Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

Shonen anime have developed a fine tuned formula that allows them to immediately capture viewers attention and then slowly expand that first 21 mins into a well fleshed out world full of characters and lore to keep discovering. When thinking of an anime to introduce a friend of family member to, Demon Slayer should be one of the first shows to come to mind. Why? Because it's animation budget is crazy high so it's absolutely stunning and it follows the formula so well no one is likely to walk away uninterested. It also has a low tolerance for anime bullshit, which is Japanese humor and character tropes that don't crossover to western audiences very well. For being as accessible as it is, Demon Slayer also hits the emotions with a big punch to the gut. It's ability to weave touching moments into intense action is great! In such a violent world, Tanjiro's sense of empathy is always well founded, which is pretty common for shonen protagonists. But the animation quality and sublime editing make for some heavy emotional material that manages to elevate it from it's shonen predecessors. All around, this is a great anime that's only kept getting better. I plan to review it's longer arcs separately down the line as I've heard some really great things. Keep an eye on this one.

---