Review:
By: Ezra Crittenden
Tags: 2020, Series, Demonslayerkimetsunoyaiba, Review, Anime

It’s worth noting before we dive in that I watched this series in two halves, binging the first 12 episodes one day, and watching almost the rest of them the next (me and my GF technically watched it in 3 as the last two episodes were left for an extra day due to eyes being sore), I also knew NOTHING going in and I have no doubt that this more than improved my taking in of this story. This series is nothing if not cinematic, it’s big, and I strongly recommend anyone who hasn’t seen it watch it that way.

Night is approaching in a small family run farm planted in the snowy mountains of Taisho Era Japan, when Tanjiro, the oldest brother is returning home from a day of running errands for himself and anyone else who asks but is offered shelter along the way by his grandfather, who insists, warning that Demons haunt these woods at night. Morning approaches when Tanjiro makes his way back up the mountain to the scent of blood, which Tanjiro can wiff from a mile away with his curious gift of scent. He’s immediately greeted with the bloodied corpses of his entire family, ripped to shreds unapologetically by a Demon that’s since retreated back into the woods. All are left dead but his younger sister, Nezuko, whose blood is still warm but has been infected by that of a Demon.

With a brief encounter with a highly skilled Katana Wielding hunter known as a Demon Slayer, of the secret society known as the Demon Slayer Corps, Tanjiro sets out on a sword guided journey to turn his sister back into a human so that he may never be separated from the last breathing member of his immediate family, even in death.

Demon Slayer stars Natsuki Hanae and Akari Kito and is Directed by Haruo Sotozaki brought to us by the studio Ufotable, whose animation team refrains from holding back in an impressively animated Odyssey that’s chalk full of just about everything one would ask for in a lone samurai redemption tale that revolves around slaying Demons by warriors who literally have the words ‘Kill’ or ‘Destroy’ embroidered on the backs of their garbs - YES.

Let’s talk about what makes a good character; a good character is someone you care about as if they are real, the writer and animation team, or Director, pare up to deliver a story that you can in some way find a connection to that creates an intimate relationship between you and the characters you’re watching on screen and this in turn helps us add our own little flavour into the mix, being personally invested in needing these characters to see their journey through.

This is done mainly by accomplishing one simple task; Taking Your Time. That’s exactly what Kimetsu no Yaiba does; the series doesn’t skip a beat in setting you up for this journey. You get to see Tanjiro in his worst moments, through every step of his training, to learning how to master his sword, to better utilizing his breathing. You also get to see Nezuko’s journey in chaining the beast that makes up 50% of her being and using it to help her brother who shares the same goal as her. You’re asked at the start of this series to take on a piece of the literal and figurative weight that Tanjiro carries on his back, cutting off heads in glorious fashion with his half Demon sister sleeping in a lightweight wooden box that’s strapped to his back.

And at no point while watching are we told that these characters are invincible either, as many Demons Tanjiro is forced to confront, every one of them feels like it could be his last. The animation team even goes so far as to make his hands become increasingly welted and cut as the series progresses, characters are required time to heal, to eat and sleep, and Tanjiro gets almost no time to do any but still must push forward. Nothing is tacked on to Tanjiro that makes him immortal or a super power of any sort; at the age of 13, he has his heart set on one clear goal; to turn his sister back into a human. It’s the straightforward pursuit and the hearts of these characters that make them worth sticking around for.

And we’re rewarded for this level of Dedication, tenfold.

Which brings me to the violence, arguably the last nail in the coffin that seals this series' fate in earning it the Best Anime of the Year Award in 2019. Yes, you get to actually see some Demon Slaying. You get to see heads ripped off, big Demon arms piercing through mouths and crushing skulls like melons. You get to see blood spraying cartoonishly out of severed limbs and pooling onto the soil.

Combat moves that conjure truly breathtaking animation that references that Great Wave painting, water Dragons, fire tornadoes, butterflies turning victims into vascular purple corpses, the animation team is aware of the gravity of the situation in a story that never stops moving forward and matches, if not exceeds that momentum to create a truly riveting viewing experience that makes you yell ‘Fuck Yea!’ at the screen every other episode.

It’s that combination of proper Character Design, a Compelling Narrative and Stylistic Animation that’s a comforting message to the viewer that you’re in good hands from the get-go.

There are no filler episodes in this series, even an episode that consists of Characters trying to get a good night's sleep feels like a well needed rest after a cavalcade of intense and heart wrenching moments.

Even when it comes to the series’s most annoying Character, Zenitsu, who basically just screams at the top of his lungs for the entire second act, there’s still an underlying message of redemption that’s seeded into his back story that the viewer, sometimes frustratingly, pines for and hopes will one day get to see.

Another supporting Character who’s brought in around the same time as Zenitsu is Inosuke, my Halloween Costume for next year; a dual serrated Katana Wielding Jacked Warrior Sporting a Boar's head who's obsessed with matching their strength against others. And while Inosuke’s flaws are quickly put to the test to make way for their true underlying potential, whatever secret flame Zenitsu has in store, though truly impressive, is left teased at best. Still, the frustration that this character brings to the screen is in no way getting in the way of our viewing experience, as the true heart of Demon Slayer starts and ends with Tajiro’s bond with Nezuko.

The series’ climax, accompanied by 7 consecutive episodes that act as a refreshing prologue that sets us up for what’s to come, gave me the kind of euphoric, visceral and awe inspiring jitters I haven’t felt since watching Once Upon a Time in Hollywood for the first time in theatres. I’m talking tears in your eyes, overwhelming satisfaction that made both me and my girlfriend go ‘Holy Shit’ as the credits rolled. And I left the last episode with a true sense of anticipation for the Feature Film that’s to come that I will be watching on the biggest screen I can find.

By Ezra Crittenden