My Goodreads Review of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Vol. 23 by Koyoharu Gotouge

Two years after finishing this manga I still wish they did the ending over. I remember how much people complained about the finale of the last volume of My Promised Neverland, but I take that finale over this one anytime. Hopefully the movie adaptation does better. 

  Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Vol. 23 by Koyoharu Gotouge
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Talk about a hard-fought, bitter-sweet ending! To no-one's surprise, Muzan was defeated. But he made good on his vow to destroy the Demon Slayer Corps―specifically the elite Hashira fighters. It wasn't until this last volume that I picked-up on the analogue between the Hashira and the Seven Samurai. While the core team of Tanjiro and company survived, I wish Koyoharu Gotouge didn't see fit to kill-off every likeable supporting character in the story just for the drama.

Given that this last volume was written at the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic, it may explain the somber, but hopeful tone of the ending and afterward. Also, I felt that the story and art clearly drops-off in this volume, especially after Muzan is finally dealt with. I felt that the author is alternatively rushing and packing in filler at the end, and does not really feel like dealing with the story after the goal is achieved. The ending is suppose to be hopeful/happy, but it becomes corny (again, I think Gotouge was exhausted dealing with this book and COVID at the same time so I am not totally unsympathetic). We could've had Muzan defeated and everyone just go their separate ways—the time-skip feels painfully forced.

For me, overall, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba has been an amazing manga (and anime until late).I think the final arc is the last to be adapted and hopefully they do a little better than the recent adaptation of Swordsmith Village arc (volumes 12-15) and the snails-pacing of the story (back-story has always been the Achilles Heel of this book and shonen as a whole).

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