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No need for a lengthy review here. This anime is a horrific adaption of a pretty amazing manga. They put a very nearly perfect series through the meat grinder and released it thinking no one would notice, I guess. I have honestly not seen a worse adaption. The animation, the direction of both the VAs and the story itself, none of it was up to par. Not even the sound design. TG is a beautiful series that deserved an adaption that would honor both its aesthetic and its tone. This was... almost spitting in the face of the author and all the fans of TG.

I was so pleasantly surprised by this anime.

Story:

Shockingly good! I was probably one of the many who saw this and thought 'oh god, another sports anime'. I generally enjoy sports anime, but I know exactly what I'm getting into when I start watching one. Usually. My expectations with SK8? Totally subverted. Not by the story, but by the character action and direction. Without spoiling what happens, let me just say: this story is a ride. A rollercoaster. It made my upset by times, because I could really and truly empathize with our main character and what he experiences. The pacing was excellent, excellent use ... of thematic red herrings. I did feel a little let down by the conclusion of a few different arcs by episode 11, however the overall theme matches the outcome. It gets dark, it gets real. It also stays mostly tonally consistent. I have some nitpicks, again regarding the last 1-2 episodes, but overall? Absolutely worth a watch.

Art:

It's mappa. You already know.

Sound:

Loved the soundtrack, loved the sound design, loved the voice acting - which I watched dubbed. Very amusing, extremely well-cast. I only have praise.

Character:

Hard to explain why I enjoy the characters so much without spoiling, but they're all great, well fleshed out and complex. You can tell some of them have completed their arcs prior to the events of the anime, but some haven't, and watching their development as the story progresses is what enamored me in the first place. There is one character in particular who I feel did not get their comeuppance, which was somewhat irritating. That said, the ending did suggest a season 2 which might rectify this loose end.

Enjoyment:

There was pretty much never a dull moment. I loved the themes, loved the characters, the acting, loved the eye-candy animation/art, everything. Outside of one or two issues I have with the ending, it was a very cohesive narrative.

I understand that this animation was based on a novel series, I'm also not overly familiar with Chinese animation. Just a preface.

Story:

Having delved into MDZS a little (the live action, the animation didn't impress me), I had a general expectation for TGCF. Mythic romance, very serious world-building, character driven action and a hit/miss ensemble cast. I was pleasantly surprised by how TGCF drew me in right off the drop, where MDZS had left me a little underwhelmed. The introduction to the world and characters was straight forward and rational. The story, what little we get of it throughout 11 episodes, is reasonably good. As ... such the story is kind of hard to judge. TGCF is very much about its characters. Fortunately these characters are quite able to run the show themselves. Their interpersonal conflicts make for a lot of fun banter whenever any of them are together.

Art:

The art is quite good. Falls off a little towards the end of the series, and they do use some 3D that looks hugely out of place next to such good 2D animation/art. I have no real complaints about it outside of that.

Sound:

Didn't notice a thing about the sound design, though the voice acting... good grief. I admit I am not a connoisseur of donghuas, but I'm sure not all the characters have to have the same tone when speaking. Our lead voice actor is especially breathy and non-emotive. Xie Lian is obviously very stoic but there are scenes where he is clearly meant to react (shock, anger, fear), and he just... doesn't. Whether this is a problem with the cast or the script, I'm not sure. This significantly bothered me throughout my viewing. EDIT: I have since switched to the dubbed version, which is yet another case of the dub being surprisingly well-done. Much better direction tbh. Gives the characters the flavor I expected them to have.

Characters:

Enjoyable. Got a kick out of the main 4 and their banter, even the side characters were interesting enough to hold attention without being annoying or obvious red shirts. As mentioned earlier, the characters are written in such a way that their conflicts and motivations aren't necessarily spelled out for the viewer. Makes for a fun little mystery, trying to decode why some don't get along, some do, and how they all relate to one another.

Overall:

6/fair. Held my attention, nice art, passable animation though some parts were lackluster. Some minor nitpicks: intro and outro are way too long, actual episodes too short, I also feel they did not utilize their 11 episodes to their maximum capacity. Glad they didn't rush the story, but there IS such a thing as dragging your feet.

Not gonna lie I went into this series fresh off the anime and had high hopes and expectations. I was sorely disappointed with what I found.

