Japan: Red Cross uses 'Demon Slayer' posters to encourage blood donations

The Red Cross in the Tokushima prefecture in Japan is using ads, featuring Demon Slayer's character to encourage fans to donate blood, and it's working. The popular manga and anime have a cult-like following worldwide, as the film Demon Slayer: Mugen Train is already Japan's highest-grossing film of all time. According to a report published by Kotaku, the young volunteers who turned up for blood donation at the prefecture received a poster of Demon Slayer as a gift.

The Red Cross featured its characters in hopes to reach a younger generation of donors and the tactics were proved to be widely successful. However, it is also believed that the event was a mega success because the Machi Asobi, an annual anime and manga event in the country, got canceled this year. According to reliable reports, 464 people donated blood in April, which reached 77% of the prefecture’s target. 

However, this is not for the time first the humanitarian organization is using Demon Slayer characters in blood donation events. Earlier in 2019, the popular character was featured to promote a donation drive. Blood donation drives in the Tokushima prefecture have been struggling in recent times. With so many people staying home due to COVID-19, it has been getting more and more difficult to get people to donate. In April, the goal for blood donations for the prefecture was set at 600. However, only 464 people turned up in the entire month.

Red Cross used the popularity of Demon Slayer in a blood donation drive

As reported by ScreenRant, this innovative idea of using Demon Slayer's character has been so effective that the organizers were flooded with blood donors and had to work to set up mobile blood donation buses to keep up with the demand. Youth in large numbers participated in the event and every day in past months, the blood bank was full.

Without a doubt, the film Demon Slayer: Mugen Train enjoys a massive fan following across the globe and is Japan’s highest-earning movie of all time. The Japanese Red Cross Society is the only organization in the country collecting and supplying blood for use in transfusions. The Japanese Red Cross Society Tokyo Blood Bank was established in 1952.