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At a time where most anime shows have years’ worth of manga that just lead fans to build anticipation for them before those same fans even know an adaptation is in the works, Demon Slayer was kind of a surprise hit. The manga, which was created by Koyoharu Gotouge, is about a young boy in Taishō-era Japan who joins an elite group of soldiers that fight demons (all in order to find a cure for his sister who has been turned into a demon). While the manga wasn’t nearly as big as its contemporaries, things changed when Studio Ufotable’s anime adaptation came out.

Demon Slayer quickly broke out of the endless parade of seasonal anime to become a bona fide surprise hit, wowing audiences with absolutely stunning fight scenes, likable characters, tear-jerking moments of emotion, and one of the best opening theme bangers in years. This resulted in an episode becoming a trending topic on Twitter, and the movie sequel becoming the highest-grossing film ever in Japan. While we wait for Season 2 to come out later this year, what better way to pass the time than by revisiting the most kick-ass, impassioned, empathic, horrific, fist-bumping cool moments in the anime franchise so far?

10. Muzan’s First Appearance

A hero’s journey is only as good as its villain, and thankfully Demon Slayer has a villain to match its young hero, an absolute monster that is as iconic and frightening as he is incredibly stylish and well-dressed.

Good villains make good first impressions, and Muzan’s first appearance was the perfect introduction to him. While Tanjiro may have been expecting a giant demonic monster to be the leader and progenitor of all demons, we first see Muzan in the middle of a busy street in a big city, walking normally among humans — and walking side-by-side with a woman and a child. Rather than try to kill or attack Tanjiro, Muzan appears composed, polite and very civilized. Even if we see him kill people mercilessly not five minutes after, our first look at Muzan made it clear he is a much more dangerous and enigmatic figure than our hero imagined. It also set him up to be one of the most fascinating anime villains in recent years.

9. Nezuko Proves She Won’t Hurt Humans

The Hashira may be the greatest warriors in the Demon Slayer universe, but they can also be major pricks, as Sanemi the Wind Hashira repeatedly stabs Nezuko to bait her into attacking him so he can prove she’s dangerous and execute her.

However, much to his surprise and disappointment, Nezuko is stronger than that and resists the urge to feed on human flesh, resorting to staying inside her box to sleep the pain way. This action leads to her being accepted by the other Hashira. By the time of the film Mugen Train, Rengoku declares her to be a Demon Slayer in her own right.

8. The Kid Assassin Decides Not to Kill Tanjiro’s Soul

In Mugen Train, the demon Enmu sends a group of children to assassinate our main heroes by destroying the personifications of their souls. While the one sent to kill Tanjiro has no problem finding his soul, he stops before acting.

We see that Tanjiro’s soul literally invites the assassin in and guides him to the center of Tanjiro’s being. This act of complete selflessness moves the assassin to tears, as he decides not to go along with his plan, no matter the consequences.

7. Tanjiro Has to Kill Himself Over and Over

Many movies and TV shows follow the trope of having the characters trapped in a vision of their own deepest desires, with them ultimately having to renounce their biggest wish in order to return to reality. And Mugen Train certainly makes that a painful choice for Tanjiro.

After an emotionally devastating dream in which he finds his family still alive and realizing he has to give that up to return to the real world, Tanjiro literally decapitates himself to wake up. In one of the most shocking sequences in an already shocking movie, Tanjiro cuts off his own head over and over to free himself from the dreams the demon Enmu puts him in. This leads to a nail-biting moment of tension as Tanjiro is unable to distinguish dream from reality and almost kills himself for real.

6. Nezuko Cries When Tanjiro First Tries to Save Her

This is the moment that sets Demon Slayer apart from most shonen anime, the moment that we first realize demons can still retain some humanity and that Nezuko is special despite her new flesh-eating ways.

When Nezuko turns into a demon after her family is slaughtered, her first instinct is to try and devour her brother Tanjiro for sustenance, as the transformation drained a lot of her energy. But it quickly becomes apparent that Nezuko is fighting her instinct, as she starts shedding tears over Tanjiro. It is our first hint that there is something special about her, and that the show will not treat demons as simple monsters.

