Tag: Demon Slayer

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 7

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 7

Demon or Combining Robot?

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 7 wasn’t the greatest. It went by quickly, which is usually a sign that an episode was exciting. However, exciting isn’t a word I would use to describe this episode. I’d call it boring.

Not much actually happened in Episode 7. But, the biggest thing to happen was the introduction of a “new” demon. It’s not exactly a new demon, though. It’s another one of Hantengu’s personalities — the sixth distinct personality we’ve seen. Previously, we saw Anger, Sorrow, Joy, Pleasure, and Fear.

This new personality is Hatred. But, it’s also not the same as the other personalities. So, how exactly do the different personalities of Hantengu work? And what inferences can we make about Hantengu based on the information we have now? Well, for starters, Fear is the primary Hantengu personality (body).

Hantengu's Hatred Demon from the anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 7
Hantengu’s Hatred Demon

Fear was the original Hantengu body. When it got decapitated, it spawned Anger and Pleasure. And when those bodies got decapitated, they spawned Joy and Sorrow. But, despite Joy and Sorrow coming from Anger and Pleasure, these four appear to be on the same level. And as Tanjirou found out, decapitating these four doesn’t actually do anything.

So, how did Hatred spawn? Well, Hatred is actually the product of Anger, Pleasure, Joy, and Sorrow combining. Notably, Fear isn’t included in this combination. So, you could view Hatred as being Hantengu without Fear. If this is your interpretation, Hatred is the “perfect form” Hantengu.

However, Genya mentioned something interesting. He said Hatred spawned when Anger absorbed the other three. So, it could be that Hatred is like a powered-up Anger. If Sorrow was the one to absorb the other three, perhaps it would result in a Despair personality. We don’t have enough information yet.

Oh No, Haganezuka Is Hot

After the introduction of the Hatred Demon, the rest of the episode was pretty boring. But, I need to write more for this review, so I’m still going to cover it. Next up, we have Hanagezuka’s face reveal.

When Tokitou ran into Gyokko, Gyokko was near a shack in the forest. And, that’s the very shack Tokitou was heading to. So, Tokitou not only had to try to defeat Gyokko, but also protect the shack in the process. This piqued Gyokko’s interest and made him wonder what was so important within the shack.

So, after trapping Tokitou in a water jar. Gyokko makes his way into the shack. And there, he finds Haganezuka hard at work restoring Tanjirou’s new blade. In case you don’t remember, this is the sword Tanjirou and Kotetsu found within the Yoriichi Type Zero. It’s over 300 years old, or something.

Gyokko getting mad at Haganezuka from the anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 7
Gyokko getting mad at Haganezuka

Apparently, this is an exceptional sword. Haganezuka was so invested in restoring it that he didn’t even notice Gyokko open the door to the shack. And he continued working on the sword even as Gyokko whipped his back with water attacks. Nothing was going to break Haganezuka’s concentration.

Of course, Gyokko could easily kill Haganezuka. But, as a fellow artist, he got mad that Haganezuka was concentrating more than he ever had on his own work. So, before killing Haganezuka, Gyokko becomes determined to break his concentration. Surely, that will prove that Gyokko is the best artist around.

Anyway, one of Gyokko’s attacks breaks Haganezuka’s mask and we get to see his face for the first time. I was expecting Haganezuka’s face to look the same as his mask. But, that wasn’t the case. Haganezuka is actually attractive beneath the mask. He’s more attractive than Inosuke, who looks more feminine.

HobbyLink Japan

HobbyLink Japan

The best place to buy and ship products from Japan!

Shop Now

Tanjirou Is Literally Tokitou’s Dad

We now know why Muichirou Tokitou cared so much about the things Tanjirou said. Tanjirou reminds Tokitou of his father — whom Tokitou forgot on account of his amnesia. We still don’t know how Tokitou got amnesia, though.

Well, Tanjirou doesn’t look that much like Tokitou’s dad. The main physical similarity between the two is the color of their eyes — red. But, I think we can also assume that Tanjirou acts the same as Tokitou’s dad, as well. The things Tanjirou says are likely things Tokitou could imagine his dad saying.

And, for the first time, I’m now thinking about where Tokitou’s family is. In the ED for this season, we see Tokitou living with his family in the mountains. And according to his crow, he’s a descendant of the first Sun Breathing technique users. But, we know he uses Mist Breathing, instead.

