Interest
Ghibli's Toshio Suzuki: Hayao Miyazaki Acknowledges Demon Slayer as a Rival Hit
posted on by Kim Morrissy
According to Studio Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki, Hayao Miyazaki has privately acknowledged Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba's success and considers it a rival to beat. Suzuki made the brief comment in the April 25 episode of the Fuji TV talk show Bokura no Jidai (Our Era).
Suzuki said that although he himself hasn't watched or read Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, when he described the general gist of it to Miyazaki, the acclaimed director said, "It sounds like the kind of thing that would be a hit. Well, to me it's a rival."
A short clip of the exchange was posted on YouTube, which also captures Suzuki doing a very believable impersonation of Miyazaki's way of speaking:
In December, the Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train anime surpassed Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away to become the highest earning film in Japanese box office history.
Demon Slayer's meteoric success inspired Mobile Suit Gundam director Yoshiyuki Tomino to say on television last month: "Giant robot shows are for kids, but while I'm alive and can make new works, I'll crush Demon Slayer and Evangelion. If I didn't think that ambitiously, I wouldn't be making TV anime past the age of 80."
[Via Hachima Kikō]
