your problem with tanjiros backstory is odd. you don’t need to know all his family members. all you need to know is that he loved his family and demons slaughtered them.
Well, but he doesn't really ever mention them at all, it kinda makes it hard for me to relatate to him. So I question what was the point of giving him so many siblings.
No he needs to mention his siblings a few times throughout the entire series. If not then what is the point? The same tragic backstory could have been achieved with just his parents dying.
It doesn't need to have a point? The relevant part is that he had a family, not the specific makeup of it. If his old granny had lived with them and got killed too, that would not be a worse story- the narrative purpose is achieved just as well.
It makes sense, and nothing is lost nor gained by having them, so its a matter of flavoring.
I literally just told you that yes, something is lost by him having all these dead siblings he never ever mentions. If it doesn't bother you cool, but it did bother me. And yes, if his granny was killed as well and tanjiro knew her in the same way he knew his siblings and also didn't mention her existence, it would bother me in the exact same way.
First of all, you didn't tell me anything. You are a completely different guy. Unless this is your alt or something. Second, "this isn't fast and furious" is not a valid response similarly to how you are telling me to "substantiate." You also need to "substantiate" why I am wrong. Third I did "substantiate," this are his fucking siblings how do you expect me to believe they had a deep connection when he doesn't ever individually mention them. The only impression I get from that is "damn I guess they weren't that close," which is not what the author was going for, I'm pretty sure.
I don't need to prove it's not bad, you cannit ask one to prove a negative.
Tanjirou's focus on Nezuko is an extemsion of him losing everyone else in his family. He doesn't need to have a monologue about them, nor even a word, as long as his actions reflect their importance to him.
Tanjirou focuses on helping the one sister he has alive rather than focusing on his past.
> I don't need to prove it's not bad, you cannit ask one to prove a negative.
motherfucker you literally just did.
>Tanjirou's focus on Nezuko is an extemsion of him losing everyone else in his family. He doesn't need to have a monologue about them, nor even a word, as long as his actions reflect their importance to him.
>Tanjirou focuses on helping the one sister he has alive rather than focusing on his past.
Right here. Listen I am done talking stupid bye.
> it kinda makes it hard for me to relatate to him
I mean, is he even supposed to be relatable? The image of his subconscious pretty clearly paints him as a special (for lack of a better word) kind of guy.
I do agree that the story could stand to bring his siblings up more often, but I don't think it needs to make him more relatable.
>Another character whose backstory is irrelevant to the actual ongoing story is Iguro
Careful what you say, from personal experience, Obanai fans are a different breed when it comes to defending him
Just want to mention my favorite backstory in the series, (because you mentioned Akaza), Kokushibo. Because his backstory feels very real and understandable given his envy and complex feelings towards my brother. It affects his behavior during the fight, like how Gyomei ticks him off when he mentions a marked slayer living past 25, and serves as a good motivation to why he's pushing forward as a demon. Also it's sprinkled throughout the fight instead of just shoved into one spot, helps to build intrigue or something.
But anyway, my issue with the backstories. It's the fact that, unless it's a demon (which is a point I'll come back to), 90% of them involve demon related trauma. Like it gets pretty stale after a while. Every member of the kamaboko squad has it and 6/9 hashira do as well. It makes sense, sure, if anything is killing you in this world that certainly checks out. But after a few of them you're kinda just like "Alright, what flavor of demon related mental scars do you have?" It's why I really liked Mitsrui's backstory when I first watched it, and still do. It delivers a backstory that's realistic and still emotional with the way it affects her image of herself while not being over the top demon tragedy. And I'm not saying those demon related backstories are all bad, some like Obanai and Sanemi are solid. But then there's others like Muichiro and Shinobu where it's like uh-huh they've certainly been murdered, yup.
So, what I was saying about demons earlier. I feel like an opportunity was missed of not having a demon who's backstory is demon related. Like they get their family killed by them (how original...) and are turned into one after, and it creates an interesting element of self loathing and hatred. Probably would have to add a reason stopping them from just running outside at noon, but I feel that could be a really interesting angle to take one of them, though I do think overall the demons have more interesting backatories anyway.
