Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (鬼滅の刃, Kimetsu no Yaiba) is a 2019 television anime series based on the manga of the same name written by Koyoharu Gotōge. It was adapted by studio Ufotable and directed by Haruo Sotozaki. Aniplex published the series and was first broadcast in Japan on April 2019 as part of the Spring season.
Background:
“BECOME THE BLADE THAT CUTS DOWN DESPAIR
It is the Taisho Period in Japan. Tanjiro, a kindhearted boy who sells charcoal for a living, finds his family slaughtered by a demon. To make matters worse, his younger sister Nezuko, the sole survivor, has been transformed into a demon herself.
Though devastated by this grim reality, Tanjiro resolves to become a demon slayer so that he can turn his sister back into a human, and kill the demon that massacred his family.
A sorrowful tale of siblings in which the fates of humans and demons intertwine…begins now!”
Plot Synopsis via Anime Limited, December 2020
I think Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba needs no introduction. Thanks to one episode, the series blew up in popularity and pretty much is the most talked about anime for the past year. Not to mention its film Mugen Train has broken records in Japan’s theatrical box office.
It’s also interesting that Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is also part of Weekly Shonen Jump and actually finished just as the popularity grew larger. As for myself, I did enjoy the anime a lot and looking forward to more when they become available eventually (no UK window for Mugen Train at the time of this post).
So Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is also an Aniplex title, as Aniplex of America have the English-speaking rights for the series, but there is a rather unusual treatment for the North American release. Basically, it has the usual limited edition volume set treatment, but the discs themselves were geo-locked rather than region free (the discs will still play on UK Blu-rays attached to PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X etc if you own any of those) and it seems part of the reason is down to Funimation offering a standard edition for the show. The twist here is that the standard edition strips out the on-disc extras but the rest of the content on the disc is pretty much identical.
Anime Limited, rather than someone like Manga Entertainment which everyone kept speculating, was able to acquire the United Kingdom and Ireland rights for Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba but they didn’t announce the license until just before the United States received their first volume of the show on Blu-ray.
Collector’s Edition Contents:
Anime Limited loves providing collector’s edition releases for their catalogue and while Aniplex tends to have restrictions on what can be allowed overseas, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Part 1 for the UK is pretty reasonable.
This release is presented with a rigid box containing an Amaray case to house the Blu-ray discs. The box also comes with a 20-page booklet and 6 art cards which are pretty much the same contents included in the Aniplex of America release. The artwork used throughout the set is a mix of artwork from the Aniplex release but also others that Anime Limited was able to get access to.
We don’t get access to the original soundtrack CD, but in this instance I’m not that bothered because Aniplex in recent years has re-released music as a standalone product in Japan, especially with Yuki Kajiura’s composed soundtracks as seen with Fate and Madoka Magica. The music in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is a collaboration between Yuki Kajiura and Go Shiina but even so, the series is super popular so it honestly would not surprise me if it happens in the next few years.
The artwork is free of any information or BBFC content and the info sheet covers the information and specification like previous Anime Limited releases. The collector’s edition Blu-ray has 1000 units printed for an SRP of £79.99 (the higher price is due to Aniplex). This is also a Blu-ray only release and is expected to receive a standard edition over time if Aniplex allows one.
I pre-ordered the series during its early bird back in October 2020 at £34.99, but thanks to the Screen Anime membership it was 10% less at £31.50.
Physical Contents:
- Rigid Box with Amaray packaging and clean artwork
- Info sheet for specification and BBFC description
- 20-page Booklet
- 6 Art Cards
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: Anime Limited
Released: 14th December 2020
The collector’s edition release for Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Part 1 covers the first half of the series with episodes 1 to 13 across three Blu-ray discs. The encode and authoring were done by Aniplex of America with Anime Limited’s logos added to the beginning of each disc. This is a pretty rare circumstance but Anime Limited was able to do this with March comes in like a Lion and Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online as examples.
The audio options available for the series include Japanese with English subtitles and the Bang Zoom! English dub. The white subtitles are unlockable during playback, and the regions are locked to B for Blu-ray.
Unlike the Funimation and Madman Blu-rays, the UK release is pretty much identical to the Aniplex of America Blu-rays on disc content, so this set also comes with the Audio Commentaries and Textless Songs. Pretty neat isn’t it?
Blu-ray Specs:
| Languages | English, Japanese |
| Audio | English Linear PCM 2.0 Japanese Linear PCM 2.0 |
| Video | 1080p High Definition Native format 16:9 aspect ratio |
| Region | B |
| Subtitles | English |
| Locked Subtitles | No |
| Discs | 3 BD-50s |
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
Disc 1:
- Episode 1 Japanese Audio Commentary
Disc 2:
- Textless Opening “Gurenge”
- Textless Closing “from the edge”
Disc 3:
- Episode 11 English Audio Commentary
Unboxing Photos:
Final Notes:
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Part 1 is available to order through multiple retailers across the United Kingdom. You can order the collector’s edition Blu-ray on Amazon UK.
(Disclaimer: Amazon links are also included when available. They are affiliated so if you decide to order them, I’ll earn a small percentage if they ship which will help me with any hauls or small bills.)
The Normanic Vault 
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