The boy with the sword refuses at first, mocking Tanjiro for his weakness. However, before he can perform the killing blow, Tanjiro begs his sister’s life to be spared. Thankfully, a boy with a strange sword appears and fights Nezuko off of Tanjiro. He also discovers she has gained the ability to change her size as she forces him down into the snow with her growing weight. Her teeth have become fangs, her nails talons, and she doesn’t respond no matter what Tanjiro says. When they both come to, Nezuko immediately goes on the offensive. However, his sister awakens and struggles, causing them to fall into the snow-covered ravine below.

Putting her on his back, he starts back down the mountain, desperate to save his sister. As he works through the scene, he discovers his eldest sister Nezuko is still breathing and is the sole survivor. Blood and bodies litter his once peaceful home. The following day, Tanjiro makes it home to find his entire family has been slaughtered. Tanjiro isn’t sure if they exist or not but ends up agreeing and stays with him for the night. Tanjiro isn’t willing to at first, but the older man warns Tanjiro of the dangers that lurk in the nighttime, one of which is demons – creatures who feed on humans and can’t walk in the sun. On his way back home, a kind older man calls Tanjiro and requests that he stay with him overnight. Unfortunately, due to all of the distractions, Tanjiro spends all of the day and most of the afternoon in the village. In the village, we also discover how beloved and helpful of a person Tanjiro is, as many villagers come from their homes and businesses to greet him and ask him for help. Here we discover Tanjiro has an impressive sense of smell as he is able to clear up a family dispute by determining who broke a vase just by smell alone.

One day, he decides to take a basket of charcoal down the mountain to a nearby village to earn some money for his family. As the eldest son, Tanjiro takes on a fatherly and protective role over his entire family. He is the eldest son of a charcoal-seller who passed away not too long before the story’s beginning.

In Taishō-era Japan, Tanjiro Kamado lives in the mountains with his family. Trigger Warning: Discussion of blood and gore as it appears in the manga series Demon Slayer will be discussed. This review is exclusively for the manga, but because the anime is based on the manga, there is a likely chance this will spoil both. There will be spoilers for the manga and anime series for Demon Slayer. Lissywrites / Septem/ Book Reviews, Manga / 0 comments Warning: Book Review | Demon Slayer by Koyoharu Gotōge

Koyoharu gotōge short stories