Why is Kagurabachi so popular?

In mid-September, a manga began publication that would take the ‘net by storm. Kagurabachi, the debut series by mangaka Takeru Hokazono, seemingly became the internet’s favorite manga overnight.

For a while it felt like you couldn’t spend time online without seeing someone praising Kagurabachi. I was very suspicious, to say the least. As of writing, the manga has only received 7 chapters, yet it’s been ranked as #5 on Anilist’s top manga of the year. 

So, in an effort to uncover what’s up with Kagurabachi, I did what anyone would do in this situation, and I read the first chapter. And now, I feel like I am better equipped to answer this question, though it’s still somewhat confusing. Why is Kagurabachi so popular? Let’s find out.

Why is Kagurabachi so popular?

It might sound like a copout, but the reason for Kagurabachi’s expedient surge in popularity can more than likely be attributed to memes. I mean, the debut chapter was alright. It wasn’t anything to write home about, but it certainly wasn’t bad. Sometimes, the internet sinks its collective teeth into something — be it a movie, a series, a game, or something else — and bleeds it dry with ironic detachment.

The series was out for no time at all before a surge of users on social media began proclaiming it was one of the best manga series of all time. According to Know Your Meme, one of the first — if not the first — Kagurabachi memes jokingly summarized it with the plot of Demon Slayer. 

From there, the trend known as Kagura Bachi “Glazing” took off like a firecracker. A prime opportunity for meme-age came in the form of people redrawing the signature style of Kagurabachi’s protagonist Chihiro unsheathing his sword. Variations exist with Peter Griffin from Family Guy, Venom, Earl of Lemongrab from Adventure Time, Ronald McDonald, and many, many others. 

But, that’s not even the meme’s final form, as pretty much any post dripping in irony that names this series which only just began a little more than a month ago counts toward the meme totals. What’s crazier than an entire community rallying ironically behind a lukewarm manga is that some of these memes are starting to sound pretty unironic. I think as soon as fans create a fan-made anime teaser, it’s safe to say the series has become embedded in the culture. 

Regardless, there’s little chance Kagurabachi will maintain its current hype for much longer. Even on Anilist, where it’s sitting at #5 on its top manga of 2023, it’s #277 on its most popular of all time chart. Meanwhile on MyAnimeList, the manga is ranked #565 in terms of popularity. These numbers could be residual from the ironic campaign, or they could be reality setting in.