With the arrival of April, L.S. Produ's new animation, "Demon Slayer," has finally begun airing.
It is a story about the battle between demons and the Demon Slayer Corps.
The protagonist, Tanjiro Kamado, was originally just a charcoal-selling boy with a keen sense of smell. One day, upon returning home, he discovered that his family had all been killed by a demon, and his only surviving sister, Nezuko, had been turned into a demon herself.
However, Nezuko is a somewhat special demon. Although she wanted to attack humans at first, she managed to control her urge to "feed" thanks to her brother, the protagonist.
Afterward, under the recommendation of Giyu Tomioka, one of the core members of the Demon Slayer Corps known as the "Water Hashira," the protagonist takes his sister to find an old man named Sakonji Urokodaki to apprentice under him and learn demon-slaying techniques. After completing his training, he passes the final selection to become a member of the Demon Slayer Corps. Then, he meets some companions, with whom he hunts down demons and seeks revenge against the main boss, Muzan Kibutsuji.
That's pretty much it.
Of course, this is the core plot of the entire story. In reality, the first episode mainly covers the protagonist's family being wiped out, his sister Nezuko being turned into a demon, the arrival of the Water Hashira, Giyu Tomioka, who intends to kill Nezuko but is shocked by the situation between the protagonist and his sister, and finally, his recommendation that the protagonist seek out Sakonji Urokodaki.
The male lead buried his mother and younger siblings, then left with his only remaining sister, Nezuko, to find Sakonji Urokodaki.
The plot is very simple, not complex at all.
The conflict between demons and the Demon Slayer Corps seems unprecedented in previous works, but at its core, it's actually similar to settings like demons versus human paladins, or vampires versus vampire hunters.
Setting it in the Taisho era is relatively rare, but it can't be considered all that innovative either.
Ultimately, this is just an ordinary, standard shonen anime.
From the setting to the plot, everything is mediocre.
The original manga's early storyboards weren't that great, the art skills were just average, and it didn't really stand out in any aspect.
If there's anything worth mentioning about this work, it's that although the story is a bit clichéd, it has few "annoying tropes." In particular, the male lead's personality is quite likable; he's gentle but not a "saint." When facing demons, which are enemies of humanity, he feels sympathy but doesn't show mercy—he kills when he has to, unlike some "saintly" male leads in traditional Japanese manga.
With fewer annoying tropes, the probability of dropping the series is relatively low. However, because it's not outstanding enough and lacks innovation, it's very difficult to attract those who have read many excellent manga early on.
So, it is truly a miracle that the original manga of this series was able to be serialized continuously and wasn't axed after just a few weeks.
Later, being able to become one of Shueisha's "pillars" and one of its heavily promoted titles can be considered incredibly lucky.
However, for anime viewers, it is a great blessing that this work was adapted by LSP.
In terms of plot, the anime strictly follows the original work, but the animation is even better, the storyboards have more expressive power, the voice actors are all well-known, and the OP and ED are performed by famous singers.
On the day it premiered, only the first episode was aired, but even just that first episode was enough to showcase the high production quality of LSP, garnering rave reviews from manga readers who were drawn in to watch it.
That said, for those who hadn't read the original manga, knew little about it, or had tried to read it but couldn't stick with it, the reputation of the Demon Slayer anime wasn't as glowing.
On various rating websites, there are people who have given the Demon Slayer anime negative reviews, such as:
"Thinking back, when I followed Lin Zhiyan's Death Note and Code Geass, the first episodes were stunning. The whole premise was so attractive that after finishing the first episode, I couldn't help but want to watch the second. As for later ones like Gurren Lagann, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Anohana, as, and Shirobako, the first episodes weren't quite as brilliant, but they were still enough to keep you watching...
Moreover, those original animations by Lin Zhiyan, even if they don't have a spectacular start, get exciting in the middle and later parts, making them unputdownable.
This time, Demon Slayer feels mediocre. That would be one thing, but the key point is that it's a manga adaptation, and based on the material released so far, I haven't heard of any explosive developments. I really don't understand why LSP would choose this work to adapt, and even make it their flagship animation for this year.
It seems that ever since L.S. Animation was established, some less outstanding animation projects have all been dumped over there for production, so... why not dump this one to LSA as well? I really can't figure it out."
On the forum, many netizens are also discussing:
"It's quite surprising that LSP's main animation this year is Demon Slayer. It seems that even with Old Thief Lin at the helm, this company is not far from its myth being shattered."
"Yeah, last year's main title, Uma Musume, even though the horse-girl concept was hard for some to accept, was still relatively innovative. That episode where Silence Suzuka had her accident was enough to bring tears to anyone's eyes. As for this year's Demon Slayer, if they drastically change the plot, fine, but if they follow the original manga, I can only say it's watchable, but nothing to write home about."
"How should I put it? The production quality of the animation is impeccable, but the problem is that the original work is just too mediocre. I really don't understand why LSP would choose this as their main animation this year."
"Well, it's a manga that was almost cancelled once, so how could it not be average? But these days, with more and more twisted (unconventional) manga and anime, traditional 'hero's journey' (mainstream) works are finding it harder and harder to survive, and they are becoming increasingly rare. If you like traditional, straightforward stories, it's still worth a watch. That's probably the reason it wasn't cancelled, and likely why LSP chose to adapt it as their flagship project."
"Actually, the original work of this series isn't that bad. If you have the patience to stick with the beginning, it gets exciting later on. As for the settings not being outstanding enough... aren't all shonen manga like that?"
"Shonen manga settings aren't outstanding? Look at 'Naruto' or 'One Piece'—which of those doesn't have outstanding settings? It's just that 'Demon Slayer' isn't good."
"Do you think it's possible that this is a strategy Lin Zhiyan set for LSP? Maybe he specifically chose a work where the original material wasn't that outstanding, so that the audience would better remember the animation studio rather than the original author?"
"Now that you mention it, that actually seems possible. But if that's the case, I'm afraid Lin Zhiyan won't be able to achieve his goal as a producer this year either."
"Unless LSP has another major animation release this year, that's certainly true. With this animation coming out, it's even hard to say whether LSP will be able to keep its undefeated myth."
Please Support me by becoming my patreon member and get 15+ chapters.
[email protected]/Ajal69
change @ with a
Thank You to Those who joined my Patreon