Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Volume 1, published in 2016, is the first volume of a dark fantasy shōnen manga (a Japanese comic book series/graphic novel) written and illustrated by Koyoharu Gotouge (a pen name to protect their privacy). In 2021, Gotouge became the first manga artist to be included on the Time 100 Next list, which spotlights rising stars in various industries. They began publishing Demon Slayer in 2016 and finished in 2020; this work spanned 23 volumes.

Demon Slayer is the ninth best-selling manga series of all time—of the 10 best-selling manga series, it is the only one which began in the 21st century. It has received numerous awards, including the Japanese Cartoonist Association Award in the Comic division. It was made into an equally successful anime (Japanese animation, often based on manga), which began airing in 2019.

The story follows Tanjiro Kamado, a teenage boy living in rural Taishō-era Japan whose family is killed in a brutal demon attack that turns his sister Nezuko into a demon. Unlike other demons, Nezuko is compassionate toward humans. Tanjiro decides to join the Demon Slayer Corps so he can find a way to turn Nezuko back into a human. The manga deals with themes such as how to persevere through hardship and tragedy, the importance of training and hard work, and why it is important to treat with people with sympathy and kindness. Tanjiro and Nezuko go through immense difficulties, but their strong sibling bond and kindness help them and their friends persevere. The manga is renowned for its compelling characters, complex themes, and innovative art style, particularly in action sequences.

This guide is based on the 2016 Viz Media paperback edition, translated by John Werry. Readers should note that unlike western books, Japanese manga is read from right to left—both the book as a whole and each individual page. This guide’s citations start from what some readers would consider the end of the book.

Content Warning: Demon Slayer contains illustrations of graphic violence, including blood, murder, dead bodies, and intense fighting sequences. There is also a brief mention of suicide.

Plot Summary

Tanjiro Kamado and his family work as charcoal sellers in a rural, mountainous area outside Tokyo in Taishō-era Japan. Since his father’s death, Tanjiro works hard to provide for his family. Even though the snowy weather is harsh, he descends to a nearby village to sell charcoal to earn money for a new year’s feast, while his sister Nezuko helps their mother look after their four younger siblings. In the village, many residents ask Tanjiro for help and he returns home at night. An old man named Saburo warns Tanjiro that man-eating demons roam the mountain at night and that Tanjiro should stay at his house until morning. Tanjiro doesn’t believe in demons and thinks Saburo is just lonely, but he agrees to stay the night.

When Tanjiro returns home the next morning, he sees that his entire family has been brutally murdered; only Nezuko is still warm. He picks her up and heads toward the village. Suddenly, Nezuko wakes and attacks Tanjiro: She has turned into a demon. They grapple, and Tanjiro pleads with her to fight the transformation. She recognizes him and stops attacking. Their fight is interrupted by a demon slayer named Giyu, who tries to kill Nezuko. Tanjiro defends her, saying she would never hurt him. Giyu is skeptical, as he has seen many demons kill their loved ones. He and Tanjiro fight, and even though Tanjiro is inexperienced, he proves a clever fighter and fast learner. It becomes clear that Tanjiro is right about Nezuko’s human nature because Nezuko protects her brother from Giyu rather than attacking and eating him. Tanjiro swears to Giyu that he will find a way to become a demon slayer and turn Nezuko human again.

Giyu thinks Tanjiro and Nezuko may be a special case and sends the siblings to a demon slayer trainer named Sakonji Urokodaki. On the way, they encounter their first demon. They fight it together, but the demon is extremely strong and regenerates quickly. After they trap the demon, Urokodaki arrives. He watches Tanjiro to see how he deals with the demon: He thinks he’s too compassionate to be a demon slayer, as he has sympathy even for demons. The sun rises and destroys the demon before Tanjiro can summon the courage to kill it.

Urokodaki gives Tanjiro a test. He agrees to take Tanjiro on as a pupil if he can make it down a trap-filled mountain before sunrise. Tanjiro uses his keen sense of smell to navigate the mountain in time, and Urokodaki takes him on as a pupil. Over the next year, Urokodaki trains him in fighting and breathing techniques, and tells him about the Demon Slayer Corps. He poses a challenge: In order for Tanjiro to be included in the final selection for demon slayers, he must split a large boulder in one blow. Tanjiro tries and fails to split the boulder for six months.

A pair of orphans named Sabito and Makomo, who say they were taken in by Urokodaki, teach Tanjiro to internalize Urokodaki’s teachings rather than simply memorize them. Though Tanjiro doesn’t know it, Sabito and Makomo are spirits of Urokodaki’s students, who died during their final selection. The three train for six months, and finally, Tanjiro breaks the boulder.

For the final selection, recruits must survive on a demon-filled mountain for a week. Tanjiro kills his first demons. Then, he faces an extremely large and powerful demon called the Hand Demon, whom Urokodaki imprisoned on the mountain almost 50 years ago. Since then, it’s dedicated itself to killing Urokodaki’s students. Tanjiro fights the demon using the “total concentration breathing” he learned in training. The volume ends on a cliffhanger as Tanjiro swings his katana at the demon’s neck.