Demon Slayer has swept the globe by storm with massive fights, stunning animation, and a captivating narrative. The massively popular franchise debuted in 2016 with a manga by Koyoharu Gotoge, and is sometimes shortened as Kimetsu or KnY. It received globally renowned anime adaptations that firmly entrenched its position in popular culture, combining the genres of adventure, dark fantasy, and martial arts to tell the narrative of a child called Tanjiro who becomes a strong Demon Slayer. Anime Figures Demon Slayer beginner’s guide to the world of Kimetsu no Yaiba is the place to start!

• Story

After his father’s death, a little kid named Tanjiro Kamado sells coal to support his beloved family in a gloomy land where stories of ferocious creatures persist. Despite their difficulties, the family is content until one day, when they are slain in a demon onslaught.

Tanjiro and his younger sister Nezuko are the only ones who have survived, but he is surprised to see that she has transformed into a monster as well. Unlike other demons, though, she retains her human feelings and bond to Tanjiro. He joins a secret group of Demon Slayers, vowing to return Nezuko to her human form, and the two embark on a treacherous mission to find the demon responsible for the cursed metamorphosis.

• Historical context

Kimetsu no Yaiba is supposed to have occurred around 100 years ago, during Japan’s Taisho period (1912–1926). It is about 50 years after the samurai lost the privileged roles and prestige that they had had since the Edo period (1603–1863) when World War I began.

In prior decades, Japan had been heavily impacted by Western science and technology, such as electricity, railroads, and industrial silk-making, which spurred fast modernization. Western culture was also diffused from major city elites to common inhabitants, resulting in a unique combination with Japan’s own culture, which had grown in isolation.

• Characters

Anime Figures Demon Slayer characters comprise a good-hearted young man with a strong sense of right and wrong. He worked as a coal vendor to support his mother and five siblings, following his father’s footsteps. After his family was murdered, he began training to become a Demon Slayer, studying the Water Breathing Style under Sakonji Urokodaki, a former Water Hashira. His acute sense of smell allows him to tell the difference between humans and demons and read other people’s emotions. His lone reminder of his father is a remarkable set of hanafuda earrings, which he always wears. Natsuki Hanae (Japanese) and Zach Aguilar (Spanish) provide their voices (English).