This past arc had left many anime fans in awe and cannot wait for the new Swordsman Village Arc. But, the sexualization of the women in this show has left controversial reviews across the internet as well.
Spoilers Ahead and Trigger Warning: Sexualization of Minors
I grew up watching anime here and there, but never really got into watching new anime shows due to the arcs being too long and I did not have the time to finish them. It was not until recently, that my younger brother kept begging me to read the Demon Slayer: Kimestsu no Yaiba manga and I definitely see what I was missing out on. Over December, I read the entirety of the manga series in a matter of a week and was devastated to know that this anime series was still being created as of this moment. Luckily enough though, the recent arc, titled "Entertainment District Arc", was in the process of being released.
Although I already knew what was going to occur throughout the arc, I was really amazed by everything the creators have presented to their audience. When reading a fighting sequence in the manga, there is not much to go off of and you have to use a lot of imagination to figure out these fight scenes. Thus, watching these scenes be animated in a way I have never seen before, truly amazed me. There was never a dull moment to the plot, the animation, and even the credit scene.
Analyzation of the Woman Demon, Daki
When I was reading this manga, I would be moved to tears and would find myself crying over the plot in public settings. However, my real issue with not only this arc, but the entirety of the manga series, is the sexualization of young girls and women. Throughout the series, we mostly see the demons as these highly sexualized women with revealing clothing. Although these demon women tend to be hundreds of years old, thus having age maturity, the majority, if not all, were transformed into demons while they are minors.
One of the main demons in this arc, Daki, was transformed into a demon when she was thirteen years old, but in the current plot, her body has been sexualized so much, it is off-putting. When she is fighting Tanjiro, a demon slayer, she poises herself of sophistication and a woman. Yet, later on, when she is getting beat up, she wails for her brother as a child. There is this argument that these demons transform into a more mature woman "state" because they have lived for so long, thus can dress however they want due to their maturity. However, I believe if they were mature due to their chronological age, would they not stray away from their child-like behavior? If Daki was "mature" enough to wear revealing clothing, then why does she have an immature, child-like attitude for the remainder of the arc? It essentially romanticizes the idea of a minor in revealing clothing, thus attracting predators to think this is something to search for.
There is a scene in the arc where the original demon, Muzan, and Daki are speaking to each other in an uncomfortable pose that is unsettling. As previously mentioned, Daki is technically a thirteen-year-old. Muzan is the oldest chronologically aged demon but was transformed into a demon at twenty years old. The way the scene portrays their relationships gives off a very pedophilic tone and basically seems like it is trying to glamorize a 7 year age gap relationship. It just seems like the creators, as long as many other anime show creators, tend to sexualize off of minors to serve their male predator audience.
I would say though I might analyze this in a different way where the creators are potentially warning the audience about predators, such as Muzan himself. Muzan offers to transform these demons and protect them in exchange for their undying loyalty. He does this by providing his own blood, which gives them certain powers and abilities that an ordinary demon cannot possess. You can say that Muzan, such as other predators, uses manipulation and control through offering protection and promises to minors in exchange to feel loved. This predatory behavior is seen all with Muzan's character and I feel like it could be seen as a way to alert people eho possess the same qualities as Muzan. Especially that he is portrayed as the original demon and is the evilest thing in the series, you can say that the creators portray predators as the demon in the show.
To conclude, I would say that I wish that these woman characters were not so sexualized to deem their power as a demon. The whole sexualization of their bodies adds no relevance to the plot or anything for that matter. Hopefully, there is enough awareness regarding this that the creators consider changing this animation component.
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