Kimetsu No Yaiba Comics
Marilina Crawn
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (鬼滅の刃, Kimetsu no Yaiba, rgh. "Blade of Demon Destruction")[4] is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Koyoharu Gotouge. It was serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from February 2016 to May 2020, with its chapters collected in 23 tankōbon volumes. It has been published in English by Viz Media and simultaneously on the Manga Plus platform by Shueisha. It follows teenage Tanjiro Kamado, who strives to become a Demon Slayer after his family was slaughtered and his younger sister, Nezuko, is turned into a demon.
By February 2021, the manga had over 150 million copies in circulation, including digital versions, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time. Also, it was the best-selling manga in 2019 and 2020. The manga has received critical acclaim for its art, storyline, action scenes and characters. The Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba franchise is one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time.
In Taishō era Japan, a secret organization known as the "Demon Slayer Corps" has waged a war against demons for centuries. Demons are former humans who possess supernatural abilities such as enhanced strength, rapid regeneration, and unique powers referred to as "Blood Demon Arts". Demons can only be killed if they are exposed to direct sunlight, decapitated with weapons crafted from an alloy called Nichirin, or injected with a poison extracted from wisteria flowers.
In contrast, the Demon Slayers are entirely human but employ specialized elemental breathing techniques known as "Breathing Styles". These techniques grant them superhuman strength, heightened abilities, and increased resilience that enable them to fight demons effectively. The most formidable Demon Slayers are known as the "Hashira" and gain this title through multiple advancements in the Corps' ranks, culminating in killing fifty demons at the highest level or a member of the Twelve Kizuki.
Tanjiro Kamado is a kind-hearted and intelligent boy who lives with his family in the mountains. After his father's death, he became his family's breadwinner and travels to the nearby village to sell charcoal. One day, Tanjiro comes home to discover his family was slaughtered by a demon. His sister Nezuko is the sole survivor of the incident; though she has been transformed into a demon, Nezuko still shows signs of human emotion and thought. Following an encounter with Giyu Tomioka, the Water Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Tanjiro is sent to train with Giyu's former instructor Sakonji Urokodaki in becoming a Demon Slayer and begins his quest to help Nezuko turn into a human again.
Two years later, Tanjiro learns the "Water Breathing" style and takes part in a formidable exam. He is one of the few to pass, officially making him a member of the Corps. Sakonji has hypnotized Nezuko to not harm humans and she aids Tanjiro in dire situations as he starts his work of hunting down and slaying demons. One of their assignments bring them to Asakusa where they encounter Muzan Kibutsuji, the progenitor of all demons and the one responsible for the murder of their family. Tanjiro and Nezuko also meet Tamayo and Yushiro, two demons free from Muzan's control. They ally to develop a cure for Nezuko, though it will require Tanjiro to supply Tamayo with blood samples from the Twelve Kizuki, the twelve most powerful demons under Muzan's command, split into the six Lower Ranks and the six Upper Ranks.
Angered by Rui's death, Muzan kills the Lower Ranks due to their constant failures; he spares Lower One Enmu and tasks him with killing Tanjiro. After a battle against Enmu in a passenger train, Tanjiro kills him with Kyojuro's support. However, Upper Three Akaza appears and battles Kyojuro, who dies from his wounds as the demon escapes. Months later, the group is sent to Yoshiwara with Tengen, where they face off and kill the Upper Six siblings Gyutaro and Daki. Tengen retires from the Corps after suffering extensive injuries. During another battle at the Swordsmith Village, where the Corps' weapons are forged, Tanjiro meets Sanemi's younger brother Genya, who has the mysterious ability to temporarily gain demonic powers after eating their flesh. With the help of Muichiro and Mitsuri, the group kill Upper Five Gyokko and Upper Four Hantengu. In the aftermath, they discover that Nezuko is immune to sunlight. She becomes Muzan's prime target as he has long sought a way to overcome the sun and become immortal. Tanjiro also learns his Hinokami Kagura descends from "Sun Breathing", the first Breathing Style created by Yoriichi Tsugikuni, the most powerful Demon Slayer in history, and develops it to fight Muzan.
