The Internet Is Losing It Over KFC Japan's Cosplaying Colonel Sanders

KFC is always KFC, but that doesn't mean the fried chicken franchise is always the exact KFC you'd expect. Sure, the herbs and spices and delicious chicken are always present and accounted for, but as many who have visited one of the franchise's locations abroad have discovered to their surprise that KFC can be completely different in other countries. The company is totally cool with fine-tuning their international menu and marketing with local twists and turns, and its willingness to go nuts with the beloved company mascot Colonel Sanders offers its own extra advantage for local customization. 

Rarely is this strategy as effective as in Japan, where the company's clever marketing has turned KFC into a traditional Christmas meal, with Colonel Sanders essentially playing the role of Santa Claus. However, it turns out that's not all the mascot is playing in the country. In fact, the internet has recently been losing it over KFC Japan's cosplaying Colonel Sanders. 

According to Yahoo! News, Japan's KFC is enjoying a bit of viral fame because of a very particular Colonel Sanders statue at Kuki Station in Saitama. Images of the statue were posted on Twitter, and people have been delighted to see the good Colonel dressed as Tanjiro Kamado from Demon Slayer. What's more, this is just one of the Japanese Colonel's forays into cosplaying. Per Sora News 24, several Japanese KFC locations celebrated Children's Day in May 2020 by decking out their Sanders statues in variations of cool samurai armor, and as Smithsonian Magazine notes, the statues do tend to get a bit of a Santa makeover for the holidays.   

While it may be strange to see Colonel Sanders hanging around with a katana in his belt, Demon Slayer is a pretty natural cosplay choice for the mascot of a company that rules Christmas in the country. It's an extremely popular fantasy action anime series that's been making massive waves in Japan, to the point that Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train recently beat Hayao Miyazaki's legendary Spirited Away as the fastest film to earn 10 billion yen in Japan. Oh, and there's actually a fun, educational point to the whole thing: The colorful text panels behind the figure display a modified quote from the show: "Defeat yourself and slash/kill corona."