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鬼滅の刃 [Kimetsu no Yaiba] #21

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Vol. 21: Ancient Memories

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The fight with Kokushibo, the highest-ranking demon among Muzan’s servants, is over. Although Himejima and Sanemi defeated Kokushibo and sent him to hell, the price the Demon Slayer Corps has paid is very high. Kiriya Ubuyashiki, the new leader of the Demon Slayers, struggles to recover from the losses. With the battle against Muzan far from over, the remaining fighters will need his help more than ever. Meanwhile, deep within Infinity Castle, Tanjiro and his friends come face-to-face with their nemesis at last…

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 3, 2020

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About the author

Koyoharu Gotouge

131 books2,477 followers
Koyoharu Gotouge (Jap: 吾峠呼世晴, Gotōge Koyoharu) is a Japanese manga artist, mostly known for Kimetsu no Yaiba (鬼滅の刃, Eng: Demon Slayer).

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5 stars
11,532 (73%)
4 stars
3,303 (21%)
3 stars
757 (4%)
2 stars
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26 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 767 reviews
Profile Image for James DeSantis.
Author 17 books1,205 followers
March 10, 2023
Re-read 2023: This is truly one of the more emotional volumes. I love the stakes presented in this final few volumes. Characters dying for a reason, and it all seems so hard to accept, but it's only thanks to the emotional levels we go through thanks to getting to know everyone. The final fight begins here to in epic fashion with plenty of "holy shit" moments.

Still a 5 out of 5.

Original Review: I really don't know how much my heart can take.

The opening chapter alone nearly broke me. The passing of major characters is really killing me because these fucking demons are so goddamn ruthless and they don't care and these Demon Slayer are trying so hard but they are not winning haha.

I won't write much because everything is going to hell but basically everyone is going against Muzan now. The fights are wonderfully drawn, the emotion is there, and so much sadness is all displayed in an amazing fashion. This is top tier manga for me.
Profile Image for Mika.
668 reviews100 followers
January 10, 2026
After the long backstory of Michikatsu one now also gets to dive into Yoriichi's past. I enjoy reading both of them a lot 'cause they are relevant for the plot.

Tanjirou is trying to find out what the thirteenth form of Dance of the Fire God is. It might be the key to defeat Muzan once and for all! He needs to get deep inside his memories to find any information that could reveal the thirteenth form.

Kiriya Ubuyashiki is under immense pressure 'cause he has to order everything and is therefore responsible for any battle outcomes. If he instructs them wrong he will lead them to defeat. I think Kiriya Ubuyashiki does a great job at such a young age. He knows what commands to give to get a certain outcome. The other children are also helpful 'cause they brought him back when he had a panic attack. I disapprove that children are in command, not 'cause they are immature or the like but 'cause it puts a lot of pressure onto them that young people can't handle well. Kiriya and the others did a great job, but I still would have preferred if an adult would have been the leader.

The final battle starts now. All the hashiras meet Muzan again. They have to battle against him until the sunrise. It turns out to be rather difficult as the sunrise is still an hour away. This whole tension and fear for a certain character to die soon (even though I re-read it, knowing what happens next) is making my heart pound so hard. This final is outstanding!

StoryGraph review (with marked spoilers)
Profile Image for Victoria ✮⋆˙.
1,119 reviews125 followers
June 2, 2023
This was so intense omfg, it’s going so fast I don’t want it to end!
Profile Image for Sana⁷.
397 reviews170 followers
February 4, 2026
"You know, no matter how you valued your life, somebody out there could lightly crush it down in an instant." [Yoriichi]

I'm a wreck of a person. A still living one, still breathing one (barely), but a wreck of a person nonetheless. It's all Koyoharu Gotouge's fault (the bills for my therapy are ready to send, just so you know, sir).

Before I start my proper review, I need to send sincere apologies for once more being unable to write it without including any spoilers. This volume had too big of an emotional impact on me to not include everything that I felt while reading it. I am still in a state of complete shock and emotional distress, so if this review does not make much sense to you, I'm deeply sorry from the bottom of my heart.

Throughout the entirety of Demon Slayer's Volume 21 I was on edge. It didn't let me take a breather, not even once, not even for a second. If you follow my Demon Slayer reviews, you know then how often this final arc made me cry already, and reading Volume 21 wasn't an exception to this rule. What was different this time, though, was the level of the impact that it had on me.

