Are We Really Getting an Anime for Daemons of the Shadow Realm with Little Source Material?

Senior Journalist -

I’m surprised they are coming out with an anime adaptation so soon, considering that Hiromu Arakawa, the creator, is a monthly mangaka. Daemons of the Shadow Realm only has 46 chapters as of October 2025.

Clips from the first trailer Daemons of the Shadow Realm

It took four years for Hiromu Arakawa to reach chapter 46. Unlike weekly series in Weekly Shonen Jump, which can publish 50 to 52 chapters a year and quickly build up source material, Daemons of the Shadow Realm only gets about 12 chapters a year because it is a monthly series.

For a standard one‑cour TV season (about 12–13 episodes), producers often prefer to have roughly four to five tankōbon volumes available, which usually means around 40–50 average-length chapters. This gives the staff enough story to adapt at roughly two to three chapters per 24‑minute episode without immediately catching up to the manga. The latest chapter of the manga came out in October 2025, and even though it is a monthly series, its publication schedule can be irregular.

Since traditional filler arcs are mostly a thing of the past, we are unlikely to get two different versions of the anime like we did with Arakawa’s previous series, Fullmetal Alchemist. Instead, we may have to wait several years between the first, second, and third seasons of the anime adaptation. The trailer is awesome, but I think they should have waited another two years. Be prepared for several hiatuses in this series.

Trailer 1 of Daemons of the Shadow Realm

Daemons of the Shadow Realm is about twin siblings, Yuru and Asa, who are destined to rule powerful supernatural entities called Daemons. Separated as children, they must find each other, reclaim their birthright, and unite to save the world from an ancient war. The story unfolds in a dark fantasy world where certain humans command Daemons, which are supernatural duos with unique abilities. 

The Daemons of the Shadow Realm manga has been running since December 2021, making its original run about four years by December 2025. As of late 2025, there are 11 volumes with 47 or more chapters.