5. Zenitsu Saves Nezuko From Inosuke

Even after we see him use Thunder Breathing for the first time, the most heroic thing Zenitsu does in the first few episodes we see him in is sacrifice himself to save Nezuko from Inosuke, who declares there is a demon inside Nezuko’s box and it must die. Zenitsu has no reason to want to protect the box, let alone stand in front of it, sacrificing himself to save it.

As Inosuke starts beating the living hell out of Zenitsu, we realize he was fully aware that a demon was in the box, but because he trusted Tanjiro’s sweet and caring demeanor, he would protect it — showing that he too is capable of being a hero.

4. Tanjiro Slices the Boulder

The boulder episode depicts many things that Demon Slayer does well compared to other shonen anime, like compressing an entire training arc into just one episode, but mostly it’s a testament to the show’s dedication to be as much about emotions as it is about cool fights.

After being tasked with slicing a boulder using a sword, Tanjiro befriends two kids and former pupils of his master, Sabito and Makomo. After the kids teach him how to master Water Breathing, Tanjiro is able to slice the boulder, and immediately realizes that the boulder was the physical representation of Sabito, who can now rest in peace. It’s a small moment, but one that shows how much Tanjiro cares about people, and how the show cares so much about humanity and its characters that it immediately undercuts its main hero’s triumphantly completing his training with such a devastating and poignant moment.

3. Zenitsu Becomes Useful for Once

Zenitsu wasn’t taken seriously for most of Demon Slayer, a frail kid who seemed scared by absolutely everything and was apparently unable to do much aside from creep over Tanjiro’s sister. Sure, we had seen him use his absurdly powerful Thunderclap and Flash form once before, but it is during his fight against the Spider Brother that we truly get that he is no joke and can actually be as powerful as any other slayer.

Indeed, this scene showcases the success of Demon Slayer as an adaptation, as the show takes a relatively short and visually simple scene and turns it into a grandiose and almost operatic moment of character development for Zenitsu. Likewise, the sequence is a great example of the horror elements of Demon Slayer, with the dozens of creepy spider babies crawling all around Zenitsu.

2. Rengoku Fights the Demon Akaza

Not only is this a thrilling fight scene that shows the incredible talent of the animators at Studio Ufotable, but it’s also a marvelous piece of storytelling. After all, how many movies can move the audience to tears for a character they only just met? How many movies can do so mostly through fight scenes?

The emotional gut-punch of seeing Rengoku not only go down fighting, but with a smile as he promises that no one will die on his watch, is accentuated by Satoshi Hino’s powerful and memorable performance as the character. Hino adds enough gravitas and warmth to instantly make Rengoku iconic and likable in a short amount of screen time. Really, who can’t love a guy whose ultimate move is literally just his name?

1. Nezuko and Tanjiro Defeat Rui

Was there any other choice? This is the scene that catapulted Demon Slayer from being another shonen anime to becoming the anime phenomenon of 2019, the moment that the show became a trending topic on Twitter and broke into the mainstream. And with good reason too.

It is a remarkable achievement of animation. The gorgeous CG by Ufotable is so realistic it almost resembles rotoscope, while the fluid, almost rhythmic movement flows like the water of Tanjiro’s preferred breathing method. Still, the moment would not work as well as it does without the effective pull at the heartstrings, as not only does Tanjiro get to have his next tier power-up, but Nezuko also gets to show her Blood Demon Art for the first time and save her brother, all while Nami Nakagawa sings the perfectly fitting “Kamado Tanjiro no Uta.”

The climax of Episode 19 is the perfect recipe for a moment that demonstrates everything that makes Demon Slayer a special show. It has stunning animation and badass fight scenes, yes, but it also knows that the action is in service of this intimate story of two siblings.

What are your favorite Demon Slayer moments? Let’s discuss in the comments!

There are more streaming networks than ever before, so if you have questions about the future of streaming, then you’ve come to the right place. All week long, IGN’s State of Streaming 3.0 initiative is featuring reviews and in-depth analysis about current streaming providers like Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, and more!

Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia, nearly a century of Conan the Barbarian – these are just a few of the comic book and book adaptations headed to Netflix over the next few years.

From a heaping helping of Mark Millar comics — such as American Jesus and Super Crooks — to Stephen King and Peter Straub’s The Talisman, the super streamer currently has a massive catalog of cool projects in development, ranging from best-sellers to gory graphic novels. Read on or check out the gallery below for a quick look at all the new movies and shows coming to Netflix that are based on the printed page.

The Sandman

The Sandman, based on Neil Gaiman’s acclaimed comic series, will revolve around a powerful entity known as Dream or Morpheus (though he has many other names, too). Morpheus is the living embodiment of dreams and a member of a family known as The Endless. After a decade-long trek into a formal adaptation, The Sandman will feature Tom Sturridge (Velvet Buzzsaw) as Morpheus, along with Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer Morningstar, Charles Dance as occultist Roderick Burgess. and Narcos star Boyd Holbrook as The Corinthian, a rogue nightmare-turned-serial killer created by Morpheus.

The series also stars Kirby Howell-Baptiste (as Death), Mason Alexander Park (as Desire), Donna Preston (as Despair), Jenna Coleman (as Johanna Constantine), Joely Richardson (as Ethel Cripps), David Thewlis (as John Dee/Doctor Destiny), Kyo Ra (as Rose Walker), Stephen Fry (as Gilbert), and Patton Oswalt (as the voice of Matthew, Dream’s raven emissary).

Conan the Barbarian

Netflix is currently developing a live-action Conan the Barbarian series, based on the sword-swinging titan created by Robert E. Howard’s for 1930s pulp sci-fi/fantasy magazines. Since then, Conan has been adapted into books, (Marvel and Dark Horse) comics, and films (two in the 80s with Arnold Schwarzenegger and one in 2011 with Jason Momoa). Back in 2018, it was reported Amazon was developing its own Conan series, but it appears that the project is now dead.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Taika Waititi is set to write, direct, and executive produce two new animated series for Netflix, both of which will be based on the beloved works of Roald Dahl.

The first series will be inspired by the 1964 classic children’s book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, while the other series will be a wholly original take on the Oompa-Loompas, otherwise known as the carolling characters who manufacture candy at Willy Wonka’s infamous factory.

This project is part of Netflix’s overall deal to adapt Roald Dahl’s catalog into animation – including such stories as Matilda (based on the stage musical adaptation), The BFG, The Twits, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, George’s Marvellous Medicine, Boy – Tales of Childhood, Going Solo, The Enormous Crocodile, The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me, Henry Sugar, Billy and the Minpins, The Magic Finger, Esio Trot, Dirty Beasts, and Rhyme Stew.

The Warmth of Other Suns

Currently in development by Shonda Rhimes’ production house Shondaland, as part of her mega-deal with Netflix (see: Bridgerton), is an adaptation of The Warmth of Other Suns, which tells the story of the Great Migration, the movement of Black Americans out of the Southern United States to the Midwest, Northeast, and West from approximately 1915 to 1970. Shondaland is also developing Reset: My Fight for Inclusion and Lasting Change based on Ellen Pao’s memoir, and The Residence, which is a nonfiction book by author Kate Andersen Brower.

The Overstory

The Overstory, by Richard Powers, is about five trees whose unique life experiences with nine Americans bring them together to address the destruction of forests. It’s currently being adapted into a series by executive producers by Game of Thrones’ David Benioff and D.B. Weiss along with Hugh Jackman.

Millarworld Projects: Super Crooks, American Jesus, and More

Though Jupiter’s Legacy, based on Mark Millar’s comic series, was canceled after one season, Netflix still has a ton of Millarworld projects in the works. With The Forever Purge’s Everardo Gout on board to direct American Jesus, a story about Jesus Christ returning to Earth to help save humanity from the Antichrist, will be an action-comedy series spoken in both English and Spanish.

Super Crooks, which is getting both an anime (13 30-minute episodes) and live-action series, is about a ragtag gang of supervillains, con artists, petty thieves, and leg-breakers who band together for the heist of the century.

