The Era Has Changed!! A Miracle That Happened in Reality: "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba" Aired as Japan Shifted from Heisei to Reiwa

The new movie is now in theaters, and "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba" is once again bringing tears to the eyes of viewers across Japan. However, this emotional moment was something only those who followed the anime in real-time could truly experience. The reason why a certain line from Episode 4 of "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Tanjiro Kamado, Unwavering Resolve Arc" became a sensation lies here.

In Episode 4 of "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Tanjiro Kamado, Unwavering Resolve Arc," the protagonist, Tanjiro Kamado (voiced by Natsuki Hanae), encounters the mutated demon, Hand Demon (voiced by Takehito Koyasu), during the Final Selection for the Demon Slayer Corps. The Hand Demon asks, "What year of the Meiji era is it now?" Tanjiro responds, "It's the Taisho era now." Having been trapped in the mountains for so long, the Hand Demon cries out, "Taisho? ...Aaaahhh, the era has changed! The era has changed again! Once more! Once more, while I was imprisoned in a place like this!"

In fact, April 2019, when Episode 4 aired, was exactly when the current era name changed from "Heisei" to "Reiwa" in Japan. This perfectly timed coincidence became a hot topic, with comments such as, "The era has changed... How timely," "It was so fitting for the moment, I couldn't help but laugh," and "What a joy to witness the Era Demon’s line at just the right moment..." At the time of the actual imperial succession, the official "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba" X (formerly Twitter) account also posted a video of the Hand Demon, making a joke of the situation.

For current fans, hearing that the line "The era has changed!!" became a trend might make them wonder, "Why?" This phenomenon was born from its unique context: the April 2019 broadcast.