A Review of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba
(Contains Spoilers)
By Vidhi Gupta
A new-gen anime and a supposed part of the new Big Three (along with My Hero Academia and Jujutsu Kaisen), Demon Slayer has gained immense popularity among readers in recent years. Yet, I must admit that the recent season of Demon Slayer was beyond disappointing. Written by Koyoharu Gotouge, the manga started in 2016 and ended in 2020, with only one anime season out at the time. The animation style of the show took the audience by storm post episode 18 and I really enjoyed watching Tanjiro using water breathing. The way the story of Demon Slayer unfolded, made it very clear that it would be taking a typical Shounen trajectory, however, even with that predictably, I found myself enjoying the show more and more.
Plot
Demon Slayer follows the journey of Kamado Tanjiro and his unique sister Nezuko, as they go about finding a demon called Kibutsuji Muzan to turn Nezuko back into a human. Tanjiro discovers his family slaughtered one morning after he returns from selling charcoal, along with the only surviving member, Nezuko who has been turned into a demon. Thrust into the world of demons and the ensuing evil, Tanjiro trains to become a demon slayer, while Nezuko trains to control her demonic desire for human flesh. Tanjiro also meets Zenitsu and Inosuke, two other demon slayers with dynamic and somewhat irritating personalities. After discovering that Tanjiro is a demon slayer with his demonic sister Nezuko, Tanjiro gets summoned and saved by the Hashira (the highest ranking members of the demon slayer corps) to serve him punishment as well as Tomioka Giyu (the Hashira who saved and supported Tanjiro).
From here on, it becomes very apparent that Tanjiro, Nezuko, Zenitsu, and Inosuke would travel and fight with each of the Hashiras individually, and my favourite fight was the one on Mugen Train. Rengoku Kyoujuro, the Flame Hashira, boarded the Mugen Train along with Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke. After defeating the Lower Moon demon of Muzan, the Upper Third Moon, Akaza arrives, changing the atmosphere and the tone of the movie completely. The movie/season ended with Rengoku dying while saving Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke and Akaza fleeing. The fight sequence, the music, the animation, and Rengoku, all by himself, made the movie a very entertaining experience for me. As someone who had not read the manga and entered the anime blind, the revelation at the end left me quite emotional (read as I cried my eyes out).
After the Mugen Train, it was difficult for me to believe that anything further could trump it. However, the entertainment district arc did not disappoint. The Upper Six Demon was no doubt very irritating, considering how difficult it was for Uzui, Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Zenitsu to kill them. However, the parallel between the sibling bond, and how Tanjiro views his relationship with Nezuko through Daki and her brother is very interesting. It is no secret that if Tanjiro’s teacher had not taken him in, his and Nezuko’s fate would not have been very different from Daki’s and her brother’s. Talking about the season finale, watching it weekly was very painful, especially when the entire entertainment district blew up. Finales like these made the show very thrilling and exciting, however, I must admit, considering how much stronger Rengoku was than Tengen, it was surprising that Tengen survived the fight with the Upper Six Moon. The focus on Nezuko and her subtle developments, leading to her bigger outburst, made Demon Slayer a different anime for me. Shounen anime have long been known for their lack of attention on female characters, with all the focus being on the male characters and their development.
Finally, coming to the latest season, it would not be surprising to say that this season disappointed most people. Personally, I did not enjoy watching giant fish demons trying to kill the swordsmiths. After seeing the struggle that the Hashira and the trio had with Upper Moon demons, the fact that Muichiro took down the Upper Five Moon demon all by himself was severely understated. He left the battle not only victorious but alive and with all limbs intact. One could argue that since he’s a hashira, it should be expected of him, but it should also be noted that both Rengoku and Tenegn are stronger than Muichiro, yet suffered severely. On the other hand the concept of the Love Hashira seemed so out of place for a grim story like Demon Slayer. All in all, I was very disappointed with the season and more so, the season finale. An unnecessary 1.5 hour long episode, with absolutely no development and only a very frustrated Micheal Jackson. The only redeeming factor of the season was seeing Haganezuka’s face. Call me shallow, but his determination and single-minded focus on sharpening that one blade was amazing.
Music and Characters
The opening of season 1 was insanely famous and I loved it. As a person who skips all OPs, “Geurenge” by Lisa was very enjoyable and the aesthetic of the OP matched the theme of the show perfectly. Sadly the other openings did not elicit a similar response for me and I have yet to find another opening as good as Lisa’s.
For a show considered as dark as Demon Slayer, having comedic relief is very important. Jujutsu Kaisen takes a similar approach, however, the proportion of comedy in both the shows is very skewed. Demon Slayer has too many comedic moments making the show more meme worthy than dark or grim. On the other hand, no matter how many small comedic moments one puts in Jujutsu Kaisen, the show is way too dark and disturbing.
In conclusion, while Demon Slayer was an anime I thoroughly enjoyed, after the latest season I cannot say the same. The plot of the season focused too much on Tanjiro and Nezuko and belittled so many strong and important characters. I would still keep hope for the Infinity Castle Arc, however, it is becoming difficult to do so. I would rate the show 6/10, for the reason that once upon a time, it used to be my favorite.
