Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (Volume 1) - Cruelty

Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba Volume 1 Cover

Tanjiro returned home to find his family dead. He raced back down the mountain, carrying his sister, the only one that had any body heat. Could she be saved? Then, she roared and tried to bite him! What is going on?

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (Volume 1) – Cruelty

What happened?

Tanjiro had gone down to the tow to sell charcoal. He was hoping to make enough money to ensure his family could have a great New Year’s feast. On his way back, he was stopped by a resident who told him it was too dangerous to walk the mountain at night. Demons roamed there. Not believing in demons, Tanjiro accepted the man’s hospitality and stayed the night. However, when he got home a terrible sight awaited him. His family were dead. His home was covered in blood. His sister Nezuko was still warm so he pulled her onto his back and raced back down for help.

Then, Nezuko released a terrifying roar causing Tanjiro to slip and fall. When he got back to his feet, Nezuko stood before him, her teeth bared. She charged and tried to attack him, but Tanjiro managed to get the handle of his hatchet between her jaws. He pleaded with her, trying to remind her of who he was, but it was no good. She was out of control. Then a stranger appeared and threatened to kill Nezuko, calling her a demon. Tanjiro stopped him from landing a killer blow and tried to defend her. The demon slayer was not impressed.

Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba Volume 1 Nezuko protecting Tanjiro

What did you think?

I have seen the anime, watching it live as it aired, so I am familiar with the story and the flashy animation that put the series on the world stage. There are parts of the story that I love and parts that I hate. This volume covered some of the parts that I loved. So, I’d imagine you’d be expecting me to love this volume. Unfortunately, that is not the case. It was fine, but without the animation, the music, and the voice acting, there really wasn’t that much to it. One thing, I did notice was how quickly it blew through things.

This volume covered most of the first four episodes of the anime, which is fairly standard based on my observations. Basically, without the animation, this isn’t that exciting. It was fine, but it really didn’t blow me away. I’ve read a lot of manga of late and this is nowhere near the top. There really wasn’t enough time spent developing anything and it wasn’t like it did anything to make me curious. Again, it was fine, but I was expecting a lot more.