10 Reasons Why I Love Demon Slayer
In December 2019, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba, won Funimation’s “Favorite Animation of the Decade” fan poll, despite having only coming out earlier that year (on April 6, 2019, to be exact). At that point, I’d only seen two episodes and found myself impressed by the theatrical quality of Demon Slayer’s aesthetics in terms of character designs, art style, and music. I hadn’t watched enough to weigh in on whether or not I felt the anime had any legitimate claims to the anime of the decade throne, and being pretty isn’t necessarily enough.
A still from my favorite episode. The one that truly hooked me and made me fall in love with this show.
Fast forward to last week, when I finally binge watched the first season in its entirety. By the end, I was left utterly impressed and completely in my feelings. I haven’t felt so moved by an anime since watching Red Garden over 10 years ago (if you haven’t seen it, I can’t recommend it enough. It’s my all time favorite anime and it feels like nobody else has even watched it. RIP). It’s not that Demon Slayer is particularly revolutionary; it’s a shonen anime, and so the “chosen one” trope is very strong, but forgivable as it’s characteristic of the genre. Why is it that a show with so many typical shonen elements has managed to enthrall me and countless others? I can’t speak for everyone, but I can tell you why I personally am so in love with it (mild spoilers ahead).
- The art style is beautiful, the music is beautiful. On aesthetics alone, it wins hard. I’m a fan of beautiful things. A friend once pointed out that I tend to divide things I like and dislike into “pretty” and “ugly” categories, respectively. Getting cut off in traffic? Ugly. Getting a free size upgrade on my toffee nut latte at Starbucks? Beautiful. Demon Slayer? Fucking gorgeous.
Cinematic as fuck.
- The character designs are creative and have a high level of cosplayability, which is a word I just made up. Being a cosplayer, I’m quite drawn to eye-catching and unique character designs. I also really like that the designs don’t rely on fan service. I mean, I love a good tiddy window or slab of abs as much as the next person, but I appreciate the character designs for being a bit more varied and interesting than what I’ve seen lately in a lot of other anime.
So colorful! Look at the prints! The patterns! The boar head! Perfection.
- The horror elements are well done. The violence and gore are effective if a bit nauseating at times. I felt real fear, true terror, several times throughout my journey through the first season. There’s plenty of blood and guts, but it makes sense in the context of the show, so it doesn’t feel heavy-handed.
- Call me a dork, but there’s an element of goodness and hope that I really enjoy. Amid all of the horrors Tanjiro encounters, he’s still so good. Some may call his inherent goodness corny or unrealistic, but I find that it helps to lighten up the show and balances out what could easily be a depressing affair. I’m not ashamed to say that I cried several times throughout the series, including at the deaths of some of the demons. No spoilers, but I like when a show can make me feel empathy for the “bad guy” even as I anticipate their demise.
- The episode where that one demon that essentially split itself into a predatory pop punk singer, obsessing over and chasing after teenage girls. At one point, Tanjiro even shouts “Stay away from my sister!” It was basically like a really bad time at Warped Tour for Tanjiro. I found it amusing. 10/5 stars.
Tell me he doesn’t look like a 29-year-old who hangs around high schools, hoping to impress 10th graders with his 1998 Ford Taurus and his vape.
- The theme song? Slaps.
- I love how Nezuko sleeps all day and just hops out the box and immediately starts beating ass. Not only that, but she is technically a vegetarian icon, and so we have no choice but to stan.
Wake up. Kick the shit out of some demons. Nap. Repeat.
- Inosuke. That’s all. He is my favorite dumbass.
What an absolute delight. Truly a mad lad. King.
- I know I already talked about character design, but I need to take it a step further and say that all the demons are just swaggy as fuck. Each one would easily have at least 250,000 followers on Instagram and several discount codes for 15% off at your favorite online boutique. Outside of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, I’ve never seen a more outrageously fashionable group of anime villains, which is saying a lot. They could have easily made ugly, generic villains, but no. Each one is so visually striking and well dressed that I almost feel bad for them when they perish just based on their fashion sense alone.
In another life, Mother Spider Demon runs a successful alternative fashion blog and makes makeup tutorials that get nothing short of 1.5 million views each on YouTube. She’s probably a Sugar Pill brand ambassador.
Muzan Kibutsuji is nothing short of a…Smooth Criminal.
- Tanjiro really tries to have conversations with the demons in the middle of the battle, and that just tickles me.
“Before I cut off your head, would you mind filling out this brief questionnaire?”
~Tanjiro, kind of
Ultimately, I feel Demon Slayer’s appeal lies in being so well incredibly done. The characters are likable, the story is engaging, the visuals are nothing short of stunning, and it all works so well together. It proves that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel to make something impactful and amazing.
PS – That one scene in episode 4 where the giant mutated demon remembers who he was before he became a demon? I cried like a baby.
~DeLa Doll
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DeLa Doll is a culture writer, cosplayer, and artist based in Florida. She has been writing professionally since 2016, with some of her work being featured on sites like HuffPo and /Film. She is an advocate for meaningful diversity and representation in media, a gamer, a mom, and an avid user of DIY hair dye.
