Matt Schley
November 16, 2020 
Hong Kong politician and activist Agnes Chow called out the Hong Kong police force on Twitter yesterday for their new mascot that looks suspiciously familiar to anyone who’s seen Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.
Chow, who taught herself Japanese by watching anime, posted in Japanese:
The other day, the Hong Kong police force uploaded a character that looked a lot like the protagonist of Kimetsu no Yaiba on social media. Although it was criticized by Hong Kong citizens for copyright issues, the police insisted it wasn’t Tanjiro, it was their new mascot “Grape,” so there was no copyright violation. Kimetsu no Yaiba becoming a tool for HK police promotion makes me sad…
Yeah, that’s, uh, a pretty blatant ripoff, if you ask me.
Chow is the co-founder of former pro-democracy political party Demosisto. She has been arrested multiple times in what Amnesty International has called an “outrageous assault” on free expression.
We wonder what Kimetsu no Yaiba publisher Shueisha and author Koyoharu Gotoge think about all this.
Here’s how Viz describes the manga:
In Taisho-era Japan, Tanjiro Kamado is a kindhearted boy who makes a living selling charcoal. But his peaceful life is shattered when a demon slaughters his entire family. His little sister Nezuko is the only survivor, but she has been transformed into a demon herself! Tanjiro sets out on a dangerous journey to find a way to return his sister to normal and destroy the demon who ruined his life.
Learning to slay demons won’t be easy, and Tanjiro barely knows where to start. The surprise appearance of another boy named Giyu, who seems to know what’s going on, might provide some answers…but only if Tanjiro can stop Giyu from killing his sister first!
【香港警察が鬼滅の刃で宣伝？】
先日、香港警察がSNSに鬼滅の刃の主人公に似たキャラの画像を載せました。著作権問題で香港市民に大批判されましたが、警察は「それは炭治郎じゃなくゆるキャラの『葡萄』だ、著作権侵害ではない」と主張しました。
鬼滅の刃が香港警察の宣伝道具になるのは悲しい… pic.twitter.com/YHTq454RmW
— Agnes Chow 周庭 (@chowtingagnes) November 16, 2020
Source: Otakomu
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