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TOKYO – The Demon Slayer money machine continues to churn out profits as it builds its own profitable ecosystem.
An animated film based on the popular manga “Demon Slayer (Kimetsu no Yaiba)” released on October 16 has already grossed over 25 billion yen ($ 240 million). The franchise, supported by a manga, a TV series, and most recently a movie, has resulted in numerous product and company marketing ties that have generated massive sales.
But the success was no accident. Rather, it came from carefully calculated strategies to capitalize on the franchise’s popularity.
Sushi restaurant chain Kura Sushi saw sales at the same store grow 7.9% in September from the previous year, apparently from its relationship with Demon Slayer. The chain recorded its first year-on-year sales growth in seven months, despite the collapse caused by the pandemic the restaurants suffered. The hook of the chain? Plastic gifts with Demon Slayer characters.
Meanwhile, the Lawson convenience store chain grossed out by offering 50 items – including rice balls featuring Demon Slayer characters – scheduled with the release of “Demon Slayer: Mugen Train,” the film version of the manga. More than 10 million units flew off the shelves during the first 10 days and total sales have now exceeded 5 billion yen.
It was Lawson’s fourth marketing campaign based on the manga. The company planned its first merchandise campaign with the franchise in April 2019, when a story-based anime TV series first aired. The company has so far launched more than 70 articles featuring the main characters in one of its largest marketing links.
Lawson has set up a special corner dedicated to Demon Slayer products in its stores.
“Demon Slayer: Mugen Train” broke numerous Japanese box office records, becoming the first film to gross 20 billion yen in about three weeks. In comparison, it took “The Enchanted City”, an animated fantasy blockbuster by Hayao Miyazaki, 59 days to reach the same milestone.
Between 50% and 60% of ticket sales go to distributor Toho, while Aniplex, the Sony unit that produced Demon Slayer, will also likely receive a large increase in earnings thanks to the film’s success.
Lawson’s long history of collaborating with anime projects stretches back two decades and gave him an edge when the bond was formed. In the process, she was able to develop a close relationship with Aniplex. Lawson also has a direct foothold in the entertainment industry through his Loppi terminal used to purchase movie tickets and his United Cinemas group company, a cinema operator.
Akiko Shirai, general manager of Lawson’s marketing strategy division, helped orchestrate the Demon Slayer campaign. Its marketing team has a known “passion for anime” and has worked closely with copyright holders and product manufacturers to promote the links. The team’s commitment to developing products completely in line with the animations it represents has evolved into a winning formula.
Shirai’s team also dedicates a lot of resources to social media marketing, flooding its Twitter and Line accounts with news and updates from its campaigns. Product makers appreciate the power of Lawson’s social media presence, which reaches approximately 43 million accounts.
Copyright expert Kazuo Rikukawa, president of Character Databank, highlights Lawson’s talent for making binding products special. According to Rikukawa, the convenience store chain often works with copyright holders to create unique graphics that are used exclusively in the products. Lawson’s collaborative marketing “stands out from the crowd for its uniqueness and quality of content.”
Another beneficiary of the film’s success is beverage producer Dydo Drinco, whose new canned coffee products with 28 different Demon Slayer graphics launched on October 5. “It was like ‘gacha’,” said one person who bought coffee from a vending machine. Similar comments flooded social media saying buying the canned drink was like buying items from Japan’s popular toy capsule vending machines.
Some people get hooked on buying coffee until they get the can with their favorite character, said a public relations official at the company, who added that the campaign will be the company’s biggest success in terms of sales.
In the first three weeks of the product’s launch, over 50 million cans were sold, increasing October sales of its coffee-based products by 50% over the previous year, or 6% of overall sales in 2019. campaign aimed to “win more customers between the ages of 20 and 30” and increase sales through vending machines, according to a marketing manager at the company.
Toy maker Bandai Spirits, part of Bandai Namco Holdings, began developing Demon Slayer-themed products in May 2019. Its Nichirin Sword model used by the hero opened for orders in October. The realistic toy prop is designed to appeal to Bandai’s demographic and discerning collectors.
The sword model is incorporated with approximately 70 audio tracks, including lines from the film. Pre-orders for delivery in February 2021 are already sold out.
Demon Slayer merchandising began to grow after the anime series aired.
Demon Slayer’s popularity soared after its anime TV series aired from April to September 2019. In July of this year, Atsuhiro Iwakami, president of Aniplex, which produced the series, said the company had dedicated his best resources to the project with an eye on making the anime the crown jewel of the company. However, the boom went beyond “our wildest dreams,” he said.
But Demon Slayer’s popularity began shortly before the anime’s broadcast ended, driven primarily by video streaming services. Social media first came to life with Demon Slayer chatter and comics soon sold out in many bookstores.
Within a week of the anime series first airing, Aniplex began offering the series on video streaming sites Abema, Amazon Prime Video, and Netflix. This created a new wave of interest in the series while ensuring a long life after broadcast, leading to its enormous popularity thereafter.
Aniplex is trying to maximize profits by showing the film on many different types of media. “We want to offer titles to as many people as possible while not limiting platforms,” says Iwakami. “Demon Slayer has become a very successful example of this strategy”,
The Demon Slayer sensation is likely to have a huge impact on the industry. Fumio Kurokawa, an anime expert, predicts that the new combination formula of TV broadcasting and video streaming will become popular in the anime industry. “It’s possible to broadcast an anime series on TV while distributing spinoffs via streaming services,” he said.
People wearing Demon Slayer themed costumes were spotted during the 2020 Halloween season in Tokyo.
Mayumi Morinaga, senior researcher at Hakuhodo DY Media Partners’ Institute of Media Environment, says that Demon Slayer’s popularity was primarily driven by people who got into animation for the first time.
The film “meets consumers’ needs for content that gives them a sense of certainty,” he said, as it closely follows the manga’s plot. Viewers know exactly how the story ends, Morinaga said, explaining that they are able to relive the excitement they felt when they first read the story.
Demon Slayer’s success reveals “a trend among consumers to seek out entertainment they know they will enjoy instead of wasting time looking for something that may ultimately be disappointing,” he added.
He also points out that the unique and eye-catching colors of the hero’s costumes and hair – which make symbols easily recognizable – have also contributed to the proliferation and strong sales of the merchandise.
Additional reporting by Benkei Kuroda, Daiki Hiraoka and Takako Fujiu
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