Will Tanjiro and Pikachu Ever Get Along?
With the Demon Slayer movie staying on top of Japans box office for several weeks, we can’t deny that the series is on par with many other great long-running shows that have dominated the anime industry, and captured the hearts of many fans around the world.
So, what could potentially happen when these ‘giants’ started to peak in popularity?
An Exciting Anime Crossover
Now these crossovers could be an array of things like:
- Anime
- Merchandise
- Fanfiction
- Artwork
- And Fan animation
I remember one time when some of the few Big shows started to cross worlds like an isekai that has taken the industry by a storm.
And they are Toriko, One Piece and Dragon Ball Z – where all characters within these series clash against each other in a friendly tournament arc to decide who is strongest.
There was another one where characters of Sket Dance and Gintama competed to decide who has the best 4th wall breaking content.
And of course, Isekai Quartet becoming one of the recent successful crossovers, having a few big isekai titles like Re:Zero, Konosuba, Overlord, Rising of the Shield Hero and Saga of Tanya the Evil coming together in a normal school setting – creating the Isekai-verse.
Such collaboration can only happen to shows that has exploded in popularity. In fact, most of them are shounen series where they spice up some comedy in a serious and light-hearted story for the teen demographic (and older) to enjoy.
Now you’re probably wondering…
Which Series Could Potentially Crossover With Demon Slayer?
As you know, this show has a dark theme stuck to its name where it involves killing demons and displaying the gory parts fully uncensored (thank you Ufotable).
But here’s the thing… the purpose of having a crossover is to eliminate all the serious stuff – like how they do it in its episode previews “Tale of the Demon Slayer Academy”.
So which anime could collaborate with this dark and gruesome series?
That answer is definitely Pokémon.
Now I know what you’re thinking…
Will Tanjiro and the Demon Slayer Corp start hunting down Pocket Monsters?
Nani!!!? NO!
You see, what we’re trying to do is picture what it would be like when characters between these shows interact with one another, with all the seriousness completely discarded.
However, it would still be hinted without making it a priority, because just like demons, Pokémon’s are also regarded as monsters so there will be a bit of a misunderstanding in the first encounter.
Let’s dive into…
Their Interaction
When it comes to crossovers, there’s one thing that I’ve noticed MANY TIMES with its characters.
They all have something in common.
Let’s go back to the Big shounen crossover between Toriko, One Piece and Dragon ball Z.
What does Goku, Luffy, and Toriko have in common?
- They ‘re heroic
- Can eat in large portions
- Strive to be the strongest
- Wacky personality
- Enthusiastic about their goals
- Positive and friendly
But hold on…isn’t Demon Slayer and Pokémon pretty much night and day?
That would be yes and no.
Because it shouldn’t be taken too seriously when they’re together.
In fact, most of its content must be for comedic purposes where fans of both shows can relax, laugh and enjoy without thinking too much of its story.
And what we should look for are common things that are subtle.
Let’s take Tanjiro and Nezuko as an example…
You often see Tanjiro giving head pats to Nezuko as a way to either praise or comfort her, and you see this pattern in Pokémon where Pikachu was given head pats – which would mean Tanjiro’s friendly interaction would be giving Pikachu head pats, reminding him of the times he gave head pats to his sister.
Another pattern would be Zenitsu and Brocks crush on beautiful women – whenever they see one, you can bet that these two will have a man-to-man talk about it.
But the question now is… would Brock get pissed off when he sees Zenitsu’s attempt to flirt with Nurse Joy?
I’m not sure about Nezuko since she’s often hidden inside a box and rarely makes an appearance – unless Tanjiro gets himself into a dire situation, I guess she’d play as the supporting female character in the group like Misty and show affection towards some cute Pokémon.
Inosuke…. Simple.
Because of the way he looks with his boar headgear, he’d be mistaken as a talking Pokémon for comedic relief and would have something in common with team rockets Meowth, and involving himself in so many silly misunderstandings
I could only imagine that he’d either be used for battles (as a Pokémon) or joining up with team rocket – separating himself from Tanjiro’s group, and not knowing why.
The story
I may not be an author, but I can come up with one scenario on how these two worlds would come crossing each other, and having its own unique storyline.
It would be when Tanjiro and his group suddenly encounters one of the 12 Kizuki’s, and while all hope is lost due to the demon being overpowered, Pikachu appears out of nowhere striking the demon with a lethal Thunderbolt – scaring it away.
After that, Ash’s group comes out of hiding and introduces themselves, both parties will have a small chit chat about Pokémon and demons.
(And time travel since both series are from different eras)
Following up with team rocket making the typical “blasting off at the speed of light” motto grand entrance, and as always…. the goal to kidnap Pikachu.
But instead, they accidentally caught Inosuke thinking he was a Pokémon as well (because of his unnatural looking headgear).
And because of this incident, this story could be a 5-episode special miniseries about their journey to save inosuke – while facing obstacles battling evil Pokémon organizations who allied themselves with the 12 Kizuki’s, without any gore and killing involved of course.
Conclusion
Although this may sound exciting, we could only wish for an anime crossover like this to happen.
Will it ever come true? Who knows… maybe if there’s a huge demand for it.
And like I said, a crossover is not limited to only anime – it can be for things like merchandise and many more.
Is this a type of anime crossover you would like to see happening?