Is Demon Slayer Really That Good?
Hello everyone and welcome to our shelter! π
Today, I bring you the most hyped (debuting) Anime of the Winter Season, Demon Slayer. By the way, don’t forget to read my discussion with Michael Pike in his blog!!! We had a nice talk about our feelings towards this Anime!
Well, I have to give some points to that! I wouldn’t compare to other long-running Shounen like Fairy Tail, Naruto, One Piece, or whatever. But, it’s true that the Kimetsu no Yaiba is well done. But, let’s start from the beginning! What is Demon Slayer all about?
Synopsis
Demon Slayer is about Tanjiro, your typical, friendly shounen Main Character who finds his family murdered by a Demon. Although each family member seems to be dead, there is one of them that is, in fact, not. His younger sister, Nezuko, survived! However, she is not the same person anymore… Or should I say she is not even a human anymore? That’s right! Nezuko herself was transformed into a Demon.
Knowing this, Tanjiro enters in the path to become a Demon Slayer himself in order to find a cure to his sister.
Demon Slayer First Impressions
Story
Demon Slayers’ story is probably the weakest point in the mix. I’m not saying it’s bad, but it’s completely overshadowed by the other aspects which are top quality.
Look, I understand, the plot is somewhat a little different. It’s darker if you may… But, until this point, I just don’t see anything completely new or groundbreaking.Β
If if we think about it, Tanjiro is in a path very similar to Naruto. However, while Tanjiro is trying to save his sister, Naruto was trying to save his best friend from his own darkness.
Moreover, if we take the 3 first episodes, what we get is the formula for your typical shounen. Guy loses his family, finds an objective due to that and starts pursuing that objective, training hard to become stronger and one of the best.
Think about it, it’s similar in many ways. Gon, Naruto, Natsu, all of them have somewhat followed this formula, and Tanjiro is not different. Which, makes sense, I mean, that’s why the Animes are inside the genre of Shounen, right?
In the end, yeah, the story is nice, but not something that completely blew me away. When it comes to plot conduction though… That’s a different story, but I’ll talk about it down the line!
Characters
As I said before, Tanjiro is very similar to other Shounen characters. He is a nice person, even when all of his family gets killed. It’s one of those characters that don’t succumb to the darkness and continue to be a very pleasant guy to be with. And, of course, goofy from time to time, because we need those cute, funny moments, right?
In my very honest opinion, this was a mistake. I believe it would be way more interesting to follow a character that was succumbing to darkness because of what he lived. I think it would give way more depth to the character, as also more space to development throughout the Anime. In fact, it seems Tanjiro just stayed the same way after living in such a horrific experience. Yes, it’s true that his objectives changed, but, in the end, he stayed the same person.
More than that, I don’t have anything to say. Other characters appeared in the set, but all of them were just passersby who had to be there so the plot developed. Meaning, there is not much to be said about them. When it comes to Nezuko… Well… Taking into account that she was asleep throughout 2 years, I also don’t have much to say on that end lolol
Nevertheless, this is one of the aspects that only with time (and more episodes) I will be able to have a formed opinion.
Animation
Now we’re talking!!! The animation is breathtaking, I’m not even kidding. I mean, I should have known better, but only after Michael pointed that out in our conversation is that it clicked. Demon Slayer is from the studio ufotable who is also behind the Fate and Tales series… Well, Fate Zero also blew me away with the animation it had when it came out (even if I was not fond of Berserker CGI). So, it’s no wonders that we see them pushing the boundaries yet again.
This time, they push the boundaries through the cinematic scenes where it seems I’m watching an Anime movie instead of a series as also the passing from 2D to 3D. Without any doubt, this is the best conjunction of 2D and 3D I’ve ever seen. It just blends so well.
When it comes to the character design and the overall environment, again, everything is done in a very polished way. You can see the production value from afar, that’s for sure! Very well done and the Anime is worth watching because of this.
Audio
Demon Slayers provides with the best in-episode soundtrack I’ve ever listened in my life. I’m not sure if you were able to read my Nier:Automata review long ago… Well, I stated there that it was one my favorite soundtracks ever.
Well, Kimetsu no Yaiba just makes me remember Nier:Automata so freaking much. To do that, there is only one way, to also have an incredible soundtrack. It’s just amazing!
In fact, it was the music that made me sit in the edge of my seat on episode 1 even if I already knew what was going to happen. Moreover, the combination between the cinematic animation, with all its movement, and the background music is what makes the plot conduction so freaking well done! When it comes to these more technical aspects, Demon Slayer, is, without a doubt, one of the best Anime I’ve ever watched.
Final Verdict
Is Demon Slayer the best Anime? Is it the Anime of 2019 as many people are saying? Well… I’m not going to be as dramatic (or clickbait) as that! However, it IS incredibly well done!
I highly recommend you to try this one out and see if it is for yourself. Even if you are not into Shounen, or even if you are not into darker plot settings, if you love Anime I think it will blow you away just because of its quality.
If you want to read more about Demon Slayer, I highly recommend you to hop in Michael’s blog and read our discussion!
Have you watched Demon Slayer? What are your thoughts on it? Tell me all in the comments! π
Discussing Demon Slayer was a pleasure, Arthifis! Thanks for all your contributions!
I’m kind of finding this one fairly middle of the road. It is fun, and pretty, but not really offering much that is really grabbing me. While I don’t mind that the story is one we’ve seen before (or at least pretty close), they aren’t doing much to distinguish this from so many others and honestly I’m going to end up finding it fairly forgettable if there’s nothing that stands out about it regardless of how nicely presented it is. Still, I’m enjoying it so far and given this season feels a little light on, it is one of my favourite new shows.
It is on my watch list if I ever get thru a million other things first.
Yes, best anime of 2019 β better than Attack on Titan by far, better than Naruto, better than Hunter x Hunter.. itβs better than most anime.
Yeah, Demon Slayer definitely has the possibility to be the Anime of 2019!