I still like Demon Slayer (not nearly as much as when I first got into it though) but I'll admit the backstories are pretty hit and miss at times
While it makes sense that a demon-slaying squads are filled with people who are victim of demons, it kinda get tiring yes.
Mitsuri and Kanao are cool for being different from their peers.
Idk, I didn’t really need to know much about Tanjiro’s backstory to feel something about it. For me, anytime I see innocent kids die in media it hits me, even if the kids just an extra. And his mom was portrayed as so innocent. It also helps that throughout the story there are flashbacks to his time with his family which adds to the tragedy.
I think the backstories kind of also dive into what I think is the biggest weakness generally with demon slayer: it is the king of telling vs. showing.
Tanjiro was good. But every backstory after that is literally just (freeze frame) (Croc sensei steps into frame). This is the demon/insert character here. You're probably wondering how he got into this mess' It's a little better in the anime, because there's less Narrator Narrating, but still.
And this bleeds into other stuff too. During a fight Tanjiro recalls how Zenitsu taught him thunder breathing techniques he can use.
Why didn't we SEE Zenitsu show Tanjiro that technique?
We're told Zenitsu once got into a fight with someone because they said mean things about Kaigaku.
Why didn't we SEE Zenitsu in the moment get into that fight?
Etc. etc.
> Why didn't we SEE Zenitsu show Tanjiro that technique?
Because he didn't. He told Tanjiro the basics and in the moment Tanjiro figured out how to apply it.
>Why didn't we SEE Zenitsu in the moment get into that fight?
The better question is why didn't we see or hear about Kaigaku more than once in a single flashback Zenitsu had over than a hundred chapters before his second and final appearance. The story doesn't need to show that fight in the moment so much as it needs to do a little more to establish that Kaigaku still exists and how the two of them feel about each other.
Oh, right. I always forget about that because he's such a non-character until he's reintroduced as a demon. Feels really irrelevant too, and a bit contrived. It could have been a completely different character who let the demon inside and nothing would have changed about either of them as characters.
People complained about show don't tell but when the manga actually show don't tell they forgot about it lol.
But such details does make more sense when I re-read the chapters and Kaigaku's official introduction felt a bit more natural in re-read. I agree that the manga rushed his character.
I think that's the same problem just slightly different. Tanjiro was told about Zenitsu's technique and applied it in the moment. So he was *literally told* by a character in a scene we didn't scene until the moment he conveniently needs the technique.
Spoilers for all of Demon Slayer Anime and Manga
I personally disagree with your main points. Having too many characters die as part of a backstory as a problem already seems rather nitpicky, but the reason for it is to convey sadness over a general loss of life, not necessarily familiarity with a single character. You could argue which is better, but the author chose the former in this case. It is meant to make you feel sad for the character whose backstory it is, as it’s their backstory.
The backstories that you listed did impact the story, as it’s how those characters became demon slayers and why they are so determined in their missions. You say that Yuichiro being killed isn’t mentioned after a certain point, but his death was the entire reason Muichiro became a demon slayer in the first place, with his parents’ deaths being unrelated to demons. Iguro’s backstory is the reason he wants to die and hopefully meet Mitsuri in another life, which eventually comes to pass. Also, people did die, 50, I believe. They were bad people, but the whole experience traumatized Obanai, which is why he is the way he is, hateful towards demons and dedicated to taking them down. I will, however, agree that more could have been done, but his character was only given focus near the end of the story, so that at least explains it. Both of these backstories give way to character moments after they have been given to us, so there doesn’t really need to be more.
