'Demon Slayer' musical brings Japan's 2.5D theater to Seoul

A revenge battle was underway. Kocho Shinobu (played by Kadoyama Yoko), the human world's mightiest warrior, launched into a breathtaking sequence of high-difficulty action as she fought to avenge her sister against the formidable villain Doma (played by Urai Kenji). A tragic sword duel between master and student who shared the same lightning technique followed, with aerial somersaults and sword-fighting sequences cascading in rapid succession. Amid the fierce struggle, haori — the traditional garments from the manga — billowed through the air, while specially crafted wigs held perfectly still and vocals rang out without a tremor, filling the theater in real time. The audience's immersion reached its peak. Then, as the fierce sword dance stilled and a breathless silence swept through the hall, the firm voice of protagonist Kamado Tanjiro cut through the center of the theater.

*"No matter the moment, my heart is always by your side."*

Nothing could have been more electrifying. The silence shattered, and the audience erupted in a standing ovation that sounded almost like a scream. On Tuesday, the Coex Artium in Samseong-dong, Seoul, was packed with Korean musical theater fans and original manga devotees who had come for the "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba" showcase, alongside producers from the United States, United Kingdom, Japan and China — and they all cheered as one. Seoul was utterly captivated by the world of 2.5D musicals through a 40-minute showcase drawn from the sixth installment of the "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba" series, "Hashira Training Arc: The Infinity Castle Begins."

An industry insider who watched the musical that day said the performance captured the very essence of live theater. "What had seemed so unfamiliar — the 2.5D musical — came alive when the actors' analog physicality and action merged with those soaring high notes," the person said.

The musical "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba," based on the manga of the same name that has sold more than 220 million copies worldwide, has finally arrived in Korea. It was the first overseas musical production ever presented at the recently held K-Musical International Market.

After the performance, Nogami Shoko, president of Nelke Planning — Japan's largest 2.5D creative hub — sat down for an interview and reflected on the moment. "We have been staging 'Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba' for more than six years, but this was the first time I witnessed a standing ovation," she said.

"The moment the audience rose to their feet, that energy traveled all the way to the actors on stage. After the show, producers from around the world came up to say congratulations. What made me happiest was that everyone had shared the same feeling."

The 2.5D musical that arrived in Korea alongside "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba" is a mega-content format that underpins Japan's performing arts industry. From "The Prince of Tennis" and "Touken Ranbu" to "Haikyu!!," "Naruto" and "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba" — real-life actors bring the worlds of manga, anime and games to the stage.

Korean audiences might instinctively think of musicals or drama series adapted from webtoons or comics, but the 2.5D musical is something different. The genre pursues what it calls "visual recreation" — the process of transposing a two-dimensional intellectual property onto a three-dimensional stage in a way that makes the flat characters feel as though they have stepped into reality.

The term "2.5D" was originally slang used among subculture fandoms in Japan. The goal of these productions goes beyond simple narrative adaptation: they pursue a hyper-realistic recreation of a manga character's appearance, vocal quality, subtle physical mannerisms and entire fictional world. After watching performances where two-dimensional manga characters seemed to walk off the page and into three-dimensional reality, fans coined the term "2.5D" to describe that middle ground between the two dimensions. Japanese production companies later adopted the term.

Japan, a nation defined by its manga culture, had been experimenting with bringing manga to the stage for decades. The Takarazuka Revue's 1974 premiere of "The Rose of Versailles" revived a troupe that had been in decline, and in 1993 Japanese toy giant Bandai produced a "Sailor Moon" musical that drew the original fandom into physical theaters. The genre's turning point as a standalone business model came in 2003, with the musical "The Prince of Tennis" — produced by Nelke Planning and nicknamed "Tenimyu" — establishing the template.

Nogami said the idea predated the term itself. "We were already trying various things before the phrase '2.5D' even existed," she said. "If you love a manga, don't you find yourself thinking, 'I wish someone like this character actually existed'? That was the original impulse — wanting to make that happen on stage."

"The Prince of Tennis" brought the manga's near-impossible, surrealistic tennis techniques to life through a combination of elaborate lighting design, layered sound effects and the dynamic physical performances of actors swinging their rackets — all realized on stage.

The 2.5D musical was not welcomed from the outset. Though it is now unquestionably the leading content driving Japan's performing arts scene, it began amid skepticism and cynicism. "At the first performance, the seats were only half full," Nogami said. "There was an atmosphere of 'who would pay to watch a manga?'"

To make matters worse, when the 15-minute intermission began after the first act of that opening performance, the audience suddenly bolted from the theater. It was something no one had anticipated. In an era before smartphones and social media, people began lining up at the public telephones outside.

