I originally got into the series through the first season of the anime. While nothing amazing, I did have a fun time watching it and tried to hold off on reading the manga and wait for the movie of the next arc to come out. After being spoiled on major story events and character deaths, along with being curious as to why people were so upset with the series' final arc, I decided to read on from where the anime left off.


Story: It has a relatively simple premise. Tanjiro Kamado's family gets slaughtered, save for his sister, who is instead turned into a demon. Tanjiro's main goal in the series isn't revenge against the main antagonist or becoming the strongest demon slayer in all of Japan, it's simply to turn his sister back into a human again. While it's not as generic as other battle shonen, it also doesn't do anything special with its premise. It does suffer from several deus ex machinas, questionable power-ups, and a very rushed final arc.


Art: There's not too much to say about the art. It's nice to look at, but it's nothing out of the ordinary and at times it is very difficult to keep up with the action.

Characters: The cast of characters are fun and likable for the most port, but not particularly
well-written. Tanjiro is a static character, meaning that he doesn't go through much character development in the series. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but sadly the other characters don't really make up for this. Nezuko is hardly a character and more of a plot device, existing solely to motivate Tanjiro. Zenitsu and Inonosuke are relegated to comic-relief 90% of the time and aren;t given much characterization. Zenitsu only had about two serious moments I can remember off the top of my head in which he behaved like an actual character instead of a goofball.

The Hashira are severely underdeveloped, with the exceptions being the flame, butterfly, and water pillars. The main antagonist Muzan ended up being a complete disappointment that failed to live up to the hype. He lacks the somewhat understandable motivations that many of his underlings have and as such, ended up being far less interesting.


Enjoyment: Despite my problems I had with it, it's still an enjoyable read. The characters are likable, many of the fights are creative with the different abilities to various demons have, the pacing is quick enough to keep the reader engaged, and it's a relatively short manga.

Overall: I feel that this manga would've turned out better had the anime come out a few years earlier. Considering how the manga was already in its final arc by the time it rolled around, I think that Gotouge would've seen the success of the anime's first season and stretched it out just a little bit further to give a more satisfying ending. Despite all of its issues, it was a solid read. Likable characters, creative fight scenes, and a pacing that never made the series feel stale.