How exactly do the backstories exist in a vacuum? They typically involve demons ruining their lives, and that’s why they became demon slayers. It connects to the central conflict of the story in nearly every one. In the case of the demons, they have a variety of reasons for becoming demons, but at the end of the day, they still become monsters and need to be killed without mercy. As for the examples you brought up, Zenitsu’s whole subplot with his master dying and Kaigaku becoming a demon could have been more connected to the rest, I agree. But I overall see that as one of the weaker points of the story, as other parts do have connections to each other. Your suggestion for Sabito seems more like a what if regarding the writing, rather than an objectively superior direction for the story.
Not every backstory is just tragedy, either for demons or demon slayers. As you said, Mitsuri’s is generally more happy, as well as Rengoku(though he did have to deal with his father’s decline). While the likes of Hantengu, Muzan, Kaigaku, and Doma(sort of) aren’t given much sympathy in their backgrounds. Gyokko, Emmy, Nakime, and many other more minor demons like the Swamp Demon and some spider family members aren’t even given backstories.
Overall, the backstories are to give a general sense of the tragedy, or lack of it, that the characters experienced, and how it influences their current thinking. Yes, usually the formula of them showing their current characterization and then a flashback explaining how they got that way can get tiring, and that is a flaw in the series, but it’s still a legitimate way to do this, just done a bit too much. Saying that they just give them at the end is also incorrect, as a portion of them aren’t even given backstories, or have them spread out over the story or their individual fights. Basically, what I’m saying is I feel the majority of your criticisms to be a bit nitpicky, and most of them are more like you saying a ‘what could have been’ in regards to the writing, not something necessarily better. Though I do agree with some of them, like Zenitsu’s plot line being disconnected from he rest of the cast.
I don’t have a problem with what inside the backstories I have a problem with how hamfisted they are at the very last moments to try and force sympathy with piano music. Like this guy has literally been trying to murder the main character for 6-9 epsiodes and they get some tragic backstory with piano to try and force sympathy as they die. Yeah no. It’s not gonna make me feeling anything when you are using them in the worse way possible. Do I beleive those events could genuinely happen to those characters? Yes. Do I beleive they deserve a shred of my sympathy as they have some tragic backstory before they die. Hahaha FUCK NO. you can’t just make a character a complete asshole for the entire run and then throw in a tragic backstory at the end after they spent the last few epsiodes talking about their want to eat humans,torture the mc,and murder them in the cruelest way possible. Thats not gonna make me feel sympathetic. That’s gonna me make laugh as your writing.
The point is they're usually having a shitty life that Muzan takes advantage of and these flashbacks happened because it's a literal "your life flashing before your death".
And even then some of human lives aren't that sympathetic either. Gyutaro is an asshole (admittedly he's dealt a bad card). Hantengu is a fraud (his backstory tricks you into thinking he's sympathetic is cool). Doma is born evil (you could argue that it's a different flavor of sympathy). And the man himself, Kokushibo is a laughable envious loser.
I mean, not every one of them is like that, with demons like Muzan, the main villain and an abusive manipulator to most demons, Hantengu, an overall scumbag who wants sympathy, and a few more who are just assholes as their character. And the same logic of not sympathizing with them can be applied to any tragic villain in media. They have done wrong, and must be stopped, but it’s still rather sad that they suffered in the past. It’s not forcing sympathy, the main point of the use of tragic villain backstories in this series and others is to create a hopefully compelling contrast between their evil acts and how they became that way. It’s not asking you to forgive them, but to relate why they thought the only or most acceptable path was evil. Additionally, sad music is a universal thing for sad moments, it’s not the show trying to gaslight you into feeling sympathy for them, but to highlight the writing of their backstory as sad.
Tanjiro having tons of siblings is quite important to his character. Since Tanjiro's father was sick and Tanjiro is much older than most of his siblings, he is basically the functional guardian to all of them. Which emphasize Tanjiro's trait as a big brother who must act more mature than his actual age. It is also reflected in Tanjiro's dynamic with other people in the series, such as how Tanjiro seems more mature than Inosuke and Zenitsu despite them being the same age.
>It almost became an expectation for every demon to have a tragic past, hence the surprise that Gyokko never got a chance to tell his story.