Knowing Muzan will attempt to find Nezuko, the Corps enacts strict training to prepare its members for the coming conflict. Tamayo develops a serum with the obtained blood samples to cure Nezuko, who is kept in isolation as she recovers. Muzan appears and Kagaya triggers a suicide attack to stagger him. The Hashira ambush Muzan but he traps them all within the Infinity Castle, an endless labyrinth housing Akaza, Upper Two Doma, Upper One Kokushibo, and the newly-ascended members Kaigaku and Nakime: Zenitsu's former partner and Muzan's personal assistant respectively. As Zenitsu kills Kaigaku, Tamayo injects Muzan with a poison she and Shinobu have made to weaken his abilities. When Akaza remembers his human life, he betrays Muzan and commits suicide, while Shinobu sacrifices herself to poison Doma, allowing her protg Kanao Tsuyuri and Inosuke to kill him. After a harrowing battle, Kokushibo kills both Muichiro and Genya before being killed as well. Muzan kills Tamayo, and later Nakime when she is hypnotized by Yushiro to use her powers against him, but he is forced above ground by the Corps.
Aided by Tamayo's poison, the Corps unleash a desperate battle of attrition as the remaining members fight to stall Muzan until the morning sun can kill him. Muzan is left helpless against the sun but Gyomei, Obanai, and Mitsuri succumb to their injuries. As Tanjiro delivers the final blow, Muzan fatally wounds him and forcefully gives him his remaining blood. Tanjiro is transformed into a demon as Muzan's last-ditch effort to have his species survive. He begins to attack the survivors but through their efforts and Nezuko's aid, who has been fully restored to her human self, the transformation is reversed. In the aftermath of the battle, the Corps are disbanded, leaving Giyu and Sanemi as the last surviving Hashira.
Muzan's death has effectively vanquished all demons under his control while Yushiro goes to live as a painter. Tanjiro and Nezuko return to their home, accompanied by Zenitsu and Inosuke. Tanjiro and Inosuke marry Kanao and fellow Demon Slayer Aoi Kanzaki, respectively, while Zenitsu marries Nezuko. In a modern-day epilogue, the descendants and reincarnations of the Corps members enjoy a peaceful life free of demons.
After Gotouge's manga, Haeniwa no Zigzag, published in Weekly Shōnen Jump in 2015, failed to become a serialized work, Tatsuhiko Katayama, Gotouge's first editor, suggested Gotouge to start a series with an "easy-to-understand theme".[5] Gotouge's debut work Kagarigari would become the basis for an initial draft, titled Kisatsu no Nagare (鬼殺の流れ) since it had concepts like swords and demons, which would be familiar to the Japanese audience.[5] However, due to its serious tone, lack of comic relief, and dark story, this draft was not accepted for serialization, so Katayama asked Gotouge to try writing a brighter, more normal character in the same setting.[5] The original title was Kisatsu no Yaiba (鬼殺の刃), but they felt the character "satsu" (殺, lit. "kill") in the title was too overt. Although it is a made-up word, "kimetsu" (鬼滅) seemed easy to understand, so Gotouge thought it would be interesting to abbreviate the series' title that way; the word "yaiba" (刃, lit. "blade") implies a Japanese sword.[5] According to Gotouge, the series' three biggest influences are JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Naruto and Bleach.[6][7] Tatsuhiko Katayama, an editor of the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba manga, has said in interviews that the red-haired, scar-faced Tanjiro was inspired by Rurouni Kenshin, a 1990s manga about a similarly drawn swordsman, Himura Kenshin.[8]
Written and illustrated by Koyoharu Gotouge, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba was serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from February 15, 2016, to May 18, 2020.[9][10] Shueisha collected its chapters in 23 individual tankōbon volumes, released from June 3, 2016, to December 4, 2020.[11][12]
Shueisha simultaneously published the series in English on the Manga Plus service starting January 2019.[13] Viz Media published the first three chapters in its digital magazine Weekly Shonen Jump as part of the "Jump Start" program.[14][15] During their panel at San Diego Comic-Con on July 20, 2017, Viz announced that they had licensed the manga for the North American market.[15] The first volume was released on July 3, 2018.[16]
Giyu Tomioka Gaiden (冨岡義勇 外伝, Tomioka Giyū Gaiden), a two-chapter manga spin-off centered on Giyu, was published in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump on April 1 and 8, 2019. Gotouge is credited with the original work and Ryōji Hirano drew the manga.[17][18] A side-story for the manga was published in the first issue of Jump Giga on July 20, 2016.[19]
A 19-page special one-shot chapter written and illustrated by Gotouge, centered on Kyojuro's first mission, was published in Weekly Shōnen Jump on October 5, 2020.[26] An 84-page booklet, titled Rengoku Volume 0, which includes the 19-page one-shot chapter and interviews with the staff and cast of the film, was given to the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train theatergoers on October 16, 2020.[26][27][28] The booklet had a limited print run of 4.5 million copies.[28]
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