Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (鬼滅の刃) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Koyoharu Gotōge. It follows Tanjiro Kamado, a young boy who becomes a demon slayer after his family is slaughtered and his younger sister Nezuko is turned into a demon. The manga was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from February 2016 to May 2020, and its chapters collected in 21 tankōbon volumes as of July 2020. It is published in English by Viz Media and simulpublished by Shueisha in English and Spanish on their Manga Plus platform.

An anime television series adaptation by ufotable aired in Japan from April to September 2019. Following the airing of the final episode, a sequel film was announced and is scheduled to premiere in October 2020.

Setting
The story takes place in Taishō-era Japan. It follows Tanjirō Kamado and his sister Nezuko Kamado as they seek a cure for Nezuko's demon curse. Tanjirō and Nezuko become entangled in the affairs of a secret society, known as the Demon Slayer Corps, that has been waging a secret war against demons for centuries. The demons are former humans who sold their humanity in exchange for power. They feed on humans and possess supernatural abilities such as super strength, magic, and regeneration. Demons can only be killed if they're decapitated with weapons crafted from an alloy known as Sun Steel, injected with poison extracted from wisteria flowers, or exposed to sunlight. The Demon Slayers, on the other hand, are entirely human; however, they employ special breathing techniques, known as "Breathing Styles", which grant them superhuman strength and increased resistance.

Premise
Tanjirō Kamado is a kind-hearted and intelligent boy who lives with his family in the mountains. He has become his family's breadwinner after his father's death, making trips to the nearby village to sell charcoal. Everything changes when he comes home one day to discover that his family has been attacked and slaughtered by a demon. Tanjirō and his sister Nezuko are the sole survivors of the incident, with Nezuko being transformed into a demon, but still surprisingly showing signs of human emotion and thought. After an encounter with Giyū Tomioka, a demon slayer, Tanjirō is recruited by him and sent to be taught by Sakonji Urokodaki, another member of the Demon Slayer Corps, to also become a demon slayer, and begins his quest to help his sister turn human again and avenge the deaths of the rest of his family.

After two years of strenuous training, Tanjirō takes part in a formidable exam and is one of the few survivors to pass, officially making him a member of the Demon Slayer Corps. He begins his work of hunting down and slaying demons alongside Nezuko, who has been hypnotized to bring no harm to humans and who occasionally helps him in battle. One of Tanjirō's assignments brings him to Asakusa where he encounters Muzan Kibutsuji, the progenitor of all demons and the one who murdered his family. He also meets Tamayo, a demon who is free of Muzan's control. Tamayo allies with Tanjirō and begins to develop a cure for Nezuko, though it will require Tanjirō to supply her with blood from the Twelve Kizuki, the most powerful demons under Muzan's command.

Continuing his missions, Tanjirō meets Zenitsu Agatsuma and Inosuke Hashibira, fellow survivors of the exam with whom he forms an unlikely team. The group soon face off against a member of the Kizuki, but are ultimately outmatched; they are rescued by the Corps and brought back to headquarters. There, the Kamado siblings partake in a council between Kagaya Ubuyashiki, the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps, and the Hashira, the Corps' most elite members, who do not believe that Nezuko should be allowed to live. However, Kagaya nonetheless manages to convince them to accept her. With this agreement, Tanjirō begins to work alongside the Hashira, where he encounters significantly more resistance from the demons. Alongside the Hashira and Corps members, Tanjirō takes part in numerous harrowing battles against the Kizuki, which they survive by narrow margins. During the fray, it is discovered that Nezuko is invulnerable to sunlight, a discovery that makes her the prime target of Muzan, who has long sought a way to overcome the sun and thus become the ultimate being.

Kagaya forecasts Muzan's intentions and enacts a strict training regiment of the entire Corps to prepare for the upcoming battle. With the blood samples obtained from the Kizuki, Tamayo develops a serum to cure Nezuko, who is kept isolated far from the battle as she recovers. Muzan soon appears before Kagaya, who triggers a suicide attack to stagger him. The Hashira and Tanjirō ambush Muzan, but he traps them all within Infinity Castle, an endless labyrinth which houses the Kizuki. Tamayo restrains Muzan with a poison she concocted, leaving him vulnerable for attack. To reach him, the Corps defeat the remaining Kizuki members, though they take heavy losses of their own. Muzan slays Tamayo by absorbing her but is forced above ground by the Corps. A desperate battle of attrition ensues as the remainder of the Demon Slayer Corps fight against Muzan until the morning sun can kill him. Aided by Tamayo's poison, the Corps succeed, though many are killed, including most of the Hashira, while Tanjirō is mortally wounded. Helpless against the sun, Muzan gives his remaining power to a dying Tanjirō and makes him a demon in a last ditch effort to have his species survive. Tanjirō begins to attack the remaining Corp members, but through the efforts of his allies and Nezuko, who has been fully restored to her human self, he is turned back into a human.

Creatures

 * Demon (鬼) - Main enemies within the series. They are humans who sold their humanity in exchange for power or were transformed into demons Kibutsuji himself. Demons share some similar traits with the vampires; such as feed on humans, transfer their blood to humans to make one of their kind. They can only be killed if they're decapitated with weapons crafted from an alloy known as Sun Steel, injected with poison extracted from wisteria flowers, or exposed to sunlight.
 * Tsuchigumo

Gallery

 * Manga covers