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Demon Slayer anime franchise gets new edible content with Kimetsu no Yaiba-yaki sweets【Tasting】

Casey Baseel Jul 22, 2020
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It’s time to slay some sweets and get some exclusive memorabilia.

Unlike some manga which stretch their serializations for as long as they can until the fan support dries up, last May Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba wrapped up at arguably the height of its popularity. Of course, in the modern era, the end of a manga doesn’t mean the end of the franchise. A continuation of the Demon Slayer anime, which reached the conclusion of its first season last September, seems like a given, but before that eventuality we’re getting some brand-new edible content in the form of Demon Slayer-yaki.

These Japanese-style sweets are available in only two places in all of Japan: the branch of take-out sweets stand Sega Taiyaki in Tokyo’s Akihabara neighborhood, and at the chain’s other location across town in Ikebukuro, another of the city’s otaku hot spots.

▼ Sega Taiyaki’s Ikebukuro branch

Sega Taiyaki’s standard menu consists of, logically enough, taiyaki, pancake-like pastries in the shape of a fish (tai is Japanese for “sea bream”) stuffed with sweet red beans or other dessert fillings. But Sega Taiyaki pretty much always offers some sort of inventive variant, like the time when it turned the Sega logo itself into a dessert, or the Sonic the Hedgehog-yaki from earlier this month.

The Demon Slayer-yaki, or Kimetsu no Yaiba-yaki, if you want to order in Japanese, applies the taiyaki concept to four of the principal characters in the Demon Slayer cast: skillful swordsman/devoted big brother Tanjiro, his bamboo-biting little sister Nezuko, fellow Demon Slayer Zenitsu, and Inosuke, portrayed in his rare not-wearing-a-severed-boar’s-head-as-a-helmet guise. Each is priced at 500 yen (US$4.70), which is about double the going rate for normal taiyaki, but you do get one of 13 character art coasters with each one you purchase.

Since taiyaki aren’t drinks, you don’t need to use a coaster when eating one, and honestly we’re not sure how you could even if you wanted to. This is actually an extension of the now-standard practice of anime and video game themed cafes in Japan giving out character art coasters (though usually it’s only done for beverage orders).

While the coaster you get is random, you do get to choose which character of Demon Slayer-yaki you want, though their fillings are all identical: custard cream. Several customers in front of us ordered one of each, but after consulting with our wallets and waistbands, we decided to limit ourselves to two, and went with the sibling sweets of Tanjiro and Nezuko.

▼ Tanjiro

But even if you only buy two Demon Slayer-yaki, you still get four faces of edible artwork to enjoy. Flipping them over reveals a different design on the back, with the same character showing some heightened emotion.

▼ Tanjiro reverse side

▼ Nezuko

As for the flavor, while Sega itself might know more about making video games and toys than desserts, Sega Taiyaki is a joint venture with venerable Yokohama-based taiyaki maker Kurikoan. That means you get a sweet, creamy, and immensely satisfying eating experience.

▼ Kurikoan also makes the Pokémon-themed Magikarp-yaki, which is also available with a cream filling, so this Demon Slayer-yaki is sort of like a crossover between the two series.

And even after the delicious flavor faded from our taste buds, we could still enjoy gazing upon our Inosuke and Kyojuro coasters.

The Demon Slayer-yaki will be available until August 30, serving as a temptation to sweets fans and anime collectors throughout the summer.

Shop information
Sega Taiyaki (Ikebukuro branch) / セガのたい焼き（池袋店）
Address: Tokyo-to, Toshima-ku, Higashi Ikebukuro, 1-21-1, 1st floor
東京都豊島区東池袋1-21-1 1F
Open 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
Website

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Follow Casey on Twitter as he continues to hope for Kurikoan to open a branch in southern California.