Animation studio Ufotable has released new art from Demon Slayer's second season.The new illustrations were revealed on the company's official Twitter account, and depict the series' trio of main characters, central protagonist Tanjiro, the cowardly but powerful Zenitsu, and the brash Inosuke, in the courtesan disguises that they are forced to wear throughout the Entertainment District arc. The studio also released an image of the trio with the Sound Hashira, Tengen Uzui, who joins the group as they investigate demon activity within the city's red light district.
This is the second set of art from the Entertainment District arc that Ufotable has shown. The company previously revealed several illustrations of the Sound Hashira to celebrate the Entertainment District arc's premiere. Ufotable says it will release new art from the series throughout the remainder of Demon Slayer's second season, which began last October with another adaptation of the Mugen Train arc. The TV version of the arc was mostly made with recut footage from 2020's record-breaking Mugen Train movie, but Ufotable added an all-new first episode and 70 newly animated scenes throughout the arc's run in order to entice fans into giving the story a re-watch.
The Entertainment District arc premiered earlier this month. The arc adapts one of the most beloved parts of Koyoharu Gotouge's original manga, and features a new opening title sequence, which is set to the song "Zankyou Sanka" by Japanese pop star Aimer. The main trio are can be seen in their new disguises in this intro, which also features brief appearances by the arc's main antagonists, the demon Daki and her brother, Gyutaro.
In addition to Demon Slayer, Ufotable has made headlines recently for the conclusion of the company's tax evasion indictment. The studio and its founder, Hikaru Kondo, were both hit with tax evasion charges totaling more than the equivalent of $4 million USD. While the studio and Kondo initially denied the charges, Kondo finally confessed to Japanese authorities in September. His sentencing was held earlier this month, where he managed to avoid a potential 20 months of jail time by receiving a suspended sentence, which requires him to stay out of legal trouble for the next three years. Ufotable has apologized for the incident and says it has already begun to pay back its back taxes, along with a fine of 30 million yen (roughly $260,000 USD).
Demon Slayer's first season is available for streaming on Netflix, Hulu, Crunchyroll and Funimation. The second season can be seen on Crunchyroll and Funimation, which are both simulcasting new episodes of the season as they air in Japan.
Source: Twitter