I Was Stuck in Demon Slayer Exhibition Hall for 3 Hours
In Fukuoka city, there’s a place called Fukuoka City Museum, where equipment remained from the past of Hakata ward are exhibited. However, during the beginning of 2023, there’s an area made for Kimetsu no Yaiba, aka Demon Slayer. The original pictures from the manga were displayed aesthetically.
At first, I hesitated to attend it because of the ticket price. I wondered if it’s worth my money and time. But I bought it at the end because it’s rare for me to be able to attend an anime event. Also, there’s someone I had wanted to meet for a long time. She is the one and only Shinobu Kocho.
Heavy spoiler alert for those who haven’t finished the manga yet!
For those who are interested in reading the manga, click here for purchasing the books. The anime (season 1, the movie, and season 2) are also available on Amazon Prime.
Also, it was forbidden to take a picture of the exhibition, so I can only show you the figure in the front area.
The Exhibition
The area was divided by chapters such as non-Hashira demon slayer, demon introduction, Hashira introduction, the battle between the upper-rank and demon slayer, the final battle with Muzan and so on. In each chapter, characters’ background and some important plot points related to their lives were shown with the pictures from manga itself. When I was reading the manga, I didn’t really appreciate the artwork in it, but when seeing those pictures again, I was like “Wow! Demon Slayer manga has some of the most breathtaking illustrations! Why didn’t I notice it before?”
Additionally, for the non-Hashira characters like Tanjiro and Nezuko, their comical faces were displayed continuously below the serious and sad story of theirs. And I want say that Nezuko is the cutest little thing ever!
Moreover, in Hashira chapter, each character’s area was decorated with their speciality in 3D, not just in picture. For example, Mitsuri, the love Hashira, had a unique sword - it was as flexible as a whip. So, the sculpture of this sword was made in a whip shape with her love breathing technique running around it. The sculpture itself run from one side of the wall to another. It was so incredible to see it close like this!
Not only the visual decoration, there was also the invisible one - the background music. The main soundtracks in Demon Slayer such as Hashira theme (no Gurenge or Homura though) were played throughout the area. It enhanced the experience even more, especially when these soundtracks are composed by Yuki Kajiura and Go Shiina, one of whom is my favorite composer of all time. It was epic and emotional at the same time!
Speaking of which…
Unexpectedly Emotional
In non-Hashira chapter, I had a lot of fun, but after that, I got attack by so many emotions. I was touched by the scene where the sibling demons from entertainment district arc remember their own past life, angry with Douma when seeing him fighting with Shinobu and Kanao (I hate him so much!), but I smiled with satisfaction when seeing him dying without having any sadness or fear (just as Kanao mocked him, his long life as a human and demon was meaningless because he was completely empty inside). Especially, I was on the verge of tear when I saw the scene of Kyojuro Rengoku’s last smile toward his late mother, the scene where Akaza recalled his memory and finally reunited his beloved wife, and the Kanao’s revenge on Douma for Shinobu and others while sacrificing her right eye.
As I said before, there were display of breathing technique for each Hashira. All of them are amazing, but there was one breathing technique taking my breath away. That was… Shinobu’s insect breathing.
It wasn’t the greatest. If I have to say, it was the simplest of all. Think of Japanese glass wind chimes but many of them, and with the shape of purple butterfly. Yeah, it was that simple. However, something about it grasped my soul. Maybe because Shinobu is my most favorite character in Demon Slayer (and possibly most favorite of all time), or maybe because the atmosphere around her theme was so beautiful, elegant, gentle, but powerful at the same time - like Shinobu herself.
Seeing her theme, I became even more upset for her death and felt sorry for Kanao who lost her beloved sister one after another like this.
Final thought
It was such an incredible experience for me! I didn’t expect that I would enjoy it so much to the point that I stayed there for about 3 hours! (Well, partly because I attempted to read almost everything written in the pictures, which was in Japanese and I don’t regret anything.) Demon Slayer’s fame suddenly exploded and spread out all over the world. Everyone loves it, but at the same time, it made me lose interest because I was exhausted of its popularity. However, this exhibition reminded me why I love it in the first place.
For your information, Kimetsu no Yaiba (Demon Slayer) Gotouge Koyoharu exhibition event is held in Fukuoka City Museum from 16 December 2022 to 19 February 2023. (Not sure about other location though)
