This Week in Anime

Why Demon Slayer Needs More Nezuko

Nicky
I know that's a joke but honestly?! Yeah, I'd listen to it...

Anyways, for those late to the party, we're here and ready to face off with Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Entertainment District Arc!

I definitely cried for more than 30 minutes. That first double episode was hard for me to watch because I was so tired from gestures all of the past two years that I couldn't not let it get to me. It might be my favorite part of the season so far even if it does take a little long and feels more like ANOTHER extension of the movie rather than part of this new arc proper.

To summarize, Tanjiro and The Boiz returned to the Butterfly House to recover but he eventually gets lead by Rengoku's crow to his shitty alcoholic former Hashira dad's house and his dad yells at Tanjiro about Sun Breathing and then Tanjiro de-escalates by headbutting the shit out of him. And then everyone cries!

I hadn't watched any Demon Slayer since the movie hit theaters so it was a big wallop for me, but its real function is to tie up that thread while also giving Tanjiro a lead on his family's history.

He's just living off of booze and copium fumes at this point. I was more touched by Rengoku's younger brother, too weak to really avenge his sibling but deciding to step away from the cycle of violence by doing things in his own way, and this being framed as like, a good thing. Especially when it also involves helping Tanjiro get the information he needs after his dad destroyed all of the IMPORTANT PLOT BOOK.

Yeah, I will say my least favorite part of Demon Slayer is just that the comedy can be super hit or miss. Unless it involves the GOODEST BOAR BOY INOSUKE! That's always a win. It's overall very cutesy though and does break up the tone as we transition to this new segment of the story.

Honestly, I was surprised how funny Zenitsu ended up here. He's quietly seething out of jealousy over this new ridiculous hotshot narcissist man. It's just so much funnier than when he's screaming about being scared and pissing his pants or gushing over Nezuko. The whole intro convo is absurd. (Note: Zenitsu is simultaneously my most relatable boy even if he's also the most grating.)

They're good boys. But who is this Uzui guy, anyways? Well first of all he's actually the Sound Hashira, and second of all he's a ninja who actually hates being forced to blend in. And so he became the God of Flashiness! And also, he's got THREE WIVES, making him three times the wife guy most people will ever be. And the whole reason he's desperate for help is because all three of his wives went missing while undercover in the red light district (localized as the "Entertainment District") looking for a demon.

So the plan is to let these boys disguise themselves as girls so they can infiltrate the three big houses where his wife disappears, only they're terrible at being undercover because Tengen doesn't really teach them anything about being stealthy or maintaining proper etiquette. Spy x Family this is NOT! Though really, that could've been solved with some halfway decent make-up. Zenitsu and Tanjiro get in pretty much on Tengen's hotness, while Inosuke gets snatched up when a woman realizes how pretty he is and surprisingly has the easiest time passing assuming he never speaks or does anything.

Tanjiro is such a polite and hard worker that there's really no use being rude to him, and Zenitsu happens to rock it on the shamisen. Which is another point to him this season. They suspect the demon must be high-level and using the nature of the night life to blend in. The women employed at the houses have often been sold for poverty or debt, but in return they get housing and the potential to maybe reach a higher status as an Oiran. But in return, this also makes them vulnerable if someone wanted to make them disappear and not have to worry about anyone looking for them.

It's actually more of a creeping horror rather than an undercover thing which is very different to the action-y part of Demon Slayer. There's some good build up. Any normal person would assume that all of Tengen's wives are dead and give up, but the fact that we don't know the whole story or how it happened is somehow scarier.

I also super love the occasional film-style stuff used here. From the silent-film era effect used for Tanjiro's panic moment...

...to the grain-y and tense scene where the head mistress addresses the snooty Oiran like it's some sort of mob drama. Combined with spooky backstory! Those tone flourishes are what makes Demon Slayer as an adaptation really riveting to watch compared to when I just read the manga.

I enjoy the creepily buff mice, they are at least very useful.

They did grant us Inosuke just launching himself into the ceiling though.

