Spring 2019 First Impressions – Kimetsu no Yaiba

Since ancient times, rumors have abounded of man-eating demons lurking in the woods. Because of this, the local townsfolk never venture outside at night. Legend has it that a demon slayer also roams the night, hunting down these bloodthirsty demons. For young Tanjiro, these rumors will soon to become his harsh reality. Ever since the death of his father, Tanjiro has taken it upon himself to support his family. Although their lives may be hardened by tragedy, they’ve found happiness. But that ephemeral warmth is shattered one day when Tanjiro finds his family slaughtered and the lone survivor, his sister Nezuko, turned into a demon. To his surprise, however, Nezuko still shows signs of human emotion and thought. Thus begins Tanjiro’s request to fight demons and turn his sister human again. – ANN

Streaming: Crunchyroll, Funimation, and Hulu

Episodes: TBA

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Tanjiro is a hard-worker and loves his family. As the new year approaches, he plans to sell as much hand-made charcoal as he can so that his mother and siblings will have enough food to eat for the celebration. He leaves for town in the morning, sells his wares (and uses his keen sense of smell so solve a few minor mysteries for the townspeople), only making his way back up the mountain as the moon rises. The old widower living along the mountain path warns of demons roaming the mountain at night, and convinces Tanjiro to stay the evening.

In the morning, Tanjiro arrives home to a horrific situation – the smell of blood lingers in the air and the bodies of his family are sprawled throughout the property. The only person left alive is his sister Nezuko, but she’s in poor shape. Tanjiro carries her through the snow to see a doctor, but when she awakens it’s clear that she’s undergone a horrible transformation. Nezuko has gained an extreme amount of strength and a lust for blood, and attacks her own brother in her rage. She’s gained the blood of the demons who attacked her family, and her senses have gone haywire. Tanjiro believes that his sister still exists somewhere, and he’ll do whatever he can to heal her of this demonic affliction.

Impressions: While I’m an anime fan who’s often more in awe of stories that push genre boundaries or provide unique insights into human psychology or society, there’s also something very satisfying about storytelling that treads familiar ground and does so in a way that remains compelling in spite of its familiarity. I tend not to be all that interested in straight-up action series, but I can appreciate the ability of that genre to impress visually through cool animation and action choreography. Kimetsu no Yaiba is the type of anime series that might not appear all that interesting to fans who feel that they’ve outgrown the type of entry-level shounen action anime that’s been the fandom’s gateway for so many young otaku. But there are a lot of things about the first episode that prove that genre and demographics aren’t the sum-total of what an anime has to offer.

Ufotable is an odd studio in that they don’t appear to be all that prolific (to me), but seem to focus on providing animation production on a less-frequent basis with an eye toward visual impressiveness. I’d guess they’re probably most known for the recent Fate adaptations, but I was also pretty fond of their high-quality adaptation of Touken Ranbu that came out a couple of years ago. I think what’s consistent between all of these productions, though, is Ufotable’s impressive character animation, as well as their ability to incorporate CG effects and environments in a way that so few other studios seem to manage. In that sense, Kimetsu no Yaiba is really just another entry in that continuum of impressive work.

This episode puts a lot of very impressive visual elements on display. The detailed 3D backgrounds, including the realistically-textured snow, do an excellent job of setting the stage for the story. The 3D rendering allows a lot of very dynamic camera work that would likely be impossible otherwise; late in the episode, this really adds a lot of interest to the action choreography. The drawn detail of the traditionally-animated elements (character close-ups and such) is animation eye-candy; the different, somewhat jagged line-weights create the illusion that the characters have been carved from wood and printed onto old paper. It’s an effect that’s eye-catching while still utilized judiciously throughout the episode.

Beyond its great visual style, though, the episode also impresses through its storytelling. While I wouldn’t describe it as subtle, I like the way in which Tanjiro’s special sense of smell is introduced and utilized throughout the episode. I think the common practice would be to call something like that in an obvious way and give an obvious expository explanation for its existence, but Tanjiro demonstrates its power through its use instead. We don’t know how he developed this sense of smell, but we accept that it exists because of the way in which it’s used.

This “show-don’t-tell” mentality doesn’t always carry through the episode, however; there’s also some use of internal monologue from both Tanjiro’s and Giyuu’s point-of-view. While this is a decent tool in the toolbox, watching The Promised Neverland last season demonstrated to me that so much can be shown through framing, action, reaction, and facial expression while virtually eliminating verbal explanation. Kimetsu no Yaiba takes a more typical approach, giving us access to Tanjiro’s frantic thought processes while carrying his sister, and Giyuu’s mental explanation of Tanjiro’s aggressive actions during their forest duel. It’s definitely a matter of taste but I would have preferred for the action to speak more for itself – it’s definitely capable of telling the story on its own terms.

I’m also a bit up-in-the-air over the death of Tanjiro’s family as a motivating factor. While this sort of thing is a very classic story device for obvious reasons (it provides obvious character motivation, the opportunity for revenge, and frees up the protagonist from his other mundane responsibilities), it also turns (most typically) women and children into story fodder and that in itself has become frustrating to me as a viewer. Nezuko’s fate has its own frustrating elements; she’s still alive, but exists in a state of animalistic limbo (at least currently). I’ll be interested to see how her development plays out, what her relationship turns out to be with her brother, and whether elements of her humanity will show themselves more as the story goes on.

I was looking forward to this series from purely an aesthetic perspective, but it looks like it might have merits beyond just great animation and beautiful background artwork. Its story of the battle against bloodthirsty demons could turn out to be a compelling addition to this season’s offerings.

Pros: Beautiful 2D animation and 3D background art. Very cool action framing.

Cons: The protagonist’s motivations are a little stale. The internal monologues could be dialed-back.

Grade: B