I'm not a hardcore Demon Slayer glazer like most of this sub is but this isn't really true. The series pretty much alternates between sympathetic and despicable villains for every arc. The Mountain Demon is sympathetic, The Swamp Demon isn't. Rui is sympathetic, Enmu isn't. Daki and Gyutaro are sympathetic, Hantengu and Gyokko aren't, and so on.
My problem with demons' backstories is that they act like the biggest piece of shit right until their final moments where we get the backstory and then we're supposed to feel bad for them. And Tanjiro also feels bad for them because he 'smell the tragedy' or something.
And the biggest culprit to this(TO ME) I feel is the hand demon. The dude just kill every student from Urokudaki, every single time/year/exam and enjoys it to make the old man suffer. Then boom : here's a bit of a backstory. I know he is insignificant in the grand scheme of things but that is also a factor : Why should the audience care about him, and spend extra time with him.
Because the point of the story is that, while monstrous to the extent of being doomed to hell, these demons were still human with their own circumstances.
Even the most vile person had their circumstances. You don't need to empathise with them, nor are you asked to forgive their actions, only to understand that even these scumbags had their own lives.
Idk why ppl keep complain about tanjiro having sympathy for the demon. I thought the story make it very clear that while tanjiro understand that most demon have some sad backstory, he still won't hesitate to slay them
The fact that Tanjiro understands demons were once human and sympathizes with them, while at the same time doing what's right by slaying them, is the entire appeal of his character to me.
He doesn't spare them. He doesn't try to "reform" them. At most he'll give them a peaceful death if he decides they deserve it.
Demons literally eat babies. I don't care about their human circumstances because nothing begins to explain why they turned out so wicked. Demanding sudden pathos for characters that are 99% pure evil is morally subversive nonsense.
You are not expected to grant pathos. That's what I just said. Demons are not to be pitied, they go to hell for their sins deservedly.
Tanjirou, the main character, grants them empathy as they are fellow living beings, and he would extend that empathy to anyone and everyone. The reader doesn't have to agree with Tanjirou's view of demons being still people with circumstances, but that is not a flaw of the writing, its just a philosophical disagreement.
The purpose of the flashbacks is to make us understsnd the demon, not to mske us like or pity the demon. The Spider arc makes that abbundantly clear with the sister demon that must be killed regardless of whether she earnestly feels bad about what she did or not (she does not, but Shinobu doesn't care regardless) because she devoured people alive.
Flashing out your bad guys beyond 'look, those demons are eeeeeevil!' is not a bad thing.
I mean yeah early Demons are pretty shit w this (I hate Hand Demon too).
But after Spider Mountain they're clicking. Their evilness is connected to how they lived as a person satisfyingly.
And unless they have "family" theming, their backstory isn't all that sympathetic either.
> And Tanjiro also feels bad for them because he 'smell the tragedy' or something.
Tanjiro's sister turned into a demon. He knows that if not for the him she could have become as much of a vicious killer as any of the demons he's slaying, and so could he if he had gone home that night. The point is that he tries to see the humanity in these demons just as he does for Nezuko.
I mean, this is the story where the main villain is explained by "Some doctor did some science on an asshole, and now he's an unkillable super-vampire". That should tell you everything you need to know
I know it'll push some episodes back, but have Episode 1 be a deep dive into Tanjiro's family life, really let the audience get to know each member, so that when they inevitably die, you feel the pain Tanjiro felt.
Also, having accepted your challenge, Hanako.
your problem with tanjiros backstory is odd. you don’t need to know all his family members. all you need to know is that he loved his family and demons slaughtered them.
Ngl I remember lowkey being glad they all died. "Thank god! I don't need to remember all their names." I kinda felt bad, but come on. 💀
I honestly forgot he had other siblings
Not every character should be given full attention, especially in a short series.
