Demons in ancient Japan? Check. Conflict between humans and demons in ancient Japan? Check. Swordsmiths, samurais, or warriors training to be demon slayers in ancient Japan? Also check. All this would have you reaching of the same conclusion I'd had when I first saw glance of this anime: that this is Kimetsu no Yaiba 2.0 with the same story beats, same characters, same story, hell same themes even. And I wouldn't blame you. It's appearance is indeed quite deceiving at first glance. However, I'm here to tell you that you would be wrong. Ooohh boy, sorely wrong. If you wanted to watch this, expecting something like Kimetsu noYaiba, you'll be disappointed. Not to slander Kimetsu no Yaiba (and not that I don't like it, in fact I've rated it quite high here on MAL too), but this anime has more to offer than just the eyecandy and animation that Kimetsu is known for.
A better comparison, or rather analogy, on how to describe Kijin Gentosho would be something like Kimetsu no Yaiba × Frieren. "But how does that make any sense?", you ask. Frieren has the eponymous protagonist fightings against demons, the same that Kimetsu no Yaiba's Kamado Tanjiro has, so how does that analogy works? Well, you take the depth, the struggles, the emotional beats, and the lessons that Frieren has for its audience, and mix it with the setting that Kimetsu no Yaiba has, while expanding beyond just shallow Demons vs Humans plot and that's Kijin Gentosho.
Kijin Gentosho is a masterclass on how storytelling is done. It ties together history, emotion, and the struggles of a human person to tell the beautiful story of the human-turned-demon protagonist Jinta/Jinya. What appears as simple humans vs demons story at first glance, quickly evolves into something much more mature than just regurgitated good vs evil story. It doesn't rely on flashy, bright action sequences with powers shouting to tell its story, instead layering in story beats like an onion and plays with its strength. It doesn't take its audience for a fool, expecting them to pick up the cinematic themes and complexity that the story has to endear them to its story, which is something I really appreciate these days. There's no in-your-face emotional-manipulation-flashback-before-character-dies that Kimetsu no Yaiba is known for, so the story will do its utmost to hit you in your emotional guts when it wants to, and by god they really do.
Expanding on that analogy I made about how Kijin Gentosho is like a mix of Frieren × Kimetsu no Yaiba, Frieren has this somber and melancholic, yet hopeful tone that is present throughout its story. And all this lies in the similarities of their protagonists: their struggles, and the thematic display of how immortal life isn't as grand as we make it out to be. Jinya, like Freren (the character), is a long-lived being after becoming a demon. Both stories are consistent with their themes: despite being functionally immortal, their struggles are still as human as anyone. Jinya struggles to come to terms in failing to take action from the circumstances that led him to who he is today, and Frieren struggles with failing to connect with his friends when they were still alive, thus starting her journey of meeting with them again one last time. Jinya's struggles is shown to the audience quite often, especially when he has to interact with his fellow demons, and the show hammers on that point a lot: a sense of belongingness, family, and dealing with his emotions being part of his journey towards his goal.
Speaking of the characters, I gotta give credit to the author for this. Throughout the 25 episodes, none of them ever felt annoying, repetitive, or stand out in a bad way. They're all well-developed. It's one of the strengths that this show plays well. The author knows when it's time for a character to be on the spotlight, they know when to bench them for future episodes, and they know how to give a good payoff when a character arc or journey is at an end. I'd even go as far as to say that the characters are one of the reasons you should watch this anime. Each one of them feels human, since you understand their struggles, you understand their motivations, and its easy to sympathize and feel for their conflict throughout the story.
Now, I'd happily glaze this anime to hell and back, because it's so terribly under-the-radar and underrated. Hell, I'd even vote for it as Anime of the Year for its story alone. HOWEVER, there is one thing that holds this anime back. As evidenced by Kimetsu no Yaiba and Solo Leveling, a good anime doesn't need to have a good story, but give it a lot of care production and animation-wise, and you'll get people flocking to it because of how flashy it is.
And that's one department that Kijin Gentosho falls behind.
The animation doesn't really do this anime justice. A lot of panning, inconsistent art style, hell even at one point, backgrounds looked unfinished. If you haven't noticed yet, then I'll tell you now that the studio responsible for the anime is Yokohama Animation Laboratory. If you're not familiar, some of the animes under their portfolio include The New Gate, Hametsu no Oukoku, and more infamously, Whisper Me A Love Song. Those are animes that went through production hell and/or delays during their run. And Kijin Gentosho almost went through the same thing. It got delayed near the end of its run, though luckily it wasn't as bad as Whisper Me A Love Song. This suggests that YAL must've had production issues as well near the end. Surprisingly, it didn't seem so obvious at first during the first cour of this anime.
Still, and I can't say this enough, this anime's storytelling is top-notch. If you want an anime that is profound, and is a masterful at writing its characters, don't look far. Kijin Gentosho is the anime for you. Besides, animation issues didn't really rear its head much until near the end of the anime. Hopefully, you can overlook that and watch this anime, because I so badly want a Season 2 for this anime, and the only way we get that is to have more people appreciate this anime.
