Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō is a Japanese historical fantasy novel series written by Moto'o Nakanishi and illustrated by Tamaki. It was serialized online between January 2013 and May 2016 on the user-generated novel publishing website Arcadia, and it later moved to the Shōsetsuka ni Narō website, where it was serialized between December 2015 and October 2016. It was later acquired by Futabasha, who have published fourteen volumes from June 2019 to November 2023. A manga adaptation with art by Yū Satomi is published by Futabasha since September 2021 and has been collected in ten tankōbon volumes. Both the original novel series and manga adaptation are licensed in English by Seven Seas Entertainment. An anime television series adaptation produced by Yokohama Animation Laboratory aired from March to September 2025.
Article
Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō (Japanese: 鬼人幻燈抄, Hepburn: Kijin Gentōshō) is a Japanese historical fantasy novel series written by Moto'o Nakanishi and illustrated by Tamaki. It was serialized online between January 2013 and May 2016 on the user-generated novel publishing website Arcadia, and it later moved to the Shōsetsuka ni Narō website, where it was serialized between December 2015 and October 2016. It was later acquired by Futabasha, who have published fourteen volumes from June 2019 to November 2023. A manga adaptation with art by Yū Satomi is published by Futabasha since September 2021 and has been collected in ten tankōbon volumes. Both the original novel series and manga adaptation are licensed in English by Seven Seas Entertainment. An anime television series adaptation produced by Yokohama Animation Laboratory aired from March to September 2025.
Contents
Plot
In the Edo period, within the secluded mountain village of Kadono, resided Jinta, a young man who served as the guardian to the shrine maiden known as Itsukihime. Originally an outsider, Jinta and his younger sister, Suzune, had sought refuge in the village after fleeing their previous home. Embracing his role, Jinta dedicated himself to protecting the villagers from various perils. One fateful day, he was tasked with confronting a mysterious demon lurking in the forest. Upon encountering the creature, Jinta experienced a supernatural event that profoundly altered his existence. This pivotal moment marked the beginning of his extraordinary journey across different eras, where he faced demons, deities, and individuals bound by enigmatic destinies. Throughout his odyssey, Jinta gradually uncovered a deeper connection to the supernatural realm, leading to revelations about his own existence.
The main protagonist, and the older brother of Suzune. He and Suzune escaped their father's mistreatment, were adopted by Motoharu and grew up with his daughter Shirayuki. He was trained in the art of combat by Motoharu and became one of the protectors of Kadono village and a guardian to Shirayuki, the village's priestess. The two developed feelings for each other but agreed to put their feelings aside for their duty.
Jinya encounters Dōga no Oni during a mission and defeats him, with the former giving him his demon powers and warning him of the future to come. As he returns to the village, he finds that Suzune had killed Shirayuki and set the village ablaze. Disgusted by her actions he tries to kill her, but fails, thus prompting his mission to destroy Suzune as the prophesied leader of all Demons.
As a result of his demon powers, Jinya effectively became a demon with superior physical abilities, a prolonged lifespan, and the ability to absorb the powers of other Demons.
The younger sister of Jinya. Suzune was born as a result of her mother's rape by a Demon, causing her father to mistreat her, thus prompting the siblings escape until being taken into the Kadono village. She remained in a child form despite the passing of the years as she suppressed her feelings for Jinya, to allow him to be with Shirayuki.
Upon learning from Tōmi no Kijo that Shirayuki was marrying Kiyomasa, Suzune flew into a morbid frenzy believing Shirayuki betrayed Jinya, thus causing her to grow to adult size and develop demonic powers, killing Shirayuki and setting the village ablaze. Disgusted by her actions Jinya rejects her, causing Suzune to hate humanity. Suzune is the series' main antagonist and the prophesied Kishin, the leader of all Demons that will subjugate humanity to bring a future for the Demons.
