The Demon Slayer Season 2 anime was pushed a little over the horizon now that ufotable has announced a Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba movie for 2020. The film was officially confirmed to be in production immediately following the airing of Demon Slayer Episode 26, the ending of the first season. (See below for more details.)

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Season 2 will be the sequel to the breakout anime hit of 2019. Reviews of the first season have been stellar, and the anime has often topped the popularity charts of Hulu, Crunchyroll, and Funimation.

Sales of the manga series topped six million in May 2019, and if fans devote whole sub-Reddits to the demon named Nezuko, you know they’ll be demanding Demon Slayer Season 2.

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But the Demon Slayer manga’s ending may be coming soon. The climax in Chapter 204 is scheduled to come out in May 2020, so how will that impact the anime series?

When producer Takahashi talked about the future of the anime series in the past he would not confirm Demon Slayer Season 2 directly nor did he hint at the eventual Demon Slayer movie announcement. In August 2019, he claimed that a sequel largely depends on support from the fans.

If support of the fans is all that is necessary for Demon Slayer Season 2 to be greenlit for production then arguably they have already achieved that goal. Demon Slayer Episode 19 was so popular it even caused the anime to trend on Twitter.

More importantly, from the perspective of a producer, the anime has already reached important financial thresholds. Streaming revenue is the most important factor in determining an anime’s future.

Not only has Demon Slayer done well on streaming platforms, but the Oricon charts also show that Demon Slayer Blu-Ray/DVD sales in Japan have been about double of the Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken anime… and we all know how That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime Season 2 was announced immediately.

Director Haruo Sotozaki (Tales of Symphonia: The Animation) is at the helm for the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba anime staff. Lead character designer Akira Matsushima works with sub-character designers Miyuki Sato, Yoko Kajiyama, and Mika Kikuchi. The music is composed by Yuki Kajiura (Sword Art Online, Fate/Zero, and Madoka Magica) and Go Shiina (Juni Taisen: Zodiac War, and God Eater). Hikaru Kondo is the producer.

The anime first premiered with two cours composed of 26 episodes on April 6, 2019. A “cour” is a three-month unit of TV broadcasting based on the physical weather seasons.

The second cour’s finale, Demon Slayer Episode 26, aired on September 28, 2019.

Aniplex released the Toonami English dub of Demon Slayer Season 1 back on October 12, 2019.

It’s possible that Demon Slayer Season 2 or 3 could be a split-cour anime, which is when a single anime season takes a TV broadcasting break before resuming after several months.

Recent examples include Attack On Titan and Food Wars! (please see our articles on Attack On Titan Season 4 and Food Wars! Season 5, both of which are being released in 2020).

Demon Slayer Mugen Train Movie Trailer August 2020 The latest Demon Slayer Mugen Train movie trailer! For more details: Posted by Monsters & Critics Anime on Monday, August 3, 2020

Updated August 3, 2020: Added Demon Slayer: Mugen Train trailer. Confirmed 2021 premiere for U.S. and Canada.

Updated July 6, 2020: Demon Train movie announced for North America.

Updated June 3, 2020: ufotable tax evasion scandal continues.

Updated April 28, 2020: Added info about the Demon Slayer manga’s ending.

Updated April 10, 2020: Demon Slayer movie release date confirmed! Added movie poster and trailer.

Updated October 21, 2019: Added Demon Slayer movie trailer and release time frame.

Updated September 28, 2019: Demon Slayer movie confirmed!

Updated September 9, 2019: Added ending theme song for Episode 19.

Updated August 15, 2019: Added comments from Demon Slayer producer Yuma Takahashi and financial analysis.

Updated August 14, 2019: Revised manga comparison and added more details.

This article provides everything that is known about Demon Slayer Season 2 and all related news. As such, this article will be updated over time with news, rumors, and analysis. Meanwhile, let’s delve down into what is known for certain.

