Without a doubt one of the most famous "new gen" manga in the acclaimed Shonen Jump, a shonen that the last year dethroned one Piece for a few moments with the title of best selled manga... well then, how good is the manga?

The story centers on Tanjiro, a normal young man who, going out to find firewood, he notices that there is a great snowfall, so he decides to return home the next day, the surprise is that when tanjiro returns home his whole family is dead except for her sister (Nezuko) who was turned into a demon, there she will begin her journey to try to make her human again.


The story is very simple, something expected for a shonen, but what if we analyze the bases of the story is something that can really branch into an interesting story.
But here is a problem, one that will mark the manga throughout its development, the approach of ideas is quite competent, despite the fact that in the early stages of the plot the narration is quite regular (or sometimes directly bad) the problem is the pacing of the manga

The beginning of the story feels very rushed, just seeing how the events are triggered at the beginning one realizes Tanjiro's rapid reaction, something that misleads a lot, let's take something into account, the scenario was worked throughout the first chapter, the character was characterized in a way in which one would notice his feelings and his lifestyle, so when the real important moment arrives is that precise moment which feels more empty and rushed, a start that he wanted seems shocking he succeeded , but he did not cope with it in a very remarkable way, the only moment in which we see a human reaction from is when Tanjiro starts crying in the moment he sees that Nezuko attacks him.

Not only that, Tanjiro and Giyuu's thoughts quite ruin the moment, when Tanjiro throws his ax at him and Giyuu dodges it, they put us in the mind of Giyuu who literally repeats the same situation in his head, thus serving as a lousy narration and A shameless way of explaining a situation that was explained alone and without the intervention of a narrator or someone else's voice, which in itself makes the manga redundant, is only when that shot ends that the manga really puts us in Giyuu's perspective. Yes, I am being tough and specific, I know, but I do this precisely to denote how at the beginning (emphasis on what it is at the beginning) the mangaka does not know how to combine the narration with the thoughts of the characters, creating bland moments like the one I just mentioned, that's something that will get better, but that mediocre narration will continue until the Rengoku saga (or the infinite train).

That would conclude with the analysis of the introduction of the manga. As this is my first review of a "long" shonen manga, I would like to delve into the sagas, but first I want to cover everything else.

The characters and designs In Kimetsu are something to emphasize, not only the designs are characteristic, the characters themselves as well.
Of the secondary characters the ones that stand out the most are Inosuke and Zenitsu. Zenitsu can easily be considered a deus ex machina at the beginning of the manga, his lightning strike literally one shot's his first 2 enemies, thus taking away much of the weight off the fighting, but outside of that Zenitsu is competent, in fact he fulfills his role, the demon hunters are presented as bold people, the elite in terms of human capacity, but quickly Zenitsu breaks that scheme and idea, he is a character created to contrast the protagonists who appear not to be afraid, his design helps a lot in that since Zenitsu by far seems the least formidable and has a characteristic color that will generate more personality to her design.

The development of Zenitsu is presented very little by little, he really evolves very little outside the final arc, when he saves Nezuko multiple times is an example of that, his characterization makes his eagerness to protect Nezuko his greatest interventions and pinch of evolution of the character, in the early his dialogue is really not ingenious, his characteristic dialogue is simply when he says to Tanjiro "I protected the box because you said that it was something more important than your own life", something that hints at Zenitsu's desire to protect people, so it is a feature that we get pretty quickly in the manga, but its peak moment is, without a doubt, its combat against Kaigaku (upper moon 6 of replacement just in case), that combat is the end of everything worked in Zenitsu, not only the approach and concept of the combat is incredible, the execution is also incredible, we observed near the beginning of the manga his flash backs, which showed his relationship with his master, but in his fight against Kaigaku we see the true facets of Zenitsu, his reaction to seeing his old partner turned demon is natural, it was the only time we saw Zenitsu angry only to later see him sad when he realized the loss of his " family ", his dialogue in that fight is phenomenal, we really empathized with Zenitsu when he saw how dissapointed he was, the feeling was very well expressed and his final metaphor about the box of happiness gives him an extra touch, Zenitsu is not afraid of the fight he really want to face her enemy for the first time, a decision that is implicitly explained very well.
Now and the interesting thing ... was that Zenitsu pose an ass pull or something? I would answer no, let's remember that the biggest Zenitsu workouts before the final saga were focused on the legs (the rock exercise) and that also, his attack in itself is very similar to Tanjiro's, so he had a source of inspiration, they also put an exclusive panel to show how Zenitsu adjusts his foot to make a new attack, from that moment it is clear that Zenitsu has a new attack, but if it were not, let's suppose what an ass pull is then ... is that really bad if we compare it to all the good that scene did?
Yes, his analysis was long, but he deserved it, the only counter to Zenitsu is that his comic relief does not help much, sometimes he manages to laugh, but mostly he does not, his serious moments are the best and he is possibly the best character developed from the manga and I wanted to explain why.

