Recently, at this year’s Savannah College of Art And Design Animation Festival, Tiny Chef co-creator Ozlem Akturk discussed the rise of her pint-sized culinary expert. In creating the stop-motion animated character, Akturk and fellow co-creator Rachel Larsen have had a roller coaster ride in recent memory. Discussing the recent Nickelodeon cancellation, Ozlem also touched on the recent release of the biggest anime movie in history, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle. While Koyoharu Gotouge has created one of the most legendary shonen franchises in history, Akturk isn’t too thrilled when it comes to how the mangaka was compensated for the Demon Slayer Corps’ journey.
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To cap off her discussion, Ozlem asked the panel’s audience whether anyone had seen Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, with most of the audience clapping in response. Backing creator Koyoharu Gotouge, Akturk stated that, “the artist didn’t make any money. If you find yourself in that situation, what you need is a good lawyer. That makes a big difference because they can make sure that you’re not signing your project away at the end of the day.” Gotouge has never commented directly on how much she received in compensation for the overall creation of Tanjiro and his friends, though recent reports caused fan ire with regard to Demon Slayer: Mugen Train.
The Demon Slayer Controversy
In a report released following the film’s release, it was revealed that Demon Slayer’s creator was only given a little under $20,000 USD for Demon Slayer: Mugen Train, the previous title holder for the biggest anime film. Pulling in hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office, many anime fans were up in arms when it came to Koyoharu Gotouge not receiving what she was owed. As of the writing of this article, we have yet to learn how much the mangaka has earned in relation to Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, but we have to hope Koyoharu made far more.
Profits received aren’t the only point of contention in the anime industry, as work environments across the board for animators and manga artists alike have been controversial. For example, Jujutsu Kaisen’s second season from Studio MAPPA had numerous reports from animators regarding the stressful working conditions they experienced in bringing Yuji Itadori’s story to life. Changes have been made in relation to many aspects of the industry in recent years, but there are still even more changes that need to be made.
As of the writing of this article, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle has pulled in a staggering amount of profits at the box office, with the current tally sitting at over $550 million USD. This box office take puts the first part of the film trilogy above the vast majority of films released in 2025, proving once again that there is a serious desire for anime both in North America and around the world.
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