious fans also read through the previous releases in the series, and this popularity has undoubtedly drawn a huge amount of both positive and negative attention from fans as they begin to debate whether or not the popularity is a greater issue.

One-Punch Man illustrator Yusuke Murata recently drew some attention from fans for his comments on Koyoharu Gotoge's series as he took to Twitter to mention how the anime has greatly increased the amount of manga readers as a result of its popularity, "Demon Slayer is probably increasing the population of manga readers. Its popularity is great, but its contribution to the entire industry is immeasurable."

鬼滅は多分これ漫画読者層の母数を増やしまくってるよなあ。人気もすごいが業界全体への貢献力も計り知れない。有難や。＞RT

— 村田雄介 (@NEBU_KURO) May 7, 2020

Doubling down on this sentiment, Murata mentioned how the Demon Sayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba anime wouldn't have been so well received if the manga didn't have the content to begin with, "I think that it wasn't that the Demon Slayer anime 'was' amazing, but the anime was ALSO amazing. If the original doesn't have the power, it shouldn't hit here even if it was animated."

Murata ended this string of comments with the hilarious notion that if fans want to continue to tell him the manga is boring, that they shouldn't reply to him directly, "I think that whether or not a manga is boring is based on individual impressions, but if you can do that, I would like you to mumble with your own account rather than [reply] to me." But what do you think?

Do you agree with Yusuke Murata's take on Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba? Was the manga made more popular due to the anime, or did its strength carry it on its own? What's your favorite version of the series? Do you think a One-Punch Man and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba crossover could work? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or talk to me directly about all things anime and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!