MLB Partnered With ‘Demon Slayer’ to Produce Epic Anime Trailer for Tokyo Series

The Cubs and Dodgers' showdown is less than two weeks away.

Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani celebrate during the Dodgers' 9–7 loss to the Cubs on April 5, 2024. / Matt Marton-Imagn Images

In Japan, baseball is a national pastime—perhaps even moreso than in the United States.

However, the game's considerable popularity pales in comparison to the popularity of anime—the distinctive animation style that constitutes one of Japan's most recognizable cultural exports.

Accordingly, two weeks before the season-opening series in Tokyo between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs, MLB partnered with the anime Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba to release a short film previewing the series Wednesday.

In the film, an announcer discusses the series and the history of baseball in Japan with Sakonji Urokodaki, a character from the series. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba ran in four seasons from 2019 to '24, along with several associated films.

Major League Baseball enters the world of Demon Slayer ⚔️

As MLB celebrates games in Japan, baseball has partnered to release a Demon Slayer short film that depicts the evolution of Japanese baseball through the continuous passing of the torch across generations

Product around… pic.twitter.com/jK0tPXxL73

— MLB (@MLB) March 5, 2025

As noted by the video, five top Japanese players will participate in the season-opening series: designated hitter and pitcher Shohei Ohtani, pitcher Roki Sasaki and pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto for the Dodgers, and pitcher Shota Imanaga and right fielder and designated hitter Seiya Suzuki for the Cubs.

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