Anime Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is box office smash in Japan. One politician was hoping some of its popularity would rub off, it seems, and borrowed the logo for a campaign poster.
Demon Slayer, of course, is a massively successful anime and manga.
Fukuoka politician Makoto Oniki (鬼ęØčŖ ) copied the logo, substituting his name for Kimetsu no Yaiba (é¬¼ę» ć®å). As the kanji character for 鬼 appears in both the animeās title and Onikiās last name, this was a visual pun of sorts.
The animeās logo can be seen in the movie poster below:
However, as ANN News reports, the politician was heavily criticized online for the unauthorized use of the logo and apologized.
Oniki is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party and a member of the National Diet.
āI have earnestly come to grips with any unpleasantness I have caused the creator [of Demon Slayer], the publisher, and fans,ā stated Oniki. āI am truly sorry.ā
The campaign posters featuring the logo have been removed.
Oniki isnāt the first Japanese politician to get in trouble this month for knocking off Demon Slayer. Keisuke Mitsumoto, a city council member in Hyogo Prefecture, also knocked off Demon Slayer for a campaign poster.
The publisher told the press it was āabsolutely not connectedā to the campaign and Mitsumoto, who made the poster, apologized.
