Online Reservations for “Demon Slayer: Mugen Train” Film in Japan Crashes Cinema Sites Due to Demand

The demand for Demon Slayer movie tickets in Japan is as hot as Rengoku’s flames! On the midnight of October 13, advanced online reservations for tickets to Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train (Kimetsu no Yaiba: Mugen Ressha-hen) opened and (unsurprisingly?) cinema websites crashed due to the sheer number of people trying to reserve tickets. Because of this, the keywords “TOHO” (referring to the biggest cinema chain in Japan), “AEON Cinema”, as well as the phrase “All movie theaters” topped Twitter trend lists in Japan last midnight, with users scrambling to know how to reserve tickets or simply trying to find an explanation to the online mess.

For fans who were able to get in the queue to buy tickets, the waiting list was astronomically long! Here user @meg369_A tweets a screenshot of their queue number in the TOHO cinema website (one of the few websites that managed to not crash). Yes, the number 364263 is their queue number: they were 364,263^rd in line to buy tickets!

Perhaps adding to the huge demand for tickets were the earlier-announced early purchase benefits: moviegoers get to receive a special 84-page manga that tells the story of Flame Hashira Rengoku’s first mission, along with a special coloring sheet drawn by creator Koyoharu Gotoge.

The film is set for an October 16 release in Japan.

The manga’s story is described by Anime News Network as such:

“Since ancient times, rumors have abounded of man-eating demons lurking in the woods. Because of this, the local townsfolk never venture outside at night. Legend has it that a demon slayer also roams the night, hunting down these bloodthirsty demons. For young Tanjiro, these rumors will soon to become his harsh reality. Ever since the death of his father, Tanjiro has taken it upon himself to support his family. Although their lives may be hardened by tragedy, they’ve found happiness. But that ephemeral warmth is shattered one day when Tanjiro finds his family slaughtered and the lone survivor, his sister Nezuko, turned into a demon. To his surprise, however, Nezuko still shows signs of human emotion and thought. Thus begins Tanjiro’s request to fight demons and turn his sister human again.”

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is a shonen manga series written by Koyoharu Gotoge. It was first published in February 2016 in Weekly Shonen Jump and ended last May. The manga’s English license is currently held by Viz Media.

Source: Crunchyroll News