The Demon Slayer fandom's enthusiasm for the franchise has propelled the Mugen Train film to record-breaking box office success over the past month. However, a far less happy story is unfolding for a couple in Taiwan after a man decided to break up with his girlfriend because she threw away his prized collection of Nezuko figurines.
Written and illustrated by Koyoharu Gotōge, the manga centers on a young boy named Tanjiro Kamado who joins the Demon Slayer Corps after his family is murdered by Muzan Kibutsuji and his sister, Nezuko, is transformed into a demon. Despite her transformation, Nezuko retains enough of her own memories to keep from killing Tanjiro and regards humans as her family due to two years of hypnotic conditioning. Bestowed with a power set that includes the ability to regenerate and ignite her blood once it leaves her body, Nezuko's mind and humanity are eventually restored after Tanjiro defeats Muzan in a final showdown.
The character was so beloved by the aforementioned Taiwanese man that the majority of his Demon Slayer figurine collection was dedicated to Nezuko. Unfortunately for him, his girlfriend felt the figurines were taking up too much space in the apartment they shared and took it upon herself to deal with the matter while he was away. "I want to rant about my girlfriend, who made use of the two days that I wasn't at home to throw away my beloved Nezuko (from popular anime Demon Slayer) dolls. Do you know how much the entire collection was worth? Hundreds of thousands of [Taiwanese] dollars!!!" wrote the man in a Taiwanese Facebook group. "I bought the figures with my hard-earned money over the years, and you reduced them into a heap of trash on the rubbish truck!" According to the aggrieved fan, he had already made concessions after his ex-girlfriend asked him to cut back on his anime consumption and even refrained from seeing the Demon Slayer film upon its release in Taiwan.
"I left you to your own whims when you spent the whole day watching Korean dramas and fangirling over Korean idols. How difficult is it to have mutual respect for each other," he continued in the post. "To think I used to hide my hobbies to make you happy in the name of love; how pathetic was I to do so for a trash woman like you." Although the man contacted his local garbage collection company in hopes of retrieving the discarded figurines, he was informed that the trash from that day had already been burned. Now that he has broken up with his ex-girlfriend over the issue, the man concluded his post by noting that he is considering taking her to court for damages.
While Demon Slayer may not be as well known to North Americans, the international fanbase has taken measures to express their passion for the franchise that might confound others. The Okutama Visitor Center, for example, recently issued a statement urging potentially un-prepared fans to take certain measures before climbing Mount Kumotori, the birthplace of Tanjiro and Nezuko in the Demon Slayer lore.
Fans also conveyed their love for the franchise by purchasing a staggering amount of pre-sale tickets for the Demon Slayer film. In fact, TOHO Cinemas lifted the COVID-19 capacity restrictions on its theaters for the film's first weekend of release in Japan in order to meet the demand.
Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train is scheduled to be released in theaters in North America in 2021.
Source: Geek Culture