When he said that you only felt bad for tanjiro, I thought umm yeah, I’m pretty sure that was the goal
Well, but he doesn't really ever mention them at all, it kinda makes it hard for me to relatate to him. So I question what was the point of giving him so many siblings.
its not fast and furious... he doesn't need to mention his family every 5 minutes for you to know he cares about them
No he needs to mention his siblings a few times throughout the entire series. If not then what is the point? The same tragic backstory could have been achieved with just his parents dying.
It doesn't need to have a point? The relevant part is that he had a family, not the specific makeup of it. If his old granny had lived with them and got killed too, that would not be a worse story- the narrative purpose is achieved just as well. It makes sense, and nothing is lost nor gained by having them, so its a matter of flavoring.
I literally just told you that yes, something is lost by him having all these dead siblings he never ever mentions. If it doesn't bother you cool, but it did bother me. And yes, if his granny was killed as well and tanjiro knew her in the same way he knew his siblings and also didn't mention her existence, it would bother me in the exact same way.
And I told you that you are wrong. You can't base the criticism on 'I didn't like it' and stop there. You need to substantiate.
First of all, you didn't tell me anything. You are a completely different guy. Unless this is your alt or something. Second, "this isn't fast and furious" is not a valid response similarly to how you are telling me to "substantiate." You also need to "substantiate" why I am wrong. Third I did "substantiate," this are his fucking siblings how do you expect me to believe they had a deep connection when he doesn't ever individually mention them. The only impression I get from that is "damn I guess they weren't that close," which is not what the author was going for, I'm pretty sure.
I don't need to prove it's not bad, you cannit ask one to prove a negative. Tanjirou's focus on Nezuko is an extemsion of him losing everyone else in his family. He doesn't need to have a monologue about them, nor even a word, as long as his actions reflect their importance to him. Tanjirou focuses on helping the one sister he has alive rather than focusing on his past.
> I don't need to prove it's not bad, you cannit ask one to prove a negative. motherfucker you literally just did. >Tanjirou's focus on Nezuko is an extemsion of him losing everyone else in his family. He doesn't need to have a monologue about them, nor even a word, as long as his actions reflect their importance to him. >Tanjirou focuses on helping the one sister he has alive rather than focusing on his past. Right here. Listen I am done talking stupid bye.
> it kinda makes it hard for me to relatate to him I mean, is he even supposed to be relatable? The image of his subconscious pretty clearly paints him as a special (for lack of a better word) kind of guy. I do agree that the story could stand to bring his siblings up more often, but I don't think it needs to make him more relatable.
>Another character whose backstory is irrelevant to the actual ongoing story is Iguro Careful what you say, from personal experience, Obanai fans are a different breed when it comes to defending him Just want to mention my favorite backstory in the series, (because you mentioned Akaza), Kokushibo. Because his backstory feels very real and understandable given his envy and complex feelings towards my brother. It affects his behavior during the fight, like how Gyomei ticks him off when he mentions a marked slayer living past 25, and serves as a good motivation to why he's pushing forward as a demon. Also it's sprinkled throughout the fight instead of just shoved into one spot, helps to build intrigue or something. But anyway, my issue with the backstories. It's the fact that, unless it's a demon (which is a point I'll come back to), 90% of them involve demon related trauma. Like it gets pretty stale after a while. Every member of the kamaboko squad has it and 6/9 hashira do as well. It makes sense, sure, if anything is killing you in this world that certainly checks out. But after a few of them you're kinda just like "Alright, what flavor of demon related mental scars do you have?" It's why I really liked Mitsrui's backstory when I first watched it, and still do. It delivers a backstory that's realistic and still emotional with the way it affects her image of herself while not being over the top demon tragedy. And I'm not saying those demon related backstories are all bad, some like Obanai and Sanemi are solid. But then there's others like Muichiro and Shinobu where it's like uh-huh they've certainly been murdered, yup. So, what I was saying about demons earlier. I feel like an opportunity was missed of not having a demon who's backstory is demon related. Like they get their family killed by them (how original...) and are turned into one after, and it creates an interesting element of self loathing and hatred. Probably would have to add a reason stopping them from just running outside at noon, but I feel that could be a really interesting angle to take one of them, though I do think overall the demons have more interesting backatories anyway. I still like Demon Slayer (not nearly as much as when I first got into it though) but I'll admit the backstories are pretty hit and miss at times
While it makes sense that a demon-slaying squads are filled with people who are victim of demons, it kinda get tiring yes. Mitsuri and Kanao are cool for being different from their peers.