Media
Anime
An anime adaptation was announced by Futabasha on September 9, 2021. It was later revealed to be a television series produced by Yokohama Animation Laboratory and directed by Kazuya Aiura, with Deko Akao overseeing series scripts, Taro Ikegami designing the characters and Ryuuichi Takada, Keiichi Hirokawa, and Kuniyuki Takahashi composing the music. The series was originally scheduled to premiere on June 27, 2024, but was later delayed due to production delays, which eventually aired from March 31 to September 29, 2025, on Tokyo MX and other networks, and ran for two consecutive cours. From episodes 1–13, the opening theme song is "Continue", performed by NEE, while the ending theme song is "Senya Ichiya" (千夜一夜; One Thousand and One Nights), performed by Hilcrhyme feat. Izumi Nakasone from HY. From episodes 14–24, the second opening theme song is "Ash", performed by Alexandros while the ending theme song is "Enrin" (Round Bell), performed by FAKE TYPE.
Sentai Filmworks licensed the series in North America for streaming on Hidive. Medialink licensed the series in South, Southeast Asia and Oceania (except Australia and New Zealand) for streaming on Ani-One Asia's YouTube channel.
Reception
The novel series has over 230,000 copies in circulation.
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Shirayuki (白雪)
Voiced by: Saori Hayami (Japanese); Shanae'a Moore (English)
Jinya's love interest whom he met during their childhood upon living in Kadono village with the two growing closer over the years. She eventually succeeded her mother as the village's priestess (Itsukihime) with Jinya as her guardian. Although the two have feelings for one another they agreed to leave them aside for their duties and thus chose to marry with Kiyomasa. She was killed by a frenzied Suzune who misunderstood her actions believing she was betraying Jinya. Her murder causes Jinya to hunt Suzune.
Dōga no Oni (同化の鬼)
Voiced by: Hiroshi Shirokuma (Japanese); Cyrus Rodas (English)
A Demon and the companion of Tōmi no Kijo. He faced Jinya in order to carry on with Tōmi no Kijo's plan to awaken Suzune as their leader. He is defeated by Jinya and grants him his powers, turning Jinya into a Demon.
A Demon and the companion of Dōga no Oni. Having the ability to foresee the future, she knew that Demons would disappear with the passage of time and the evolution of the ages. To prevent the doom of the demonkin she manipulated Suzune in order to awaken her demonic side by revealing Shirayuki was marrying Kiyomasa. This caused Suzune to become enraged, kill Shirayuki and turn her into the Kishin, the prophecied leader of all Demons. Tōmi no Kijo was killed shielding Suzune from Jinya, allowing the former to escape, dying satisfied with her purpose fulfilled.
Kiyomasa (清正)
Voiced by: Kentarō Kumagai (Japanese); Jeremy Gee (English)
A fellow guardian along with Jinya, he held a rivalry with Jinya both as a guardian and for Shirayuki's affections. He was set up in a political marriage with Shirayuki despite knowing she didn't love him. He was killed along with Shirayuki during the attack on the village.
Chitose (ちとせ)
Voiced by: Haruka Shamoto (Japanese); Kristen McGuire (English)
A childhood friend of Jinya, Shirayuki and Suzune. When she re-encountered Jinya decades later (1872, Meiji Year 5) in Kyoto, it was revealed that after the death of Shirayuki, she took over the role of Itsukihime and was renamed Chiyo. She got married and together with her husband, were running the Kyoto branch of the original shrine in Kadono. The role of Itsukihime was passed on to her daughter.
Natsu (奈津)
Voiced by: Saya Aizawa
Natsu is the adopted daughter of Jūzō, who becomes acquainted with Jinya during a request to kill a Demon that was hunting her. Natsu grows to hate and distances herself from Jinya when he was forced to kill their father, now turned into a Demon by a drink enchanted by Suzune. However, it is revealed she has regretted hurting Jinya many years ago when she crosses paths with him one final time.
Zenji (善二)
Voiced by: Hiromu Mineta
Zenji is Jūzō's right-hand man and the caretaker of Natsu.
