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Demon Slayer's Swordsmith Village arc has come to a close, and what better way to commemorate this occasion than having the preview take over Time's Square in New York City? The series has reached worldwide popularity, but this was something truly special.
There has been anime character floats in the Macy's Day Thanksgiving Parade and namedropping on game and quiz shows like Jeopardy, but the last time something to this scale happened it was for the One Piece: Red film in October 2022. Thus, this article will go into what happened when Demon Slayer's season 3 preview took over Times Square on June 17, 2023.
Demon Slayer season 3 finale preview lights up Times Square
A preview of the finale
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As a major 'thank you to all Demon Slayer fans,' many of Times Square's infamous large billboards pushed out massive previews for a packed street. The preview video highlighted each of the main characters of the arc, from the main protagonist Tanjiro Kamado to the demon Zohakuten.
The clip that was shown consisted not only of still key images but likewise animation of the characters fighting off the demon's advances, complete with sound. The preview ended with an aside of the finale's airdate on June 18, 2023, and to stream the entire series on Crunchyroll with a massive scannable QR code for a two-week trial.
Fans react joyously upon seeing Demon Slayer season 3's finale preview clip take over Times Square
The large preview event was attended by a packed street, as video captured shows fans cheering and plenty more celebrating with Times Square being lit up at night. Online, reactions were as joyous as they were hyped for the finale. Making a large spectacle like that turns out to help boost anticipation.
The reactions were thankful to the cast and crew for bringing such an amazing show to them and for the event. As such, it marks a rare occasion indeed, considering the only other time in recent memory that anime has fully taken over such a large venue was One Piece Red back in October 2022. Smaller visuals, such as the Fruit's Basket anime reboot from 2019, happened in 2018.
Where to watch Demon Slayer season 3's finale
The finale of the Swordsmith Village arc was a 70-minute episode to cap off the arc, which premiered on June 18 at 10:35 PDT on Crunchyroll to coincide with its Japanese release. The collaboration to take over Time's Square was done with Crunchyroll, Aniplex USA, and with permissions from Ufotable.
The Swordsmith Village arc was cited by many as a fun return for Demon Slayer, one of the better arcs since the Mugen Train movie was released in Japan in 2020 and internationally in 2021. The anime has been cited as one of the New Big Three of shonen anime alongside My Hero Academia and Jujutsu Kaisen, with millions of fans worldwide
The massive collaboration and celebration of Demon Slayer's third season finale preview didn't stop at the Time's Square announcement. The third season finale is available to watch on Crunchyroll and is 70 minutes long to adapt the rest of the manga.
Anime audiences have been blessed over the last decade as anime has become more mainstream than ever. With this takeover of Time's Square, it's clear Demon Slayer has reached the mainstream popularity that the likes of Dragon Ball did in the 1990s and Naruto in the 2000s.