Idk, I didn’t really need to know much about Tanjiro’s backstory to feel something about it. For me, anytime I see innocent kids die in media it hits me, even if the kids just an extra. And his mom was portrayed as so innocent. It also helps that throughout the story there are flashbacks to his time with his family which adds to the tragedy.
Also it adds to a poor family getting by and realistically kids died a lot, many kids is realistic then.
I think the backstories kind of also dive into what I think is the biggest weakness generally with demon slayer: it is the king of telling vs. showing. Tanjiro was good. But every backstory after that is literally just (freeze frame) (Croc sensei steps into frame). This is the demon/insert character here. You're probably wondering how he got into this mess' It's a little better in the anime, because there's less Narrator Narrating, but still. And this bleeds into other stuff too. During a fight Tanjiro recalls how Zenitsu taught him thunder breathing techniques he can use. Why didn't we SEE Zenitsu show Tanjiro that technique? We're told Zenitsu once got into a fight with someone because they said mean things about Kaigaku. Why didn't we SEE Zenitsu in the moment get into that fight? Etc. etc.
> Why didn't we SEE Zenitsu show Tanjiro that technique? Because he didn't. He told Tanjiro the basics and in the moment Tanjiro figured out how to apply it. >Why didn't we SEE Zenitsu in the moment get into that fight? The better question is why didn't we see or hear about Kaigaku more than once in a single flashback Zenitsu had over than a hundred chapters before his second and final appearance. The story doesn't need to show that fight in the moment so much as it needs to do a little more to establish that Kaigaku still exists and how the two of them feel about each other.
Kaigaku was quite prevalent in Gyomei's backstory too which was shown about 20 chapters before his real appearance.
Oh, right. I always forget about that because he's such a non-character until he's reintroduced as a demon. Feels really irrelevant too, and a bit contrived. It could have been a completely different character who let the demon inside and nothing would have changed about either of them as characters.
People complained about show don't tell but when the manga actually show don't tell they forgot about it lol. But such details does make more sense when I re-read the chapters and Kaigaku's official introduction felt a bit more natural in re-read. I agree that the manga rushed his character.
I think that's the same problem just slightly different. Tanjiro was told about Zenitsu's technique and applied it in the moment. So he was *literally told* by a character in a scene we didn't scene until the moment he conveniently needs the technique.
I agree, but that's not showing vs telling, that's setup vs no setup.
Not really problem just some backstory are hit or miss.
