Demon Slayer Kimetsu No Yaiba Graphic Novel Volume 11

In Taisho era Japan (1912 to 1926), Tanjiro Kamado is a kindhearted boy who sells charcoal in order to support his mother and four siblings.  After one particularly taxing trip to sell coal, Tanjiro returns to his home in the forest and finds his family slaughtered.  He discovers that a younger sibling, his sister Nezuko, has herself been transformed into a demon by the unknown demon that killed his family.  Tanjiro becomes a Demon Slayer in order to find and destroy that demon, Muzan Kibutsuji.

As Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba, Vol. 11 (Chapters 89 to 97; entitled “A Close Fight”) opens, Tanjiro continues his battle against the “Upper-Rank 6” demon, Gyutaro.  However, he and his compatriots:  Zenitsu Agatsuma, Inosuke Hashibira, and Tengen Uzui (the ninja turned Hashira) are having trouble with this demon and with his younger demon-sister, Daki, who are both among the “Twelve Kuzuki,” the upper-rank demons.

As his allies fall, Tanjiro is faced with fighting alone, so can even this plucky, determined Demon Slayer defeat two demons?  Will he have to do so?  Plus, learn the origin of Gyutaro and Daki.

THE LOWDOWN:  The Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba manga is a powerful shonen battle manga.  Imaginative and exciting, it is one of the best graphic novels on the market.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Graphic Novel Volume 11, like Vols. 7 to 10, is one of the series' best entries.  Creator Koyoharu Gotouge finally brings to an end one of the series best story arcs, which involved the the demon siblings who ruled the entertainment district, Hanamachi, in the town of Yoshiwara.  As this volume proves, Gotouge has a deft touch with drama that matches his skill with explosive action.  Vol. 11's final two chapters are not only poignant, but they are also heartbreaking

John Werry's translation and Stan!'s English adaptation convey the soul in Gotouge's storytelling and gives it a heartrending twist.  In the final chapters, John Hunt's two-fisted lettering tries to wring tears out of the readers after punching them with the explosive fonts of battle manga.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of demon-fighting heroes will want to read the Shonen Jump title, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba.

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