Ufotable surprises fans with Demon Slayer’s second cour not being a split-cour

While good news, the fact that the Demon Slayer anime’s first season was not a split-cour was a surprise to some anime fans since animation studio Ufotable is producing the TV show. They are well known for producing the Fate/Stay series, Tales of Symphonia, and Type-Moon’s The Garden Of Sinners.

In 2019 they were working on the Fate/Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel movie trilogy. The animation studio also produces video game cutscenes for God Eater and other games.

Founded in 2000 by Hikaru Kondo and staff coming from the TMS Entertainment, Ufotable went on a hiring spree in recent years, but they’re still a relatively small company. Although small in size, their talented staff produces all of their content in-house rather than relying on outsourcing to freelancers, which is a common practice in the Japanese anime industry.

Based on their work on the anime Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works, the studio’s high-quality animation has resulted in the nickname Ufotable: Unlimited Budget Works. But this nickname is based on the commonly held misconception that higher quality animation requires a bigger budget.

As a comparison, the first season of One Punch Man (see our article on One Punch Man Season 3) was lauded for its quality animation, but OPM animator Chikashi Kubota claimed its budget was average. Instead, quality animation is the result of a talented staff combined with proper project scheduling (longer production times).

And that’s why it was a surprise Demon Slayer’s second cour was not a delayed split cour. Ufotable is known for producing split-cour TV shows to give their animation staff ample time to produce quality work.

But in this case, the Demon Slayer credits reveal that they finished up through Episode 8 by the end of 2018. By May 2019, Ufotable was already working on layouts and key animations for Episode 21 and music for Episode 18, which means they scheduled plenty of time and the second half won’t feel rushed quality-wise.

So, that’s the good news concerning Ufotable and their plans for the second half of the Demon Slayer anime. Unfortunately, that now brings us to our next bit of news.

Ufotable: Unlimited Budget Works no more due to tax evasion/earthquake charity fraud scandal

Based on the success so far, Demon Slayer Season 2 being greenlit for production seems like a foregone conclusion, but will troubles at the animation studio cast a shadow over the production?

Starting in April 2019, reports came out that Ufotable owed about $3.65 million in unpaid taxes. Worse, the company allegedly misappropriated charity auction funds that were supposed to go to victims of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake.

“The investigation is still ongoing, but the tax evasion amount we know here is 4 Billion yen,” said an investigator from the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau in the report by Weekly Bunshun Magazine. “The additional tax will be 200 million yen.”

The Bureau searched Ufotable’s offices and even their cafes (which sell anime-related merchandise) as part of the tax evasion investigation. Ufotable president and Demon Slayer producer Hikaru Kondo allegedly spent days at home consulting with lawyers before returning to work.

Concerning the earthquake charity, Ufotable also hosts a town revival event called Machi Asobi, held twice a year. According to reports, Ufotable may have committed fraudulent accounting.

“Even though charity auctions are being carried out for the reconstruction of the disaster area, if their earnings are used in different ways, fraud charges of Article 246 of the Penal Code may result in imprisonment of 10 years or less,” explained lawyer Toshiaki Kobayashi. “In addition, if the corporation does not properly declare the revenue to be recorded, it will be a violation of corporate tax law, that is, tax evasion.”

Reports claim Ufotable president Kondo allegedly directly received revenue from of the Ufotable merchandise sales. Shortly after these reports were published, Kondo resigned as chairman of the executive committee for Machi Asobi. He did not provide a reason for stepping down.

Ufotable’s tax evasion scandal settled down for a time in the news only to hit the headlines again in June 2020. According to the Mainichi Shimbun, the Tokyo Public Prosecutors Office charged Kondo and the anime studio with evading 139 million yen (which is about $1.28 million in U.S. dollars).

The company allegedly hid about 30 percent of the income from their Tokyo anime restaurants in a safe at a private home. From 2015 through 2018, it’s claimed that ufotable altered its accounting ledgers to hide about 446 million yen ($4.11 million). This meant they avoided millions in corporate and consumption taxes.

The source cited by the news site claims that Kondo used the unpaid tax money to fund ufotable studio. However, a lawyer for Kondo claims that Kondo has already filled an updated tax return and paid back the taxes owed.

