Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

[Munsu]

* Based on an action fantasy shounen manga by Gotouge Koyoharu.

Since ancient times, rumors have abounded of man-eating demons lurking in the woods. Because of this, the local townsfolk never venture outside at night. Legend has it that a demon slayer also roams the night, hunting down these bloodthirsty demons. For young Tanjirou, these rumors will soon to become his harsh reality...

Ever since the death of his father, Tanjirou has taken it upon himself to support his family. Although their lives may be hardened by tragedy, they've found happiness. But that ephemeral warmth is shattered one day when Tanjirou finds is family slaughtered and the lone survivor, his sister Nezuko, turned into a demon. To his surprise, however, Nezuko still shows signs of human emotion and thought... Thus begins Tanjirou's request to fight demons and turn his sister human again.

Source: Viz Media

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/enc...e.php?id=21101

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is airing, first episode was good enough for me. Comes from ufotable, so just what you can expect from it, high production value, decent music, good animation (with the caveat of having CGI tolerance).

At the very least, it seems like it'll have good action.

[MFauli]

Ok, this is rather fun to watch. But the super smell is super dumb :/

[Buffalobiian]

Interesting use of the water effect, but I hope it doesn't become a trend for anime in general.

Ufotable's gotten better at expressive faces since the last time I checked out their stuff. The CGI is still jarring, but it's not the worst out there.

I wonder how they'll get around the sister problem. She obviously hibernating because she hasn't eaten any humans. We're not told of any substitute food. Slayed demons turn to ashes, so she'll have to be given a fresh one somehow if we're to go down that route.

Eating humans would be a no-go, since this Morphed Demon would suggest to us that the more humans you eat, the less human (and more demonic) you become. The MC may at one stage give her some of his own blood, but that's as far as it'd go.

[Ryllharu]

I thought they said the more humans you eat, the more powerful they become. Some get monstrous, some gain powerful spells. Inhumanity/demonic/deformed isn't a requirement. The many-armed one just was or even chose to be that way.

[neflight86]

Much better than the (generic) first episode led me to believe. The training was surprisingly low key, and the main character doesn't come off as particularly talented or possessing any combat oriented traits (just good "smell"). With confirmed 24 eps, I am confident to settle in for the long haul.

[KrayZ33]

So.. did we get a glimpse at the 5th survivor and I missed it?

[Buffalobiian]

I didn't see it in the episode. I'm going to guess it's the boar-mask fellow in the OP/ED.

I'm glad the MC was a boss and nearly crushed the guy's wrist. What a dickhead.

[KrayZ33]

It's hard to believe someone like him would put up with demon-slayer training, even if by chance other teachers aren't *that* strict.

[neflight86]

Maybe he's the self taught genius type?

[KrayZ33]

Well, it's just a guess from what we've seen, but it looks like you have to be chosen by a demon slayer to undergo training. And typically, he was suprised by MCs grip... not something I'd expect to happen if he's truely a genius.

I kinda liked the fox mask btw... they look cool, I want MC to wear one again, but this time, to actually hide his face. Though I have to say, that enchantment didn't seem to offer much protection.

[Buffalobiian]

I really don't like that they're now going with big-boss Demon being the only one to reproduce. The MC can get as hurt and harmed as he wants now without fear of becoming a demon himself.

If it's just the one guy making new demons, then either:

1) He's working overtime producing new demons, or
2) The Demon Slaying Corps slays really low numbers

If it's 1), you'd think that a large organisation would be able to track his movements from town to town and aim to lock him down. The fact that they can't move in sunlight is a huge quarantine and screening advantage for humans.

[KrayZ33]

Ya, I don't like that idea either.
On the other hand, it's rural Japan, he can probably move around and spread the "virus" and before the demon corps knows what's going on, he is already gone again.


I liked the combat in this episode, it looked awesome.

[Ryllharu]

I don't like it either, but it does make sense. He's been around for decades at this point, and Japan would have been completely overrun if they could all spread it.

I think the author swung too far in the opposite direction, but they had to deal with it somehow.

