Author of Demon Slayer: Became a billionaire but identity remains a mystery

According to a new report by Real Sound magazine (Japan), author Koyoharu Gotouge - author of the famous manga series Kimetsu no Yaiba ( Demon Slayer ) - has earned about 10 billion yen (equivalent to 64 million USD) in royalties from comic book sales.

The figure is based on a common royalty rate of around 10% announced at the "World Wordless Manga Contest" conference held by Japanese publishing giant Kadokawa last year.

If we add in the sales from online readings and the huge commercial ecosystem surrounding Demon Slayer such as games, theaters, etc., Koyoharu Gotouge's actual income is certainly much higher than the announced numbers.

The journey to create the Demon Slayer brand

Before becoming a global phenomenon, Koyoharu Gotouge's career path was not easy.

Having started nurturing his dream of becoming a manga artist since high school but having difficulty improving his drawing skills, Gotouge was repeatedly rejected by large and small publishers to publish his first work Kagarigari and at one point almost gave up.

The predecessor of Demon Slayer was Kisatsu no Nagare , which was considered too dark because the main character was blind, had lost an arm, and had to use a prosthetic leg. It was only when the editor suggested changing the supporting character Tanjiro Kamado into the main character that the series was given the "green light" for publication.

Since then, Demon Slayer has exploded, selling over 220 million copies worldwide. The manga ended in 2020, but the fever has not cooled down thanks to the anime version and popular film projects.

Recently, Demon Slayer: Infinity War continued to make history by becoming one of the 10 highest-grossing films of all time in Japan, earning more than 17 billion yen.

In addition, the film also set a record for the fastest time to reach 10 billion yen and broke all opening day records with over 7 billion yen in revenue - surpassing the record of the Infinity Train part itself.

Despite his immense success, Koyoharu Gotouge has kept his personal life private. Fans only know him by his nickname "Wani-sensei" (Mr. Crocodile) and his self-portraits of a crocodile.

His gender, age, or any other personal information has never been disclosed. In 2021, Gotouge was included in Time magazine's "100 Next" list - 100 future leaders - but the article did not include any real photos of the author.

Compared to top names like Eiichiro Oda ( One Piece , estimated assets of over 200 million USD), Gotouge still cannot compare but is enough to be in the top 10 richest mangaka in Japan. This is even more impressive when the Demon Slayer brand has only existed for less than a decade.

Having concluded the hit series, Gotouge revealed in Demon Slayer Official Fanbook: Kisatsutai Kenbunroku Ni that he wanted to continue writing a sci-fi romantic comedy, with the goal of "making readers laugh out loud".

Fans are eagerly waiting to see whether the author will continue to create a new phenomenon or go in a completely different direction, but certainly every step Wani-sensei takes next will be closely watched by the entire manga industry.

Demon Slayer: Infinity War will be released in Vietnamese theaters on August 15.