This article contains spoilers for the Demon Slayer manga.
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Demon Slayeris a widely beloved series, now more than ever before. The manga, which started back in 2016, was immediately a huge hit, andone of Shonen Jump’s biggest series, even before any anime adaptation came out. But, the anime is where things really took off, as it ended up makingDemon Slayerone of the very biggest series ever, etching its name in legends.
One of the most eye-catching details aboutDemon Slayeris, of course, its title. An editor has revealed the secrets behind how he and the creator, Gotouge, came up with this final name.
Demon Slayer Is Known As Kimetsu no Yaiba In Japanese
Katayama Reveals Why This Name Was Chosen
Demon Slayer, also known as Kimetsu no Yaiba, is one of the most popular shonen series ever. Right now, the popularity of the series sis booming, and much of that is down to the latest movie,Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Part 1 - Akaza’s Return, which is already a huge hit, breaking records set by the previous Demon Slayer movie, Mugen Train.
The level of success Demon Slayer has reached is mind-blowing, to say the least. Given that it has amassed a huge fandom now, fans might be wondering about the origin of its name. After all, the name of a series is a very important detail that can catch the eyes of new readers and viewers.
For Demon Slayer, the English name doesn’t literally translate the Japanese title. If it did, it would be called something along the lines of “Demon Destroying Blade.” When it comes to its original Japanese name, Kimetsu no Yaiba, it was not actually what the creator had planned at first.
Indeed, Gotouge, at first, wanted to name the series Kisatsu no Yaiba. This would make the title closer to Demon Killing Blade, but they found it to be a bit too harsh. Kimetsu is a bit tamer, and would mean “perish” or “destroy,” and is what they ended up going with.
When it comes to the word Yaiba, many fans thought it just meant any blade or sword, but the editor revealed it actually stands for a Japanese blade in particular.
This was all revealed to fans during an interview with the editor of the Demon Slayer manga, Tatsuhiko Katayama. The interview was released by Manga Plus, called “The Making of a Jump Manga! vol.5”.
Here’s the full interview where Katayama answered the question concerning the title of the series:
How did you come up with the title “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba”?
Katayama: We originally were going to go with “Kisatsu no Yaiba”, but we felt that the character for “satsu” (殺, meaning kill) was too strong. We discussed what to substitute it with and came up with a few ideas. Out of those ideas, “kimetsu” (鬼滅, with the second character meaning to perish) seemed the easiest to understand. Although no one actually says the word “kimetsu”, Gotoge-sensei thought it would be interesting if the title were abbreviated that way. “Kimetsu” has a strange ring to it, doesn’t it? Although it’s easy to pronounce, it has an unusual quality about it. And that’s how the title of “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” came to be. As for “yaiba”, it doesn’t just imply any old sword, but particularly a Japanese sword, so we decided on that.
Available on Crunchyroll and Manga Plus
The Demon Slayer manga concluded long ago, in 2020 to be specific. The story is rather short compared to most other series, and only spans over 205 chapters. Fans of the series who don’t want to wait for the movies to drop can check the manga out on Manga Plus.
Meanwhile, for the anime, the series currently has 4 anime seasons. These anime seasons can all be found on Crunchyroll.The rest of the series will be animated into movies, for which fans will have to wait for a theatrical release. The release date, in this case, depends on their country.
Demon Slayer
Based on Koyoharu Gotouge’s shonen manga, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is an action anime set in Japan during the early 20th century. Seeking revenge for the murder of his family while also looking to save his sister, Tanjiro joins the Demon Slayer Corps as they attempt to eradicate Demons led by Muzan.
