Koyoharu Gotouge’s Demon Slayer started as a manga written and illustrated for Weekly Shonen Jump. As a serialized comic released every week, it stands to reason that not every panel and page will hold up to scrutiny due to the stress-inducing crunch that the manga industry demands. Fortunately, Demon Slayer has no shortage of panels that stand up to par.
Not all panels that people consider “the best” have to be about artistic flair; sometimes, a great panel speaks to the audience emotionally. Whether it’s because of their narrative significance or sheer visual spectacle, the series has many memorable panels that have become famous in the community.
This article contains spoilers for the Demon Slayer manga.
10 A Furious Shinobu Kocho
The Insect Hashira, Shinobu, debuted in the Mount Natagumo Arc, where she arrived just in the nick of time to defeat the last remaining member of the spider family. That, as well as saving Zenitsu, is what made her an instant favorite in the fandom. Her soft voice and graceful fighting style placed her into the category of calm and collected “big sister” type of character.
Shinobu is the kind of woman who’s slow to anger, but when she finds the demon that killed her sister, she fails to maintain her composure and shows visible rage for the very first time. Her change into such a hateful expression was a real “oh snap!” moment when it happened.
9 The Infinity Castle
The Infinity Castle is the manifestation of a Demon Blood Art used by one of Muzan’s subordinates, and it also serves as his main base of operations, where he and the Upper Moons occasionally convene. The castle is a winding labyrinth with stairs leading to nowhere and hallways on top of hallways and the stage for the final battle between the Demon Slayer Corps and Muzan Kibutsuji.
In one particular spread, the manga shows off the inside of the castle in nearly all its glory, including the labyrinthine stairwells and infinite hallways. It is a testament to Gotouge’s ability to map out and draw three-dimensional spaces while also giving them a sense of scale.
8 The Hashira Meeting
Following the adventure at Mount Natagumo, Tanjiro and his friends are taken to the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters, where they meet the organization’s strongest members face to face. Some of them can’t help but take a few jabs at their juniors; the encounter is chaotic overall. All that unruly energy, however, flies out the window once their leader comes into the picture.
When Kagaya Ubuyashiki softly calls the Hashira to attention, they line up and kneel before him without hesitation. Group shots are almost always appreciated in anime and manga, especially heroic lineups; this moment also shows how much sway Ubuyashiki has over the strongest Demon Slayers currently in the profession.
7 Full-Power Nezuko
The Entertainment District Arc had a lot of surprises in store for the readers, like the appearance of Tanjiro’s Demon Slayer mark and the reveal that the Upper Moon title can be shared between multiple individuals. One of the biggest takeaways from that arc was Nezuko’s short but shocking transformation while fighting Daki.
The panel that shows off her new form in all its glory took the internet by storm for numerous reasons, but more important than that was the spike in power she received from turning into a larger, stronger more mature-looking version of herself. The manga foreshadowed this multiple times with Nezuko’s ability to change her size, and this was the payoff to all that setup.
6 Zenitsu VS Kaigaku
Zenitsu is what most people would call a “one-trick pony,” both as a character and as a fighter. He doesn’t have much going for him outside of fawning over Nezuko, being a coward, fainting from his cowardice, and then taking out his foe with the sole technique he spent countless hours honing under the tutelage of the former Thunder Hashira.
Zenitsu’s old comrade, Kaigaku, mocks him over his stagnation and gloats about how becoming a demon has yielded more results for him than Demon Slayer training ever has. In response, Zenitsu picks himself by his bootstraps before creating and unleashing a Thunder Breathing technique exclusive to him, showing off his growth as both a character and a fighter.
5 The Infinity Castle Showdown
Demon Slayer’s story comes down to whether or not Tanjiro can turn his sister back into a human, all culminating in a final battle with the demon that transformed her in the first place. Along his journey, he met new friends and allies whose goals aligned with his in some way, almost all of which are there to join him in the aforementioned battle.
It’s not the most visually stunning panel, but it’s a hype moment for readers who’ve followed the series from Chapter 1. A single image can tell a thousand words, and it shows in this panel: the moment when a kid from the countryside becomes a hero alongside Japan’s secret protectors against the ultimate evil.
4 Nezuko In The Sun
Near the end of the Swordsmith Village Arc, Tanjiro and two of the Hashira are locked in a desperate battle against two of the Upper Moons, one of which drags Nezuko out into the open just as dawn starts to break. They manage to defeat them, but just as it seems like they’re too late to save Nezuko, a miracle suddenly happens.
Tanjiro sprints to his sister expecting to find dust where she once stood only to find her basking in the sunlight, completely unharmed. At this moment, everything that was established about demons and their weakness to sunlight shattered, to the shock of the cast and the audience.
3 Tanjiro The Demon King
At some point during the fight with Muzan, the demon infests Tanjiro with a special brand of poison that slowly starts to eat away at the young swordsman’s body. The infection gets so bad that his head starts to swell to a horrific degree, covering his entire right eye with the results of festering toxin.
The incident is just another one of many setbacks the Demon Slayers face in the Infinity Castle, but the implications and eventual consequences of Tanjiro’s infestation are what make this panel so iconic. The fact that he continues to fight while in this state is a testament to his determination and fighting spirit.
2 Nezuko Kicks Open The Box
During Tanjiro’s first big mission as a Demon Slayer, he finds himself in a bind against the Swamp Demon, who outnumbers and corners him. Just as it looks like he’s about to be in serious trouble, the door on the chest on his back flies open to reveal a battle-ready Nezuko, who plays a pivotal role in fighting the Swamp Demon from the outside.
Not only does the manga panel look cool, but it also shows the synergy the siblings have, with Nezuko literally having her brother’s back when the chips are down. Even though Tanjiro carries both of their weight most times, Nezuko won’t hesitate to jump in when he can’t handle a situation on his own.
1 The Final Frame
After the dust settles and the evil falls, all that’s left is to return home and bask in the light of a new, better day. That’s exactly what our heroes do after they remove Muzan and his influence from the world once and for all, but that’s not where Demon Slayer’s story ends. It actually ends in the far future or, rather, the present day.
The final panel of the main series is Tanjiro’s earrings framed next to a photo of the Demon Slayer Corps after the final battle. It’s a tender moment and a proper sendoff to Tanjiro, Nezuko, and the friends they made during their perilous, monster-hunting adventure to pave the way for the next generation.
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