If you follow me on IG (@themuslimblerd), you know I purchased the Demon Slayer box set a while back and have now decided to crack that bad boy open and start from the beginning! While I’m not completely up to date on the anime, I wanted to take advantage of the box set and get caught up that way, and so far it has not disappointed me.

To start from the beginning has refreshed my memory on the hard path Tanjiro & Nezuko have taken to get thus far. But I don’t want to get too far ahead and rely solely on the anime, I want to dive in and get the details from the manga too.

I’ll take the time aside to say that UFOTable has done an astonishing job at animating this story and I’m excited to see what other amazing shots they will craft going forward.

It is the Taisho Period in Japan. Tanjiro, a kindhearted boy who sells charcoal for a living, finds his family slaughtered by a demon. To make matters worse, his younger sister Nezuko, the sole survivor, has been transformed into a demon herself. Though devastated by this grim reality, Tanjiro resolves to become a “demon slayer” to turn his sister back into a human, and kill the demon that massacred his family.
Created by Koyoharu Gotouge 

Taken from the official Demon Slayer website

Tanjiro has taken up the duties of providing for his family after the passing of his father. He frequents the local town to sell charcoal and help in other small ways with his keen sense of smell. Due to the dangers of the forest at night, Tanjiro stays in the village and plans on going back home in the morning – but to his dismay he finds his family slaughtered. The only one of his family members who had a chance of survival was his younger sister Nezuko who, unfortunately as we learn from demon slayer Giyu Tomioka, has become a demon.

Tomioka has the full intention of killing Nezuko, but Tanjiro fights back and even goes to beg that his sister’s life be spared as she just wouldn’t hurt anyone. Tomioka leaves the two with information about Sakonji Urokodaki, a man who is most likely to help Tanjiro and his new dilemma. Thus starts his training arc.

Now, knowing what I know from the anime, and from previous small snippets of this story, it’s safe to say that we know Tanjiro to be a pure and innocent soul who wants to see the good in everyone. But I won’t get ahead of myself here. I’ve read reviews where people call this a slow-burn type of story, but I didn’t get that vibe at all. Yes, we see Tanjiro interact with his family and the locals, and we see him show empathy toward demons – even if it is just hesitation – but the action starts relatively quick in my opinion. After Tanjiro finds his family dead and Nezuko a demon, he is immediately put in front of a demon, then immediately follows his every shonen cliché training arc where he spends a year trying to cut a boulder in half.

I would definitely recommend this to any first-time manga reader who’s trying to get into manga NOW. Of course, there’s the old tried and true Big 3, but this is something fresher. I will say, it is kind of like reading your typical shonen as a speedrun because of how fast everything is happening. You do get a chapter or two of this training arc before Tanjiro is thrown to the wolves and is immediately fighting actual demons captured by the Demon Slayer Corps.

Lastly, I will say my favorite part and the part I was most looking forward to when buying this box set was getting my hands on the physicals so I could appreciate the artwork. Koyoharu Gotouge has such an original art style that just makes Demon Slayer so unique. My favorite part of his drawing is the eyes. I’m just so capitated by the way each mangaka draws eyes, especially because it was so hard for me to draw them growing up.

This will be ongoing until I finish the entire series. So buckle up for an emotional ride!