initial thoughts (as I read the manga)

It’s going to be hard for me to re-watch this first episode about Tanjiro’s family getting slaughtered.
Is Tanjiro a teenager or a young man? Because ain’t no way he’s strong enough to carry his sister on his back in this basket like this! (I know, it’s just a manga, but STILL)
I’m realizing now that I actually watched more than just the first episode…I think I watched the episodes up until the end of the first volume of the manga, but I guess we’ll see once I start watching it!

Okay, SO! I know I was supposed to start this series two weeks ago, but life has been so hectic lately, and I’m finally able to catch a breather. Yesterday, I was able to watch all the episodes of the anime that led up to the end of volume 1 of the manga, which ended up being four episodes.

For those who might need some definitions:

*Manga: “a style of Japanese comic books and graphic novels, typically aimed at adults as well as children.”

*Anime: “a style of Japanese film and television animation, typically aimed at adults as well as children.“

*both of these definitions were taken from the Oxford Languages dictionary

And, for those who might need a refresher on why I’m writing this blog post, you can read the introductory one here.

what happened.

So, in this volume/in these episodes, we see the tragedy that befalls Tanjiro’s family – they’re all killed by a demon, except for his little sister Nezuko. He tries to save her, but realizes she’s turned into a demon because her wounds absorbed demon blood. He, of course, desires to save his sister even though it seems she wants to eat him, when a demon slayer, Giyu Tomioka, comes along ready to kill Nezuko.

I won’t write out everything, but basically, after seeing Nezuko defending/protecting Tanjiro, Giyu tells Tanjiro to look for Sakonji Urokodaki so that he can teach him to become a demon slayer. Most of this volume shows Tanjiro’s training, and then him arriving at the Final Selection, where his true test to become a Demon Slayer begins.

manga vs. anime

It’s been maybe a week since I read the manga and watched the anime, so there were some things I couldn’t remember happening in the manga as I watched the show…like Tanjiro’s ponytail being cut off in the first episode by Giyu Tomioka. There was more emphasis on that in the anime, but I had to go back in the manga to see if it actually happened, and it did, I just didn’t pay much attention to it. The end of the fourth episode in the anime also showed Tanjiro cutting through the giant demon’s head, whereas in the manga, it’s debatable whether he succeeded or not, giving you more of a cliffhanger than the anime episode did.

I’ve been enjoying both the manga and the anime so far (I know, I’ve only just begun), and I can’t wait to see if there are more things I try to notice more in the manga now that I realize there might be more emphasis on them in the anime. I know for a fact that I have no clue what happens after this manga volume, so the rest will be a pleasant surprise for me to experience!

Since this is my first official post of the series, I’m going to cut myself some slack on there being no concrete outline. Yeah, I threw some headers on here, but the outline might change in the middle of this series, so just be prepared if that happens. I also might write more details about the story, so there could be potential spoilers (I’ll be sure to post a warning though). And I’ll be sure I don’t wait too long to watch the episodes that coincide with the manga so it’s fresher in my mind.

Mishy 🦋🩵