What a journey the manga of demon slayer has been. I first picked up the manga after watching the first season of the anime and being blown away by the animation. The manga is no different, the artwork is beautiful, and there is the same humor throughout the manga as in the anime — no shocks there.
Volume 23 gave us a conclusion to the Demon Slayer story. Which, I am glad that this story does in fact have an ending and doesn’t continue in a perpetual cycle. The ending gives us catharsis for a story as a whole. I have mixed feelings about the ending where it shows us what the ancestors of the characters’ lives are like. This gave me flashbacks to the ending of The Promised Neverland Season 2’s ending. Personally, I enjoy a more open-ended ending like in Full Metal Alchemist. But, this ending gives a definitive ending that is closed to any additional sequels since all the demons have been killed and show no signs of returning. But, there is enough back story and lore to have a few prequels.
For a shounen anime, the ratio of the plot to fighting is normal. However, nearly 90% of this anime feels like it is fight scenes. Not to say that is bad, but long durations of fighting in the manga are often confusing. Especially when fights are cut mid-chapter and even between manga volumes. The final battle with Muzan took 7 manga volumes! But, it was a satisfying ending overall, and I can’t wait to watch the breathtaking anime version of it done by Ufotable.
