The movie “Kimetsu no Yaiba: Mugen Train”, based on Koyoharu Gotouge’s manga, won the 40th annual Fujimoto Award. The announcement came on 26th May 2021.

The Eiga Engeki Bunka Kyokai (Film Theater Culture Association) gives out the Fujimoto Award, named after legendary film producer Sanezumi Fujimoto, in recognition of Japanese film producers who have made achievements over the past years.

Aniplex president and producer Atsuhiro Iwakami, Ufotable founder and president Hikaru Kondo, and Shueisha anime producer and planner Makoto Ooyoshi received the award for Demon Slayer: Mugen Train.

The association commented on the award, saying:

“The animated film, which began as a weekly Shonen Jump series by Koyoharu Gotouge and reached the peak of its popularity through anime broadcasts, became a social phenomenon with its overwhelming visuals and music. Its an engaging story that transcended generations, grabbing the imagination of those young and old, combined with the powerful theme song by LiSA, created a social phenomenon that resonated with nearly 30 million viewers. It evoked the sympathy of the audience and broke the Theatre visit record of Japanese movies for the first time in 20 years. The film also saw huge success internationally, including breaking records in the United States. Mugen Train has greatly revitalized the struggling film industry, which was impacted by COVID-19.”

In addition to the Fujimoto Award, the winners will also receive a prize of 500,000 yen. The selection for the award was based on movies released in theaters during the year from April 2020 to March 2021.

Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train premiered in Japanese cinemas on October 16, 2020. It had the best opening weekend in Japanese cinema history, becoming the highest-grossing film in Japanese theaters ever, the highest-grossing anime and Japanese film worldwide, and the highest-grossing film of 2020.

In North America, Mugen Train made its stop in theaters on April 23, 2021 in both dubbed and subbed formats. A digital release of the film took place on June 22, 2021. It became the first anime film to top the US box office since Pokémon: The First Movie in 1999.

Source: Comic Natalie