Times Square in New York City is one of the most iconic, crowded and famous neighborhoods not only in the country, but in the world. Each year millions of tourists converge there, and it’s the site of the Times Square Ball Drop each New Year. And now Demon Slayer has taken it over.

Well, it at least took over Times Square for a while, but that in itself is no small feat. The Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc wrapped up in the Demon Slayer anime this month, and to celebrate, Aniplex, ufotable and Crunchyroll all worked together to get Times Square all decked out in Demon Slayer imagery. With giant digital images of Tanjiro and others above them, Demon Slayer fans rushed to the neighborhood the night prior to the Swordsmith Village Arc’s finale.

Crunchyroll put together this video of fans and cosplayers celebrating in Times Square.

There is also this longer video, which gives you a 360 degree look around Times Square during the Demon Slayer takeover.

Demon Slayer is one of the most successful manga and anime franchises ever, and is even credited for getting more people interested in how to make Japanese swords.

VIZ Media publishes the original Demon Slayer manga (including publishing the complete box set) and gave this description for the first volume:

“Learning to destroy 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!”

Last year, ONE PIECE FILM RED also took over Times Square.

Does this possibly mean it’s going to become a regular anime haven going forward? What anime would you like to see light up Times Square?

Source: Crunchyroll

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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.