Muichirou breaking out of Gyokko's water jar from the anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 7
Muichirou breaking out of Gyokko’s water jar

In my review of Episode 4, I was questioning when Tokitou lost his memories in relation to when he became a Hashira. It now seems likely that he lost his memories before becoming a Hashira. Specifically, I’m thinking he lost his memories at the same time he lost his family.

Tanjirou and Genya/Sanemi, Tokitou’s family probably got attacked by a demon. And my assumption is that this attack is what caused Tokitou to lose his memories. He may have lost them due to his physical injuries. Or, he may have lost them due to the psychological trauma of the event.

In either case, it seems to me like this is how his journey as a Demon Slayer began. And his reason for becoming a Demon Slayer is that he believes it will help him recover those lost memories. Now, thanks to Tanjirou, he’s one step closer.

Conclusion

What do you think of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 7? Do you think Hantengu has additional forms based on how his emotions combine? Is Haganezuka the hottest male character in the series? And do you think Tokitou will call Tanjirou “dad?” Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on your social media of choice — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 8 is available now.

Discord Community

Discuss anime, manga, and more with our members!

Join Server

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 6

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 6

Genya’s Demon Form

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 6 is all about Genya. And since I want to discuss Genya (and his brother) this week, let’s get the demon stuff out of the way. There’s, apparently, a fifth demon that makes up Hantengu.

We know Hantengu split into four demons whose names I don’t remember. But, Hantengu’s main body still exists. It’s just very small and it hides. This is the body you need to decapitate in order to kill all of Hantengu’s bodies. The other four are distractions.

Now, with that out of the way, let’s get on to discussing Genya. He’s actually pretty interesting now that we’ve learned a few things about him. And one of those things is that he can turn himself into a demon. But, this transformation only lasts for a limited amount of time.

Genya Shinazugawa in his demon form from the anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 6
Genya Shinazugawa in his demon form

How exactly Genya came to have this power is unknown. But, we can probably assume he activates it via his chanting. The thing is, someone must have taught him how to do this, right? Could it have been the “good” demons we met back in Season 1? I don’t remember their names, but it doesn’t matter.

Now, another question you may be asking is, why would Genya turn himself into a demon? Well, this actually seems to have a pretty simple answer. He does it because it makes him stronger. You see, as far as Demon Slayers go, Genya is actually weak.

According to Genya, he can’t use any breathing techniques. And as a result, he also has trouble decapitating stronger demons. So, by activating his demon form, he can get a bit of a strength boost. Additionally, this allows him to regenerate his body other than his head, which is neat.

Genya and Sanemi Shinazugawa

Episode 6 also gave us the backstory for both Genya and his older brother, Sanemi. Genya was the second oldest of seven children. After his father died, it was just the kids and their mother. But, everything changed one night.

After their mother didn’t return home, Sanemi went out to look for her. And when he left, he tasked Genya with staying behind to watch their younger siblings. But, later that night a demon broke into their house and killed the five youngest children. Genya only survived because Sanemi showed up to save him.

Sanemi tackled the demon out of the house to give Genya a chance to escape. And when Genya ran to get help for his other siblings, he came across his brother standing over a body. It was the corpse of their mother, and Sanemi was covered in her blood.

Sanemi Shinazugawa after killing his mother-turned-demon from the anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 6
Sanemi Shinazugawa after killing his mother-turned-demon

Now, to us, it was obvious that their mother was the demon who attacked them. But, at the time, Genya didn’t realize this. He thought that his older brother had killed their mother for some reason. And because of that, he called his brother a murderer — something he now regrets.

At some point after this, Sanemi joined the Demon Slayers Corps and rose to the rank of Hashira. And the reason Genya also joined is that he wants to get a chance to apologize to his brother. It was a pretty good backstory. But, I don’t think it needed to be as long as it was.

Also, it was weird to see how different Genya and Sanemi were in the past. They were both happy, well-behaved children. But now, both of them appear to have severe anger issues. It’s kind of odd how they both changed drastically in the same way.

HobbyLink Japan

HobbyLink Japan

The best place to buy and ship products from Japan!