Now I will cover Inosuke and Kanao, who have a very similar evolution, since both characters are recognizable for hiding their emotions, this works more with Kanao, let's take into account the impact that their relationship with Tanjiro had when they trained, a natural relationship and what reflected how both characters would take a course throughout the manga, Kanao changed, yes, she changed a lot and that's why we see how she shows her emotions in her combat against Douma is spectacular, we see how Kanao shows anger against the murderer of her teacher (which gives the final step to the relationship between Kanao and Shinobu), Kanao's dialogue is very shocking and that is written like this to generate a contrast between the old Kanao and the current one (his most characteristic dialogue is when he asks Douma why he was born) his final scene with Shinobu and Kanae also shows the appreciation that he came to develop in people, Although this is evident from before, at the moment that Tanjiro recovers after his combat against the upper moon 6, so this last scene is not artificial, since it is an expected reaction if we take into account the precise dialogue he had with Tanjiro. before.
The bad thing is that his combat was decided with an ass pull, at first almost Kanao looks like a Mary Sue, but that is fixed when we see Kanao humanized, he is a worked character, but it does not reach the Zenitsu caliber in my opinion.

Very similar happens with Inosuke, his fight against Douma is what drives his evolution, his mother's discovery gives us to understand 2 things, the first is that Inosuke saw Shinobu as a mother figure, which subtly explains their relationship and his understanding of things, Douma's relationship with Inosuke's mother is far-fetched, the concept is wrong and the approach does not help either, because it is very sudden and at that moment it seemed that the mangaka wanted each demon to have a relationship with one of the characters, the execution is regular, apart from the fact that it explains to us why Inosuke's mother left him that also generates a real feeling of fighting, it is the only combat where Inosuke does not fight for fame and that is noted later by the more direct dialogue than it has in the middle of the fight.
The true importance of Inosuke's flash back is what triggers it, when Tanjiro says that Inosuke's mother surely loved him is a very good scenes and the one that most impacts the character (that can also be seen when Inosuke fails to have the courage to assassinate Tanjiro), his humanization is better than Kanao's because Inosuke is a constant character, but in general they are both equally good.
I also forgot to say that possibly the design of Kanao is the most forgettable and that of Inosuke the most memorable, in addition the introduction of Inosuke is the best of the leading team, its charisma and combat style is very noticeable, it has great characterization and its relationship Tanjiro is explored throughout the manga.

Tanjiro and Nezuko are arguably the worst characters in the group and are themselves mediocre, yep, I said so.
Tanjiro is too ideolized, he has no flaws and a large part of his combats have ass pulls (although that does not take away from the good, but he fights against Rui and the upper moon 6), his evolution is noticeable little by little but In spite of that, the mangaka continues to praise Tanjiro as much as he can (but he does not reach the Meliodas level, that's the worst), his characterization breaks down to make the character as humanly perfect as possible and that disgusted me a lot, it's as if they wanted to you want the character to force and a character can not earn love like that, only a few relationships with the characters save him and the impulse that he gives to the others to evolve, so yes, I consider Tanjiro a mediocre character (which is not bad).

Nezuko seems to me a waste, the mangaka does not want to present his evolution implicitly but she does not succeed and that is because it is very obvious and redundant, he only limits himself to showing affection under the excuse that Urokodaki taught him that, in fact In and of themselves, they never explain to us why she is a special demon that resists Muzan, later we see Tamayo, yes, but she had logical grounds for why she escaped from Muzan, Nezuol, not because of her bad approach, her execution and development. she leaves a lot to be desired and also her bouts are not memorable, that's why it is a waste, the mangaka could have implicitly told us how Nezuko evolved, but we did not get even half of that, just a waifu without nothing to highlight (the design is not the Big Deal).

Outside the group the other characters work for themselves, characters like Giyuu, Uzui and Muichiro achieve a lot in the manga with their time on screen and the truth is that the mangaka wanted to work on all the pillars, but characters like Sanemi (which He admitted loving his brother out of nowhere, simply to generate something emotional), Iguro (which literally does nothing in the whole manga and is a total waste) and Himejinma (he had little screen time, just wasted).
But the worked secondary characters stand out more than the not worked precisely because of the distinctive emphasis of each character, we see the flash back of most of the characters, normally I would say that this is a mediocre way of explaining the feelings and past of a character, but Kimetsu He does it well, he knows how to place each flash back (from the train saga) because he waits for the tension of the combat to drop, presenting a characteristic dialogue of the character that then leads him to remember his passdo, it is natural and does not interrupt the He fights abruptly because the change in tone is evident in the combat and that makes him a worthy presentation, that is undoubtedly a strong point of the work, knowing how to place and present the flash backs can turn a mediocre narrative into a quite interesting one.

