For the Demon Slayer movie, it’s a case of unlucky number 13. After a record-wrecking 12-week reign at the top of the Japanese box office, it was knocked into second place this weekend by another anime title, Gintama: The Final. (A caveat: Japan measures box office by admissions, which puts Gintama in the top spot, but judging by the U.S. standard of earnings, Demon Slayer may have earned more money even with less admissions. Final numbers still haven’t been released.)
The film, which opened on Friday, is based on Hideaki Sorachi’s manga Gin Tama, a comic sci-fi period drama about a freelance samurai in search of work. The manga, which ran 2003–19, was a hit — there are over 55 million copies in circulation — and has spawned multiple anime series.
Gintama: The Final was animated by Bandai Namco Pictures, the entertainment titan’s animation production arm, and released by Warner Bros. Japan. The director is Chizuru Miyawaki, who was involved with the series from the first season in 2006, working her way up to animation director, then director. As a woman director, she is a relatively rarity in the anime industry.
