How to watch the anime Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba from outside of Japan

The Best Streaming Channel and the Recommended VPN Service Provider

In Japan the Swordsmith Village Arc of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, which we were waiting for a long time, finally started on April 9, 2023 on Fuji Television channel. The animation of the Mugen Castle of Muzan Kibutsuji is amazing and as usual, the beautiful countryside is reproduced very well by Ufotable.

As a fan of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba or a student of Japanology, some of you might want to watch the Japanese version as soon as possible. If you are a Japanese person living abroad, you might want to watch it from overseas. I had that experience as well. 

Streaming Channels

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is streaming on multiple channels in Japan: Amazon Prime Video, ABEMA TV and FOD. Let’s compare the features of these channels.

Amazon Prime Video

Going straight to the point, Amazon Prime Video is recommended if you want to watch Japanese programs from abroad.
Needless to say, Amazon Prime Video is available in many countries. However, different programs are streaming in each country and to watch the original Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba in Japanese language, you need to register yourself with Amazon Japan. 
Why is Amazon Prime Video recommended to watch Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba?

■All previous Arcs are available in addition to Swordsmith Village Arc:
Tanjiro Kamado Unwavering Arc, Mugen Train Arc, and Entertainment District Arc
■Display language can be switched between English, Chinese and Japanese
■Recording of a special event “Kimetsu no Utage (鬼滅の宴)” is also available
■Spin-off program of Demon Slayer “Kimetsu Gakuen (キメツ学園)” is also available

Is Prime membership necessary?

You do not need to have an Amazon Prime membership to watch Prime Video.

Customers are able to purchase or rent a selection of titles from the Prime Video catalog, without needing an Amazon Prime or Prime Video membership.

Amazon website

Payment methods

Different payment methods are accepted including all major credit cards:

■Visa
■Mastercard
■American Express
■Diner’s Club
■JCB
■Union Pay (Credit card only)
■Amazon Gift Cards

I underlined “Amazon Gift Cards” above, as it is a global and very convenient payment method of Amazon. Some people say that they could not complete purchases with Amazon Japan using non-Japanese credit cards or credit cards linked to a foreign bank account. In such a case, Amazon Gift Card would be an alternative payment method. For example, the codes of Amazon Gift Card purchased with Amazon UK can be applied with Amazon Japan and make a purchase.

Is it possible to watch Prime Video from abroad?

Amazon Prime members are able to watch selected titles outside of the home country. However:

Outside of your home country, a reduced selection of Prime Video titles is available to stream. A selection marked “Watch While Abroad” shows the available titles.

If you have a compatible device, you’re able to download titles before you travel in order to watch offline anywhere in the world.”

Amazon Website

Often due to copyright issues, a limited number of programs are available outside of the country of origin. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is not an exception and it can be watched only in Japan. But downloading the title before travelling is not a realistic solution for those who are living abroad. The solution is VPN connection and this will be explained in the next chapter about VPN in more details.

ABEMA TV

Different TV programs are available on ABEMA TV as well, including the anime Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. ABEMA TV deals with different categories such as news, sports, drama, anime, and documentaries. For Japanese people this is a good channel to watch missed programs. Some contents are available for free and open to non-members.
However, ABEMA TV might be a bit inconvenient for people who do not speak Japanese. If you use the English OS, the user interface is automatically translated into English but the contents (e.g. titles of the programs) are not translated so it is more difficult to find the contents you are looking for, compared to Amazon Prime Video.

FOD

FOD is “FujiTelevision On Demand” and the programs of FujiTelevision are available on this channel including Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. However, like ABEMA TV, due to the fact that the contents are displayed only in Japanese language, it is convenient for people who do not speak Japanese. You would not like to agree to the Terms and Conditions in Japanese if you do not speak the language. Another disadvantage would be that the programs are limited to the ones from FujiTelevision. 

VPN Service Providers

As explained in the previous section, the anime Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is streaming on different channels. But to watch it from outside of Japan, VPN connection is needed.

What is a VPN?

VPN is the abbreviation of Virtual Private Network. The location from which you access a content on the internet is recognized with IP addresses. IP address is the abbreviation of Internet Protocol address. It is a numerical label which looks like 192.0.x.x and its main functions are network interface identification and location addressing. Namely, it is a location-specific code and if you try to access the content protected within Japan from abroad, the access will be denied. For this reason VPN is necessary.
The VPN services listed below are paid services. There are free VPN services but these are not recommended, mainly because of the low security and low safety. Your access is not protected and often tracked, and sometimes the information is sold to third parties.

Nord VPN

Nord VPN is considered to be the best VPN provider. It provides the following features:

■ Number of Devices: 6 devices using app, unlimited using a router
■ Support: 24 hours
■ Servers: 5611 servers in 600 countries
■ Speed: fastest in the world (Downloading: 417.0 Mbps in USA, 255.9 Mbps in UK, in Japan)
■ Language: 26 languages
■ Security: Web tracking blocker, ad blocker, encrypted network, dark web monitoring
■ Fee: from USD 4.03/month

ExpressVPN

Express VPN also have servers in many countries and provides high-speed connection. The cost seems to be a bit higher than Nord VPN.

■ Number of Devices: 5
■ Support: 24 hours
■ Servers: in 94 countries
■ Language: 3 languages (English, Korean, Japanese)
■ Security: Pop-up blocker, two-factor authentication, IP rotator
■ Fee: from USD 6.67/month

Summary

There is a way to watch the anime Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba from abroad. In this article the safest way of VPN connection has been explained. I hope that the information was useful.