[Buffalobiian]

Nezuko's muzzle is also largely a gimmick since it serve no real purpose. It doesn't control her bloodlust (if any), and if she wanted to eat someone she has the strength and intelligence to remove it. It's still cute in its own way and might prove to strangers that she willingly wears this as a show of good will (and a way to add visual interest to her character), so fine.

I liked the combat in this episode, it looked awesome.

To add a positive note, I like her kicks. They have no technique to them at all. Just a straight up, brute-force kick. Cute when it needs to be (little jump-kicks as she opens doors), or brutal when it should be.

[Ryllharu]

Nezuko's muzzle is also largely a gimmick since it serve no real purpose... and if she wanted to eat someone she has the strength and intelligence to remove it.

You sure? She drools like crazy in berserker mode. It gives her something to bite on, if nothing else.

It serves the same purpose as a piece of wood wrapped in leather. "Bite down on this." [pours iodine on deep wound, prepares bone saw for amputation]

[Buffalobiian]

I remember her going out of control during her first encounter with her brother, then drooled like crazy upon seeing the first bloody human corpse (which wasn't her family's) for the first time. We haven't really tested her much since then.. so yeah I guess it's possible for her to go through similar urges all over again.

[oyabun]

I am liking this so far. MC is a mixture of skill, hard work and great physical advantage(his nose). He isn't dumb either. Also Nezuko is so kawaii.

[MFauli]

Another anime that falls apart after a strong beginning. It feels so generic, if not bad, now :/

Issues with this episode:

- what is breathing. I know a lot of anime do a bad job at depicting realistic 'holding your breath underwater', but this was especially bad. "The air at the mountain is thinner!', no it's not you dumbass. The demons didnw even have to attack him, just wait until he runs out of air, THEN attack.

- what exactly was that demon feared of? To be killed by that elder demon? Worked out great, huh? Dumb

- holding a child prevents the hero from attacking the elder demon? Sigh. screw that poor guy who got turned into a demon (and killed for sure) because of that decision. 💁💀

Generally, I'm disappointed what aturn for the ... generic this anime took after the good first episode and the fun training arc. Bummer

[KrayZ33]

Damn, Nezuko looked so cute when MC told her to get back to him. Happy like a dog. SJWs will hate it but god damn... it surely made my day.

Overall this show is amazing. The whole fight was extremely fun to watch.

- holding a child prevents the hero from attacking the elder demon? Sigh. screw that poor guy who got turned into a demon (and killed for sure) because of that decision. ����

what do you mean?

- what exactly was that demon feared of? To be killed by that elder demon? Worked out great, huh? Dumb

It would've been even more dumb if the demon said anything about that guy. That's the biggest issue I have with this show so far. The fact that MC keeps asking the demons about that guy. As if they are obliged to tell him anything, he will kill them anyway, why help him before you die?

But I thought the same.. "what is the demon afraid of?" - and that's exactly what we are supposed to ask ourselves and why that scene existed.

Maybe he got tortured and doesn't want to suffer from whatever happened to him in the past again etc. We'll eventually get more information, it's too soon to judge if that scene was weird or not.

- what is breathing. I know a lot of anime do a bad job at depicting realistic 'holding your breath underwater', but this was especially bad. "The air at the mountain is thinner!', no it's not you dumbass. The demons didnw even have to attack him, just wait until he runs out of air, THEN attack.

Well, it's not like he was swimming in simple water. The demons can breath inside of it too. And "shadows" don't normaly weigh heavily on your body. It's an enviroment created by magic, normal rules don't apply. The demons don't have gills either.

But what I didn't get was the last bit though, because then all of a sudden, he said he couldn't breath. But then again I always thought "I can't breath" in japanese is = ikigadekinai.
Didn't he say "it's painfull" / "It's difficult"? (kurushi)

These are two different things imho. One is basically "I'm out of air" (I'm dying) - the other word is "it's hard/painful (to breathe)" (which is what we already knew and going out of that "swamp" is just logical).

[shinta|hikari]

I agree with Krayz's points.

Also, I don't think meeting the final boss this early and having an actual conflict is typical of shounen stories. Most of those take forever to have main heroes and villains meet.