Wonderful feral hog child becomes liquid.

Let him keep resting his eyes for a few more minutes, he's more useful that way.

We also really haven't talked too much about the demon in this season of Demon Slayer other than the rumors about her backstory. So let's get into that.

I meant more the fact that she was feeding by bullying other women to the point where people believed they were running away or committing suicide, and that the houses would cover up for her because she's so good at doing what she does as an entertainer. Though, as a rule, she only eats the beautiful and the strong as part of her vanity. All to please her demon lord and master, Muzan. She's pretty much the first big upper-rank demon the boys have had to face on their own. Though, her outfit does fucking rock. It's super stylish, and her obi-weapon is a the highlight of this arc in terms of action, using her sash to slash and sashay poor Tanjiro into a bloody pulp.

Yeah watching Nezuko get sidelined at first is still pretty frustrating after seeing some of the things she can do. But, it gave time for Daki to kill a bunch of people and subsequently trigger Tanjiro's berserk button.

Behold! Punished Cinnamon Roll.

She hasn't left her box all season and she barely even grunts, so it's hard to remember she's there if the show doesn't occasionally go out of its way to remind us, like Tanjiro being precious about the box. But he might as well be carrying around her corpse, rather than an additional character.

Like even in the "DISGUISE OURSELVES AS GIRLS" arc the actual girl on the team doesn't get to come out and interact at all.

And it was pretty gruesome! Good to see the "shōnen with the R-rated violence" still applies. Lots of uncensored crushed bodies and a couple dismembered corpses there. Would've helped if we had someone else to distract the demon before she showed off her flagrant disregard to the lives of innocent civilians, wouldn't it? It was a pretty big shock after the other team managed to rescue everyone from the food storage.

Well her Obi DOES spill blood so I guess it's technically just flesh?!

And then there's this great moment.

Seems to be part of the uniform. Which is funny considering the men aren't supposed to stand out but women in high stockings and tits out in the 1900s is apparently inconspicuous. Talk about a double-standard. We also saw them tied up a lot which didn't help. (Also, this line here is BS. Be strong, ladies! Kick men's asses!!)

Despite this, I actually super love Tengen's wives and how much he loves them and it seems like they get along with each other.

He also basically gives the opposite of a Naruto speech here where he emphasizes that it's more important that they live with their own lives than value the success of the mission. Similar to Rengoku's younger brother, it's reframing the abandonment of duty in favor of living as the just thing rather than something that's normally seen as cowardly. Ninjas and demon slayers are all about dying in the line of duty, but the emphasis here is that it's not worth it to die unless you care at all about the living.

but also, LOVE!

And they seem good in a pinch. Again, the biggest problem is that we don't get enough time with them. Demon Slayer overall is an extremely economical shōnen series, and most of the extra time seems to be just stretching out those big battle moments. It's pretty cool, so I can't really complain.

I also think the stakes of this arc dissipated once Tengen's wives are okay. This was a problem when I read the manga too, and I think it's probs my least favorite out of all of them overall. But I was still surprised how engaged I was by what is a really well-produced popcorn series.

And when Nezuko DOES get out of the GODDAMN BOX it's pretty good too.

NEZUKO'S FUCKING PISSED!!

She does. But so does every woman this season. Support the girls and they'll support you! (by not giving you terrible back pain).

Unfortunately, the episode ends rather quickly after that. So as much as we'd love to show more Nezuko destroying things, we can't!

It starts a bit slow (y'know, after I cried my heart out at the first episode) but ultimately it was pretty painless to binge even in my dead-tired state just because the production is sooooo smooth. New OP by Aimer is a fun bop. Most of the jokes weren't bad, partially due to Uzui's super extra presence. Plus, I do always like seeing my good boys, especially my stupid boar son.

I have some parts of Demon Slayer that I absolutely LOVE and destroy me and this arc just isn't one of them. But I enjoy it all the same, and I'm not gonna curse getting more.

Mayhaps next time! See you!