In mid-September, a manga began publication that would take the ‘net by storm.Kagurabachi, the debut series by mangaka Takeru Hokazono, seemingly became the internet’s favorite manga overnight.
For a while it felt like you couldn’t spend time online without seeing someone praisingKagurabachi. I was very suspicious, to say the least. As of writing, the manga has only received 7 chapters, yet it’s been ranked as #5 on Anilist’s top manga of the year.
So, in an effort to uncover what’s up withKagurabachi, I did what anyone would do in this situation, and I read the first chapter. And now, I feel like I am better equipped to answer this question, though it’s still somewhat confusing. Why isKagurabachiso popular? Let’s find out.
Why is Kagurabachi so popular?
It might sound like a copout, but the reason forKagurabachi’s expedient surge in popularity can more than likely be attributed to memes. I mean, the debut chapter was alright. It wasn’t anything to write home about, but it certainly wasn’t bad. Sometimes, the internet sinks its collective teeth into something — be it a movie, a series, a game, or something else — and bleeds it dry with ironic detachment.
The series was out for no time at all before a surge of users on social media began proclaiming it was one of the best manga series of all time. According toKnow Your Meme, one of the first — if not the first —Kagurabachimemesjokingly summarized it with the plot ofDemon Slayer.
apparently the plot for this manga is about a boy that sells charcoal who one day comes back to his entire family slayed by a demon and has to turn his sister back into a human 🔥🔥🔥pic.twitter.com/akAr4ilXfN
From there, the trend known asKagura Bachi“Glazing” took off like a firecracker. A prime opportunity for meme-age came in the form of people redrawing the signature style ofKagurabachi’s protagonist Chihiro unsheathing his sword. Variations exist with Peter Griffin fromFamily Guy, Venom, Earl of Lemongrab fromAdventure Time, Ronald McDonald, and many, many others.
that part in#Kagurabachiwhere peter griffin unsheathed his dad’s last sword, absolute chills.pic.twitter.com/DsZ3WOXW0n
But, that’s not even the meme’s final form, as pretty much any post dripping in irony that names this series which only just began a little more than a month ago counts toward the meme totals. What’s crazier than an entire community rallying ironically behind a lukewarm manga is that some of these memes are starting to sound pretty unironic. I think as soon as fans createa fan-made anime teaser, it’s safe to say the series has become embedded in the culture.
KAGURA BACHI ⚔️🐠 – teaserpic.twitter.com/8cNKZpDYEN
Regardless, there’s little chanceKagurabachiwill maintain its current hype for much longer. Even on Anilist, where it’s sitting at #5 on its top manga of 2023, it’s #277 on its most popular of all time chart. Meanwhile on MyAnimeList, the manga is ranked #565 in terms of popularity. These numbers could be residual from the ironic campaign, or they could be reality setting in.
