So, my sister and I were on board the Naruto train pretty quickly. After that, we found out there was a whole culture, fandom, and nation surrounding the world of Anime and that many who were fans of Naruto rallied behind other shows. We started browsing and Demon Slayer came up. We’ve both finished the first season quickly but haven’t been able to see the film. For a show that came out in 2019 Demon Slayer has taken the anime world by storm. Merchandise is everywhere, it’s on Netflix’s top 10 list, and the Demon Slayer Mugen Train film went to theaters costing roughly 15 million to make, but grossing over 500 million profit. So naturally you ask, is the show worthy of the recognition?

In my humble opinion, thus far, yes it is.

The storyline:

Tanjiro Kamado is a normal boy who belongs to a family in the mountains that sells coal. His entire family is slaughtered by a demon with the exception of his younger sister, Nezuko. Tanjiro finds Nezuko bleeding out and carries her on his back to find a doctor, only to discover she was infected by demon blood and now has become one of them. Tanjiro is determined not to end his sister’s life even though she’s a demon now and attacks him as soon as she awakes. The two of them are confronted by Giyu Tamioka–a professional Demon slayer–he tries to kill Nezuko and Tanjiro refuses to let him. Upon seeing her brother in peril, Nezuko’s emotions return to her and she rushes to her brother’s aid stopping Giyu. When Giyu sees Nezuko has retained some of her human emotions and attachments he agrees to let her live, but insists that Tanjiro seek a teacher who can train him to kill demons. Giyu tells him the only way Tanjiro ever has a hope of curing his little sister is if he can get the blood of the demon who turned her and killed his family. So, Tanjiro takes his little sister with him to find a teacher and becomes a Demon slayer. Thus begins the adventure of the whole first season. This all happens in the first episode and it is emotionally compelling because our main character loses everything except his one sibling in a horrible event. Many heroes begin a story with tragedy so what makes this one so different?

Tanjiro Kamado:

Tanjiro has to be one of the most humble, selfless, heroic characters anime has ever created. I’ll hear arguments for others, but it’s tough to think of any in my mind. 

• Tanjiro loses his entire family but it doesn't turn him into a brooding, angry resentful character. Instead, the loss makes Tanjiro only more caring and considerate to his remaining sibling. He treasures Nezuko more because she’s all he has left. 

• Tanjiro almost never mourns or cries at the loss of his family, because you get the impression he knows Nezuko is suffering enough being stuck as a demon who has to hide from sunlight, he always tries to keep in good spirits when traveling with her. 

• Tanjiro despises the fact that he has to kill so many demons (who used to be human beings just like his sister), but he does it because it has to be done. The demons in this show are inhuman monsters once turned (Nezuko seems to be the only exception), so he trains to fight and kill them. Tanjiro is kind to everyone he meets, caring, even when it goes beyond the bounds of human patience (like when he deals with Inosuke and Zenitsu). Also nothing comes easily to him. Nothing is less likable than a character who never has to struggle or suffer to acquire skill. Tanjiro trains for 2 years to kill demons and even so, every one he encounters is a challenge and a life or death battle. His sole goal, which he embraces happily without ever a single complaint–is living to cure his little sister and ensure she has a happy life. He never wants anything for himself or thinks about his own personal happiness. 

The Bond between brother and sister:

Most viewers' hearts were won over when Tanjiro fit his little sister into a box and carried her around to protect her from the sunlight. To be fair, Nezuko is one of the most adorable things anime has ever created. I would make an argument for baby Gaara from Naruto but let’s face it, Nezuko’s a doll.

•  Not only is Tanjiro’s love and care for his sister one of the most compelling points of the show, but Nezuko’s protective love for her brother is endearing also. Tanjiro being in mortal danger seems to be the only thing which wakes Nezuko out of her box or back to her senses when she’s lost in demon state. 

• It’s rare to watch a show where the entire premise is two siblings looking out for each other and fighting evil together. But the hook is effective because we know the two siblings don’t have anyone else in the world so their bond is strong. But even if their whole family had been killed, worse characters wouldn't respond the same way. 

• The viewer gets the impression that Tanjiro must have always been a loving brother because of how fiercely and quickly he’s willing to give up his life and safety to protect her.

•  We know Nezuko must have always been close with him because they seem terribly close now even though she’s a demon. 

This is crucial in a decent anime: we must deeply care for the main characters and their journeys. If we don’t, it’s going to make following them laborious. But with these two, the viewer is desperately hoping they find some closure and happiness in this show.

The plot moves beat after beat with no breaks:

This show moves like a combination of Naruto and 24. In other words, one fight can take 3 episodes–but the sequence will roll into the next one within the time it takes for blood to hit the floor. 

• If a kill blow is dealt the episode cuts and in the next we’ll see if it was effective. The show typically doesn't waste time on things that don’t matter, except for the sake of comedy and in that case I can’t argue too much. The show gets so dark at parts that the light hearted moments are appreciated.

• The show moves forward with a single plot thread but draws it out dealing with all the outliers and possible outcomes.

•  Tanjiro wants to cure his sister, but this means he has to kill demons. Giyu lets Nezuko live but he’s part of a Demon slayer core that hasn't condoned that action, it was his own and later in the show we see the consequences he may have to pay for it. Tanjiro traveling with a demon isn't accepted by the rest of the core and he has to face the consequences of that. No thread is left hanging and all of it does tie together in the final of the season though we aren’t given complete closure. 

My only criticisms of the first season:

The show does many things well, but like all shows that do there has to be weak points somewhere. The weakest point in this show is simply found in two things so far:

• The gore. I never mind watching evil wicked people or creatures meet their end in horrible ways, but this show just seems to enjoy drawing gratuitous violence in any way it can. The blood is excessive, the deaths of humans and demons have to be brutal to the point where limbs are flying off and heads are exploding. I look away, but then I pose the question–why show it if it could turn the viewer off and make them want to turn away? A show can be classy with the violence and scare the viewer without showing everything. One of the biggest slaughters in anime history was the killing of the entire Uchiha clan in Naruto and we still never see all of it. The violence is done in black and red shadows, flashes, and figures to be more disturbing because it leaves the rest to the imagination.

• The unnecessary time in the lives of the demons. This only happened with a couple characters but because it was significant enough for my sister and I to skip nearly two episodes, I have to mention it. Animators are busy people and in a show with only twenty something episodes every one counts. Why they’d want to show us the disturbing life of one of the demons Tanjiro kills (which doesn't make the demon sympathetic only more twisted) I don’t know. 

It seems sometimes like the writers do things for the sake of being disturbing or a shock factor, and I think that can be tasteless. 

Still, on a whole, the show has a compelling plot, loveable characters and is paced better than many live action shows which I could just as soon sleep through. Demon slayer doesn't let up when it comes to tension, action and emotional investment which I think are definite qualities of a grade A anime. 

-Jubilee