Jūzō (重蔵)
Voiced by: Masaki Aizawa (Japanese); John Gremillion (English)
Jūzō is Jinya and Suzune's father who adopted Natsu in the years after their escape. Jūzō is now a successful businessman and a reformed man who has tasked Jinya with missions to take down Demons, with the two recognizing each other, but preferring to keep their relationship formal. Jūzō was killed by Jinya after turning into a Demon by Suzune.
Kihei Restaurant Owner (喜兵衛の店主, Kihei no Tenshu)
Voiced by: Yōji Ueda
The adoptive father of Ofū who owns a Soba restaurant that Jinya frequently visits. In truth he's a Samurai from a prestigious household who became older as a result of Ofū's powers, but with being unable to be recognized in his current state, he sold the riches in his possession and opened his store. He's the older brother of Miura and serves as a voice of wisdom for Jinya and his many companions.
Ofū (おふう)
Voiced by: Ai Kayano
The adoptive daughter of the Restaurant Owner, she is a Demon born from children killed in war. She's a benevolent Demon but has the ability to trap people in a dream-like dimension where the passage of time is much faster. She inadvertently caused her father to age 20 years when he stayed with her in order to comfort her. Ofū becomes one of Jinya's closest friends across the ages.
Naotsugu Miura (三浦直次, Miura Naotsugu)
Voiced by: Seiichiro Yamashita
A Samurai from a prestigious family, he meets Jinya while trying to investigate his brother's mysterious disappearance. Although he regularly meets Jinya in the soba restaurant, he never learns that the owner is his brother. Miura becomes one of Jinya's steadfast allies in the Edo period. He's both skilled with the sword and a noble warrior who fights to keep the people safe, eventually taking the side of the Emperor during the Boshin War.
Yotaka (夜鷹)
Voiced by: Hitomi Nabatame
A prostitute whom Jinya meets regularly as she serves as both a client for Jinya's demon hunts and a source of information. She eventually marries Miura after he defends her from a demon chasing her.
Somegorō Akitsu (秋津染吾郎, Akitsu Somegorō)
Voiced by: Kōji Yusa
A travelling merchant and an exorcist who specializes in hunting Demons using mystical objects and sorcery. He meets with Jinya and serves as something of an uneasy ally as the two have helped each other, but remain wary of one another. Somegorō Akitsu is not his real name, but rather an alias he adopted from a long line of similar exorcists.
Yasuhide Hatakeyama (畠山泰秀, Hatakeyama Yasuhide)
Voiced by: Toshihiko Seki
The main antagonist of the Edo period. Yasuhide is a steadfast pro-Shogunate Daimyo who is less than pleased about the influence of foreign powers in Japan, whom he believes will erode Japanese traditions, culture and power and seeks to expel the foreigners. For this reason, he allies himself with both human and demons, not discriminating on the latter. Yasuhide meets and tries to convince Jinya to join his side but fails as he's resolute on his mission.
A very scheming and calculating man, Yasuhide carries several plots involving Jinya and his own demon enforcers. Jinya eventually becomes disgusted with his methods after Tsuchiura attempted to kill Miura on his orders.
Tsuchiura (土浦)
Voiced by: Kenichirou Matsuda
Yasuhide's right-hand man. He's a hulking man with demon powers, becoming a greatly muscular ogre with the ability to harden his body. He's unflinchingly loyal to Yasuhide, who favors him despite his demonic powers.
Kiichi Okada (岡田貴一, Okada Kiichi)
Voiced by: Kazuya Nakai
One of Yasuhide's main demon enforcers. Unlike Tsurauchi he's a lesser demon so he has not developed unique powers. However, he is still a considerable threat due to his terrifying skill in swordsmanship, being able to defeat Jinya with his skill alone. Okada's philosophy about using a blade for killing and the thrill of battle affect Jinya himself. Okada becomes one of Jinya's long friends across the years, becoming a store manager in modern times.