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Who Is Nezuko And Why Is The Character In So Many Memes On Social Media?
Almost immediately after the first episode of the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba anime aired worldwide back in 2019, some fans declared their love for the protagonist's sister, Nezuko Kamado.
Let us go further into the minds of Nezuko's fans to understand what drove them to create fan art and impeccable cosplays of their "best girl" all over the globe.
Who Is Nezuko?
Nezuko Kamado and her brother Tanjiro Kamado are the only survivors of a massacre where their whole family perished at the hands of a demon named Muzan Kibutsuji.
The fourteen-year-old girl was only able to survive Muzan's attack because he transformed her into a demon, a bloodthirsty creature with sharp fangs, claw-like nails, bright pink eyes and the ability to change her size. However, she can only live at night and must resist the need to drink human blood.
Her brother Tanjiro decides to become a demon slayer in order to find a cure to turn Nezuko into a human again and get vengeance for his family.
How Did Nezuko Become A Fan-Favorite Character?
When the Demon Slayer anime adaptation began its broadcast on April 2019, Nezuko gained significant popularity in the anime community, especially on Reddit.
Some people attribute her popularity to a mix of cuteness and power, while others enlist qualities like:
- Her intense strength to survive;
- Her strong family bonds and love for her brother;
- Her sense of justice, always looking out to protect the weak.
How Is Nezuko Used In Memes?
Anime productions, in general, are great meme sources since the early days of the internet, so it's no surprise a likable character such as Nezuko would be memed. For example, the Smol Nezuko meme started to go viral around August 2019, showing a scene in which Nezuko changes her size to that of a baby to dodge sword attacks
Another popular meme is an image macro of the character's blank expression, with two black dots replacing Nezuko's original pink eyes when she is in a state of over-excitement (examples seen below).
Why Is The 'Demon Slayer' Anime So Popular?
The original manga series titled Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba would become a worldwide phenomenon back in 2016. The series was fairly popular in Japan and was growing a faithful fanbase all over the globe, so it was no surprise the material would get an anime adaptation, which started airing on April 2019.
A stellar animation by the excellent anime studio Ufotable enhanced the source material and made Demon Slayer the most popular anime in 2019. In the following years, the manga broke many sales records in Japan. In 2020, the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train movie grossed over 507 million USD at the worldwide box office, making it the highest-grossing film of 2020 and the first non-American production that topped the annual box office.
For the full history of Nezuko, be sure to check out our entry on the meme in our encyclopedia for even more information.