The Magic Order — Mark Millar’s first comic book distributed by Netflix — is becoming a live-action series. It tells the tale of five different families that all possess magical abilities ridding the world of dangerous threats. The Saw and Conjuring’s James Wan is attached to direct.

On top of these, there are also Millar titles Reborn, Sharkey The Bounty Hunter, Huck, Empress, Prodigy, and Space Bandits.

The Lincoln Lawyer

Michael Connelly’s 2005 novel, which became a movie in 2011 starring Matthew McConaughey, is becoming a Netflix series from David E. Kelley (Big Little Lies, Goliath). It will star Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as Mickey Haller, a defense attorney in Los Angeles who works out of a chauffeur-driven Lincoln Town Car rather than an office. Neve Campbell, Becki Newton, Jazz Raycole, Angus Sampson, and Christopher Gorham also star.

Pieces of Her

Toni Collette and Bella Heathcote star in this adaptation of Karin Slaughter’s 2018 thriller, about a woman who witnesses her mother violently taking out a mass shooter at a local diner. Slowly, she unravels her mother’s actions from that day as their entire familial relationship takes a new turn.

Firekeeper’s Daughter

Angeline Boulley’a YA thriller Firekeeper’s Daughter, which is set on an Ojibwe reservation, was optioned by President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s production company, Higher Ground, to develop as an original series. The story follows 18-year-old Daunis Fontaine, a half-native, half-white former hockey player/aspiring scientist who never feels fully settled in either her reservation or the outside world. She finds herself even more torn when she witnesses her best friend’s murder and is pulled into an FBI investigation centered on a lethal new drug running wild among her friends and family.

DeadEndia

This British-American animated series created by Hamish Steele — which is based on the graphic novels of the same name by Steele and Cartoon Hangover’s Too Cool! Cartoons web short Dead End — follows the story of a group of employees (Barney and Norma) who work at a theme-park haunted house during the summer which might be a portal to hell.

BRZRKR

From Keanu Reeves (with Matt Kindt and Ron Garney), BRZRKR follows an immortal warrior, known as Berzerker, as he fights his way through the ages. Netflix is developing a live-action film adaptation and a follow-up anime series based on the comics with Reeves cast as the lead.

Astérix

Iconic French comic book series Astérix (about Gaulish warriors who fight the Roman Republic during the era of Julius Caesar) has been adapted many times, as movies and TV shows, over the past 80 years. Now Netflix will take a stab at an Astérix animated series, to debut in 2023, adapted from one of the classic volumes, Asterix and the Big Fight, where the Romans, after being constantly embarrassed by Asterix and his village cohorts, organize a brawl between rival Gaulish chiefs.

The Talisman

Steven Spielberg and Stranger Things’ Duffer Brothers are adapting Stephen King and Peter Straub’s The Talisman as a feature-length film. The fantasy novel follows a teenage boy named Jack Sawyer searching for the Talisman, an object that can heal his dying mother and save the world. Sawyer journeys across America and “the Territories,” a grim parallel world to our own.

Anatomy of a Scandal

David E. Kelly, who we mentioned earlier for The Lincoln Lawyer adaptation, is also developing an anthology series — based on the Sarah Vaughan novel — that will depict various scandals within the elite class of the United Kingdom. Sienna Miller, Michelle Dockery, Rupert Friend, and Naomi Scott are set to star.

The Witcher: Season 2

Netflix mega-hit The Witcher returns in December with a new season that will adapt Andrzej Sapkowski Witcher stories Blood of Elves and Time of Contempt, as Henry Cavill’s Geralt takes Princess Cirilla (Freya Allan) back to Kaer Morhen, an old keep where witchers of the School of the Wolf were once trained in order to protect her.

You: Season 3

Based on the 2014 novel by Caroline Kepnes, You returns to Netflix for its third season, following sociopathic killer Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) and his fraught relationship with Love (Victoria Pedretti), who is pregnant with his child in a new suburban home.

