Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (2016)

[鬼滅の刃]

Volume 1

Author/Artist: Koyoharu Gotouge
Publisher: Jump Comics

Synopsis:
After a young woodcutter's family is slaughtered by a man-eating oni, he trains to join the secretive Demon Slayer Corps to avenge them and to discover the secret to restore the humanity of his one surviving sister who has been transformed into an oni herself.

Story/Characters:
Given how much I've enjoyed the animated adaptation of this series, it was only a matter of time before I got my hands on the source. Most of my commentary on the story and characters is going to be unchanged, but for the sake of those who haven't read my reviews of the anime, allow me to reiterate. Likely because I've been bogged down by a lot of isekai these days, the well-worn formula of a classic-style shounen battle series suddenly feels refreshing. I like having the protagonist actually struggle for their accomplishments, to gain proficiency through hard work and extensive training. The sense of tension in the fights and accomplishment with the victories is so much better than what you get in the easy mode sludge that's clogging so much of the space these days. Tanjirou is a good old-fashioned Boy Scout sort of protagonist, good-hearted to a fault with the grit to put in the work to stand up to the threats he faces. Setting the story during the Taishou Period gives us a nice contrast of the old world and the modern one. Another interesting point is how oni operate in this series more like vampires than their typical folklore depictions.

The initial setup is fairly standard yet effective, introducing our protagonist and his happy family, foreshadowing the threat and then hitting the tragedy. The initial encounter with Tomioka is what first really hooked me on the series. Reeling from the slaughter of his family and struggling with his newly turned sister, Tanjirou is no match for the seasoned oni killer, and the intriguing thing is how Tomioka loses his cool and snaps at him to keep fighting. Tanjirou's ingenuity proves him to be a diamond in the rough and the fact that Nezuko is able to suppress her oni instincts to defend her brother give Tomioka hope in their potential and so he sends Tanjirou to train under his master, Sakonji Urokodaki. En route, however, the Kamado siblings encounter their first oni, a low-level jobber, but still more than enough to give Tanjirou a hard time in his current state. We get to see the sort of power Nezuko is packing but also how her instincts tempt her. Tanjirou essentially fails this first test, unable to finish the oni himself and showing shaky resolve when Urokodaki questions him on what he'd do if his sister were to eat a person. He's tested further, having to follow on Urokodaki on a sprint to his house and then navigate a trap-filled mountain in order to be accepted as Urokodaki's pupil. Between the run and the thin air of the mountain, we introduce the importance of breathing techniques, which becomes the crux of the combat system in the series.

After a year of training in the fundamentals, Tanjirou is given his final task, to split a boulder with his sword. If he can succeed, he'll be allowed to proceed to the Final Selection for the Kisatsutai (or Demon Slayer Corps as they call it in the English version). Two of Urokodaki's former pupils, Sabito and Makomo, further his training, with Sabito focusing on swordsmanship and Makomo focusing on breathing techniques, specifically the Total Concentration Breathing that gives the Slayers their seemingly superhuman abilities. When Tanjirou succeeds, we find out that Urokodaki never meant for him to succeed, as Urokodaki didn't want to send any more of his children off to die, but he acknowledges Tanjirou's accomplishment and endorses him for the Final Selection. As Tanjirou leaves, he tells Urokodaki to give his regards to Sabito and Makomo, which leaves Urokodaki stunned, wondering how Tanjirou knows the names of two of his former pupils who have long since died. (They were ghosts all along. What a tweest!)

The Final Selection involves surviving for a week on a mountain surrounded by wisteria, which acts as a ward for oni. Usually wisteria is for keeping oni out, but here it works to keep them in, making for a controlled environment for Slayer candidates to prove their skills. It's mostly jobbers, but there's one that poses a significant threat and it has a particular hatred of Urokodaki's pupils, seeing as how Urokodaki was the one who captured him and confined him on this mountain. Now, Tanjirou was given a mask carved by Urokodaki that was supposed to serve as a protective charm, but here it paints a target on him for this oni. The oni taunts Tanjirou about all the other "cute foxes" he's killed over the years, particularly Sabito and Makomo, and this angers Tanjirou enough to step up his game in the fight and for the cliffhanger we have Tanjirou landing the blow that may well have finished it.

Art:
Given how refined Ufotable's work is in the adaptation, the original seems rather rough in comparison, but it should be noted that while Gotouge published some one-shots in the years prior, this is his first series and few mangaka have highly polished work so soon out of the gate. The art is good nevertheless, with a distinct look and a good sense of action direction and also comedic wild takes that at times may seem incongruous with the tone of the series.

I mentioned before that the oni functionally resemble vampires more than their namesake in Japanese folklore and as far as the look of them goes, it's more of a body horror thing with about the only thing connecting the oni of this series to their traditional counterparts is that some of them have horns. Our entry level boss "Teoni" being a mass of veiny arms does a good job of representing this sort of twisting of the flesh and is suitably creepy.

Other:
At the end of six of the seven chapters we get some sort of bonus. We get some proof of concept art, some words of thanks from the author, and two entries of the Taishou Secrets series, one with a list of titles Gotouge was considering for the series and the other informing us that one of the two weird doll-like kids hosting the Final Selection is actually a boy.

Conclusion:
While the basic framework is the standard shounen mold (particularly the Shounen Jump mold), there's more than enough charm that makes this series special. This first volume does a good job of drawing you in, establishing the premise and rolling from there. The initial training is neither glossed over nor dragged out too long and the Final Selection makes for a solid first battle. I'm more than confident that most people will find it worth a read, but I'll take it a step farther and recommend adding this to your collection.

Rating:
Own It