Will this scandal cause any repercussions for the anime production of Demon Slayer Season 2? It’s still too soon to tell since the investigation is still ongoing. Even if no one serves prison time, let’s hope the studio has enough cash available to both pay the taxes owed and to continue their production schedule without any hiccups.

Demon Slayer manga compared to the anime

The story for the anime is based on the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba manga series by writer and illustrator Koyoharu Gotoge. Published by Shueisha‘s Weekly Shonen Jump, the manga comes out weekly, usually on Mondays, but it can skip a week during the holidays.

As of May 13, 2020, the Demon Slayer manga will be up to Volume 20, which includes up through Chapter 178. The Demon Slayer climax in Chapter 204 is scheduled to release in Japan on May 11, 2020.

VIZ Media has licensed the official English translation of the Demon Slayer manga series. The first three chapters, as well as the three most recent chapters, can be read on the official website for free. The English online release is usually caught up with the Japanese magazine release.

Starting in July 2018, the English manga began releasing in tankobon format, which is up to Volume 11 as of April 2020. VIZ Media shows that the English Volume 12 is scheduled to release on May 5, 2020, Volume 13 on June 2, 2020, Volume 14 on July 7, 2020, Volume 15 on August 4, 2020, Volume 16 on September 1, 2020, Volume 17 on October 6, 2020, Volume 18 on November 3, 2020, and Volume 19 on December 1, 2020.

Reviews of the anime have praised the animation quality and flowing battle scenes that integrate digital effects seamlessly, never mind the beautiful character designs and gorgeously detailed backgrounds. Manga fans have also been pleased since, for the most part, the anime is almost a panel-by-panel adaptation of the manga, which can be seen clearly in the above comparison.

Some fans have complained about weird story pacing issues thanks to flashbacks and some slow moments, but everyone agrees that once the action picks up, it’s amazing. The best part is that Ufotable is not rushing through the manga, so the pacing is slightly less than two chapters of manga per episode.

To put things into perspective, the halfway point, Demon Slayer Episode 13, adapted up through Volume 3. The famously well-animated Demon Slayer Episode 19 adapted Chapters 38 through 40 of Volume 5. Episode 24 adapted Chapter 49 and parts of chapters 48 and 50.

This comfortable pacing continued for the rest of the first season. The ending, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Episode 26, found an ending somewhere near Chapter 51 of Volume 6, which happens to be the ending of a significant story arc.

The Demon Slayer movie will pick up once again with Chapter 52, the start of the Demon Train story arc. That means Demon Slayer Season 2 will start with Chapter 67, the beginning of the Red Light District arc.

The good news is that there is plenty of source material available for creating Demon Slayer Season 2. In fact, at the rate at which new manga chapters are released, there will be enough chapters available for producing both Demon Slayer Season 3 and 4 by the summer of 2020.

Demon Slayer Season 2 will likely adapt two story arcs (Chapters 70 through 127) with two anime cours since the manga arcs have 58 chapters combined.

Then Demon Slayer Season 3 could start with a short, 9-chapter training arc before launching into the final arc. Unfortunately, the final arc’s plot does not offer a decent stopping point anywhere but it’s 67+ chapters are divided into two major parts. The third season will likely need to have three or four cours for a good adaptation with solid pacing.

English manga readers who can’t wait for Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Season 2 to release can immediately pick up Volume 8 to read ahead of the anime’s story. Thankfully, the English volumes are already ahead of the anime. Alternatively, you can subscribe to Shonen Jump online and have access to all of the manga chapters immediately.

Demon Slayer movie release date set for October 2020: Film to adapt the Infinity Train story arc

A Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba movie was confirmed to be in production immediately following the airing of Demon Slayer Episode 26. The official title is Demon Slayer: Mugen Train (Kimetsu no Yaiba: Mugen Ressha-Hen).

First season director Haruo Sotozaki and character designer Akira Matsushima are both returning for the production. Returning cast includes the Japanese voices for Tanjiro, Nezuko, Zenitsu Agatsuma, Inosuke Hashibira, and Kyojuro Rengoku.

