Atsuhiro Iwakami, CEO of Demon Slayer producer Aniplex, heaped praise on the anime series and said that currently, no other country can compete with Japan in its ability to continue to create unique characters and worldview.
Iwakami spoke with Nikkei about the current state of Japanese anime. He was reserved on the business side, praising Hollywood films like Spider-Man: No Way Home for their combination of creativity and box office returns. He also added that the anime industry still has a long way to go compared to the way global gaming companies, for example, are based around the world. However, Iwakami added that “International competition in anime is becoming fierce, but Japan still has its strengths. That’s the strength of the IP created by Japanese manga artists and anime creators. Japan is the only country capable of consistently creating unique personality traits and worldviews.”
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Aniplex CEO said no country can match Japan’s anime production capacity
Iwakami continued, “Japan is also capable of creating anime. There are a large number of animators who can skillfully draw exquisite illustrations, and no other country, other than Japan, is capable of creating such works.” However, he also pointed out that he hasn’t gotten ahead of himself, adding that he’s not even a third of the way to where he wants to be, even as CEO of one of the largest anime producers.
Aniplex is behind some of the biggest anime titles, such as Bleach, Blue Exorcist, Spy x Family, Naruto and Sword Art Online, as well as the Fate and Fullmetal Alchemist series. In his speech, he added that AI is a potential game changer and if China, with its large population and love of Japanese-style animation, produces a few true geniuses, “the power to Their anime production strength will increase many notches. ” An anime industry insider highlighted this recently when he gave the example of how the Japanese animation industry discriminates against Chinese animators. In his archived tweets, he said that if China gathered its superior animators together, forming a “Chinese animated Avengers”, they could compete .
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The global success of Demon Slayer has made waves in the Anime industry
On the other hand, the success of Demon Slayer speaks for itself. The franchise is expected to have a large base of new VR anime content in Tokyo this fall, and the series achieved a concurrent viewership of over 20 million in Japan at its peak in last year. Internationally, Demon Slayer is in the top 100 most watched Netflix media in the first half of 2023. Along with Vinland Saga, its latest seasons are watched almost more than all new anime releases eyes during the same period on the platform combined.
Demon Slayer will hold screenings worldwide next month ahead of Season 4, adapted from the “Hashira Training” arc. You can watch this anime on Crunchyroll and received several awards from the streamer, which describes the show: “It is the Taisho Period in Japan. Tanjiro, a kind-hearted boy who sells coal for a living, finds his family slaughtered by a killer. Worse still, his sister Nezuko, the only survivor, was turned into a demon. Although devastated by this grim reality, Tanjiro is determined to become a ‘demon slayer’ so he can turn his sister back into a demon. human and destroy the demon that massacred his family.”
Demon slayer
When Tanjiro Kamado returns home to find his family has been attacked and killed by demons, he discovers his sister Nezuko is the only survivor. As Nezuko gradually becomes a demon, Tanjiro sets out to find a way to cure her and becomes a demon hunter so he can avenge his family.
Release date April 6, 2019
Cast Natsuki Hanae, Zach Aguilar, Abby Trott, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka
Seasons 3
Studio ufotable
Source: Nikkei