Post — Aaron Ngo

Major Spoilers are included in this manga review. Please read with caution.

Synopsis: Demon Slayer follows Tanjiro Kamado in Taisho-era Japan, a kind-hearted boy who lives with his family in the mountains. Then everything changed when his family was slaughtered by a powerful demon. His sister Nezuko was the sole survivor of the incident, having been transformed into a demon herself. This kicked off the beginning of Tanjiro’s epic quest for vengeance against the demon who killed his family. More importantly, Tanjiro won’t rest until he finds a cure for Nezuko’s demon state.

On June 27, 2020, I started and finished the “Natagumo Mountain Arc”—the fifth story arc—of the manga series. The arc picked up right after Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke recovered from the “Drum House Arc” in a nice old lady’s house. There, a crow requested their presence at Natagumo Mountain to investigate demon sightings. Traveling now as a team, Tanjiro, Nezuko, Zenitsu, and Inosuke run into deadly encounters against Rui—a member of the Twelve Kizuki—and his Demon Spider Family.

This story arc rose the stakes considerably for our heroes. Tanjiro, Nezuko, Zenitsu, and Inosuke were put through incredible battle scenes that left them broken physically—likely mentally too—at the end of this arc. Demons’ humanity was also explored further through Rui and his actions to create a “family” for himself. Peeling back the layers on the demons’ backstory and Tanjiro’s ability to see their humanity was potent in this arc.

Speaking of backstories, we were given glimpses into Zenitsu and Inosuke as well. While Inosuke’s was a brief scene, Zenitsu’s backstory connected to his “fighting in his sleep condition” in addition to how he learned to wield a sword from his old master. I enjoyed learning more about the characters I’ve already invested in.

The fight scenes were better-crafted in this arc, which made sense given the situation. Tanjiro and Nezuko battled Rui on their own while Zenitsu—while poisoned—fought against Rui’s “older brother”, and Inosuke fought Rui’s “father”. These epic battles left everyone in critical condition. This carved the way for the return of Giyu Tomioka, who hadn’t appeared in the series since the “Final Section Arc”. The arc also introduced Shinobu Kocho, a powerful member of the Demon Slayer Corps.

Overall, I’m almost caught up to where the anime left off. The next arc— “Rehabilitation Training Arc”—was where the anime stopped. After I finished that one, I won’t be able to watch YouTube video clips alongside the pages. I will have to settle for the OST soundtrack moving forward. Thanks for reading my manga reviews, everyone! Demon Slayer is so good!

back to blog