The Chronicles of Narnia

Netflix is going all-in with C.S. Lewis’ Narnia-verse, producing new films and shows based on The Chronicles of Narnia. Mark Gordan, Douglas Gresham, and Vincent Sieber are currently set to serve as executive producers on the films and producers on all upcoming Narnia shows. Furthermore, Coco co-writer Matthew Aldrich will serve as the creative architect and oversee the development of all films and shows adapted from C.S. Lewis’ beloved Narnia universe.

Three Wishes

A series based on the novel Three Wishes, from Big Little Lies author Liane Moriarty, is in development at Netflix. The story centers on three wildly different sisters as their lives intertwine and unfold around their glamorous Manhattan wedding weekend that ends in a shocking tragedy. When a scandalous secret emerges, the tight-knit bond among the sisters is tested as they unravel a mystery that ripples throughout each of their lives.

One Hundred Years of Solitude

Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s classic novel One Hundred Years of Solitude is being adapted into a Spanish-language series by Netflix. Originally published in 1967, the book tells the multi-generational story of the Buendía family, whose patriarch, José Arcadio Buendía, founded the (fictitious) town of Macondo.

The Midnight Club

Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House, Doctor Sleep) is adapting Christopher Pike’s pulp horror novel The Midnight Club into a series. The story takes place at Rotterdam Home, a hospice run by an enigmatic doctor, where a group of terminally ill patients regularly meet up at midnight to exchange scary stories with one another.

Flanagan is also slated to direct an adaptation of Christopher Pike’s The Season of Passage, a sci-fi horror novel set on Mars.

Girls on the Bus

From Julie Plec (The Vampire Diaries, The Originals) and Greg Berlanti (CW’s Arrowverse), Girls on the Bus features four female journalists as they follow a parade of flawed presidential candidates, finding friendship, love, and a scandal that could take down not just the presidency but our entire democracy along the way. The series is inspired by Amy Chozick’s book “Chasing Hillary.”

Which book and comic book adaptations coming to Netflix are you looking forward to? Let us know in the comments

Horizon: Forbidden West won’t offer a free upgrade from PS4 to PS5 on its standard or special editions, and you can’t pay to upgrade a standard edition to one that does include the PS5 version.

As previously announced, Forbidden West will be receiving distinct PS4 and PS5 versions of the same game – you can play the PS4 version on PS5, but it won’t receive the same visual and performance upgrades. Revealed on the game’s FAQ page under the headline “Can I upgrade my PS4 version to the PS5 version?”, it’s revealed that Standard and Special editions of the game will come with no dual entitlement (i.e. include PS4 and PS5 versions).

Dual Entitlement is included in the (naturally more expensive) Digital Deluxe, Collector’s, or Regalla Editions, but they are entirely separate, full-game purchases. Unlike other PS5 games like Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut, there won’t be a less expensive paid upgrade, either: “There are no plans for an update offer from standard to digital deluxe edition at this time,” reads the FAQ.

Amid the already confusing landscape of upgrades on PS5, it’s perhaps the least appealing. Sony hasn’t formally explained its decisions in Horizon: Forbidden West’s case but, aside from the fact that it will make it more money per game, it may stem from the fact that the company wants to use one of its biggest releases as a means of getting loyal fans to switch console now, rather than further down the line.

With the game delayed to February 2022, it seems likely we’ll be seeing more of Aloy’s next adventure during the PlayStation Showcase 2021, which will arrive next week.

Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

What We Do in the Shadows Season 3 premieres at 10 p.m. ET/PT on FX.

The vampire housemates in FX’s horror comedy What We Do in the Shadows, based on the film of the same name by Taika Waititi and series creator Jemaine Clement, have been chided for their lack of ambition since the series’ first episode. Tasked with taking over the Western Hemisphere, they could barely get their acts together to take over Staten Island. In Season 3, they’ve finally achieved some real power (through no fault of their own), and the new dynamic provides an excellent opportunity to further develop the characters and their absurdly mundane world of magic and monsters.

