Since I know that the Demon Slayer movie was a big box office hit, even here in the US, I doubt there are many of you who haven't at least heard of it. I'm going to review the story, reveal my favorite character, and talk about the show juxtaposed with the movie since they did the Mugen Train arc in show form as well. I have started the source material (manga) but have not gotten very far into it so I will not be touching on how the show follows or deviates from the manga.
The story: it's your typical shounen plot, weak boy has a goal, trains to be stronger, fights bad guys and almost loses many times but pulls out of it sometimes by pure strength of will, sometimes with the help of friends or loved ones. I felt that this story differed from most other shounen stories in that it gives sympathetic back stories to most of the villians (although certain ones, My Hero Academia comes first to mind, also do this) and that the protagonist, even though he has to kill them, mourns their passing like he would any human death. It also has a strong sibling relationship at its core. The protagonist is basically a morally perfect human being. He's kind, strong when need be, sympathetic, hard-working, loyal and dedicated to finding a cure for his sister's condition.
Characters: Although the story introduces new characters in each arc, several characters remain constant. Some of those characters are simply archetypes (such as the swordmaker who provides a little comic relief in his exasperation with Tanjiro for losing or breaking swords that he has provided him). Not a lot of female characters with any amount of development or consistency. That's a bit of a let down, but not all that uncommon in shounen anime. Nezuko probably has the most sussed out personality of any of the female characters we've met thus far and she never even talks. So, in the absence of strong female characters, let's focus on the regular male ones. The villain's name is Muzan and he is a shapeshifting demon who is basically the father of all demons who pulls the strings behind the scenes. He'll be the final boss, but none of them have had to try fighting him yet. Muzan lives in disguise within the human world, presenting in various different forms, sometimes as a woman and sometimes as a young boy, but his primary form is that of a man who looks remarkably like Michael Jackson in his heyday. Muzan is the strong and ultimately evil villain who you love to hate. He mistreats his subordinates who are all afraid of him, and he is responsible for bringing new demons into the world and probably personally responsible for the massacre of Tanjiro's family in the first episode. Although Muzan himself is the ultimate evil, a lot of his demons have unique backstories and are more than simple monsters. They have interesting insights on what it means to be human and what it means to be a demon and you can't help but sympathize with them even knowing how many human lives they had to have taken to get as strong as they are. My favorite character is Zenitsu and I am well aware that he tends to be hated by the fandom because a lot of people find his initial cowardice and girl-crazy attitude to be offputting. There are a few reasons what he's my favorite. Firstly, he is insanely powerful and doesn't even realize it because he has so much self-doubt and self-loathing that he can only fight after being knocked unconscious. Second, he is kind in his own way and brave in his own way. Regardless of how he feels about a situation, he eventually pushes himself to keep up with his friends so he doesn't let them down. This leads to substantial character growth. Third, he is loyal to Tanjiro and Nezuko especially, but also to Inosuke to a lesser extent. Fourth and finally, he's not perfect but he tries. Even though he is scared, he doesn't let that stop him from doing the right thing. Even when Inosuke is beating the crap out of him, he protects the box because Tanjiro made a comment when it didn't even seem like Zenitsu was listening that what was in the box was more important to him that his own life. Even as he's fleeing the house, he protects the boy from harm as they fall, taking most of the damage himself. He may be a little whiney because he's scared, but he has such an interesting and complex personality. The only other characters with that amount of complexity in the show are demons. Honorable mentions: The female doctor demon who is trying to help Tanjiro find the cure for Nezuko's condition. I loved the addition of her character because it showed that there was a way for demons to not follow Muzan and to be good, even if that meant that doing so would make them have to live with giant targets on their backs.
What I find problematic: Obviously, the lack of strong female characters. Even though Nezuko is technically stronger than Tanjiro, he is constantly protecting her. As a human, Nezuko was the embodiment of what might be considered the ideal woman. She was meek, selfless and basically the ideal housewife material because she took care of kids and cooked and cleaned and sewed. As a demon, Nezuko is able to grow a little more as a character, but there is still the implication that she is a weak woman in need of protection. In fact, most of the female characters are treated like that, which is extremely disappointing to me. I understand that the show is set during a time when women were expected to take on a more subservient role, but it is still possible to make strong female characters within such an environment (look to dororo for an example of this in anime). I just don't see that displayed very well in Demon Slayer. That is my problem with a lot of Shounen anime, actually. Even when the female characters are really strong they always seem to have an eventual need of rescuing by a stronger male character who they inevitably fall in love with. Characters like Uzui Tengen (a hashira known for his flashiness) are allowed to treat women like objects and then they are rewarded for it by admiration or by having multiple wives. (I really don't like his character and loved how Zenitsu tore into him even if it was only in sarcastic thoughts). However, this is not just a problem in Anime, but in a lot of other media as well. I see the same thing in various types of fantasy fiction as well as various western shows and movies. Every time I see it, I hate it. It has become less prominent as media becomes more "woke", but it is by no means gone. I know. I know. I sound like an angry feminist. I'm not angry, not really. But I am a feminist and I won't apologize for it. I believe that changing the perception of gender and gender roles starts by having strong, capable women portrayed in media and that society can only benefit from this change. That's just how I feel.
Once again, thanks for taking the time to read my blog. I hope you enjoyed my insights and hopefully you'll watch Demon Slayer if you haven't seen it. Even with problems, this is one of the better shounen shows that I've seen.
