South Korean Man in His 20s Arrested for Illegally Filming "Demon Slayer" in Japanese Theater

Video Discovered on Smartphone
Suspect Denies Allegations Amid Investigation into Illegal Recording and Blu-ray Purchases

Image to aid understanding of the article. Pixabay

A South Korean man has been apprehended by local police in Japan on suspicion of illegally recording the animated film "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train."

According to local media outlets including Chunichi Shimbun and Sankei Shimbun on August 21, the Otsuka Police Station in Tokyo has booked a 24-year-old South Korean national, referred to as Mr. A, for violating copyright law and is currently investigating the case. Mr. A is suspected of secretly recording the entire screening of "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train" with his smartphone at a movie theater in Shinjuku, Tokyo, on July 18. The film's runtime is approximately 2 hours and 35 minutes.

Mr. A is reported to have denied the allegations. However, he was already in custody for a separate incident in July. On July 30, Mr. A was arrested on charges of using someone else's credit card to purchase approximately 200 anime Blu-ray discs worth about 1.3 million yen (approximately 1,233,000 KRW). During this process, an illegally recorded video of "Demon Slayer" was discovered on a smartphone that was seized. Police are investigating further to determine his motives and the circumstances surrounding the additional offenses.

Poster of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train. Not directly related to the article content. Photo by CJ ENM

Local media have highlighted Mr. A's bulk purchase of Blu-ray discs, pointing to the possibility that he intended to engage in illegal copying and sales. On Japanese online communities, reactions include comments such as, "Regardless of nationality, those who break the law should be severely punished," and "The reason foreign crimes keep happening is because prosecutions are too lenient."

"Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train" is the first installment of a theatrical trilogy based on the popular manga by Koyoharu Gotouge. It was released in Japan on July 18, while its release in South Korea is scheduled about a month later.

According to the real-time reservation rate on the Korean Film Council's integrated movie ticketing network, as of 5 p.m. on the day before its release, "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train" has recorded a reservation rate of 80.4%, with 827,632 tickets reserved.