Shop Now

The Wind Hashira

Unless I’m misremembering, Sanemi Shinazugawa is the Wind Hashira. So, while Genya can’t use any breathing techniques, the same isn’t true for Sanemi. And, we can assume he was taught how to use his breathing technique after the Demon Slayers recruited him.

In the previous arcs, we focused on a single Hashira. At the very start of the series, there was Giyu. Then, we had all that stuff with Shinobu, also in Season 1. After that, the Mugen Train Arc focused on Rengoku. And most recently, the Entertainment District Arc featured Tengen.

When the Swordsmith Village Arc began, I assumed it was going to focus on two Hashira. These are Muichirou and Mitsuri, obviously. But, I’m now starting to think that Sanemi is going to be the third Hashira of this arc. And I don’t think he’s even going to appear in it.

Wind Hashira Sanemi Shinazugawa from the anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 6
Wind Hashira Sanemi Shinazugawa

So, what do I mean by that? Well, I’m not expecting Sanemi to get his own arc later on in the series. Instead, this arc is going to serve as his arc even though he’s not present. How does that work? We’re going to get everything we need to know about Sanemi through Genya’s character arc.

By the time we’re done with Genya’s arc within the Swordsmith Village Arc, there won’t be a need for a Sanemi arc. The arcs for each Hashira go into who they are as people and their motivations. We kind of already know that about Sanemi from just this one episode.

The main thing we don’t know about Sanemi is why he “hates” his brother now. But, that seems pretty obvious to me. He doesn’t hate Genya at all. He’s being cold to Genya because he wants Genya to quit being a Demon Slayer so he doesn’t die.

Conclusion

What do you think of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 6? Who do you think Genya learned to transform into a demon from? Did you like Genya’s backstory? And, are you expecting Sanemi to be a main Hashira in a later arc, or is this it for him? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on your social media of choice — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 7 is available now.

Discord Community

Discuss anime, manga, and more with our members!

Join Server

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 5

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 5

Mitsuri Kanroji’s Nichirin Blade

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 5 was a big episode for a few reasons. The first of these reasons I’m going to discuss today is the debut of Mitsuri Kanroji’s Nichirin blade. This is the first time we’ve seen it in action.

That said, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen it overall. The ED for this season features her sword quite a bit. So, even before Episode 5, we knew it was a very unique blade. It’s effectively a sword combined with a whip — very on-brand for the Love Hashira.

But, even though it’s obvious that Mitsuri’s blade is unique, I didn’t really realize how unique it is. Even among the Hashira (whose swords we’ve seen), Mitsuri’s is the most unique. It’s the only one that physically doesn’t make sense. Like, how does she have a sword that’s also a whip?

Love Hashira Mitsuri Kanroji from the anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 5
Love Hashira Mitsuri Kanroji

Giyuu Tomioka, Kyoujurou Rengoku, and Muichirou Tokitou all use(d) normal swords. Shinobu Kochou was the first Hashira we met with a unique sword. The blade on her sword has been modified to deliver poison to demons since she can’t behead them.

Then, there are Tengen Uzui’s dual swords, which are also unique. His swords have wider blades with a cutout in each one. And, they’re connected at the hilts with a chain. They’re unique, but at least they still make sense and could exist in reality. That’s not the case for Mitsuri’s sword.

And, one hint we get in this episode regarding the origin of her sword is that the Swordsmith Village chief made it. He’s the most-skilled swordsmith in the village. But, why didn’t he forge all the Hashira’s swords? The answer is likely that he came out of retirement for Mitsuri, a cute girl.

Mist Breathing and Teleportation

While Mitsuri was saving the village chief, Tokitou was facing off against Gyokko. And it’s during this brief fight that we first get to see some of Gyokko’s special abilities. And, most important of all, we get to see how he moves around.

Unfortunately, Gyokko doesn’t crawl around on his hands. That’s what I was hoping for. Instead, his vases roll around with him in them. Oh, and he can, apparently, teleport between vases. However, exactly how his teleportation works isn’t yet known. We don’t know how he can create vases in new locations.

But, we do know that he can produce new vases from his own body. And the vases he produces have a variety of abilities — all of which seem to have to do with fish. Of course, this connection to fish makes sense when you consider his name. Gyo (漁 / ぎょ) is a word for fish.

