Demon slayer vol 9 by koyoharu gotouge

Tengen Uzui, the Hashira of Sound, has lost contact with all three of his wives. They were under cover in an Entertainment District that he suspected was being operated by a demon. He recruits Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke to go undercover dressed as young girls to join a Courtesan house to find out what happened but also to investigate where the demon might be hiding and taking humans. Each of the guys joins a different Oiran courtesan house to investigate, some more convinsingly than others - Inosuke's beautfiul face gets him by as long as he doesn't speak; Tanjiro is found out almost immediately, but his kindhearted mistress doesn't mind since he is so helpful; but Zenitsu has the worst luck with his disguise and is captured almost immediately!

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As Tanjiro fights in this volume, he is starting to move away from his water breathing that has served him well for the last eight volumes, so it's interesting to see him developing his own method but also coming into his own with a unique style that may make him stronger in the long run. As they have with previous volumes, Gotouge has mixed some comedy with the seriousness of the storyline - none of the main three are convincing as ladies and their makeup is especially laughable to really play up how difficult it is for them to slip into these under-cover roles. After the tragedy of the previous volume, this change of pace may seem out of place, but this volume does reference to the seriousness of what happened in volume eight while still moving the overall storyline forward, and readers will appreciate what Gotouge does with all of it.

Sara's Rating: 9/10
Suitability Level: Grades 7-12

Reviews of previous volumes in the series: vol 1, vol 2, vol 3, vol 4, vol 5, vol 6, vol 7, vol 8

Publisher: VIZ Media
Publication Date: November 5, 2019​
ISBN: 9781974704439 (Paperback)
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Tags: Rating: 9/10, Suitability: Middle School, Suitability: High School, Manga, Demons, Action Adventure, VIZ Media