Demon Slayer has become the seventh best-selling manga of all-time.
Koyoharu Goutoge’s Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba has banked a massive increase in worldwide circulated copies, jumping from its initially recorded 150 million in 2021 to a whopping 220 million this 2025. This milestone made the title the seventh best-selling manga of all-time, beating out titles like Slam Dunk by Takehiko Inoue and KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops by Osamu Akimoto.
The news was announced in a commercial after the end of the special edition “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Hashira Training Arc” broadcast on FujiTV yesterday, 17th July.
The commercial further confirmed that the number of copies being published were split between 164 million in Japan and 56 million overseas.
This is a momentous achievement, as Demon Slayer only has 23 volumes–making the title the shortest series to ever achieve 220 million copies in circulation. Compared to One Piece, which is at number one with 111 volumes and in circulation since 1997 with 516.6 million copies sold, Demon Slayer’s rise is nothing short of epic in proportions.
The manga began serialisation in 2016 in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump, and ran until May 2020 with a total of 205 chapters. The manga received an anime adaptation in 2019 by ufotable, and is now reaching its last legs with a series of films adapting its final arc.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie - Infinity Castle Arc Chapter One - Akaza's Return opens in Japan
The first movie to the Infinity Castle Arc of Demon Slayer, “Akaza’s Return” opens in Japanese theatres today, 18 July, much to the excitement and anticipation of dedicated fans. The movie will, according to its various trailers, feature the fights between Insect Pillar Shinobu Kocho and Upper Moon Demon 2 Doma, Zenitsu and the newly assigned Upper Moon Demon 6 Kaigaku, and of course the eponymous Upper Moon Demon 3 Akaza, who returns to face Tanjiro once again, this time with the aid of Water Pillar Giyu Tomioka.
Just last week, tickets for a special midnight screening of “The Return of Akaza” sold out in 10 minutes.
However, global fans will still have to wait before they can catch the movie in their respective theatres. The movie will be released in both Japanese and English subtitles, including an English dub, and will be released in IMAX and other premium large formats.
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