Muichirou Tokitou using Mist Breathing from the anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 5
Muichirou Tokitou using Mist Breathing

My prediction is that Gyokko can’t produce new vases that are away from his main body. So, how does he create new vases to teleport to, then? He probably creates them beforehand somehow. Maybe he creates a small fish demon that he can turn into a vase later on.

Anyway, over the course of their short interaction, Tokitou gained valuable information. Because Gyokko teleported away from Tokitou’s attack, it likely means decapitation will work. That’s not the case for Hantengu. But, even if Tokitou has this information, how is he supposed to catch Gyokko?

That’s where I’m guessing Tokitou’s Mist Breathing is going to come in. He may be able to use the mist to mask where he’s striking from. If Tokitou can catch Gyokko off guard, he may be able to cut Gyokko’s neck before he teleports. Or, he’ll work together with Tanjirou.

HobbyLink Japan

HobbyLink Japan

The best place to buy and ship products from Japan!

Shop Now

Sun Breathing vs. Hantengu

In the last part of the episode, we see Nezuko infuse Tanjirou’s sword with her burning blood. This helps Tanjirou channel his Sun Breathing better. And this brings him closer to the original Sun Breather — or whoever he has past memories of.

Interestingly, we also see that the demons share Muzan’s past memories. I don’t remember which of Hantengu’s personalities it was. But, one of them sees this legendary swordsman in those memories when Tanjirou faces them. And, by using this technique, Tanjirou is able to decapitate three of the four demons at once.

Of course, we know that decapitating these demons doesn’t do too much. It makes them a bit weaker, but it also causes them to multiply. Luckily, Genya also happened to use his hand cannon to decapitate the fourth demon. But, were these decapitations close enough in time?

Tanjirou emulating the first Sun Breathing user from the anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 5
Tanjirou emulating the first Sun Breathing user

Based on what we saw, I don’t think the timing of the decapitations matters much. Although he decapitated the final one of the four demons, Genya himself has become a demon. But, I have a feeling that he’s not a demon in the same sense as most demons in the series.

We know Genya is going to be one of the main characters in this arc. So, surely he’s not actually a demon now. Instead, my guess is that Genya becoming a demon somehow has to do with Hantengu’s ability. Hantengu may have somehow taken over Genya’s body.

That doesn’t make too much sense, though. Genya appears to be a mindless demon, not a sentient one like the Upper and Lower ranks. So, I guess he might actually be a demon. And if he is, could his apparent immortality save him after Tanjirou decapitates him? That would be wild.

Conclusion

What do you think of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 5? Do you think any of the other Hashira are going to have Nichirin blades more unique than Mitsuri’s? How do you think Gyokko’s teleportation works? And, how are you expecting Genya’s demonification to be resolved? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on your social media of choice — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 6 is available now.

Discord Community

Discuss anime, manga, and more with our members!

Join Server

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 4

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 4

The Mist Surrounding Tokitou’s Memories

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 4 told us a bit more about Tokitou. And this new information we got about him seems to explain some things. In my Episode 3 review, I questioned why someone with no emotions like him would be so impressionable. Now we know.

It’s not necessarily that Tokitou has no emotions. It’s that he doesn’t have any memories. So, that could be an explanation for why he acts the way he does. He’s indifferent to most people and situations because he doesn’t remember how to act.

We also saw this when he met Tanjirou and Nezuko again in this season. He didn’t remember either of them despite having met them before. And you’d think a Demon Slayer carrying around a demon in a box would be something memorable.

Muichirou Tokitou recovering from injuries from the anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 4
Muichirou Tokitou recovering from injuries

With that said, there’s a lot we still don’t know about Tokitou. We don’t know when he lost his memories. We don’t know if he has trouble forming new memories. And we don’t know when he became a Hashira. To me, these are all important details that we need to fully understand who he is.

For example, did he lose his memories after he met Tanjirou and Nezuko for the first time? That would explain why he forgot them. But if not, then does that mean he still has trouble forming memories?

Also, was he a Hashira prior to losing his memories? Or did he only become one afterward? If he became a Hashira afterward, that might explain his breathing technique.

Remember, Tokitou’s crow said he’s a descendant of the Sun Breathing Technique users. But, he uses Mist Breathing. Could this be because he learned to be a Demon Slayer after he was saved by the Corps?

