A masterpiece is not made in a day; similarly, the sensational hit series Demon Slayer was under development for quite sometime before its finalized version could be published. Before the reign of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba began, it was preceded by Kagarigari.
It is plausible that you are hearing the name for the first time. Who would remember a simple one-shot manga when a bestseller is staring right in their face?
However, Kagarigari is where the magic of Demon Slayer began. It was the precursor to the current crowd-puller, and you can easily observe how they are similar.
So without further ado, let’s dive into more details of Kagarigari, Kyohari Gotouge’s winning one-shot.
What Is Kagarigari Manga?
Kagarigari is a one-shot manga by Kyohari Gotouge, the same author who wrote Demon Slayer. It was published in April 2013 with 45 pages as one of the 70th Shonen Jump Newcomer Treasure Award-winning entries. Kagarigari is also the prototype of Demon Slayer.
The Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba manga later debuted in 2016.
What Is the Plot of Kagarigari?
The plot of Kagarigari begins with a village that suddenly faces multiple attacks by an unknown killer. The victims are always killed most viciously, and the number is only increasing.
Next, we see a woman, Tamayo, trying to persuade a man named Tokikawa to cooperate as something has come out of nowhere to start hunting humans. It is soon revealed that the people conversing are vampires/monsters and want to prevent the new outsider from causing chaos so they can live in peace.
They both meet the outsider monster beside a river. The new demon confesses that living in hiding on his island became boring, so he came to another village to escape the misery. Tamayo tries to use her blood which causes hallucinations in her victims. Despite fighting 2:1, Tokikawa and Tamayo couldn’t defeat the newcomer.
Suddenly a one-armed swordsman comes to face the demon and successfully hurts him. The demon is surprised that a mere human can cut him. The monster loses an arm in the exchange and tries to flee but meets his end soon.
In a flashback, we see that the human was specially trained to hunt demons. When he was a boy, he was thrown into a forest with potential hunters. The forest had 19 hungry demons, and the boy survived despite fighting six of them. He lost an arm and both his eyes, but he was the most talented among all the recruits.
How Is Kagarigari Similar to Demon Slayer?
There are several similarities between Kagarigari and Demon Slayer. The prime example is the existence of demons and demon hunters in both. Gotouge even played with the concept of Blood Demon Art in the one-shot.
The beginning of the one-shot is similar to Demon Slayer, as a rogue demon suddenly hunts and destroys families.
Some of the characters from the one-shot have also been used in Kimetsu no Yaiba. Kagarigari is where several characters like Tamayo and Yuishiro first debut. Tamayo can be seen using her Blood Bewitchment in the manga and is accompanied by Yuichiro.
Tokikawa, the other man, also resembles Muzan’s dressing style, so he might be the inspiration for Muzan’s design.
The Final Selection of the Demon Slayer Corps has also been portrayed in Kagarigari. The demon hunter tracks down demons by smelling them, much like Tanjiro. At the very end, a Kasugai crow was seen delivering a new missing to the hunter.
All in all, a lot of concepts that matured in Demon Slayer were first tested out in Kagarigari. It is interesting to see how these concepts were later developed into a complete manga series.
Where to Read Kagarigari Manga?
Kagarigari manga is not available to read anywhere on the Internet officially. Your best bet is to buy the short story collection of Koyoharu Gotouge called Koyoharu Gotouge Tanpenshuu, which has four one-shots by the author, including Kagarigari.
You will not find the Kagarigari manga available to buy separately anywhere else. So support your favorite author by buying the book and other volumes of Kimetsu no Yaiba.
Go ahead and read the splendid one-shot manga by Gotouge-sensei and tell us how you liked it. Did you find more connections between Demon Slayer and Kagarigari than we did? If you think so, then comment down below!