“Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba” wastes no time with its story and so, in that spirit, neither will I. Onwards towards the Taisho era!
Cover by Koyoharu GotougeWritten and Illustrated by Koyoharu Gotouge
Translated by John Werry
Adaptation into English by Stan!
Lettered by John HuntLearning to destroy demons won’t be easy, and Tanjiro barely knows where to start. The surprise appearance of another boy named Giyu, who seems to know what’s going on, might provide some answers — but only if Tanjiro can stop Giyu from killing his sister first!
If you’re here as a newcomer to the series, welcome! You’re just like me. Feel free to read ahead or read along with me. If you’re a big fan, a medium fan, a small fan, or someone who doesn’t really care but wants to read my many words, welcome to you too! I have a lot to say so let’s jump in! Oh, and Spoilers ahead. For those who’ve read ahead, please keep the discussion in the comments to these two volumes only.
To say “Demon Slayer” took the world by storm in 2020 would be an understatement of epic proportions. The entire series, sans the as-then-unreleased final volume, topped the Japanese Oricon charts by volumes sold in 2020. Yeah. You heard me right. All 22 volumes occupied the top 22 spots, defeating ONE PIECE, the unrivaled modern Shonen king. Just look at this write up and marvel. Hell, technically “Demon Slayer” occupied 24 spots thanks to the two special editions of vol 20 & 21. It currently sits at #9 on a list of best-selling manga, at 150 million volumes in circulation, the only manga series in the top ten with under 25 volumes – “Black Jack” by Osamu Tezuka at #6 has 25 – and the movie has shattered records as well, both domestically in Japan and world-wide. That’s ludicrous.
This monumental achievement has many reasons behind it, I’m sure, but the one which concerns me most here is the refrain I hear most often: “Demon Slayer” is Shonen battle manga perfected. Having read the first two volumes, I have a better appreciation for what this statement means. “Demon Slayer” is far from perfect, and I’ll get into why, at least at this stage. Instead what is the case, and likely what people mean, is that “Demon Slayer” is Shonen battle manga honed to a razor-sharp edge and streamlined to perfection. It is Shonen battle manga distilled.
Right from the get-go, Gotouge shows they know exactly how the genre works. Rather than using that knowledge to subvert or reinvent the genre though, in the ways that “Hunter x Hunter” has or “Jujutsu Kaisen” is, “Demon Slayer” simply trims the fat and gets right to the meat of the story. Now the pilot chapter, ‘Cruelty,’ doesn’t demonstrate this trimming much, as it has to pull double duty as both a self-contained story AND an opener to a longer one. It does an admirable job though, hitting all the right beats for a tragic opener while laying the groundwork for more should it get picked up. Sometimes these first chapters are, to put it mildly, disastrous, even if the rest of the series is excellent – looking at you “Noragami” – so that’s a major point in “Demon Slayer’s” favor.
The simple story – boy’s family is murdered, sister is seemingly the only survivor but is actually a demon but TWIST will do anything to protecc the boy, boy has aptitude for having this world’s protagonist powers – also means it’s easy to jump in and the setting – rural Taisho era Japan – makes it feel like a familiar fairy-tale, lowering the barrier to entry. No huge lore-dumps are needed. No stage setting necessary for an unfamiliar world. Just some snow, some demons, and a human need to see one’s family safe.
Gotouge’s art is well paced and clear, though it is not as confident as it will get in future chapters. Their slightly smeared outlines and rougher inking makes the comic feel more grim and rustic, which is both a positive and a negative for the tone of the series. The characters are uneven across panels, and a lot of Tanjiro’s (disposable) family looks so similar, I had to do a double take on, like, the sixth page because I mixed up Tanjiro’s brother and him and then also wasn’t sure if the next panel was Nezuko or Tanjiro’s mom. This gets better as we go, even as the cast expands, partially because of a reliance on masks, partially because I think Gotouge isn’t trying to evoke familial likenesses, and partially because Gotouge simply improves rather quickly, though it still has its rough patches. I suspect Gotouge learned how to better fit their style to the breakneck pace of a weekly manga but whether it was that, practice, or some combination of the two, it’s wonderful to see Gotouge’s art polish and improve over such a short time.
Continued belowAnd what a short time it is.
16 chapters translates to about four months of serialization, give or take, and in that short amount of time we went from tragic backstory & declaration of intent – I will cure my sister and I will destroy anyone who tries to harm her – to finding a master in one/two chapters to a 3 chapter training arc that covers 3 years or so to him graduating with the master to go to the next big arc, the entrance exams arc, to finishing THAT and taking out a 47 year old majorly powerful demon who just kinda missed the entire Meiji period (whoops,) to going on his first real mission as an official Demon Slayer. The entirety of this first mission is almost as long as the entire lead-up. For contrast, the Chunin Exams in “Naruto” lasted from chapters 34 – 115, spanning ten volumes and 81 chapters.
This is what I mean by “Demon Slayer” being Shonen battle manga distilled. This nose-to-the-grindstone style storytelling is excellent for its economy of plot and action but it can feel quite breakneck at times. I think we could’ve used one or two more chapters, or a couple more scenes, here and there to get a better grasp on these characters outside of their archetypes, and I certainly could’ve used some more time to slow down and process everything that’s happened with a conversation between Tanjiro & Nezuko, however one sided it might be at this time.
That said, this desire runs counter to the purpose of these two volumes. The focus thus far in volumes one and two has been on getting us into the real meat of the story, to a point where Tanjiro is already capable and he and Nezuko can start growing beyond the singular desire formed in that opening chapter. Gotouge knows we’ve all seen the “hero must become strong to accomplish their goal” journey over and over and over again in the pages of Jump and understands that, while it is integral to show this journey so as not to cheat the audience out of watching a character grow into the role, you don’t have to dramatize the whole thing, just the key moments. While that means some of those moments end up having a reduced impact, like the destruction of the giant boulder or the death of the mountain demon, the trade-off is well worth it. A lesser creator might have made these concessions feel cheap and rushed but under the pen of Koyoharu Gotouge (and, presumably, their assistants,) we instead get a more focused, more engaging manga.
Thank you for joining me as I take a 12 week journey through Tanjiro & Nezuko’s Excellent Adventure. I know I didn’t talk much about the world building, what makes Tanjiro a compelling protagonist, the comedy, or extolled the virtues of Nezuko kicking things over, but don’t worry, there are plenty more weeks for that. Let me know what your favorite panels in these first two volumes were in the comments!
Next week, join me for a trip through volumes 3 & 4, the reason that dodgeball is no longer allowed in high schools and hopefully, if the cover is to be believed, more of my favorite nervous boi, sparrow kid.
