Kimetsu no Yaiba – 01

OP Sequence

OP: (Gurenge) by (LiSA)

(Zankoku)
“Cruelty”

The premise has been swiftly laid out in this first banger episode.

It was no surprise to me how beautiful the opening scene was. Im sure Im not the only one to have recognized Ufotables subtle inclusion of CGI in the snow covered scenery. The cohesion between the soundscape and artistic direction hooked me right into the next scene where were introduced to main character Kamado Tanjirou (Hanae Natsuki) and his family. The familys happy allure is established right away. As the eldest son, Tanjirou has a good rapport with each of his siblings as well as his mother. With his father out of the picture, hes taken on the role of caretaker and provider. We find out that hes resourceful and very well loved by the people of in the village below the mountain.

This whole sequence reeked of death to me. The soundtrack made it so chirpy I could feel the cringe swell from deep inside me. It was giving off the its too good to be true vibe. Knowing where this was headed made it even more difficult to watch, especially after Tanjirous oh-too-happy narration where he says: We dont have an easy life, but were happy.

I love watching anime with gore but when the blood and destruction involves a family that I happen to fall in love with within the first five minutes of an episode, it sucks. The only thing redeeming enough to truly appreciate the unfolding scenes, however, were Tanjirous deep wails and lustrous tears. The despair is so well expressed (as expected from Kaneki and 9Ss seiyuu), you can practically see his heart exposed on the ground ready to take the final blow, especially when he begs Tomioka Giyuu (Sakurai Takahiro) for his sisters life. It’s so emotionally charged!

Im looking forward to his personal growth. Hes not only smart but actually quite good with his hands. With a strong sense of smell as an asset, I assume hell have a somewhat smooth physical evolution as he trains to become a demon slayer. What Im most looking forward to though is his psychological growth. His world has been turned upside down and it might take every ounce of strength he has for him to overcome whats happened to him and his family. Hell also have to learn how to deal with his sister Kamado Nezuko (Kito Akari) who has now been turned into a demon.

Honestly, even though I knew exactly what would unfold throughout the entire episode and there wasnt much new information, it was so well built that I was pretty much on the edge of my seat the whole time.

As for whats to come, this brother-sister duo has a long way to go. With what the OP is teasing, it looks like its just going to get more interesting as the series progresses. Theres a whole roster of characters waiting to be introduced and we still have a lot to learn about their world, so things are really just looking up from here.

If you cant already tell, I just jumped neck deep into the Kool-Aid and it tastes good.

24 Comments

  1. Anon

    Amazing Episode!I really like the animation, the story and the OST. Futhermore the voice actors are great. Look forward for that serie

  2. cpn mango

    good start. promising manga.

  3. mac65

    Yeah, a strong first showing.Hoping the remaining episodes will be as strong. The foreshadowing at theold man’s house where he stayed was a little much – you knew right then andthere calamity unfolded for his family. Seems the old man knew something…

  4. Player

    I waited for the anime because the manga’s art was a bit hard for me to appreciate, glad it didn’t disappoint. The vibe I got was a cross between D.Gray-man and Claymore. Totally agree that the OP has me excited for this.

  5. The visuals are god-tier, but what really gets your attention is are the monologues, exposition, dialogue and for me it was bad.Very disappointing desu.And then people showed to me this image comparing with the manga. Its practically a copy and paste, which is a bad sign, that the manga isnt better and the anime didnt try to improved.

    • MissSimplice

      I kind of a agree with you that the dialogue is currently the weakest point of the episode. I didn’t want to get too into it in the hopes that it gets better in the coming weeks. I’m hoping that the episode was more of a book cover than the book itself, you know?

      • I want this to be good because… OH MY GOOD THE VISUALS!It made me discover how much I wish this studio/team worked on Otoyomegatari. Can you imagine that manga adapted with this level of visual quality?

  6. Worldwidedepp

    @Kimetsu no Yaiba- Good one- Their CGI is well embed that only an trained eye will notice it. Good one- Music is on sync. It show the ears what the eyes can not see. Building up EmotionsPassed with God speed 1/3- Now lets see in how the Story carry this anime

    • Worldwidedepp

      and as you see, this seems like an “Vampire” monster. She struggles to hold on her Human Soul because of her bond with his BrotherLet’s hope she win the fight against her inner demon… yes “Claymore” vibes. Where the Boy/Brother is the Anchor of her Humanity

      • Worldwidedepp

        – but this is not the modern time where Blood packs are the “fruit and Nectar” for friendly Vampires in the Neighborhood. Lets see how he solve that problem. in “Interview with an Vampire” Tom Cruise’s avatar survived this many years because he drank blood of “Rats and other little animals” that no one miss them

  7. Enan84

    Soundtrack by Yuki Kajiura!! Didn’t expected her to make another one, so it’s a pleasant surprise. Thank you for your review otherwise I had missed this gem.

    • MissSimplice

      Right?! So happy about that too! Glad you enjoyed the review. I’m not 110% sure I’ll keep covering but like 100%. XD

  8. Poring

    This is like the only show of the new season that has aired so far that is not complete trash, i am really disappointed right now, first few days of new shows and practically all shit.

  9. sealouse

    I might sound a little impatient, but i hope they explain how his sister is OK with just being muzzled list that.

  10. Wanderer

    Kajiura Yuki on music! Creator of some of the very best soundtracks EVER.

    • Wanderer

      In other news… I’m sure what makes all this worse for Tanjirou is the thought that if he’d just taken his family into town with him, this wouldn’t have happened…

      • Archaon The Everchosen

        Well it still won’t work since the attack was intentional aim at his family

  11. Bambi

    This is a series I’ve always been meaning to try, since it’s the up and coming shounens of the era currently, and the art is quite stylish. Stoked that Ufotable are in charge to make it look good at least, let’s see how the tropes hold up with the storytelling!

  12. ewok40k

    nothing like some demonfighting action to Kajiura Yuki soundtrack!sold!

  13. Flappy

    Looks very promising, ufotable animation did help sell the premise and world, but I hope that the story can hold up.

  14. Sfalcin

    That Breath of Water animation in the OP is perfection.

  15. Worldwidedepp

    Ep 02:- The Camera is good, an mix of CGI Background and animated characters- Seting me likes- i think i got hooked right nowWould i like to watch this anime? Yesi want to watch this “mature” anime alone for the siblings duo and the world. even if i need to get used to Nippon old Demos tales

  16. I just watched the last episode then rewatch the first episode again whoa, big change

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