"The audience members were calling their friends and acquaintances, saying, 'Get here now — there's an incredible show going on.'"

That was the moment a legend was born. "The Prince of Tennis" spread rapidly by word of mouth, heralding the full emergence of the 2.5D musical. "In that moment, I felt that something enormous had just begun," Nogami said.

Over the next 20 years, what had been an unfamiliar experiment transformed the landscape of Japan's performing arts industry. "The Prince of Tennis" has continued as a series for nearly 23 years, producing numerous star actors along the way, while "Touken Ranbu," "Naruto," "Haikyu!!" and "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba" have grown into leading performance brands representing Japan. The Japan 2.5D Musical Association was established in 2014, and the genre now serves as the central engine driving growth across the entire performance market.

According to a survey by the Japan 2.5D Musical Association, the annual market for 2.5D musicals in Japan reached 33 billion yen ($203 million) as of 2024, with total annual attendance approaching 3.15 million.

An official at the Korea Creative Content Agency's Tokyo Business Center said the format has achieved full parity with mainstream licensed musicals in Japan's performing arts market. "In Japan's performance industry, traditional licensed musicals and 2.5D musicals form two completely equal pillars," the official said.

The genre's greatest commercial achievement has been converting a younger generation accustomed to films and streaming into active theatergoers who willingly purchase premium tickets and show up in person. Nelke Planning sits at the center of that transformation.

Nogami said the audience profile has broadened considerably over time. "In the early days, 2.5D musicals skewed heavily toward female audiences in their 20s and 30s, but the influx of battle-themed shonen manga has widened the spectrum to include men and middle-aged audiences as well," she said. "In the case of 'Sailor Moon,' it has evolved into a multigenerational structure where grandmothers and granddaughters — three generations — attend together."

It is no accident that Nelke Planning — Japan's largest production company, staging some 50 productions a year — ushered in the golden age of the 2.5D musical. Nogami, who leads the company, points to three inviolable principles.

The first is that no one starts out as a star. When casting, ticket-selling power and public name recognition are excluded entirely. Yet the company is a cradle of star-making.

"At the casting stage, we completely set aside an actor's existing ticket power or public profile," Nogami said. "It doesn't matter whether they're famous or not. Being unknown is fine." There is only one criterion: "Someone who is willing to become that character."

The element that most surprises first-time audiences of Nelke Planning's 2.5D musicals is what fans call "actor synchronization rate" — the degree to which performers replicate the look and movement of their manga counterparts. Actors recreate the appearance and gestures of characters who seem to have leapt off the page, along with the voice and gait of the character as they speak in the manga, down to the angle at which a sword is gripped and the subtlest flicker of expression.

"The most important thing is the tenacity and inner strength to take full responsibility for this character to the very end," Nogami said.

Nelke Planning's casting philosophy reflects a defining characteristic of the genre: 2.5D musicals are not about consuming stars — they are about completing a character. In "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba," if the audience sees a real-life actor rather than Tanjiro, the production has failed. Audiences come to the theater not to see an actor, but to meet the beloved character from the original work.

That is why 2.5D musicals have a distinctive "graduation system." When the contract period for a particular season or role expires, the entire cast retires at once, and a new cohort of rookie actors replaces them wholesale through large-scale auditions. This not only keeps production costs from rising due to star casting, but also creates an opportunity for newcomers to take the stage.

By placing character above star, 2.5D musicals have naturally come to serve as an actor incubator within Japan's performing arts world. Young actors who made their debut in "The Prince of Tennis" in 2003 went on to expand their careers into theater, musicals, drama series and film.

"Over 23 years of continuous production, we have launched countless actors," Nogami said. "Several alumni of 'The Prince of Tennis' are now appearing in 'Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba' as well." Shirota Yu, who played the second-generation Tezuka Kunimitsu in "The Prince of Tennis," rose to become a top industry star through lead and supporting roles in Japanese terrestrial drama series. Seto Koji, who played the third-generation Kikumaru Eiji, became a leading man nominated for a Japan Academy Prize, while Sison Jun (who played Mukahi Gakuto) emerged as a prominent youth star. Those who passed through 2.5D musicals became a core pipeline of stars in Japanese popular culture.

The fandom of 2.5D musicals merges rookie actors with their fictional characters, then watches as those actors grow into leading performers — a real-world story that creates a powerful lock-in effect. "Japan's popular culture fandom is open to newcomers and new works, and values the feeling of nurturing and watching someone grow together," an industry insider said. "That same principle applies to 2.5D musicals."

