Did the Kimetsu no Yaiba manga end?

Koyoharu Gotouge’s Demon Slayer manga has received critical acclaim and success throughout its run in Weekly Shonen Jump. The series inspired an equally successful anime adaptation alongside various spin-offs, games, stage plays, and an art exhibit currently taking place at Tokyo’s Mori Art Museum. The anime is still going strong, with the second season coming off the heels of the highly successful Mugen Train film.

While anime fans still have plenty of Demon Slayer content to look forward to, manga readers said goodbye to the series a little over a year ago. The manga totaled 23 volumes, running from 2016 to 2020. Given the immense popularity and success of the series, Demon Slayer’s relatively short run comes off as a bit of a surprise.

Weekly Shonen Jump has featured a number of different manga over its lifetime, with many iconic series’ calling the magazine home. Popular titles like Dragon Ball, Naruto, and Bleach enjoyed years of success throughout their respective runs, and juggernaut titles like One Piece and My Hero Academiaare still going strong. Every one of those series – except for My Hero Academia ­– ran for at least ten years.

Longevity doesn’t necessarily equate to quality in a manga, but Demon Slayer seemed primed to be yet another of Weekly Shonen Jump’s long-running success stories. Many fans were caught off guard at the announcement, and while there has been much speculation as to the reasons behind its short run, neither Gotouge nor Weekly Shonen Jump has given any readers any reason to assume anything irregular caused it.

There’s still a decent amount of content for the anime to adapt going forward. Once season 2 is done with recapping the Mugen Train Arc,the remainder of its run will be spent adapting the Entertainment District Arc. From there, all that’s left to be adapted is the Swordsmith Village Arc, Hashira Training Arc, and Final Battle Arc, which is split into the Infinity Castle and Sunrise Countdown Arcs.

The reason why Demon Slayer’s finale feels so irregular is that the early parts of the series seemed to be setting up a longer narrative experience. The introduction of Muzan alongside the Twelve Kizuki’s Upper and Lower ranks, as well as the difficultly in restoring Nezuko, could have made for much more content than was put out. The ending ties all the major plot points together and gives its main players a satisfying send-off, but it ultimately feels rushed.

Perhaps this is due to other incredibly popular Jump serializations having longer runs in comparison. Both Naruto and Bleach ran for 15 years, while One Piece has been going strong for over two decades. A series like Demon Slayer coming to an end just as its anime adaptation started breathing new life into it is not something that manga readers have come to expect from the industry.

While fans would have likely enjoyed getting more out of the manga before it finished its run, Demon Slayer still manages to tell a complete and fulfilling story. In an industry where it would’ve been easier to extend the series’ narrative rather than end it when it did, Gotouge should be lauded for their decision to tell the story they set out to tell.

Demon Slayer is licensed in English by Viz Media and can be streamed on Crunchyroll, Funimation, Netflix, Hulu & VRV.

MORE: Demon Slayer Collabs With Phone Company To Turn Anyone Into A Hashira

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba #205, by Koyoharu Gotouge, John Werry and John Hunt, available in English from Viz Media.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaibahas come to an end after 205 chapters, and while fans are sad to say goodbye, the finale gives them a glimpse at the hopeful future Tanjiro and his friends fought to achieve. The ending comes in two parts, the 204th chapter that focuses on the survivors of the series' final confrontation with Muzan Kibutsuji and the 205th that looks several decades ahead.

The Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Manga Ends With a Time Jump

The penultimate chapter, which picks up three months after Muzan's defeat, shows Tanjiro, who has recovered from his near transformation into a demon. The injuries he sustained before his transformation have lasting effects now that he is again human, with his left arm and right eye permanently damaged. During Tanjiro's recovery, the young Kiriya Ubuyashiki, the current leader of the Demon Slayers Corps, holds a final Hashira meeting to disband the organization. After several heartfelt reunions, Tanjiro, Nezuko, Zenitsu and Inosuke head to the Kamado family home, with the chapter ending on an image of modern-day Japan.

The 205th chapter, "Life Shining Across the Years," is a time skip that introduces a new generation of characters. Zenitsu's great-grandchild, Yoshiteru, reads a book titled "The Legend of Zenitsu" and discusses the idea of reincarnation with his sister Toko, saying "I believe that everyone who fought demons and died for a peaceful world was reborn into a happier life." This hopeful thought is the backbone of the final chapter of Demon Slayer as the many descendants/reincarnations of our favorite characters make their debut.

The Ending of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Is Hopeful

Kanata and Sumihiko Kamado are the first to be introduced, and it's clear by their appearance that they are Kanao and Tanjiro, respectively. Kanata tries to get his brother out of bed for school, but the lazy Sumihiko continues to sleep. Kanata later meets up with Yoshiteru and Toko, the great-grandchildren of Zenitsu and Nezuko, and the three walk to school together. Just about every panel of this chapter contains some sort of nod to other character's reincarnations, with former Hashiras Uzui, Kanae, Shinobu, Himejima, Tokito, Iguro and Kanroji all making cameos during the trio's journey to school.

Uzui has just won a gold medal for Japan in gymnastics, honoring his lineage as a shinobi, but apparently, he's got a bad-boy attitude. Kanae and Shinobu attend Sekirei Women's Academy, Himejima is a kindergarten teacher and Tokito is seen along with his twin as two babies in a stroller. As Toko and Kanata discuss what to do after school, they mention visiting a diner run by Iguro and Kanroji, meaning the two got their wish of being together in another life.

Meanwhile, Sumihiko finally wakes up and realizes that, if he doesn't hurry, he will be late and ruin his chance at receiving a perfect attendance award. As he acrobatically leaps out his window and sprints to school, the reincarnation train continues with even more characters from the past making an appearance. As Sumihiko runs through a yard, we see Urokodaki and Kuwajima playing a game of Shoji with a TV in the background that mentions Ubuyashiki as the longest living Japanese person ever, breaking their family curse of short life-spans. Sumihiko continues his mad dash to school by jumping over the hood of a patrol car with the Shinazugawa siblings inside, likely playing out the buddy cop comedy that fans deserve. He even runs past Giyu, Sabito and Makomo before eventually joining up with Tojuro, a clear descendant of Rengoku's.

The botanist Aoba Hashibira, Inosuke's descendant/reincarnation, has discovered the Blue Spider Lily - the flower Muzan believed would grant him the perfect immortal body. Also seen is Yushiro, who is still alive and known as a mysterious artist that paints beautiful portraits of Tamayo. Even the swordsmith Haganezuka and rank-and-file members of the Demon Slayer Corps like Murata and Goto make small cameos.

As Sumihiko and Tojuro continue running to school, and away from the Shinazugawa siblings, Tojuro tries to convince Sumihiko to join the Kendo club, believing he would be great at it. While the two make it to school in time, we see Sumihiko's mother receive a phone call notifying her of what her son did. As she speaks on the phone, we see Tanjiro's sword, earrings and a photo of all those who assisted and survived in the great battle against Muzan, whose defeat brought about the bright future they always hoped for.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba was a story steeped in the pain and loss suffered by its characters during their journey to make the world a safer place. While nailing a unanimously loved ending is difficult for any series to do, Demon Slayer's hopeful conclusion is a testament to the sacrifices made for a brighter future.

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