REVIEW: ‘Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba,’ Volume 19

Demon Slayer Volume 19 is an action-adventure fantasy manga that is written and illustrated by mangaka Koyoharu Gotouge and published by VIZ Media. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba takes place during Taisho-era Japan and follows a kindhearted boy named Tanjiro Kamado as he tries to make a living to support his family. Unfortunately, tragedy strikes when a demon massacres Tanjiro’s entire family. The only survivor, of the attack, is his younger sister Nezuko who ends up transformed into a demon. Now Tanjiro sets out on a dangerous journey to become a Demon Slayer, avenge his family, and find a way to cure Nezuko and save her humanity.

Demon Slayer Volume 19 picks up where the previous volume left off. The Demon Slayers Corps fight hard to get their blades closer to Muzan’s neck to end his tyranny once and for all. In order to avenge her family, Kanao must continue to battle Doma head-on while Iguro and Kanroji find themselves slashing through the shifting rooms of Infinity Castle. Elsewhere, Tokito, Sanemi, and Genya come face-to-face with a villain who recognizes Tokito, but Tokito doesn’t know him. As they battle his connection to the powerful adversary is revealed.

As usual, the mangaka, Koyoharu Gotouge, doesn’t leave any room for disappointment when it comes to the artwork in this volume. I’ve been reading and reviewing this series for quite some time now and I am continually impressed with the artwork and level of detail in each volume. The art in Demon Slayer Volume 19 has panel after panel of great action sequences. I found the illustrations of facial expressions and emotions were my favorite from this volume. The mangaka does an exceptional job conveying a variety of expressions on the characters’ faces.  So much so that it almost feels like you can feel their intensity, rage, fear, and shock through the page.

Demon Slayer Volume 19 is packed with action. From the very beginning of the “Infinity Castle Arc” has been non-stop action, and I love it. Gotouge just has a way of capturing characters’ movements and intensity that conveys their strengths and efforts to the readers. The tremendous action scenes are what I think make Demon Slayer: Kimestsu no Yaiba a one of a kind manga. I admit initially, I thought I would be bothered by the story jumping back and forth between different character’s battles. I feel like that type of storytelling can feel like it drags the story out and slows down progress.

However, I have been satisfied with how well the pacing of the story has been so far. A big part of that is due to the fact that the mangaka focuses a good amount of time on the characters. Especially on minor characters like Kanao and Inosuke. I especially enjoyed seeing how these two worked together as they battled the upper ranked demon, Doma. Particularly because Gotouge makes it very clear that Kanao is not a damsel in distress and that Inosuke is not there to rescue her or take over because she is a woman. Additionally, in Demon Slayer Volume 19 we get a few heartwrenching moments that involve these two. I don’t want to give any spoilers away, but this volume gives some great insight into their backstory that is worth the read.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Volume 19, continues to bring an action-packed story and great insight into the characters along the way. Accompanied with panel after panel of beautiful illustrations and well-paced story, the mangaka Koyoharu Gotouge continues to impress me every volume. I highly recommend picking this volume up because the story just seems to keep getting better and better as it goes on.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Volume 19 is available where books are sold.