I don't remember the last time I felt so devastated by someone's death and so distressed over the final battle.

The Shinazugawa brothers.

"Because my brother... is the nicest person in the world." [Genya]

(this quote is so precious to me, it never fails to make me cry)

It's hard to explain what happened and how I have felt without sharing tears for, it feels like, a hundred time. I bawled my eyes out while reading this volume, I bawled my eyes out while completing my notes for the review, and I bawled my eyes out later on while watching the TikTok edits. I thought that there were no tears left to cry, but it looks like I was wrong.

"GOD, I BEG YOU!! PLEASE... PLEASE!! DON'T TAKE MY LITTLE BROTHER AWAY!!" [Sanemi]

The tragedy of the Shinazugawa brothers is that Sanemi was Genya's goal and Genya was Sanemi's goal - they tried to protect each other so hard, but ended up apart the first time by the hand of their merciless demonic mother and the second time by the inevitable hand of death. Sanemi, as the big brother, tried his hardest to keep Genya away from danger (that's why he reacted so violently when they met during the Hashira training), just for his greatest nightmare to happen right in front of him, and he could do nothing, absolutely nothing, to stop it.

Sanemi's tears and his screams of pure agony tore my heart apart. Seeing such a strong and proud warrior, always distanced from everybody and everything, going through an absolute breakdown was incredibly devastating. In that moment he wasn't a Hashira with a duty to slay the demons. He was just a big brother, cradling the disintegrating body of his little brother in his arms, desperately trying to think about a solution to save his life, but, unfortunately, the will of death is always stronger than love.

"I'm sorry... for... troubling you..."
"No! You never troubled me! Not even once!"


His last breaths Genya used to keep on apologizing to his brother, once again, over and over again, for what he had done in the past, feeling like a burden that Sanemi never wanted. He did his best to assure Sanemi that all he ever wanted was for him to be happy, not realizing that all his big brother wanted, all his big brother fought for, was the same thing, but for him, for Genya. The biggest tragedy of this scene is the fact that through their last conversation you can clearly see that Genya, while fading away, hadn't heard his brother's words. HE HADN'T HEARD THEM. It means that he died thinking that all he was to his big brother was a burden, instead of his greatest treasure, and knowing this will always break my heart to pieces.

"I swear your big brother will save you no matter what!" [Tanjiro]
Don't worry, I will save you! Your big brother will save you!" [Sanemi]

I've seen many posts where the Kamado siblings were compared to the Upper Moon siblings (Daki and Gyutaro), and that's fair, but I never seen any comparison to the Shinazugawa brothers. This comparison immediately popped into my mind after I finished reading this volume. Both Tanjiro and Sanemi are the big brothers, who would stop at nothing to protect their little siblings. Both siblings dealt with deaths of their family members through the hand of a demon. But the difference is that Tanjiro had a chance to save his sister. Sanemi didn't. All he could do was watch hopelessly until nothing was left of his precious brother, and as much as I respect the author, I will always, always hate him for his choice to take Genya's life away.

The battle against Muzan.

"After living over a thousand years, I'd lost the sense to taste food. But now that I'm starving, it's very delicious." [Muzan]

It was so hard to watch the slaughter of the demon slayers. They were all unknown people, I did not know any of their names, but they all were alive, they all had their families, their hopes and dreams, their plans for the future, but all of it was taken away in a blink of an eye. None of them was a threat. None of them. They went through the Hashira training, but let's be honest, the moment they had been sent to the Infinity Castle, they were doomed. From Muzan's point of view this slaughter was necessary, but from our point of view it was just a mindless killing, a massacre that should have been avoided.

"Rains, winds, volcano eruptions, earthquakes. You can't get revenge on natural disaster, no matter how many lives it takes away." [Muzan]

You might think that Muzan saying this showed pure narcissism and arrogance and tried to squash his opponents' hope, but after watching Muzan in action, you have to admit that the guy is a true danger. I always made fun of him, thinking of him as a cartoony villain who was doing stupidly evil things so we see how evil he was, but now I don't have any reason to laugh. All I want is to scream and shout at him to stay the hell away from everybody, because I know how dangerous he is. All the Upper Moons were flies in comparison to him, so you can imagine in what position we are right now. Muzan uses fast and wide-ranged attacks, is smart and clever, and way more experienced than anybody. He can regenerate in an instant, so you cannot cut him. So what's the plan now? To wait for the sunrise so the sun would kill him. That's the only way. We got the Hashiras on our side, so it should be fine, right? So what's the problem?