To speak of elements such as world construction and use of the world would be a waste of time since there is simply no, Kimetsu is a shonen focused on his own and it is made clear from the first moment, the lack of world construction does not make it bad, because that element is simply impossible to analyze here, the bad thing is that it affects the setting which makes it very convenient and poorly built, the Japanese elements help a little, but the fact that we don't even know the time in which the manga takes place It is something that displeases quite a lot and erases the clear idea of Japanese time, they did not even explain to us why the government does not know about demons, it is very unreal ... in fact and now that I see it capable it is true, worldbuilding is mediocre and is very sloppy.

Muzan is bad, very bad, but not only talking about who is evil, but what his characters suck, he is the worst antagonistic figure presented in the manga and easily the most wasted character (at least it does not reach the level of Tomura's pretentious garbage at BNHA), his personality is boring, we do not delve into his personality or past or his reason why he is the first demon, his parallelism with Oyakata was very interesting and was reflected very well in the first arches, but his final combat is horrible We only know that Muzan does not want to die, but that is reflected so much in the manga that the exposition of that ideal becomes tedious and monotonous, the character itself is not redeemable, it is a pity how the main enemy ended.

Yes, it's a shame how the main antagonistic figure ended ... but what about the secondary antagonists? And it is that part, my dear reader, which interests, possibly Kimetsu is the current shonen that best handles the use and exposure of secondary enemies, the presentation of the 12 moons is somewhat predictable, but it is fine for a shonen like Kimetsu, the open possibilities for all kinds of villains and that is exactly what we got, several types of villains, Rui highlighted and represents better than anyone the lower moons, his saga is the first of the manga that is worth seeing and was the first great challenge in the manga, the construction of his combat together with the use of flash back manage to make this combat a transcendental one.
In order not to make us boring this moons issue very boring or repetitive, the mangaka decided to end all the other moons, that scene of Muzan murdering the moons is great, not only because of how it looks but also because it presents the parallels between Muzan and Oyakata and his way of treating disciples, since both scenes clearly show us the essence of both characters, when they all kneel before Oyakata and the murder of the moons
lower.

The upper moons are very good, their stories have distinctive concepts among themselves and their personalities are also very well worked (in this section Douma stands out), I would delve into each one, but I will limit myself to saying that each panel and flash back is set so ingenious that it plunges us fully into the mind and environment of the enemy (undoubtedly the best example is Kokushibou), its combats are dynamic and its designs spectacular, the only exception is the upper moon 5 which is simply very tasteless and bland.

Now that I talked about the characters I will explain quickly my points of each arc:
The initial arc that lasted until before the Rui arc (because yes, I was not going to speak one by one).

Basically the manga at these points was mediocre, erroneous exposition of fundamental elements in combat, simplistic enemies and a very premature appearance of the antagonist, the most notable is the presentation of the breaths, a quite typical and special power system at the same time, because In artistic terms, the skills are characteristic, which is a point in favor, in addition to that this moment Tanjiro had not any power up and ass pull, Zenitsu for this moment is a deus ex Machina and the overuse of the lower moons (as a concept) makes that there is no great tension and the narration and use of flash back is bad. It is really a very bad and poor start for what will develop later
(The rating is for an idea, but is not exact)
Note: 3/10

Rui and training arc.

Here the really interesting part of the manga begins, the combats feel better formulated and the scenario is better set than before, Rui is not a great villain, but he works and is competent as he serves as the manga's first great adversary, the use of pillars It is quite curious, because we are presented with the human counterpart of the moons that would be the aforementioned pillars, their moments are transcendental and expose the differences in powers between characters, making clear the power level of the leading group quickly and clearly.
The bad thing is that Tanjiro manages to stay against Rui due to a quite convenient power up, it would be normal if we got an epic moment, but that part is relegated to nothing due to Giyuu's intervention, so they presented us with a power up in the most important battle only so that later it did not come to anything? That removes great weight from the combat itself, Zenitsu how always taking a shot at the enemy and Inosuke's combat was fine.
The part of the training only serves as a transition and to make Tanjiro more broken, we are introduced to Kanao who at first will not be a great character but later he will have great evolution.
Shinobu also ends up provoking dynamic reactions and thoughts in the characters with his appearance, but apart from that this part is simply boring, we did not get much, but as I said a while ago, it serves to present all the pillars (with a great characterization) and to show the parallelism between Oyakata and Muzan.
This arc would be 6/10

