Demon Slayer Episode 14

Demon Slayer Episode 14

The House with the Wisteria Family Crest

We’ve gotten to the point in the series at which I’m starting to think Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba isn’t as good as I originally hoped it would be. It had a good initial premise, but as you may have noticed over the past 13 weeks, I’ve had quite a number of complaints about this anime.

I guess I just really wanted it to be more of a seinen anime, not the shounen anime it actually is. It should come as no surprise that Naruto, specifically Shippūden is my favorite shounen series. And aside from that and One Piece, I’m actually not all that much of a fan of these anime because they tend to be filled to the brim with annoying tropes.

Also just to be clear, when I say shounen I’m specifically referring to shounen battle series.

But there’s one thing which keeps me coming back to shounen series, the fights. Not every shounen series has good fights. In fact, creating a good fight is difficult because there needs to be good animation, good choreography, and good character investment in the fight.

With that said, if I were to ask you what your favorite fight in anime is, your answer would probably come from a shounen series. And this is where I think Demon Slayer really shines. I don’t care all that much about the characters or plot at this point, but it has some great fights.

Specifically in this episode we had a fight between Tanjirou and Inosuke which may have been the best choreographed of the series so far. It didn’t have the flashy animation and effects some of the other fights had, but it didn’t need it.

Inosuke Hashibira

I’ve been using Inosuke’s name in every episode review since we first laid eyes on him, but his name was actually only just revealed to us in the anime. Also revealed to us was his face, which is something I actually didn’t think we would see so soon if ever.

It almost felt like hiding Inosuke’s face was a part of his characterization. Because he always wears the wild board pelt over his head, it makes him seem more beast than man. But now that we know what his face looks like, and we know that he doesn’t particularly try to hide his face, a lot of the mystique surrounding him has been lost.

His attitude and fighting style are both still very primal, but I view him as more of an annoyance now than I did previously. Also the whole gag about him having a girly face despite the rest of his body being extremely buff and manly knocked him down a notch. I want some serious characters.

Inosuke Hashibira as a wild boar from the anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
Inosuke as a wild boar

At the very least Inosuke’s fight against Tanjirou was good. And I do look forward to more fights involving him now that he seems to be an official member of Tanjirou’s group along with Zenitsu. Though I do almost feel like I want him to fight with his fists more often rather than his swords.

Swords are cool and all, but I think hand to hand combat has more room for impressive choreography, which is what I want to see out of fights with Inosuke. Zenitsu and Tanjirou can finish opponents off quickly with their swords, but the drawn out beating of hand to hand combat just seems to fit Inosuke’s personality more.

Rest Time

The house with the wisteria family crest is a sort of rest stop for members of the Demon Slayer Corp. This sprawling mansion is home to a family which was once saved by demon slayers. Now they return the favor by taking in any tired or injured demon slayers who find themselves at their door.

Interestingly though, I didn’t happen to notice any actual wisteria trees on or around the property. Or at least if they were there, they weren’t in full bloom. I’d imagine that there have to be some wisteria trees on their property to not only ward off demons, but also because it’s their family crest.

But my main question for now is, is there a single house, or does this family own houses all over Japan? While the former makes sense to me logically, my guess is that the latter is actually true. I could see them using the houses of this family as rest stops all throughout their adventure.

What’s in the Box?!

Since Inosuke seems to have forgotten all about the demon in Tanjirou’s box, Zenitsu decides to pop the question. This is when Tanjirou realizes that although Zenitsu knew a demon was within the box, he still protected it with his life because he knew it was special to Tanjirou. Best friend confirmed?

But, as expected, once Zenitsu finds out that there’s actually a cute girl inside the box he snaps. He seemingly forgets the fact that she’s a demon and instead laments how Tanjirou is travelling around with a girl by his side while Zenitsu is alone. He doesn’t even allow Tanjirou to explain that Nezuko is his sister.

Zenitsu then remembers that Tanjirou also stopped him from marrying that one random girl on the road when they first met. This throws him even more into a rage and he begins threatening Tanjirou for making a mockery of the Demon Slayer Corp by using it as an excuse to travel with girls.

Zenitsu Agatsuma brandishing his sword from the anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
Zenitsu brandishing his sword

All that aside, what I really found interesting here was the depiction of Zenitsu’s Nichirin sword. In episode 12 his sword was depicted as having a golden blade, which I thought was pretty cool. However, in this episode we seem to have thrown out that whole colored blade thing from earlier on in the series.

While this isn’t too surprising considering the number of other times this anime has backtracked on premises it set up, it’s a bit disappointing. Now his sword has a golden lightning pattern down the blade, which I think looks a lot tackier.

Though, at least now there should be no mistake about what his particular sword’s ability is. We still don’t know the significance of Tanjirou’s black sword, and as far as I can tell Inosuke’s swords aren’t any special color.

Conclusion

What did you think of this week’s episode of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba? And, since I brought up this question earlier on, what’s your favorite anime fight? I think mine would have to be Kakashi vs. Obito from Naruto: Shippūden.

If you enjoyed this review, be sure to click the like button ❤ down below. Also follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. There’s currently a poll live running there to choose which series, Fire Force or Dr. Stone, gets added to my Summer review schedule.

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My review of the next episode is available here.

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