Genya Shinazugawa, the Immortal

Based on what we saw in this episode, Genya Shinazugawa appears to be immortal. But, I highly doubt that’s actually the case. And by that, I mean there’s no way he’s immortal. So, how was he able to survive injuries that should have been fatal?

Well, it’s not like he’s the first human in the series to be able to survive things like that. Think back to the Entertainment District Arc. Inosuke also got some severe injuries that should have killed him. But, we then learned that Inosuke has the ability to move his organs around within his body.

Now, that doesn’t mean I think Genya has that same ability. But, based on what we saw with Inosuke, it’s not impossible that Genya can do something similar. He could do something like harden his muscles/organs. I don’t know, it’s a shounen battle series.

Genya Shinazugawa with a fatal wound from the anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 4
Genya Shinazugawa with a fatal wound

I could be forgetting (much like Tokitou), but I don’t think we know Genya’s breathing technique yet. We know his brother (was that confirmed last week?) is the Wind Hashira. So, it would make sense for Genya to use Wind Breathing. However, we have no confirmation of that yet.

If he can do weird things with his body, it could be that Genya also uses the Beast Breathing Technique. Though, from my understanding, that’s supposed to be pretty unique to Inosuke. Didn’t he develop that technique on his own while training in the mountains?

Anyway, what we do know about Genya are the weapons he uses. Rather than using a normal sword, he uses a short sword that’s more like a large knife. And paired with that he has a double-barreled hand cannon, which is unique. This gun fires special Nichirin rounds that are able of decapitating demons.

HobbyLink Japan

HobbyLink Japan

The best place to buy and ship products from Japan!

Shop Now

Mitsuri Kanroji to the Rescue!

At the end of Episode 4, we see Mitsuri Kanroji returning to the swordsmith village. Apparently, she had already left the village before the Upper Rank demons attacked. But, since she was still nearby, she got the call to return to the village to protect it.

Under normal circumstances, the location of the village is strictly classified. But, seeing as this is an emergency, the Demon Slayer Corps had to tell Mitsuri its location. And as she’s running back toward the village, she expresses surprise at how close it is to her location.

This seems to imply that the village isn’t quite as secluded as one might think. It’s unlikely that a Hashira like Mitsuri would be stationed out in the middle of nowhere. That is unless there were rumors of a powerful demon being there. So, the swordsmith village must be close to other villages.

Mitsuri Kanroji rushing to save the swordsmith village from the anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 4
Mitsuri Kanroji rushing to save the swordsmith village

But, this brings up an interesting question. What happens once someone learns of the swordsmith village’s location? Even the Hashira don’t know the exact location of the village. So, what happens next now that Mitsuri knows where it is?

Considering the nature of the Demon Slayer Corps, they wouldn’t kill Mitsuri. However, it’s possible they would force her into retirement and keep her at the main compound. She’d effectively be a prisoner at that point. But, it’s for the greater good and it beats dying. So, I guess that would be a decent solution.

Another option could be to move the location of the village itself. To me, that seems more likely. The swordsmiths can relocate. It’s not as easy to replace a Hashira — they haven’t replaced Rengoku yet. But, none of this may matter in the end if Mitsuri doesn’t survive the arc.

Conclusion

What do you think of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 4? Do you think Tokitou became a Hashira before or after he lost his memories? How do you think Genya is able to survive seemingly fatal injuries? And do you expect Mitsuri to make it out of the arc alive? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on your social media of choice — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. I’d also like to thank Key Mochi for supporting at the Senpai tier and Rob and Pepe for supporting at the Kouhai tier. Check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama to learn more about becoming a supporter.

My review of Episode 5 is available now.

Discord Community

Discuss anime, manga, and more with our members!

Join Server

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 3

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 3

Gyokko, the Pot Demon

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 3 was a pretty good episode. At least, if you ignore the first 9 minutes. while I was watching the episode, I was getting worried that I wouldn’t have anything to write about. But, luckily, the second half pulled through.

Now, let’s talk about Gyokko, the Upper Moon Five demon. He lives in a pot, for some reason. Is the pot a part of his body? Can he come entirely out of the pot? How does he move around? Does he walk on his many hands? I need answers.

Something we do know about Gyokko, though, is that he has ways of gathering information. He was the one who located the Swordsmith Village. But, I don’t remember if he said he found it himself or he had an underling find it. My guess is the latter.

