Kimetsu no Yaiba is not your typical shonen anime but at the same time it is. It does not have your archetypical main character that accomplishes all his goals through the power of friendship and/or by activating his hidden power -which is never revealed until the plot armour established is not life-saving enough-; instead, Tanjirou is a run-of-the-mill guy who does not become a one-of-a-kind swordsman overnight, but spends months training, shedding his blood, sweat, and tears, showing the story of struggle and how it has molded his character.
It does not attempt to build a story based on a main protagonist who wants to become stronger justified by the simple fact of being the strongest or proving the world wrong, but for a much deeper motive.
It’s also not afraid to deviate from the standard path taken by most shonen of advancing as little as possible in each episode, mainly done to extend the journey –and the money raised- as much as possible. Speaking about this, Kimetsu no Yaiba solid pacing makes the show advance energetically, although it does not forget to catch some breath when the situation justifies it –as in ep. 19, if you know what I mean…-.
Still, it follows the standard battle shonen familiar-hero’s journey plot of: member(s) of family killed fuels progress, finds someone who trains/instructs him, es an exam to become part of a faction, and, after becoming strong enough, ends up in an expedition where he makes friends and forges bonds, while at the same time encounters people (either comrades or villains) that change his way of thinking and acting towards life. However, if it’s done correctly, who says this is a bad thing?
As you can see, the plot is rather simple and straightforward, as nothing really stands out story wise speaking, though it doesn’t change the fact that the show is remarkably enjoyable. Despite a pretty slow start where some parts felt quite boring, the story came up to be really attention-grabbing, and these first episodes turned to be important for establishing a solid, well-paced plot -so please wait a little bit for the action! -. Also, the power progression pace is nicely done too, making it quite satisfying to watch them apply their training to the battles. Besides, the way different situations are expressed through narration is pretty noteworthy, transforming this shounen-type anime into a really good piece of story exposition.
Ufotable is just flexing on other studios right know. Digital era has given studios the opportunity to develop in so many different ways, though Ufotable has seized the opportunity to improve as much as or more than anybody else, and Kimetsu no Yaiba represents a good case in point.
With a unique art style, they’ve achieved to display an outstanding hack-and-slash action-packed animation really eye-catching to the viewer. That’s mainly thanks to a really fluid and lifelike animation, which pays close attention to even “minor details” such as rendering, moving backgrounds or characters’ portrayal. I mean, who would not love to see humans slashing demons, demons crushing humans, in short, both fighting against each other in a life-and-death struggle with flashy action sequences full of intense colouring, smooth shading and outrageous use of angles that enhances the experience?
Additionally, the way which music and voice acting has been used on this 1st season has been amazing. Without going into comparing its OST to that of other shows, we could say that it’s a soundtrack that it neither will for the ages nor would get stuck in replay on your mind for weeks, although when watching the show it’s pretty noticeable and makes a lot of scenes much more enjoyable and mesmerizing, making it pretty obvious that both the piece itself and the moments chosen for the OST to be played were extremely well thought-out.
Last but not least, characters. Some think Zenitsu is irritating; some think he’s hilarious. Some think Tanjirou is a light-hearted, kind, strong person; some think he’s too trustful. BUT WHO THINKS THAT NEZUKO IS NOT WORTHY OF WORSHIPING? NONE. Jokes apart, characters play an important role in KnY, as they carry the whole series in a team effort, meaning that most of the characters with some screen-time are important, as they play a part in the development of the story and/or our protagonists; they do this quite well, making most of them really likeable and relatable –even though we are talking about demons and swordsman- as, their feelings, goals and states of mind are much like our own, as well as their abilities –speaking exclusively about the human union-, which are obtained via loads of effort, and not magically.
However, all is not yet rosy either, as there are diverse subjects, mainly with regard to the story –and I won’t talk too much about it in order to avoid spoilers-, where I sensed -at times- hurriedness and lack of strategic and operational thinking, like in the sequence of different events or with CGI’s utilization. And we can’t forget about that really slow start…
Nevertheless, all these “complaints” are something minor and end up being ostracised by all the positive points of the series, making it impossible to deny that this anime is one of a kind.
