Coloring books can be a soothing thing. Given how stressful the day-to-day can be, taking a moment to fill in images of familiar faces can be a way to have a moment. Or, if perhaps you aren’t artistically inclined, customize a beloved hero. So as someone might expect, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: The Official Coloring Book is a chance to spend time with beloved characters. It’s a generally pleasant experience, though not every page might be perfect and Tanjiro Kamado and his core group get the most attention.
In many ways, the Demon Slayer coloring book is absolutely perfect. It accomplishes what a fan of the series might want. This is actually a compilation book. Viz’s English release combines two Japanese books into one. That means it is over 80 pages long with over 70 pieces of art to complete. As the pages are 7.25 inches by 10.13 inches, it falls short of the A4 size. However, Koyoharu Gotouge’s exact art is used. So people are getting authentic images.
A lot of it is going to look familiar too! You know how in manga volumes, you’ll sometimes see small character art between chapters? Well, as I went through the book, I saw some images that felt familiar. This means occasional omake art that could be out of character or whimsical. Though don’t worry! Most of the art is the people as you remember. But it’s fun to suddenly see, say, baby Tanjiro and Nezuko dressed in the outfits they wear in the series or Nezuko and Makomo in school uniforms. These images tend to be arranged in such a way that you can really appreciate and have enough space to do them justice while coloring them.
What I also really appreciated were the actual pages taken straight from the manga. These include the actual dialogue boxes. However, the pages are blown up so, if someone desired, they could provide the proper shading and context for each one. There’s an opportunity to really go all out to ensure everything looks incredible. Though if someone does want to take a more simplistic approach, I imagine that would look quite good too. You also will see a few covers in there, such as the one from the first volume. Which means you can take a different approach from the original designs.
However, there are some things to note. It really does feel like certain characters appear more often than others. You’ll see a lot of pages with Tanjiro, Nezuko, Inosuke, and Zenitsu featured. (Muzan Kibutsuji also showed up more often than I expected!) Of the Hashira, Giyu appears most often. Sadly, there are fewer Kanao pictures than I would have liked.
There are also some situations in which the line art might not be as complex. For example, I noticed Demon Slayer coloring pages with Giyu Tomioka, Shinobu Kocho, Muichiro Tokito, and Obanai Iguro would have less elaborate hair. Perhaps because originally these characters’ hair or uniforms are primarily black? It can happen with some Nezuko pages too, which makes sense. But if you have a page which features one of them and a more detailed character, like one that pairs Giyu and Tanjiro for a single page, it feels disjointed.
Generally, though, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: The Official Coloring Book accomplishes everything someone would expect. It prioritizes major characters. It features Gotouge’s art. You’re getting chances to color in covers, panels, and single pieces of art with important people. There are some pages that might not be perfect. But as long as you have your own pens and get creative, you could probably make any one of them look pretty good.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: The Official Coloring Book is now available outside Japan. The anime is streaming on Crunchyroll, and Viz Media localized the manga.