The announcement on Twitter said that the next mission will be focused on the “Demon train. See you in the movie version!” The official website added more details, saying that they decided to produce a movie version of Demon Slayer: Mugen Train.

The Demon Slayer movie will directly connect to the last scene in Episode 26 where the main characters boarded the infinite train.

Demon Slayer Movie Trailer Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Train 2020 All aboard! The Demon Slayer movie Infinity Train is set to leave the station this fall! For more details: https://www.monstersandcritics.com/anime/demon-slayer-season-2-release-date-kimetsu-no-yaiba-producer-sequel-demon-slayer-manga-vs-anime-comparison-spoilers/ Posted by Monsters & Critics Anime on Friday, April 10, 2020

A teaser trailer was posted online by ufotable, which confirms that the animation studio is returning for producing the Demon Slayer movie. More details are likely to follow in the future.

The Demon Slayer movie release date in Japan has been confirmed for October 16, 2020.

So far, there has not been any announcement of a Demon Slayer: Mugen Train release date for U.S. theaters. On August 2, 2020, the official Twitter page announced that the Demon Slayer movie is coming to North American theaters in 2021, but did not specify an exact time frame for the U.S. and Canadian premiere.

Therefore, the Demon Slayer: Mugen Train release date in the U.S. will likely take place in either the winter or spring 2021. However, it’s still possible the coronavirus pandemic could cause delays if the virus lingers and the majority of American theaters are still closed.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Season 2 release date predictions

As of the last update, producers Shueisha or Aniplex, Ufotable, or any company related to the production of the anime has not officially confirmed the Demon Slayer Season 2 release date. Nor has the production of a sequel other than the Demon Slayer movie been announced.

Once the news is officially confirmed this article will be updated with the relevant information. In the meantime, it’s possible to speculate about when, or if, the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Season 2 premiere date will occur in the future.

The biggest issue is the availability of Ufotable. As a small animation company, they do have concurrent projects (films and video games) but they usually only have one big project per year.

Ufotable usually announces their projects a year in advance. The Demon Slayer movie has been confirmed to be coming out in October 2020. Based on that schedule, Demon Slayer Season 2 would be pushed out to 2021 or beyond.

The alternative is that Shueisha could farm out Demon Slayer Season 2 to a bigger animation studio so the second season could arrive sooner. But that option would probably dismay fans of the anime. So, it’s better for Shueisha to wait and for fans to hope the tax evasion scandal is not Ufotable’s Blade of Studio Destruction.

Demon Slayer movie spoilers (plot summary/synopsis)

Note: The spoilers start with the assumption that the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba movie will open with events surrounding manga Chapter 52.

The last time we watched Tanjiro Kamado and his sister Nezuko they were confronted by the leaders of the Demon Slayer Corps, the Hashira, and put on trial because Tanjiro was protecting his demonic sister, which was considered a violation of conduct. Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke also mastered Total Concentration breathing techniques.

Fully recovered in the care of the Hashira, the group embarks on their next Demon Slayer Corps mission. They’ll go aboard the Infinite Train of Dreams, a demon train that takes them into the dreams of demons.

Meanwhile, villain Kibutsuji Muzan summons the Lower Moons, the six lower-ranked members of the Twelve Demon Moons. The Upper Moons have not changed in over 100 years, but the Lower Moons have been killed and replaced many times over.

Furious at the Lower Moons failure after the death of Lower Moon Five Rui, the demon leader intends on disbanding the Lower Moons and begins brutally killing them off one by one. Some tried to flee while others chattered and tried to convince Muzan to spare them.

Only Lower Moon One, a demon named Enmu, was spared because he was thankful that Muzan wanted to kill him personally. Enmu was also overjoyed at the suffering felt by the humans and the other slain Lower Demon Moons.

In response to this outburst, Muzan stabs Enmu and gives him an injection of his own blood. Enmu is charged with killing Tanjiro and the Pillars of the Demon Slayers Corps. Enmu hopes to succeed and receive more of Muzan’s blood so he can challenge the Upper Moons with his renewed strength.

