Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc Episode 1

Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc Episode 1

The Last Flame Hashira

Demon Slayer Season 2 is here, and the title already has me a bit confused. This season is called Entertainment District Arc, which is a little odd. But, I don’t think it’s odd for the reason you may have heard from other sources.

The issue I’ve seen a lot of people have with this title is that it’s not a very faithful translation. In Japanese, it’s Yuukaku (遊郭), which actually translates to red-light district. A red-light district and an entertainment district are not the same.

This change in the English title is obviously to make the title more PG-rated. I’m fine with that. I get it. What I don’t get is why it’s translated into English at all. The Mugen Train Arc wasn’t translated to Infinity Train Arc.

Shinjuro Rengoku crying over his son's death from the anime series Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc
Shinjuro Rengoku crying over his son’s death

Anyway, that’s enough about the title. Episode 1 of the Entertainment District Arc was double-length, with the first half dedicated to Tanjirou traveling to the Rengoku family estate. There, he met Kyoujurou’s brother, Senjurou, and his father, Shinjurou.

Despite originally training his sons to follow in his footsteps as a Demon Slayer, Shinjurou eventually quit his job as a Hashira and told his sons to find different paths to go down. In the end, Senjurou is going to do just that, because his Nichirin blade won’t change color.

But, obviously, Kyoujurou didn’t take his father’s “advice” and instead became the next Flame Hashira.

Something I suspected while watching the Mugen Train Arc, and which seems to have been confirmed in this episode, is that the reason Shinjurou did everything he did was that he didn’t want to lose his sons. He got scared enough by something, maybe Muzan, to make him quit. He wasn’t an abusive father because he hates his sons.

Sun Breathing Technique

When you look at all of Shinjurou’s actions from the perspective that he was scared, I think it makes sense. He quit being a Hashira, maybe not to protect himself, but rather so that his sons wouldn’t end up orphaned.

However, he became abusive because he wanted to discourage his sons from following in his footsteps. He must have come up against a demon so powerful that it made him realize how weak the Demon Slayers, himself included, really are. And he didn’t want his sons to go up against such a demon.

This is also where I believe the Sun Breathing Technique comes in. Shinjurou got pretty mad when he noticed Tanjirou’s earrings and recognized them as the symbol of the Sun Breathing Technique. Why would that be the case?

Tanjirou and Nezuko Kamado from the anime series Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc
Tanjirou and Nezuko Kamado

In my mind, the reason for his anger is clear: He’s angry at himself for being weak. He mentions how Tanjirou must look down on them because the Sun Breathing Technique is the original and strongest breathing technique.

So, I think Shinjurou believes that if only he had that breathing technique, he would have been able to defeat the demon that he was afraid of, continue being a Hashira, and not end up failing his sons as a father.

As for the Sun Breathing Technique itself, I’m not a huge fan. In the Mugen Train Arc, Kyoujurou mentioned that Demon Slayers with black Nichirin blades don’t know what technique to master. I thought this meant Tanjirou would eventually master all the techniques — like your typical shounen battle series protagonist.

But, it seems like the Sun Breathing Technique is going to be used instead. It’s a way for Tanjirou to be the special protagonist without completely invalidating Zenitsu and Inosuke.

Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui

The most interesting thing about this first episode of the season is the introduction of Tengen Uzui, the Sound Hashira. Based on the initial encounter with him, he seems like a weird guy. But, I thought the same thing about Kyoujurou at first too.

I also definitely like Tengen’s character design more than Kyoujurou’s. So, hopefully, by the end of this arc, I’ll think he’s cool just as I did for Kyoujurou. Basically, Tengen has a lot of potential and I hope he lives up to it.

His weird personality aside, we learned some “interesting” things about him in this episode. Most notably, we learned that he was raised in the shadows as a shinobi. I definitely wouldn’t have guessed that based on his appearance and personality.

But, he also explains why his appearance and personality don’t match his past. He didn’t like his past as a shinobi. So when he became a Demon Slayer, he decided to be flashy.

Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui from the anime series Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc
Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui

The other thing we learned about him is that he loves women. He originally claims that he was taking Aoi and Naho because he needed female Demon Slayers to help with his mission. I can see how that would make sense since it’s within the red-light district; they could infiltrate the brothels.

However, this reasoning falls apart when he then agrees to take Tanjirou, Zenitsu, and Inosuke instead. Suddenly, he doesn’t specifically need women? That’s odd. Also, the fact that he slaps Aoi’s behind before releasing her shows the kind of person he is.

I don’t mind Tengen acting in that way. The chad energy he gives off is way better than Zenitsu’s brand of being obsessed with women. I just hope Tengen doesn’t do stuff like that in the middle of serious scenes like Zenitsu might.

Conclusion

What do you think of Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc Episode 1? Do you think Senjurou will actually follow in his brother’s footsteps? How do you feel about the Sun Breathing Technique? And what’s your opinion of Tengen so far? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 2 is available now.

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