Upper Moon Five, Gyokko from the anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 3
Upper Moon Five, Gyokko

What’s odd is that his information network didn’t tell him who was in the village. Or, maybe he was aware that 2 Hashira and Tanjiro were there and that’s why he attacked now. It could be that he figured this would be a good time to wipe them out along with the swordsmiths.

But, if it were up to me, I’d attack the village when there weren’t any Hashira present. I know the demons haven’t really had to worry about Hashira in a long time — 300 years. But, that’s changing now. Uzui helped take out Gyuutarou and Daki. And Rengoku almost killed Akaza.

The days when the Upper Six demons had nothing to fear are over. And Gyokko doesn’t seem to understand that. Sure, taking out some Hashira is good. But, eliminating the source of Nichirin swords is likely more important. It’ll make killing the Demon Slayers easier.

Tokitou Is More Impressionable Than I Thought

At this point, I’m still not sold on Tokitou being a good character. But, that’s also how I felt about Uzui at first. Uzui seemed like a knock-off Rengoku. However, over the course of the Entertainment District Arc, he grew into his own character.

The same thing could happen with Tokitou. He’s emotionless most of the time. But, something Tanjiro said stuck with him. He liked when Tanjiro said that helping others will make good things happen to you, too. And later in the episode, we see Tokitou act on those words.

This is something I wasn’t expecting at all. I never would have thought that Tokitou would be such an impressionable person. Or, maybe this is Tanjiro’s Talk-no-Jutsu at work. It could be that those words only affected Tokitou because they came from Tanjirou. I’m not sure why that would be, though.

Tokitou protecting Kotetsu from a demon from the anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 3
Tokitou protecting Kotetsu from a demon

Something we should probably keep in mind is that Tokitou is young. I believe it was only last week in Episode 2 that Tanjiro said Tokitou appeared to be about the same age as himself. And, unless I’m mistaken, Tanjiro is supposed to be around 16 years old.

It’s possible that Tokitou is even younger than Tanjiro. And this could be why Tanjiro’s words had such an impact on him. Sure, Tokitou is the more experienced Demon Slayer. But, that doesn’t mean he can’t look up to Tanjiro in a way.

My question then is, why would he look up to Tanjiro? If he doesn’t remember who Nezuko is, does he even remember who Tanjiro is? Does he know that Tanjiro helped take down one of the Upper Six demons? Or, could it be that it’s Tanjiro’s personality he looks up to? That seems more likely, to me.

HobbyLink Japan

HobbyLink Japan

The best place to buy and ship products from Japan!

Shop Now

Hantengu, the Multiplying Demon

Obviously, the most interesting thing to come out of Episode 3 is Hantengu. I wasn’t considering him to be a threat despite him being the Upper Four demon. But, now that we know a bit more about his abilities, that’s changed.

So, what’s the deal with Hantengu? Well, every time you cut off his head, he splits into 2 bodies. This is different than Gyuutarou and Daki. They were siblings who became demons who relied on each other. With Hantengu, it seems to be a case of multiple personalities in one demon.

Yes, each split personality is distinct and has its own name. But, the feeling I got was that this is still a single demon. Maybe that will change in the future. However, it seems like it would be a bit odd for 2 of the Upper Six demons to have the same gimmick.

Upper Moon Four, Hantengu flying away with Tanjiro from the anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 3
Upper Moon Four, Hantengu flying away with Tanjiro

What else do we know about Hantengu? Well, so far, we’ve seen him split into 4. And I’m going to predict that 4 is the maximum number of personalities. He can still split further as we saw when a new head grew from the severed foot of the flying demon.

But, something you may have noticed is that this head wasn’t a new demon. It was another head of the flying demon. That’s not the only reason why I think Hantengu only has 4 personalities, though. The other reason is that each demon has its own abilities.

We saw one of the demons used a fan to cause an air blast. Another used a staff to create electricity. And the flying demon used sound to attack. If they all have unique abilities, there has to be a limit to how many of them there are.

Conclusion

What do you think of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 3? How do you think Gyokko moves around? What do you expect from Tokitou’s character development throughout this arc? And how many personalities do you think Hantengu has? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on your social media of choice — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 4 is available now.

Discord Community

Discuss anime, manga, and more with our members!

Join Server