There is a hour and half left until sunrise.

They have to endure a true monster of an opponent for a whole hour and half. If not, he absorbs Nezuko, conquers the sun and the world is DOOMED, because there will be no way to kill him again. We lost so much already, got hurt so much, are barely standing, and need to face the unstoppable king of demons, in his pure glory. I never thought that I would be terrified of Muzan, but I am. How are we supposed to survive this?? To win this?? I don't want to see anybody else die, please! Can we call for backup?? Is there anybody else left?? Anybody??


Before I will end my review, I have a little more things to say, so here I go:
~ Sanemi still trying to kill Kokushibo while being completely unconscious was INSANE,
~ I thought that Muichiro will see his parents with his brother after his death, but, surprisingly it was only his brother (is Muichiro truly dead?? I cannot tell),
~ why did Genya not get the same chance to see his family? :(,
~ my heart broke for the little Kiriya. The boy was so distressed over everything already, and he had to witness the absolute slaughter of all the demon slayers. He was the head of the operation, yes, but let's not forget that he's just a child (who lost his family not so long ago, and keeps on losing people) :(
~ Mitsuri made me laugh so hard during this volume, I needed it, and I'm so grateful for her existence,
~ Yushiro the unexpected MVP!! Slay!!
~ it's laughable how easy it is to make Muzan lost in his anger - I hope that the heroes will somehow use it to their advantage (we need everything we can get),
~ Muzan reminded me of Dr. Octopus lol
~ the demon slayers jumping in front of Tanjiro and the Hashiras to shield them was a purely devastating image
~ "Nezuko. Wake up. Tanjiro is in danger." :(
~ "Father said... to leave her alone..." :(
~ Gyomei's entrance was amazing, and Sanemi?? I would cheer up if I still wasn't busy crying my eyes out,
~ Yoriichi's backstory and his guilt for not killing Muzan when he had a chance broke my heart :(
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Urbon Adamsson.
2,025 reviews106 followers
August 12, 2025
PT Com apenas dois volumes restantes, chegámos à batalha final contra Muzan, o rei dos demónios.

Muitos sacrifícios já foram feitos.

--

EN With only two volumes left, we’ve reached the final battle against Muzan, the king of demons.

Many sacrifices have already been made.
Profile Image for Bradley.
Author 9 books4,892 followers
August 16, 2022
Ugggg I’m getting so close to the end, we’re on Muzan’s battle and they’re all so horribly weak against him. This is driving me nuts. So many dead.

I love the manga. It’s at the top now. It’s also driving me crazy. :) So good.
Profile Image for Jose.
225 reviews20 followers
January 8, 2022
A lot of information from this one. I'm beyond amazed. Everything is closing and making sense, I can't believe this story turned up this awesome way!

The Hashira are sooo strong. I just love them. And Tanjiro is just the best. Yoriichi is so cool, I really like him.

I'm not saying anything else, just that it is so good
Profile Image for Nyx.
380 reviews2 followers
February 28, 2022
Like I said, nothing but ugly sobbing 😭
Profile Image for Natalie.
835 reviews63 followers
April 29, 2020
Note: Whilst the volume isn't officially out, all chapters have been released. I'm approximating 9 chapters (179-187) based on previous volumes.

The battle continues in this one, and we're starting to get some SERIOUS casualties now... some of which have hit me VERY hard.

We have the (re)introduction of the big bad, some more flashbacks, something ominous happening with Tanjiro and an update on Nezuko's status but there is clearly SO MUCH MORE to come before this arc concludes.

Chapter notes below for personal reference: (potentially spoiler heavy)
Profile Image for Jane.
339 reviews54 followers
May 28, 2020
I finished this chapter long ago so I forgot my reaction but Seriously I enjoyed every bit of this! I swear!
Profile Image for Shawna Finnigan.
757 reviews363 followers
February 22, 2024
TW// murder (including children, parents, pregnant woman), brief child abuse scene, brief animal death

Chapter 179 had no right to be that sad. My heart is broken. Koyoharu Gotouge needs to pay for my therapy bills.

