Pure TokyoScope Podcast 146: Demon Slayer Destroys Japanese Cinemas!
Patrick Macias and Matt Alt bring you pop culture direct from Japan!
PREVIEW EPISODE! This time on the PURE TOKYOSCOPE Podcast, authors Matt Alt (Pure Invention: How Japan Made the Modern World) and Patrick Macias (Mondo Tokyo: Dispatches from a Secret Japan) examine the box office smash anime that is Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle and the impact it is having on the theater-going experience inJapan! Also, One Piece becomes a symbol of resistance in Indonesia and Pocky sweet treats get a 3-D trademark!
You can hear the full episode by joining the Pure TokyoScope Patreon!
Join the Pure TokyoScope Patreon!
You’ll get access to the full episode, bonus content, our Discord server, and an archive of past episodes. Head over to Pure TokyoScope Patreon to subscribe today!
Show Notes
Kabukicho Host Billboards Get Censored Under New Law
Dokokara by Kokujin Tensai
The Donki Hotei Afternoon Tea Party
The Doctor Yellow Bullet Train
The Sony Rolly (2007)
Demon Slayer Fuels Box Office Surge and Sparks Warnings Over Theater Etiquette in Japan
Rocky Horror Picture Show Screenings in Kawasaki
There are now zero Japanese live-action films in the country’s top 10 highest earning movies, but why?
The Highest-grossing films at Japanese box office, 2025
1. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train: 40.75 billion yen
2. Spirited Away: 31.68 billion yen
3. Titanic: 27.77 billion yen
4. Frozen: 25.5 billion yen
5. Your Name: 25.17 billion yen
6. One Piece Film: Red: 20.34 billion yen
7. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone: 20.3 billion yen
8. Princess Mononoke: 19.7 billion yen
9. Howl’s Moving Castle: 19.6 billion yen
10. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba–The Movie: Infinity Castle: 17.64 billion yen
How a cartoon skull became a symbol of defiance in Indonesia
Thai democracy protesters make Japan cartoon hamster their symbol
The shape of Pocky is now legally trademarked in Japan
Come with Me by Puffy Daddy, Jimmy Page, and GINO (Godzilla in Name Only)
New Show Sponsor: Sakura Con (2009)
Join the Pure TokyoScope Patreon!
You’ll get access to the full episode, bonus content, our Discord server, and an archive of past episodes. Head over to Pure TokyoScope Patreon to subscribe today!
SHOW NOTESSign up for the Pure TokyoScope Patreon! You’ll get access to full episodes, bonus video content, our Discord server, and an archive of past episodes.
Head over to the TokyoScope Podcast Patreon to subscribe today!
