[LES] Can the anime community please stop treating Demon Slayer like its Solo Leveling
There is a trend I've seen amongst the anime community to write off Demon Slayer as being carried by animation in the same way people tend to write of Solo Leveling and sometimes people even directly compare the two series and act like they are the same. I think these takes really misrepresent the quality of Demon Slayer. Demon Slayer is a show that is not going to blow anyones mind with its story, world, or character, but just leaving it at that is I would argue a diservice. The characters in Demon Slayer may not be anything ground braking but they are likeable, entertaining/engaging characters with good designs and neat fighting styles. The show balances attention out so all of them get time to shine. None of what I have described is particularly incredible as writing goes but it's also not bad. Its pretty standard for a long form shonen battle series nothing more and certainly nothing less. But where the show really shines is the fights. Not only is the animation for the fights high quality but the art style is genuinely great. The viabrant neon attacks contrast with the more grounded color pallet of everything else in a way thats beautiful in a way unlike most other shows even high budget ones that also have good animation. And crucially the fight scripts are actually great. The show pushes its simple power system to creative extremes as Tanjiro combinese the strengths of the various breathing styles while attempting to work around his opponents abilities. But where the fight scripts shine are in the way they generate tension. Every fight you see Tanjiro just get the shit beat out of him and he just keeps going. He keeps fighting on deaths door in a way where you can really understand the level of battle damage he has taken and see it slowing him down. The show does a great job of having Tanjiro get beaten down and then push through to overcome his opponents in ways that generate so much hype. None of this dismisses the level quality the characters are written with but I don't think its fair to just ignore the good qualities just because Inosuke is kind of a one note character. I also think its pretty unfair to compare this level of writing to Solo Leveling a show I am actively watching and cannot remember the name of any character that isn't the protagonist or one of his shadows because none of them matter to the story beyond their ability to glaze Sung Jin Wu and maybe act as something the audience can compare him to in order to judge just how OP he is.
Posted May 5, 2025, 2:07 AM UTC