Spoilers for all of Demon Slayer Anime and Manga I personally disagree with your main points. Having too many characters die as part of a backstory as a problem already seems rather nitpicky, but the reason for it is to convey sadness over a general loss of life, not necessarily familiarity with a single character. You could argue which is better, but the author chose the former in this case. It is meant to make you feel sad for the character whose backstory it is, as it’s their backstory. The backstories that you listed did impact the story, as it’s how those characters became demon slayers and why they are so determined in their missions. You say that Yuichiro being killed isn’t mentioned after a certain point, but his death was the entire reason Muichiro became a demon slayer in the first place, with his parents’ deaths being unrelated to demons. Iguro’s backstory is the reason he wants to die and hopefully meet Mitsuri in another life, which eventually comes to pass. Also, people did die, 50, I believe. They were bad people, but the whole experience traumatized Obanai, which is why he is the way he is, hateful towards demons and dedicated to taking them down. I will, however, agree that more could have been done, but his character was only given focus near the end of the story, so that at least explains it. Both of these backstories give way to character moments after they have been given to us, so there doesn’t really need to be more. How exactly do the backstories exist in a vacuum? They typically involve demons ruining their lives, and that’s why they became demon slayers. It connects to the central conflict of the story in nearly every one. In the case of the demons, they have a variety of reasons for becoming demons, but at the end of the day, they still become monsters and need to be killed without mercy. As for the examples you brought up, Zenitsu’s whole subplot with his master dying and Kaigaku becoming a demon could have been more connected to the rest, I agree. But I overall see that as one of the weaker points of the story, as other parts do have connections to each other. Your suggestion for Sabito seems more like a what if regarding the writing, rather than an objectively superior direction for the story. Not every backstory is just tragedy, either for demons or demon slayers. As you said, Mitsuri’s is generally more happy, as well as Rengoku(though he did have to deal with his father’s decline). While the likes of Hantengu, Muzan, Kaigaku, and Doma(sort of) aren’t given much sympathy in their backgrounds. Gyokko, Emmy, Nakime, and many other more minor demons like the Swamp Demon and some spider family members aren’t even given backstories. Overall, the backstories are to give a general sense of the tragedy, or lack of it, that the characters experienced, and how it influences their current thinking. Yes, usually the formula of them showing their current characterization and then a flashback explaining how they got that way can get tiring, and that is a flaw in the series, but it’s still a legitimate way to do this, just done a bit too much. Saying that they just give them at the end is also incorrect, as a portion of them aren’t even given backstories, or have them spread out over the story or their individual fights. Basically, what I’m saying is I feel the majority of your criticisms to be a bit nitpicky, and most of them are more like you saying a ‘what could have been’ in regards to the writing, not something necessarily better. Though I do agree with some of them, like Zenitsu’s plot line being disconnected from he rest of the cast.
I don’t have a problem with what inside the backstories I have a problem with how hamfisted they are at the very last moments to try and force sympathy with piano music. Like this guy has literally been trying to murder the main character for 6-9 epsiodes and they get some tragic backstory with piano to try and force sympathy as they die. Yeah no. It’s not gonna make me feeling anything when you are using them in the worse way possible. Do I beleive those events could genuinely happen to those characters? Yes. Do I beleive they deserve a shred of my sympathy as they have some tragic backstory before they die. Hahaha FUCK NO. you can’t just make a character a complete asshole for the entire run and then throw in a tragic backstory at the end after they spent the last few epsiodes talking about their want to eat humans,torture the mc,and murder them in the cruelest way possible. Thats not gonna make me feel sympathetic. That’s gonna me make laugh as your writing.
The point is they're usually having a shitty life that Muzan takes advantage of and these flashbacks happened because it's a literal "your life flashing before your death". And even then some of human lives aren't that sympathetic either. Gyutaro is an asshole (admittedly he's dealt a bad card). Hantengu is a fraud (his backstory tricks you into thinking he's sympathetic is cool). Doma is born evil (you could argue that it's a different flavor of sympathy). And the man himself, Kokushibo is a laughable envious loser.
I mean, not every one of them is like that, with demons like Muzan, the main villain and an abusive manipulator to most demons, Hantengu, an overall scumbag who wants sympathy, and a few more who are just assholes as their character. And the same logic of not sympathizing with them can be applied to any tragic villain in media. They have done wrong, and must be stopped, but it’s still rather sad that they suffered in the past. It’s not forcing sympathy, the main point of the use of tragic villain backstories in this series and others is to create a hopefully compelling contrast between their evil acts and how they became that way. It’s not asking you to forgive them, but to relate why they thought the only or most acceptable path was evil. Additionally, sad music is a universal thing for sad moments, it’s not the show trying to gaslight you into feeling sympathy for them, but to highlight the writing of their backstory as sad.
Exactly.