Enmu has the ability to put targets into a deep sleep using both sound and visual attacks. He derives pleasure from first showing people a pleasant dream but then twisting it into a nightmare. Using these abilities, he can put the Demon Slayers on the Infinity Train to sleep.

When Tanjiro eventually confronts Enmu aboard the steam engine, the sleep demon promises Tanjiro a dream where his father comes back to life. Tanjiro manages to overcome Enmu’s sleep powers and severe the demons head, but this deadly attack doesn’t even faze the decapitated Enmu.

It turns out Enmu had fused his spirit with the Infinity Train while the Demon Slayers slept. Not only does Tanjiro’s mission now require taking on demons in combat, but he must also face the demonic spirit of the Infinity Train while protecting the 200 human passengers of the train.

Joining Tanjiro in protecting the passengers is Kyojuro Rengoku, Flame Pillar of the Demon Slayer Corps. Like many of the Pillars, the second cour of the first season introduced this character.

Kyojuro will take on Third Upper Moon Akaza, a pink-haired and yellow-eyed demon with a tragic past. When still a human child, Akaza was named Hakuji, and he was a thief to raise money for his gravely ill father. The boy was already labeled as a demon child because he was born with pointed teeth.

The young Hakuji overcame his criminal childhood with the help of a dojo leader who saved him from being killed. Over the years, Hakuji became known for being kind and enjoying fights against strong people. Hakuji eventually married the dojo leader’s daughter and took over leadership of the dojo.

Hakuji traveled to his hometown to tell his father the good news, but while he was gone a competing dojo poisoned the village well, killing Hakuji’s newfound wife and father-in-law. Despair caused Hakuji to go on a rampage, killing and mangling the members of the competing dojo with his bare hands. The only survivor went mad.

Hearing rumors of a demon in the area, Muzan visited and found Hakuji. When Hakuji attempted to kill Muzan, the latter stabbed his hand into Hakuji’s face and told of him of his intention to create 12 powerful demons. At that point, Hakuji didn’t even care about anything anymore.

Now known as Azaka, the demon kills to become stronger, but he doesn’t even know why he does it. But he still maintains a thread of humanity since he refuses to eat female humans.

When Kyojuro battles Akaza, the demon is surprised at the Demon Slayer’s “unbelievable” strength. But Akaza is no slouch himself since he has a technique called Compass Needle where he can sense the battle spirit of all incoming attacks. Akaza’s offensive abilities are all based on generating shockwaves.

Demon Slayer Season 2 spoilers (plot summary/synopsis)

Note: The spoilers start with the assumption that the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba movie will open with events surrounding manga Chapter 67.

In their next mission, Tanjiru, Inosuke, and Zenitsu accompany the Demon Slayer Corps Pillar named Tengen Uzui. This jewel-wearing Shinobi is the Sound Pillar, which means he uses a combination of sounds, swords, and bombs to combat demons.

Tengen has three hot, ninja wives (yes, really) named Makio, Suma, and Hinatsuru. The three wives suspected that demons were hiding in the red light district Yoshiwara, Kirimise, so they disguised themselves as oiran (courtesans) and infiltrated a brothel.

Tengen’s wives have disappeared while on their information-gathering mission. This story arc is a bit humorous since Tanjiro and his friends end up disguising themselves as women to sneak into the red light district!

The head oiran named Warabihime is a sadistic demon named Upper Moon Six Daki. Capable of manipulating her deadly sashes, she has already fought and killed seven of the Demon Slayer Corps Pillars. Daki is known for her cruelty, toying with her victims before dispatching them.

She is also known for viciously abusing the people of the brothel, and when a manager confronts her, the demon lifted the hostess high into the air and dropped the woman to her death.

When Daki returned to her room, she is surprised to find her master Kibutsuji Muzan waiting inside. The demon leader praised Daki as a “special demon” but also cautioned her against being careless.

Disguised as an oiran, Daki avoided detection even when under the watchful eyes of Tengen. It turns out the wives had quickly realized that the Warabihime was a demon, so Hinatsuru drank poison to be sent away from the brothel.