Train arc

Easily and arguably the best arc, Rengoku has charisma and shows it from the first moment, the intrusion of the lower moon 1 makes sense and does not feel rushed despite being the last one alive, we can delve deeper into the psychological of secondary characters, the Rengoku himself explains in a non-pretentious or pedantic way his vision of life and the change of tone begins part of the dialogue feels very good, from a tension plane to a more reflective one, the appearance of Akaza is striking and shocking which generates more enthusiasm for the reader to know the other enemies, Tanjiro fights just without taking anything out of his pocket, which is appreciated, the battles against both the inner moon and Akaza feel unique and great to see, the truth is that this saga fulfills many roles being the most important to expose the power of the upper moons and to make it clear to the viewer that the characters can die in the manga.
A great arc 8/10

The arc of the red light district

Another quite interesting arc to analyze, Uzui is a charismatic character, the art becomes consistent and the antagonist is interesting, everything sounds good if you see it that way, but the combat is quite disappointing, both the leading and antagonistic forces pull out sudden power ups what , they would be fine if they had given indications before, but they generate a very artificial combat and with the intention of lengthening the combat, but emotionally it works, the flashback of the upper moon 6 is interesting and very sentimental, in addition to presenting a message left Throughout all their combat, the relationship between Tanjiro's team and Uzui happens quickly but the change is noticeable and is justifiable due to the setting and environment they were in, but despite everything it feels that much of the search for the upper moon 6 is unnecessary and I branch out the search for the enemy.
Yep, despite everything I consider that the combat is mediocre, we have to take into account that this was the first higher moon to be defeated, so the combat should have been better, but it was not, although it has many salvageable things.
a 6/10

Blacksmiths Village arc
A great saga that predates us and characterizes several secondary characters, the battles seem more like the trigger for a great teamwork, the atmosphere and Muzan's attack was well reflected in the moons he sent (despite that they are the most boring) , at this moment the mangaka has full control over the use of flash back and how to position them, the combat does not feel bland, Genya manages to develop with Tanjiro very well in a very short time, but Muichirou's overwhelming victory against the upper moon 5
A short review for this arc, but quite good 7/10


the last arc

I will not lie, this saga started very well, the peak of complexity of battles, character development and their relationships with each other, there were many ass pulls in between, but the saga managed to keep you expectant and tense of what will happen, the designs The enemies and their attacks are great and the deaths are very well built, the motivations of the upper moons are varied and their flash backs are genuinely complex to be a normal shonen ... All that is destroyed once the combat against Muzan begins , the characters stupidly deconstruct themselves to force the plot, emotional moments based simply on victimization, quite boring and not very dynamic combat only to finish off with a Diabolus ex Machina that was solving by a Deus ex Machina, what a great ending ... I lied, really the end is horrible, both the time skip that is too out of place and every fight against Muzan is crap, the contrapart of this combat is the battle against Kokushibou, this battle is the pinnacle of a worked combat in this manga, a combat like this would be a great final. but I cannot ignore all the good things he did at first.
an 8/10 (it could have been a 9/10).

Now let's talk about other elements, the art itself is not very good, but it has its own style and is characteristic, something very important, the art works well with the attacks shown, but in the final saga they were simply based on launching any attack and the art did not help distinguish, but art itself is not something I would say is bad, it is considerably consistent and characteristic, character design also works well with mangaka art.

The plot triggered certain interesting elements, subsequent narrative and exposure generated that the plot was driven more and the story had a more defined direction, the use of internal focus on characters coagulates with what is presented by the plot, even if the plot is generic triggers elements that are exploited by the mangaka, but never touches elements outside the world of demons, making the world feel empty.

Oh, and by the way, I reread the ending, it is mediocre or bad directly, too many situations are forced by the sentimental factor, there is no explanation of the reincarnations and there is no sense that there is a photo of the protagonists at the end, because that breaks the whole small world of Kimetsu and also is a total nonsense that, like the whole chapter, just wants to collide with the sentimental factor.
This ending almost makes me drop the score to a 6

conclusion

The start of this manga is lousy, I will be honest, but it manages to stay afloat very effectively, it manages to appropriate elements from other shonen and shapes them in its own style in its manga, the characters are interesting and charismatic, the use of temporary anachronisms is good and The narration later is fluid and does not stagnate in monotonous thoughts, the design of scenarios and enemies is also a good thing in the manga, the bad thing is pacing, in the last arc it was combat after combat and that could get tired, but the battle against Muzan was affected by this, the entire end of the manga was damaged by the misuse of pacing, the matches have a unique essence, which helps him stand out compared to other shonen, but the matches are full of power up and ass pulls, they are still enjoyable and have many good qualities, facial expressions also cohesive well with the roles presented (emphasis on the flash back of Kokushibou), anyway, I flaunt go too ... Kimetsu is a solid product, it does not deserve the popularity that anime received, but it is a manga that I would dare to recommend, I really liked to follow this manga and it is a great example of starting with simplicity to later explore topics with your own touch, thanks for reading.