Every now and then, the shōnen series draws inspiration from other works of successful Mnagaka. This can be explained systematically with the example of the “Big Three” of anime, taking ideas from Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball. Even new-generation shonen titles like Jujutsu Kaisen and Demon Slayer drew inspiration from the old-generation Big Three.
Demon Slayer drawing ideas from Naruto or Bleach was rather prominent, like the protagonist, Tanjiro’s team, resembling Naruto’s Team Seven or demon slayers being the next generation of Soul Reapers. However, there’s another popular series from which Mangaka Koyoharu Gotouge expanded his imagination for Demon Slayer.
How did Jojo’s Bizzare Adventure inspire Demon Slayer?
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, created by Mangaka Hirohiko Araki, has some soft glimpses in Demon Slayer. There might not be an exact integration of powers like Stands in Demon Slayer; there is indeed the concept of pseudo-vampires, which appeared for the first three arcs in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. Gotouge Sensei drew some ideas from this iconic title and made it better in his own way.
Demon Slayer incorporated the idea of Pillar Men’s gaining power over the Sun in the story rather than in a few arcs. While Jojo is more of an anthology, Demon Slayer is a cohesive plot. The ultimate villain of Demon Slayer, Muzan Kibutsuji, revealed in Season 3 of the anime that he formed an army of demons because of his weakness in sunlight. He didn’t create the 12 Moon Demons to conquer Japan or wipe humanity off. Instead, the archvillain expressed his wishes to walk in the sun and undo the effects of that potion he drank centuries ago.
Unlike Jojo, this certain idea being incorporated into the entire story won’t result in the combat system being suddenly replaced by some new power-based system. Since it’s rather more unified, the Mangaka drew inspiration from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure excellently and presented it with his own twist to the audience.
How were the lore of vampires used in Jojo’s Bizzare Adventure?
Also Read: Demon Slayer: Why Nezuko Is The Biggest Threat To Muzan, Not Tanjiro
The idea of vampires wasn’t boldly taken by the Mangaka of Demon Slayer. However, the story with vampires starts in the first arc of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. The antagonist of the series, Dio Brando, turns himself into a vampire using a stone mask, an artifact from Mesoamerica. He becomes an arrogant and powerful creature, depicting a classical European-style vampire. During the Battle Tendency arc, the vampire setting became more of a plot device rather than a power to the villain.
The protagonist, Joseph Joestar, went against the Pillar Men in that arc, who were a group of ancient musclebound vampires from Mesoamerica. Just like Muzan’s wish to walk freely under the sunlight, the Pillar Men also had the same goals.
Source: CBR
