“Feel The Rage. The Powerful, Pure Rage Of Not Being Able To Forgive Will Become Your Unswerving Drive To Take Action.”

The word over-hyped is definitely not an exaggeration in conversations about this anime, but I believe that a very usual side effect of any show that does something new and or exciting in an already well-established genre.

Prior to starting Demon Slayer, I had not seen a shounen in years. I had grown tired of the genre and its usual formulae and tropes, which is why I had my reservations about the show during the first half of my watch-through. The beginning of this series is the necessary and painstaking setup that every shounen-watcher must endure. Tanjiro's training arc is far from inspiring but does set up a decent story when it comes to his skills actually being tested for the first time. It was very easy to see why this show had been given the praise it had received. Even during episodes where I felt like I was reading the next monster of the week chapter, I was still somewhat drawn to every demon Tanjiro comes across, as every single one is interesting in its own right. The villains are very basic but what makes them so fun to see is Tanjiro's interactions with them as well as any other character we see in the series.

Tanjiro is a very vanilla protagonist. Good Guy Tanjiro: Kills Demons, Protects Lolis. But his one most admirable trait is his ability to see the good in every enemy he faces. This is mostly due to what has happened to his sister and I think it is a very nice change of pace from the typical hero of justice trope in shounen. Especially because his actions are not necessarily seen as right by his superiors and serve as a very good driving force for him as a character.

This series is no stranger to flashy fight sequences and ufotable spares literally no expense in any shot. Every single episode is beautifully animated and done extremely well. Tanjiro's form and attacks are particularly beautiful to look at and compliments the show's unique, manga-adhering art style. The climax of this season in particular is one of the best-animated sequences I have seen in recent memory.

Overall, I believe that even with the hype that this show gets, I still think it is worth the watch for any fan of anime. Especially if you are like me and have been away from the shounen genre for a long time. This show is refreshing and should serve as an example for the genre down the road, It's success has proven that even the same old formula can be adapted into something exciting and I am extremely excited for what is in store for the movie and any further adaptations. Even if I had to wait 20 episodes for my waifu.