Demon Slayer

 Dear Readers,

          Have you been looking for an anime/manga that’s unique, heartfelt, and has an amazing plot with developed characters? If so, Demon Slayer by Koyoharu Gotouge is a must read/watch.Demon Slayer follows the story of a young and kind hearted boy named Tanjiro Kamado, living in Taisho-era, Japan. Tanjiro's journey starts when he comes home to find his entire family slaughtered by man-eating demons, as well as his sister turned into one of them. Despite his devastation at his family’s death, Tanjiro goes through training to become a Demon-slaying swordsman in order to join an

organization called the Demon Slayer Corp, whose goal is to eradicate Demons and end the long cycle of violence by killing the first demon, Muzan Kibutsuji. Once you watch or read it, you can tell just how much thought and care Gotouge put into creating Demon Slayer, which you start to realize when you see all the little details in the characters and plot. If you're into genres like Shonen action, adventure, fantasy/dark fantasy, with some elements of horror, I highly recommend this amazing story, which will have you laughing one minute and crying the next as you travel with the main characters on their journeys filled with thrilling plot twists and diabolical cliffhangers.

Demon Slayer is usually recommended for ages 13 and older because it contains intense violence and gore, suicide, and heavy themes like trauma, grief, murder, and abuse that make it more appropriate for kids in their teens. Despite this, Demon Slayer is popular with 10 and 12 year olds who can handle more mature themes. In addition, this show is a Shonen action, which means its target audience usually tends to be tween-teen boys, but it has achieved massive, mainstream appeal across people of all genders and most ages.

Demon Slayer has won numerous awards, especially for its amazing animations. For example, it won Animation of the Year at the 44th Japan Academy Film Prizes in 2021, which is Japan’s equivalent to the Oscars. In addition, Demon Slayer also won awards from the Crunchyroll anime awards such as Anime of the Year and multiple smaller awards for Best Animation, Best Action, and Best Character Design. Recently this year, at the Tokyo Anime Award Festival 2026, the new Demon Slayer Infinity Castle movie won the Anime of the Year (film) award for its animations and emotional impact. 

What’s more, both the anime and the manga are amazing in their own ways, and even though they tell the same story, they give you completely different and eye opening experiences. Honestly, I can’t even begin to express how awesome the anime is, and anything I said would be an understatement. This anime tops all others in terms of graphics. The animation in Demon Slayer, which is produced by the studio Ufotable, blends 2D character art with 3D environments and uses vibrant special effects that are like candy for your eyes. Every time I watch the fight scenes I am amazed at the quality of the show and the beautiful colors and environments they incorporate. In addition, the movements of the characters are so smooth and natural that it makes it seem real. Demon Slayer has set a new expectation for animation in anime. As for the manga, I read the manga before watching the anime and loved everything about it. The art is just as amazing as the anime and has beautiful and unique character designs. In the manga, the narration during the fight scenes flow a bit more smoothly than they do in the anime, though both are still phenomenal. One of the things that I love about the manga is that in between particularly intense battles, there are pages with cute little facts, information, or sometimes little comics about Demon Slayer that give your brain a break and make you happy.

But demon slayer isn't all just fight scenes. In addition to that, it’s filled with numerous themes that wrap the story together. One of the most prominent themes in Demon Slayer is family bonds.Tanjiro fights so hard to protect his little sister and keep her by his side even after she is no longer human, “No one can break the bond that Nezuko and I share!”-Tanjiro Kamado.This shows the profound bond they share with each other. Another theme in Demon Slayer is perseverance, which is a vital part of the plot, “Don't ever give up. Even if it’s painful, even if it’s agonizing, don't try to take the easy way out.”-Zenitsu Agatsuma. “No matter how devastated you may be by your own weakness or uselessness, set your heart ablaze. Grit your teeth and look straight ahead.”-Tanjiro Kamado. Tanjiro and the other characters constantly push past their limits and keep going, despite having lost over and over again and going through traumatic experiences. Unlike many other action anime’s, Tanjiro holds compassion for the demons, which is another theme in Demon Slayer.

One of the things that makes Demon Slayer so unique and special is that it’s not just some classic revenge story. Even though Tanjiro's loved ones were murdered by demons, he doesn’t slaughter them senselessly. Tanjiro still holds sympathy for demons but doesn’t forgive them. He acknowledges that they have killed people and have done bad things, but he reminds himself that they were also humans once too and must have suffered a lot to have chosen to become demons, “In order to sooth the spirits of those it killed, and to make sure it claims no further victims, I will swing my blade down and lop off the head of any demon without mercy! But I will not belittle those who regret their actions and suffer over the things they did as demons. Because demons were once human. Because they were human like me.”. I think that it was important for Demon Slayer to have an empathetic main character because it drastically changes the view of the entire story. Instead of just showing demons as monsters, it paints them as victims and pitiful creatures, making the story more meaningful and sad and allowing you to have mixed emotions about demons instead of just classifying them as evil.

When my friends and I first found Demon Slayer in the library, we had no idea how much we would love it and bond over it. Demon Slayer was my first manga and anime, and the series that made me fall in love with manga and anime, so it holds a special place in my heart. I can state confidently that I have yet to find another manga that has a more phenomenal plot and is more well put together than this masterpiece.

Yours truly, Phoebe