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 July 3, 2020, I started the “Infinity Castle Arc”—the first half of the “Final Battle Arc”—and finished on July 4, 2020 (Floyd of July). Instead of celebrating America’s “freedom”, I chose to spend my time reading Demon Slayer and watching these characters fight for actual freedom against Muzan Kibutsuji, the main antagonist of the whole series. How this sub-arc played out was emotionally heavy, banking on the relationships that we had already seen or were alluded to in all the previous arcs.

Demon Slayer structured their fight scenes similar to how Naruto structured fight scenes, but the flashback sequences weren’t placed sporadically throughout the battles. Instead, the tragic flashback scenes were usually placed at the end of fight scenes, where us—the readers—would start feeling somewhat emotional watching our enemies perish. This was a classic Demon Slayer trope used to the fullest extent.

Honestly, I’m blown away at how far I’ve come from the beginning of Demon Slayer. Tanjiro and all his allies were fighting Muzan at a disadvantage. Picking up where the “Hashira Pillar Training Arc” left off, Muzan visited Kagaya, where he was unexpectedly ambushed by explosions and Tamayo’s potential demon cure. This caused Muzan to send all the Demon Slayers into his Infinity Castle Fortress—the same place where we’ve seen Lower Rank and Upper Rank demons meet Muzan throughout the series.

Everyone’s scattered around Muzan’s elaborate Infinity Castle, but they have one common goal: reunite and defeat Muzan by sunrise. The fights were also placed strategically in the narrative, so we’d only switch to the next fight scene once the previous one resolved. Some manga / anime fight scenes tend to splice them, and then they would have us bounce between them all. I preferred Demon Slayer’s method, as it allowed me at least to appreciate each fight from beginning to tragic end.

My spoiler-ish thoughts on all the fight scenes that happened in this arc (in chronological order):

1. Insect Pillar Shinobu Kocho vs Doma, the Upper Rank 2 demon who killed her older sister. Doma quickly became one of my favorite demons to hate. He and Shinobu had fascinating conversations.

The payoff to this confrontation was splendid, as the context behind Shinobu and Kanao’s conversation from the “Hashira Training Arc” was revealed. Doma and Shinobu were ironically similar—both used fake smiles to hide themselves. I could do a character analysis on these two and their need for a fake smile to hide themselves. But, I won’t yet.

2. Zentisu vs Kaigaku

My heart broke for Zentisu, who had to fight his former co-apprentice turned Upper Rank 6 demon. This was a good character moment for Zentisu, who stopped being comedic relief during this long-awaited confrontation. My only issue with this fight scene was that it was too short. I wanted more Zentisu screen time.

3. Tanjiro and Water Pillar Giyu Tomioka vs Akaza

This amazing fight scene was a long time coming since the “Mugen Train Arc”. Akaza was the Upper Rank 3 demon who killed Rengoku, the Flame Pillar. Akaza had an obsessive need to get stronger, which tied into his background prior to becoming a demon. The same could be said for Tanjiro and Giyu, who refused to give up for the sake of the people—like Rengoku and Sabito—they had already lost.

4. Kanao and Inosuke vs Doma

The follow-up to the Shinobu vs Doma fight scene. I cried a good amount watching Kanao and Inosuke face off against Doma, especially after Doma revealed a surprise connection he had to Inosuke’s past.
This made Inosuke want double revenge against Doma, and together with Kanao—along with Shinobu’s help—they avenged everyone this demon ate. Doma’s belief that everyone he ate “lived with him” was really messed up. Even as a human, Doma lacked the ability to have human empathy.

5. Mist Pillar Muichiro Tokito, Wind Pillar Sanemi Shinazugawa, Rock Pillar Gyomei Himejima, and Genya Shinazugawa vs Kokushibo

My favorite fight to read out of this entire arc. The strong themes of brotherhood—for brothers Sanemi and Genya in addition to Kokushibo and his younger twin brother Yoriichi—were handled really well. My heart cried out for those four characters in particular.
Kokushibo’s backstory was the most tragic as he was one of the first Demon Slayers prior to becoming a demon, and I wished we could have more screen time with him. Honestly, I hope Demon Slayer continues in a spin-off series or a film series. Just something to keep the anime / manga going someday.
Also, regarding the artwork, Kokushibo’s Moon Breath Techniques were drawn incredibly well as they clashed with Sanemi’s Wind Breath Techniques. The artwork in Demon Slayer was always outstanding, but this particular fight scene was drawn with even greater attention to the smallest detail.

Love Pillar Mitsuri Kanroji and Snake Pillar Obanai Iguro were also involved in this arc, fighting Upper Rank 4 demon Nakime alongside Tamayo’s demon assistant Yushiro. They weren’t given as much screen time since their fight was connected to distracting Muzan from realizing how much he was losing to the Demon Slayers. The end of the arc set-up the final confrontation against Muzan Kibutsuji, so the second half will be quite epic and explosive I’m sure.

Overall, the first half of the final arc—called the “Final Battle Arc”—had immense pay-offs on par with Avengers: Infinity War. Thanks for reading my manga review, and stay tuned for my thoughts on Demon Slayer’s second half—the “Sunrise Countdown Arc”—and its ending. Let’s keep it reading until the sun rises, Muzan Kibutsuji! Your reign will come to an end! Believe it!

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