[Book Review] Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

Hello everyone. I am Naseka.
I define myself as a philosopher and essayist and book reviewer.
I define myself as such.

This book review is about the manga
"Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba," which created a huge sensation in the Reiwa era.

From now on, whenever I think of this work,
"COVID-19"
will be associated with it.

However, it is not simply because
"it became a boom during the COVID-19 pandemic."

Incidentally, at the time, it became a topic of conversation when Prime Minister Suga made a statement in the Diet saying, "With total concentration breathing..." but I wonder how Mr. Suga read this work.

As a Prime Minister, he must have been busy, and perhaps he just picked up an impressive line to create a buzz.

Of course, I cannot rule out the possibility that he is a passionate fan.

As for me, I (in principle) only read completed works, so I feel like I missed the boat on the boom.

Even so, I ended up reading it now to understand why this work became so popular during the COVID-19 pandemic, and because the anime is still exciting, so I should know about it for educational purposes.
(And I also had an ulterior motive of wanting common topics to talk about with young people these days.)

The modern era where humans have become demons

In this work, when good citizens are turned into demons, they themselves begin to attack other citizens.

It is reminiscent of how, the moment you are infected with a virus, your position changes to that of a source of infection to those around you.

Even in the story, there are those who are turned into demons and end up killing their families against their will. A tragedy where you kill your own loved ones with your own hands.

Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, although they did not pull the trigger themselves, I think many people felt a sense of helplessness, thinking they had spread the infection to their families and acquaintances.

In Japan, "plagues" and "demons" have been associated with each other since ancient times.

Perhaps the reason this work became particularly popular during the COVID-19 pandemic lies in the existence of the "demons" that appear in the work.

There is no guarantee of salvation

As you can see from the breaks in the anime, this work is divided into several episodes, but what I felt after reading it is that "there is no guarantee that there will be salvation in the end."

It is not quite the same as the famous celebrity's motto, "Just being alive is a big profit," but if it is a battle where lives are at stake, just being alive would be some form of salvation to begin with.
(Although there may be cases where one "survived against one's will.")

But in that sense, there is absolutely no guarantee that "everyone will be saved in the end" for any of the episodes.

If I were to write in detail about who and where, it would be a spoiler, but regardless, even allies die in this story.

I haven't read that many battle manga myself, but I don't recall many works where allies so close to the protagonist die one after another.
(Excluding the number of mob characters)

Come to think of it, reality is much the same.

In manga and anime, there is something called "plot armor" that allows characters to survive any crisis, but there is no such thing in the real world.
(Even if you are the protagonist of your own life)

No matter how precious someone is to you or me, there is no guarantee that they will be alive tomorrow... or even five minutes from now.
There is nothing certain.

This applies to those caught up in accidents or incidents, but also to the absurdity of people who were perfectly healthy until then suddenly losing their lives to infectious diseases.

It may be classified in the same category as influenza now, but many people must have felt frustrated after being caught up in its ferocity.

For those who have lost loved ones, I, someone like me, cannot find the words to say.

Still, there is one thing I think.
I am glad that you, who are reading this now, are alive.

Summary

The battle between the "demon" known as the novel coronavirus and us "humans".

Perhaps this work can be called a fable that depicts not just the "COVID-19 pandemic" itself, but also the fact that it became popular during the pandemic.

If this had been completed before the pandemic, it might have been treated as a "book of prophecy."

Or, if someone reads this work decades or centuries from now, they might think it is a work based on a plague.

I cannot help but feel the mystery of history in the fact that the boom of this work coincided exactly with the COVID-19 pandemic.

By the way, as someone who read it to keep up with the conversation, my personal conclusion is that you might just need to know about "Breathing Styles," "Total Concentration (Breathing)," "How unexpected," and "Set your heart ablaze."

Recommended for people like this!

・People who want to catch up with the trend now
・People who want to look back on the COVID-19 pandemic through manga
・People who want to think about the transience of life

Might not be for people like this...

・People who do not want to be reminded of the COVID-19 pandemic
・People who are not fond of battle manga

Thank you for reading.

* I participate in the Amazon Associates program.

Today's recommendation (unsolicited introduction)

* Since this is an unsolicited introduction,
please contact me if it is a nuisance.