Over the weekend, Kenyan anime fans congregated at the cinema to watch ‘Demon Slayer: Infinity War’, the latest instalment in the globally celebrated anime franchise, which premiered on September 12.
The premiere, at Graden City Mall, drew large crowds, with fans eager to experience the action-packed continuation of Tanjiro and his companions’ journey on the big screen.
Speaking to KBC Digital after the screening, Njeri*, a fan of the Demon Slayer franchise, said she was glad to have caught the show on IMAX.
“Now that I’ve watched it, the fight scenes were something to behold on an IMAX screen, not to mention the sounds. I enjoyed it,” she said as she showed off her green and black haori paired with Kamado earrings.
In addition to watching the film, anime enthusiasts had the chance to shop from a variety of vendors who set up stands offering exclusive merchandise ranging from posters and figurines to themed apparel.
Among the vendors was Array Gato, a popular name within Kenya’s anime community, which attracted long queues of fans eager to take home memorabilia.
The turnout highlighted the growing popularity of anime culture in Kenya, where such screenings have become more than just film events but social gatherings celebrating shared fandom and creativity.
The film is expected to run until September 18.
Biggest anime opening of all time
Globally, the film extended its meteoric run, scoring the biggest anime opening of all time with a $177.8 million (KSh. 22.97B) weekend across 50 international markets according to comscore.
“This performance by this particular film shows the unpredictability of the box office,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “If we were sitting here, let’s say a month or even a couple of weeks ago, would we be thinking, ‘Wow, a Japanese anime film would be number one at the box office, overperform and bring in $70 million?’ If you predicted that, kudos to you.”
‘Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle’ is the first of a three-film climactic arc of the Demon Slayer story, where the main characters are drawn into a mysterious, shifting fortress controlled by the powerful demon king Muzan Kibutsuji.
For newcomers, it’s essentially the grand finale that brings the heroes’ journey to its dramatic conclusion.