But she’s being monitored by a demonic sash given to her by Warabihime in case she does something suspicious. Tengen eventually finds Hinatsuru and gives her an antidote.

Daki had suspected that Demon Slayers were in her midst, but her disguise as Warabihime came to an end when the Upper Moon was caught abusing someone. The demon and Tanjiro clash, and the overconfident demon notes Tanjiro’s lack of backup. But Tanjiro manages to use a combination of skills to surprise her and eventually counterattack, slicing at her neck with his blade.

But that’s not the end of the fight. It turns out both Daki and her older brother Gyuutarou hold the position of Upper Moon Six. The brother and sister share the same body, so Gyuutarou emerges from his sister’s body and then reattaches her severed head to her body.

The demon, Gyuutarou, uses poison in his blood sickle blades, and he’s already defeated and eaten 15 Pillars to his sister’s seven. Furious at the Demon Slayer Corps members for hurting his sister, Gyuutarou launches an attack against Sound Pillar Tengen and manages to poison him. The demonic siblings are also fighting against the other Demon Slayer members and Nezuko.

The ninja wives join the battle and manage to create an opportunity for Tengen and Tanjiro to attack. They are horrified when they realize their husband is fatally injured and they begin to say their final farewells.

Fortunately, Nezuko saved Tengen using a blood demon technique to burn away the poison. After losing an eye and an arm during the battle, the Pillar retires.

After Upper Moon Six Daki and Gyuutarou are defeated, Muzan summons the remaining Upper Moons to the Infinity Dimensional Fortress. It’s revealed that the Upper Moons have not been summoned together for 113 years.

Akaza appears and reports to him that he couldn’t find the Blue Spider Lily, the key ingredient in the medicine that transformed Muzan into a demon, thousands of years ago. Akaza also reports on how he killed one of the Pillars.

In response to this news, Muzan dispatches Upper Moon Four Hantengu and Upper Moon Five Gyokko to the Swordsmith’s Village. Muzan wants everyone there exterminated so that the Demon Slayer Corps lose their swords, the only weapons capable of killing the demons.

Depending on the number of episodes, Demon Slayer Season 2 could end on a cliffhanger note if it finishes with teasing the Swordsmith Village story arc, which begins with Chapter 100. The first season adapted 52 chapters, so in order to adapt two story arcs, Demon Slayer S2 would have to cover 61 chapters!

Needless to say, either the episode pacing would have to increase significantly, or Demon Slayer Season 2 could have more episodes than usual per cour. There’s certainly no room for filler story content!

There are two major demons that Tanjiro and Nezuko must face off against to save the swordsmith village. The first is Gyokko, Upper Moon Five of the Twelve Demon Moons, a grotesque creator who resembles an armless statue with multiple child-like hands lining his back. Instead of eyes, he has large green mouths.

This demon is proud of his strange art and becomes easily angered if anyone insults his morbid work. As an example, he stitched together the bodies of multiple swordsmiths using swords and called that “art”.

Gyokko is an oddball who can teleport between clay pots and he can summon fish-like demon minions to attack his opponents. Due to being given Muzan’s blood his regenerative abilities allow him to even survive a beheading.

The second demon is Hantengu, Upper Moon Four of the Twelve Demon Moons. As a human, Hantengu had committed many crimes but still insisted that he was innocent and instead blamed his “hands” for the crimes. Transformed into a demon that has killed many true innocents, the delusional demon still stubbornly believes that he has done nothing wrong.

Hantengu’s primary form resembles a cowardly old man with demonic horns and eyes, but although this form is easily dispatched severing Hantengu’s head only reveals his true abilities. Hantengu can regenerate into multiple clones that are embodiments of different aspects of Hantengu’s personality. Working together, these personifications are able to overwhelm Tanjiro and his friends!

Unfortunately, anime fans will have to wait until the Demon Slayer: Kimetsuo no Yaiba Season 2 release date to watch how the shonen anime plays out. Stay tuned!