The catalyst for the change and most improved character is Guillermo De la Cruz (Harvey Guillén), who started the series as a servant — or familiar in vampire lingo — to the elder vampire Nando the Relentless (Kayvan Novak). Guillermo was a pathetic character, obviously being strung along with promises of eternal life that Nandor never intended to make good on. But rather than maintain the sad status quo or having Guillermo abandon his master, the writers gave nuance to his character with the revelation that he’s a descendent of Abraham Van Helsing and has inherited his ancestor’s vampire hunting skills.

Giving powers to the mundane character in a supernatural show is a genre cliche usually required to keep up with power creep. But What We Do in the Shadows subverts that trope since the vampires spent Season 2 oblivious to the escalating danger they were in as Guillermo secretly protected them, right up until the finale where he had to reveal his true nature in an epic spectacle of violence. Season 3 picks up soon after, with the bumbling vampires trying to decide his fate while also fearing retribution. “I just want to protect you from yourselves,” Guillermo pleads as office drone energy vampire Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch) and the sex-obsessed Laszlo Cravensworth (Matt Berry) hurt themselves more than Guillermo in their ill-thought out attempts to intimidate and punish their prisoner, even as the always confident Nadja (Natasia Demetriou) looks on with exasperation and urges a quick execution.

One of the series’ greatest strengths has always been the ability to propel action forward at a breakneck pace to get plenty done within a 25-minute episode. “The Prisoner,” the first part of the Season 3 premiere, is no exception. In a surprising message from the Supreme Worldwide Vampiric Council, the vampires are told that “Vampire must never kill vampire. But when a vampire kills like 37, 38 vampires, well, these are vampires who know how to get things done.” Rewarded with control of the East Coast, the vampire housemates have an entirely new source of conflict with the rest of the area’s undead and each other.

Both the film and the show have always felt like watching a game of Vampire: The Masquerade, with the vampires playing at being powerful and intimidating but winding up getting hilariously sidetracked by petty squabbles. That’s never been more true as the group tries to figure out how to share responsibility when faced with the declaration that they have to choose a leader to sit upon the Council throne. The episode makes great use of slapstick physical humor by having Colin, Nandor, and Nadja fight over the chair like unruly children. The real winner of the conflict is clearly Lazlo, who coolly opts out of the game, saying “I didn’t become a vampire to become a pen-pushing bureaucrat. I became a vampire to suck blood and to f*ck forever.”

The second episode of Season 3, “The Cloak of Duplication,” provides a glimpse at just how much material the writers can get from this plot twist. The Guide, played by Kristen Schaal of Bob’s Burgers and 30 Rock with her signature vaguely ominous perkiness, serves as something of a quest giver, instructing the new leaders of their responsibilities like ensuring upstart young vampires pay their dues. Of course, they’re still just as easily sidetracked. An artifact in the Council headquarters that lets the wearer take on someone else’s appearance provides fodder for a goofy farce as the other vampires try to help Nandor with his love life.

Nadja has always not-so-secretly been the most competent vampire in the core group, and she really shines in her new role where she’s free to turn her frustrations with others into sudden violence while lashing out at her disappointing colleagues for not being prepared to do what it takes to rule. Guillermo’s no closer to his dream of being a vampire, but he’s confident in his role of stake-wielding bodyguard. Guillén gets to show off more of his comedic chops, since instead of always being something of a put-upon straight man, he’s now free to poke fun at his ignorant “masters” rather than just being servile.

Laszlo also demonstrates the same cocky, carefree attitude that served him well as his alter ego Jackie Daytona, enjoying the privileges of power — namely the Council’s legendary pornography collection. Bizarre, archaic looking artwork is a regular feature of the show — originating in the movie — and the penis images from the ancient Knobnomicon continue that absurdly weird tradition.

Colin, who feeds off boring and annoying others, continues to provide some of the show’s weirdest non sequiturs, like obsessing over the contents of the imprisoned Guillermo’s poop bucket. He also gets some time to shine when dealing with a young energy vampire who primarily feeds by making people’s eyes glaze over when he goes into far too much detail talking to them about weed. Having lost control of his familiar, Nandor seems to be in a bit of a slump, but that feels more like fodder for a season-long conflict than a failing of the writing or Novak’s performance.