When the first season of the Demon Slayer anime aired in 2019, people were taken aback by the story’s accurate portrayal of the Japanese historical period. The series was set during the Taisho era in Japan, which covered the years between 1912 and 1926 and is renowned for a lot of changes in the country.
During an interview, Yuma Takahashi, the producer of Demon Slayer, talked about how the series was able to brilliantly adapt the period and the kind of research they did to bring it to life for anime fans. While explaining the process, Takahashi also revealed how the series went above and beyond in creating Tanjiro’s village, especially his home.
Yuma Takahashi Explains the Process of Recreating the Taisho Era in Demon Slayer
After the immense success of Demon Slayer’s first season, Anime News Network interviewed Takahashi to find out how Ufotable was able to adapt Koyoharu Gotoge’s manga into an anime series. Takahashi was also asked about the research that the Demon Slayer team conducted to find out more about the Taisho era.
Takahashi stated:
“With the Taisho period, because it’s not that old, there are a lot of surviving photos in Japan from the era. So the first thing we did was just purchase a bunch of books to use as reference, so we could capture the essence of that period. And while it wasn’t exactly location-scouting related to the Taisho period, in terms of visiting real-life locations, we relied on a trip to the mountains to help illustrate the snowy scenery of episode 1.”
According to the producer, they used references from old books and photos to create the Taisho period in Demon Slayer. He also pointed out that they did not get a chance to visit any real-life locations from the era, but they did go on a trip to the mountains to perfect the snow setting, which is shown in the first episode of Demon Slayer season 1.
Demon Slayer’s Staff Risked Their Lives While Researching for Tanjiro’s Home
While discussing the process of adapting the snowy landscape in the first season, Takahashi revealed that while finding inspiration for Tanjiro’s home, the staff that went on the trip to the mountains faced some big risks. He explained that while they were struggling with the cold in the mountains, they almost got lost.
Takahashi stated:
“We found a place where there was tons of snow to inspire us in creating Tanjiro’s homeland, although it was extremely freezing cold, and at one point there was some risk of us getting lost up there.”
Although the staff of Demon Slayer anime had to deal with such dangers while working on the series, it was all worth it because these kinds of details and perfections are one of the main reasons why Demon Slayer became so famous and popular among anime fans only after its first season.
The series then went on to adapt different aspects of the Taisho era, and each time they did a great job portraying it in the anime.
You can watch Demon Slayer on Crunchyroll.
