Demon Slayer has been one of the reigning kings of Shonen for the last few years. Rightfully so, as whether it is emotional depth, well-rounded character arcs, meaningful backstories for heroes and villains alike, or heart-pounding action, the series has it all.

Ufotable’s spectacular animation obviously increases its appeal even more. However, there is one aspect of the series that often gets overlooked by even the most hardcore fans. That is, for a high-fantasy, Shonen series, just how scientific the story is.

Which is nothing but unfortunate, as Koyoharu Gotouge’s careful attention to the world-building and intricately entwining small details is possibly most evident when it is seen from a sci-fi lens.

Demon Slayer Is Far More Scientific Than You Would Think

While it might surprise some fans, it won’t be wrong to add another tag, along with Shonen, horror, and thriller, to Demon Slayer. That is, of course, sci-fi. Although it has been overlooked for far too long, time and again, science has taken the center stage in the series.

Whether it is in the form of medical care, endless research that takes place in the Butterfly Mansion under the Insect Hashira Shinobu Kocho’s watchful eye, or the centuries of experimentation and research the demon doctor Lady Tamayo has conducted just to defeat Muzan one day.

In fact, she even tasks Tanjiro to send her samples of blood from the Upper Moon demons so she could study them to help Nezuko and understand more about Muzan’s creations. In the end, Shinobu and Tamayo end up teaming up for extensive experimentations before the final fight, which results in the miraculous drug that changes demons back to humans and changes the course of the future forever.

Related: “It ain’t justified”: ‘Demon Slayer’ Has One Unforgivable Hashira

In fact, even the process of becoming a demon follows its own set of scientific rules in Demon Slayer. Although fans are aware that Muzan’s blood is essential to turn a human into a demon, it has to be the exact amount of dosage, or it can become poisonous and kill them.

The change itself also occurs on a cellular level, which changes the very anatomy of a person who becomes a demon. Fascinatingly, this rule also applies to the demons, as even though regular dosages of Muzan’s blood make them powerful, too much at once will take away their powers and turn fatal for them.

The most interesting, however, is possibly the story of how the first demon, that is, Muzan Kibutsuji, was created. That, more than anything else, establishes Demon Slayer as a sci-fi series.

Muzan Kibutsuji as a Parallel to Frankenstein

While all the other demons were created through Muzan’s blood, the origin story of the progenitor is somewhat different in Demon Slayer. As fans are aware, Muzan Kibutsuji was a chronically sick human whose lifetime was almost at its end.

Muzan Kibutsuji from Demon Slayer | Credits: Ufotable

That is, until the physician looking after him brought him a medicine made from a rare Blue Spider Lily, which, while curing him from his illness, also turned him into a monster.

Related: ‘Demon Slayer’s Most Important Villain Gets Overshadowed By the Upper Moons

One can only guess just how much research and experimentation went into procuring that medicine. Unfortunately, once he was turned, what Muzan did was kill the kind and caring doctor.

Then, obviously, spent the rest of his lifetime in pursuit of that Blue Spider Lily, but that is a story for another time. Regardless, what makes this story interesting is its parallel to the very first sci-fi novel in known history.

That is, of course, Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein. In that story, too, much like Muzan, after Frankenstein was created, he ended up killing his creator. Although the premise of both stories is vastly different, Muzan’s story is almost a reflection of Frankenstein. Hence, calling Demon Slayer a sci-fi would be quite appropriate.

Demon Slayer is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
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