The last anime I watched was Spy x Family and I only picked that up because I already loved the manga so I was aware what it was about. I went into Demon Slayer with no prior knowledge other than it was quite popular; and apparently for good reason. Demon Slayer occurs in a world plagued by demons that come out when its dark. The story follows a simple boy who finds his entire family murdered one day, save his little sister who appeared to have survived the demon attack, but only to be turned into a demon herself. The whole premise of the show is how this boy learns to fight demons in order to find a way/cure to help his sister turn back to a human. I’ve really dumbed the premise down a lot but that’s essentially the gist of it. The people/hunters who fight the demons are called demon slayers with the best of the best titled the hashiras / pillars.

The manga for is complete so should anyone want to read the entire story before watching, you can do so without the fear of having to wait for new chapters every week. The anime has thus far adapted 90 odd chapters of the 200 available, into 2 seasons and a movie. In fact, the movie is a pivotal part of the story and essential before starting the ‘second’ season. Apart from the slightly confusing watch order, what has to be mentioned is that there are hardly any fillers in the anime which was a relief. Add to that the absolutely phenomenal animation and you can see why this show is so popular. I started with the show and absolutely loved it. I obviously had no patience to wait for the next season so continued to read the manga just to find out what happens next.

The manga is brilliant but I feel the anime would be a better/more satisfying way to experience this show. The animation, and fight scenes look nice, albeit slightly confusing on paper, but they look phenomenal on screen (still a tad bit confusing though but who cares when it looks so good). While the manga, and eventually the show, does address certain questions, I felt in the end there were still too many questions in my mind which went unanswered. Keeping the action scenes aside, I also felt the story was a bit rushed, and we reached the end point a bit too soon. That being said I love how each character, sort of, gets their own moment to shine. There is so much character development and growth that we see, it was an emotional journey I did not expect.

All in all, Demon Slayer was a really good experience. Read the manga if you can’t wait for a few years for the show to adapt it all, but watch the show regardless. Definitely recommended.

Rating: 4/5

Links:

• Demon Slayer
• Series Review: Spy x Family Vol. 1-8