I have just completed the initial season of Demon Slayer (Kimetsu no Yaiba), and we have lots to talk about! In this review, I will share my opinions on the overall aesthetic to the emotional impact, characters, and pacing! I hope you enjoy it and I look forward to hearing what you think!
I will keep the review as hard spoiler-free as possible but it will include comments on the synopsis and characters. If you have already seen the first season of Demon Slayer (Kimetsu no Yaiba), let me know what you think in the comments or on social media!
Synopsis
(adapted from the synopsis from MAL)
Season 1 of Demon Slayer introduces us to Tanjiro Kamado, a young boy that lives with his mother and siblings in the mountains. Since his father’s passing, he has become the man of the house. Supporting his family has fallen to his shoulders, which he does by selling charcoal to the people living in nearby villages.
One day he sells as normal and begins his journey home during nighttime, but darkness forces him to take temporary shelter in the home of a stranger. The kind stranger warns him it isn’t safe to walk in the mountain at night due to demons that lurk!
Tanjiro returns home to the sight of his entire family, violently slaughtered – with his younger sister Nezuko being the only one to survive the attack. Unfortunately, his joy was short-lived, as she only survived by being turned into a demon herself.
The sight of his family sends Tanjiro into a rage, and he swears to avenge them. Feeling a sense of devotion, hope, and loneliness, he accepts Nezuko in her new form. After all, despite being a demon, she is now all he has left.
The tragedy motivates him to join a group of discreet individuals called the Demon Slayer Corps, and trains in the hopes he will become stronger and track down the demon that slaughtered his loved ones.
What were my thoughts on the synopsis?
The premise of the story doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it does pique my interest in that I am extremely curious to know what Tanjiro is up against, how strong he can become and if Nezuko will be okay.
You can take a look at the trailer for season 1 below…
Visual Impact of Demon Slayer
It’s no secret that Demon Slayer has some epic visuals, and makes use of vibrant colours and effects. The art style is particularly recognisable and I personally love the thick lineart that the animators use!
Ufotable uses a lot of 2D and 3D animation, which isn’t to everyone’s tastes but to be honest I think it gives the show character! The use of 3D gives the scenes a sense of scale and depth that has a really cool impact – especially during fights or when introducing a new environment.
Characters
Many different characters are introduced over the course of the season and each has a unique and recognisable design. The beginning mostly focuses on Tanjiro, but once you get through a few episodes, the world opens up vastly.
As Tanjiro passes the Final Selection under the guide of Urokodaki the former Water Hashira, he meets various others doing the same, along the way. You can catch a glimpse of the characters we met in the poster above!
I liked most of the characters, but I really struggled with Zenitsu for a while! I found him irritating and he took up way too much screentime crying and screaming, so if I had to choose he would be my least favourite.
My favourite characters are Inosuke and Nezuko! Inosuke provides AMAZING comedy and is genuinely such a cool, unique character with cool techniques. I like Nezuko because she shows great strength and willpower, and her visual design makes her cute and likeable.
The first season focuses on developing the main four, by introducing them to various demons along the way that tests their strength. Tanjiro pursues them as a member of the Demon Slayer Corps, but also in the name of getting closer to finding the demon who killed his family. I thought some of the demons looked cool and unique and others were mega creepy!
The main antagonist’s reputation is built up through flashbacks from the perspectives of the demons we meet. Tanjiro eventually meets this character, but we don’t get to experience his full force at the time – this is something I hope we get to see in the seasons to come!
There are many characters that you will meet in the first season, but to leave some mystery, I won’t comment more!
Pacing
Season 1 flew by quickly and there aren’t any moments where I thought it dragged on. Each arc served a purpose and it managed to fit a lot in without it feeling like lore-overload. The first season has 26 episodes and once you get past the long openings and endings, the episodes really fly past.
The way the first season ends is logical and flows well into the second (Mugen Train arc) – I was keen to keep going! I felt that the ranking systems, lore, and techniques are all explained well and the season ends with a good hook – so overall, I would agree it has good pacing!
Impact
Since Demon Slayer is a shounen, it’s full of action and adrenaline-pumping scenes and fights, but despite this, it definitely has its emotional moments! The main impact for me came from Tanjiro, as his character is very emotive. The first season starts with a life-changing event that dictates his story, we see his pain so viscerally that it’s hard to be unaffected.
Even throughout moments when I expected Tanjiro to be falling apart, he finds the most strength and compassion, even for his enemies. The writing even managed to make me feel a little bit sorry for the demons through his actions. Yet, his sensitivity and confidence to show his feelings really struck me and made it more impactful. It was these qualities that helped me to appreciate demon slayer that little bit more!
Soundtracks
Let’s be honest, even if you have never watched Demon Slayer you probably still know the soundtrack since the opening is so iconic!
Mega talented singer, LiSA performs the opening song “Gurenge” for Demon Slayer. You can listen to the song and watch the opening animation for it below…
LiSA also sings on the ending song as a collaboration with FictionJunction, you can listen to it alongside watching the ending animation here…
Which is your favourite? Let me know in the comments!
Summary
Overall, I would recommend Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba to most anime fans!
It is very light on power systems in comparison to other shounen such as Jujutsu Kaisen – which makes it really easy to understand. There are some details around sword techniques and demon slayer rankings – but nothing too hard to grasp. The characters are very visually interesting and have a diverse range of personalities which I think will appeal to a wide audience.
As for the story, it doesn’t linger too long on one arc which helps to keep you engaged, but I do wonder if this might feel rushed?
If you typically enjoy shows that are more complex and technical, I think there could be an angle where Demon Slayer might feel simple or cliché due to its use of tropes. Then again, I think that made it good for binge-watching – so it really depends on the mood you’re in!
Overall, it was a good watch, had good characters with diverse skills, and had many interesting enemies. I recommend Demon Slayer if you enjoy combat, big effects, and friendship building. It isn’t the best shounen I have seen, but it holds its own with cool visuals and character uniqueness!
What did you think? Let me know in the comments below!
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The Anime Tourist (Courtney)
I really liked Demon Slayer! Glad to see someone who agrees!
Yay! I’m really glad you enjoyed it too!!