Alongside this, another of Nogami's inviolable principles is maintaining deep respect for the source material. Nelke Planning approaches every production with the awareness that it is "borrowing" the original work.

"Once you have decided to adapt something for the stage, respect for the source material you are borrowing is paramount," Nogami said. "The producer is nothing more than a custodian who carefully borrows the original IP from the publisher and the creator, and places it in the vessel of the stage."

Adapting popular webtoons, novels, games and anime for the stage is a familiar sight across the global performing arts world. As a result, who holds the original IP — and who secures it first — has become something of a golden rule for success.

When a work based on source material is brought to the stage, interpretive approaches vary widely. Some productions remain strictly faithful to the original IP, while others see directors arbitrarily alter the original's settings, narrative or a character's emotional arc to express their own artistic vision.

Nelke Planning rejects this as a matter of principle. "We are the people entrusted with the original work, and we return it to the stage," Nogami said. "What matters is that when we transfer this work to the stage, we convey intact every emotion the original possesses."

Nogami names human sweat — the kind that commands the three-dimensional stage — as her third and final inviolable principle.

Drama series and films are treasure troves of elaborate computer-generated imagery, but the stage is different. The anime "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba" renders the original's distinctive sword-strike effects in spectacular fashion through a blend of 3D video technology and multi-directional moving lights. Yet Nelke Planning deliberately restrains the use of mechanized, automated staging.

"Technology keeps advancing. Lighting and video have improved remarkably compared to before — but in the end, it is people who must put in the effort," Nogami said.

One emblematic example of this human-centered stage aesthetic is "The Prince of Tennis," where the court is traversed not by mechanical devices but by actors moving in precise coordination with one another. The company believes that the warm, tension-filled analog energy of live performance — something no machine can replicate — is ultimately what returns to the audience.

"If you hand everything over to machines and expensive automated systems, the sense that real people are working hard and sweating disappears," Nogami said. "Watching a person pour every ounce of effort into something right before your eyes — that, I believe, is the unique appeal of live content."

"Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba" is a global mega-hit. The series began serialization in February 2016 and went on to set the fastest commercial records in the history of Japanese popular culture. A single volume broke the 5 million copies sold mark in Oricon history, and the theatrical film "Mugen Train Arc" reached No. 1 at the worldwide box office, generating a short-term economic impact of 270 billion won.

The musical first raised its curtain in January 2020. Nelke Planning had already recognized the potential for a stage adaptation before the anime even aired. "The decision to produce it was not because 'Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba' was a global blockbuster," Nogami said. "It was because we judged that the emotions of the original work could be brought to life in the language of the stage."

The power Nogami sees in "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba" is compassion. "On the surface it looks like a story about defeating evil, but it isn't," she said. "Even the demons had reasons for becoming demons. After Tanjiro defeats an enemy, he still comforts that soul at the very end."

"It's not a simple story of good triumphing over evil — it's a story that tries to understand even the pain of the other side. I thought that if we could convey that emotion on stage, it would make for a remarkable performance."

True to its principles, Nelke Planning did not take liberties with the source material in "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba" either. Writing the script was not a process of cutting down the original, but of deciding what absolutely had to remain. The most important rule for success, Nogami said, is for the producers themselves to become fans of the original work.

"We read the source material more than anyone else and talk about it constantly," she said. "We consult with the original creator too — asking things like, 'Isn't this scene absolutely necessary?' or 'Shouldn't this line of dialogue stay?' We never adapt it however we please."

Korean audiences and industry figures who attended the Seoul showcase were unanimous: "It felt like the manga had come alive and was moving."

"The first two minutes used video to help overseas industry guests who don't know the original work follow along, but after that we compressed only the most intense scenes," Nogami said. "If people who watched the performance feel they want to see what happens next, that's enough."

Nelke Planning, which opened the chapter of 2.5D musicals with "The Prince of Tennis," is now setting its sights on overseas stages. In 2024, the company staged an "Attack on Titan" concert in New York and a "Sailor Moon" tour in China. Interest in Korea is also high.

In Japan itself, a trend known as "reverse media mix" has already emerged — adapting Korean drama series and webtoons such as "Itaewon Class," "Crash Landing on You" and "Vincenzo" for the stage with Japanese casts.

"I was deeply impressed by works like 'Chamgyoyuk' and 'Misaeng,'" Nogami said, using the Korean titles. "I'm captivated by the way Korean webtoon-based content pays off its setups. If we were to make something, I would want to adapt a manga or webtoon source for the stage. Whatever we make, respect for the original comes first."