I loved getting to see more out of Murata in this volume. He’s been a constant throughout this series yet I feel like he never truly got his moment to shine. I like how he’s getting more involved in the story now.

Honestly some of this volume felt like filler to prepare for the last part of the fight, so I’m hoping that these final two volumes end this series with a bang.
Profile Image for Bianca .
386 reviews24 followers
April 27, 2021
My heart is shattered into a thousand of pieces😭💔
Profile Image for jules.
300 reviews27 followers
November 15, 2020
5 stars just for that one flashback eep
WHY DO MY MY FAVES KEEP DYING

"because my brother is the sweetest person in the world" this is the first time i've been really wanting to cry :(

genya, takito nooooo:(((((((((((((((((((((((((

HELL NO NOOO THAT COVER

NO TAMAYO

tanjiro has found muzan i-

IGURO AND MITSURI ARE ALOVE YOU ASSHOLE DONT LIE TO ME

TANJIRO LOST AN EYE

PLIS MITSURI IS ALIVE I KNEW IT IN MY BONES PLIS I WILL CRY

IGURO TOO OMG TOO MANY HEART ATTACKS

SHIT YUSHIRO IS MAD AND RIGHTLY SO.

"if you are not stupid, then understand what'shappening right now and work with me." "i am not stupid" "okay"

"oh man, you can do that? thats so convenient. and cool."

...tanjiro

is dead

hah sike i know he's not dead plis dont die

HIMEJIMA PLIS OMG YES THANKYOU

SANEMI

WDYM YOU CANT SMELL ANYTHING AT ALL

SHIT IT WAS NOT THE DEMON BUT YORIICHI

OMG YURIICHI AND MUZAN HELL

WHAT DO YOU MEAN 7 HEARTS AND 5 BRAINS

TAMAYOOOOOOOOO

when the lil girl came bruh i am legit crying now please


This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Subham.
3,078 reviews104 followers
June 16, 2021
This was such a great volume and shows the fight between Muzan and the other Hashiras and its bold and bloody, I love that no matter how many times they try he wont go down easy and we get a short measure of his powers as he takes down the Hashiras and the beginning of this volume had two people pass away which was so emotional but the fight continues. Tanjiro goes back to the past and learns of Yoriichi's memories and its really well done. His time as DSC member and the whole past connecting to the present is brilliant here.

The volume was so good and had emotional farewells, character grows and a new drive in them and the fight is brilliant as its even bloodier than the Red wedding. Muzan is becoming one of the best villains and the author shows that so well over here. Also the art is freaking insane so detailed and it feels like watching an anime.
Profile Image for Jasmine.
402 reviews39 followers
October 15, 2022
There go more dead bodies! At this point, I feel like the only two people who are gonna make it to the end are Nezuko and Tanjiro.

GENYA?! GENYA?! My God, seeing Sanemi and Genya brought tears to my eyes! Ohhh, my days!!!

What I love about manga is how utterly hopeless a situation seems and then somehow - occasionally making a spaghetti tangled mess of the plot - things turn out okay. I like it! It’s far fetched but it gives me hope.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Angela.
524 reviews7 followers
July 11, 2020
my diagnosis is that yorichi needs a VIOLENT amount of love. i of course am here to provide. that’s all
Profile Image for Abby.
90 reviews1 follower
April 22, 2021
my heart hurts but also a great series and i love it and if you haven’t read it you need to
Profile Image for Amber.
99 reviews
September 1, 2022
Oml this was so depressing I cried so much it isn't healthy anymore (some pages were literally wet bc of my tears) TT
Profile Image for Ronald.
1,463 reviews16 followers
March 28, 2023
Ugh, how many times is there going to be a retelling of the life of the first swordsman to use the breathing technique? This volume really felt like filler. There was more than one - oh no all dead, oh they were actually alive, all the low level swords folk died, oh nevermind they are fine, oh no all now dead again. No one can hurt Muzan? I mean how many times has it looked like they killed off the lady demon who is trying to cure all demons (twice at least). The core trio of characters around since volume 1 are barely in this volume. Between chapters there are just blocks of text that go on about things that happened that should have been in the comic part of the story.

This feels like filler at the same time the story feels rushed like what do you mean we don't have as many chapters as Bleach to tell the story? vibe.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 767 reviews

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