Demon Slayer Manga Reports 60 Million Copies Sold, by Far Best Selling Manga of 2020
20th volume of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba released today in Japan
After reporting back in January that the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba manga has sold a whopping 40 million copies, the official Twitter account for the series announced on May 13 that as of the release of the 20th volume – which released today in Japan –, the series has sold 60 million copies over the physical release and the digital release of the series. This pushes the behemoth of a series past the likes of Gintama, Ranma ½, Yu Yu Hakusho, and Tokyo Ghoul.
【コミックス20巻初版280万部＆シリーズ累計6000万部突破大御礼!!】
— 鬼滅の刃公式 (@kimetsu_off) May 13, 2020
竈門隊士と同じ耳飾りをつけた剣士の表紙が目印の
『鬼滅の刃』コミックス20巻、本日発売です！
時透・玄弥・実弥・悲鳴嶼の4人は、
上弦の壱・黒死牟に打ち勝つことができるのか...!?
最新20巻、是非お手に取ってみてください!! pic.twitter.com/uR6cc4DcvR
This means that this year alone, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba would have already sold at least 40 million copies during this reporting year (November to October), making it one of the best selling years for any manga series already, beating out One Piece for most copies sold in one year according to Oricon. What's more, volume 20 has an initial print run of 2.8 million copies, which is close to being the second manga series to have the highest initial print run in Japanese publishing history. One Piece broke the 3 million first-run print run publishing record with its 57th volume.
Even with a pandemic going on, the first day sales of volume 20 had book stores all over Japan crowded with people lining up out the door, even though you can purchase the manga digitally, as well as grab a physical copy on online retailers – though Amazon says the manga is currently sold out through the platform, only available through third-party sellers.
鬼滅買いに来たけど、何この並びかた…。全部鬼滅並びだそうです。買えるの？???? pic.twitter.com/ifpczAGTYs
— リターンライダーまる@元釣り人@元ダイバー (@furumaru35) May 13, 2020
開店10分前なんだけどみんな絶対鬼滅買いにきてるじゃん pic.twitter.com/g5gWXXoZja
— やまぴ。 (@ymp__7) May 13, 2020
Also announced today was the release date for the rest of the manga series through the end of the 2020. Volume 21 is scheduled to be released on July 3, with volume 22 scheduled for October 2, and volume 23 scheduled for December 4. Though those dates are currently subjected to change, along with the release of chapters due to the current coronavirus (COVID-19) situation.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is a franchise that just won't stop, you can watch the TV anime series on Crunchyroll, with the upcoming anime film, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train scheduled to be released in Japanese theaters on October 16.
Source: Demon Slayer on Twitter
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Daryl Harding is a Japan Correspondent for Crunchyroll News. He also runs the YouTube channel about Japan stuff called TheDoctorDazza, tweets at @DoctorDazza, and posts photos of his travels on Instagram.