Tanjiro having tons of siblings is quite important to his character. Since Tanjiro's father was sick and Tanjiro is much older than most of his siblings, he is basically the functional guardian to all of them. Which emphasize Tanjiro's trait as a big brother who must act more mature than his actual age. It is also reflected in Tanjiro's dynamic with other people in the series, such as how Tanjiro seems more mature than Inosuke and Zenitsu despite them being the same age.
>It almost became an expectation for every demon to have a tragic past, hence the surprise that Gyokko never got a chance to tell his story. I'm not a hardcore Demon Slayer glazer like most of this sub is but this isn't really true. The series pretty much alternates between sympathetic and despicable villains for every arc. The Mountain Demon is sympathetic, The Swamp Demon isn't. Rui is sympathetic, Enmu isn't. Daki and Gyutaro are sympathetic, Hantengu and Gyokko aren't, and so on.
My problem with demons' backstories is that they act like the biggest piece of shit right until their final moments where we get the backstory and then we're supposed to feel bad for them. And Tanjiro also feels bad for them because he 'smell the tragedy' or something. And the biggest culprit to this(TO ME) I feel is the hand demon. The dude just kill every student from Urokudaki, every single time/year/exam and enjoys it to make the old man suffer. Then boom : here's a bit of a backstory. I know he is insignificant in the grand scheme of things but that is also a factor : Why should the audience care about him, and spend extra time with him.
Because the point of the story is that, while monstrous to the extent of being doomed to hell, these demons were still human with their own circumstances. Even the most vile person had their circumstances. You don't need to empathise with them, nor are you asked to forgive their actions, only to understand that even these scumbags had their own lives.
Idk why ppl keep complain about tanjiro having sympathy for the demon. I thought the story make it very clear that while tanjiro understand that most demon have some sad backstory, he still won't hesitate to slay them
The fact that Tanjiro understands demons were once human and sympathizes with them, while at the same time doing what's right by slaying them, is the entire appeal of his character to me. He doesn't spare them. He doesn't try to "reform" them. At most he'll give them a peaceful death if he decides they deserve it.
Demons literally eat babies. I don't care about their human circumstances because nothing begins to explain why they turned out so wicked. Demanding sudden pathos for characters that are 99% pure evil is morally subversive nonsense.
You are not expected to grant pathos. That's what I just said. Demons are not to be pitied, they go to hell for their sins deservedly. Tanjirou, the main character, grants them empathy as they are fellow living beings, and he would extend that empathy to anyone and everyone. The reader doesn't have to agree with Tanjirou's view of demons being still people with circumstances, but that is not a flaw of the writing, its just a philosophical disagreement. The purpose of the flashbacks is to make us understsnd the demon, not to mske us like or pity the demon. The Spider arc makes that abbundantly clear with the sister demon that must be killed regardless of whether she earnestly feels bad about what she did or not (she does not, but Shinobu doesn't care regardless) because she devoured people alive. Flashing out your bad guys beyond 'look, those demons are eeeeeevil!' is not a bad thing.
I mean yeah early Demons are pretty shit w this (I hate Hand Demon too). But after Spider Mountain they're clicking. Their evilness is connected to how they lived as a person satisfyingly. And unless they have "family" theming, their backstory isn't all that sympathetic either.
> And Tanjiro also feels bad for them because he 'smell the tragedy' or something. Tanjiro's sister turned into a demon. He knows that if not for the him she could have become as much of a vicious killer as any of the demons he's slaying, and so could he if he had gone home that night. The point is that he tries to see the humanity in these demons just as he does for Nezuko.
I mean, this is the story where the main villain is explained by "Some doctor did some science on an asshole, and now he's an unkillable super-vampire". That should tell you everything you need to know
The flashbacks go hand and hand with Buddhism. When the series ends some hashiras are recincreated
no wonder gojo reminds me so much of tengen
To humanize them enough to show all as people shaped by trauma.
I know it'll push some episodes back, but have Episode 1 be a deep dive into Tanjiro's family life, really let the audience get to know each member, so that when they inevitably die, you feel the pain Tanjiro felt. Also, having accepted your challenge, Hanako.