Story:

The anime strongly reminds of Magi (manga version) and so diving head first into KnY's manga, I expected some strong but compact narrative arcs. What I got felt like a cheap imitation. The arcs are compact alright, almost to the point of rushing them. Everything that happens within a set arc seems to have limited impact on what happens outside of them. Where a truly inspired series like Magi sees what happens in each arc have a definitive impact on ... each arc going forward (and the narrative overall), KnY struggled to keep any arc relevant after it closed. It sort of feels more like a collection of connected stories, as opposed to one complete story. This isn't an uncommon problem with shounen, but it is especially exaggerated in the case of KnY.

Art:

No complaints. It's a pretty generic world but the setting being Taisho era Japan is neat, if a little underwhelming considering how little the setting is actually utilized. Character designs are inspired though. Well done there.

Characters:

So, the early arcs of the anime and manga alike didn't bother me so much because they're there to introduce us to these characters, their past, their motivations, etc. At some point though you have to give your characters, especially your morality-driven protagonist, a real question to struggle with. Tanjirou never really questions his actions or his motives. It's all for revenge against Muzan. This renders every battle outside of the one he is sure to wage against Muzan totally moot, unless someone else is there to bridge the gap (and often there is, re: Kyojurou, Giyu, etc). Tanjirou is seriously one of the least interesting protagonists I've ever come across. He's boring. Should've made Giyu the protagonist instead of giving him a spin-off manga. Tanjirou would have made a decent side character, but he just doesn't cut it when it comes to being a main character.

Enjoyment:

Due to the lack of narrative cohesion, uninspired characters, and overall poor writing, my enjoyment of this series bottomed out after the Demon Train arc when I realized things weren't going to improve. I kept reading, just to see if I was wrong, but I've caught up with the current, final arc and I'm still not impressed.

My enjoyment of this anime hinged entirely on the quality of animation. Ufotable brought everything to the table to bring this series to life in a way that it is decidedly not on paper. The animation and sound design of Kimetsu no Yaiba is, without doubt, one of the best this year. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the story, characters, or overall themes of this series. But that fault lies with the author, who, in the last arc of the series in the manga, has continuously failed to give this series any real lasting impression.

The most concise summary of Kimetsu no Yaiba is ... this: Magi meets Owari no Seraph, poorly. It aspires to the level of narrative coherence and compact seriousness that Magi delivered, and the universal question of human existence that Owari no Seraph struggles with, but comes up short on both. The blame for this can mostly be attributed to the fact that KnY lacks a complex antagonist and true narrative goal for its protagonists to struggle with. Tanjirou faces battle after battle without ever really questioning his motive to fight. Yes, revenge is a motivating factor. But there has to be more to a character than that. For Tanjirou, a character whose entire personality and growth hinges on his morals, to never face a moral question? To never question the path his morals have led him down? That's worse than mediocre shounen writing. Even a series as basic as Bleach managed to have its characters engage with the question of whether or not they were on the "right" side. Tanjirou faces none of that, and so each and every fight falls flat and meaningless when looked at within the scope of the whole narrative.

Like Owari no Seraph, KnY lays out the premise that the story's supernaturally evil creatures (vampires in Owari no Seraph, demons in Kimetsu no Yaiba) are essentially human. Outside of a select few powerful individuals, the vampires and demons of each respective series and forced to become as such against their will. From here, Demon Slayer departs narrative cohesion and - while simultaneously acknowledging the innate humanness of its demons - treats them almost like the titans of Attack on Titan. Once again, however, this is done poorly. The titans of AoT are treated as categorically inhuman, incomprehensible. Kimetsu no Yaiba's demons get both treatments at the same time: both innately human and incomprehensibly evil. Should be killed with prejudice, but also sometimes can be allies re: Tamayo. Tamayo, as an aside, is a narrative anomaly. There should either be several more demons like her, or none at all, considering the number of demons that exist in KnY's world. But Tamayo is the least glaring problem in the series. Muzan being a villain without vision and Tanjirou a moral protagonist without a moral struggle far outrank her on the problem scale.

So yes, this series is a treat to watch, but ONLY to watch. It's a blessing (and possibly entirely intentional...) that Ufotable only animated up to the Demon Train arc.