Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc Episode 3

The First Wife: Makio

Sometimes when you get to the end of an episode, you feel like it was over too quickly because it was so good. And then there are episodes like Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc Episode 3, which feel like they end too quickly because not much actually happens in them.

Think about it. What really happened in this episode? Tanjirou cleaned. Inosuke chased a demon that escaped without him ever seeing it. And the Oiran in the house with Zenitsu who was obviously a demon was revealed to be a demon.

I don’t think I came out of that episode with any information I didn’t have or could have reasonably assumed beforehand. It was 20+ minutes of me waiting for something new and exciting to either happen or be revealed, and it never did.

For example, the only one of Tengen’s wives we’ve seen in the present storyline so far is still Makio and she’s still being held by a demon. Inosuke may have chased that demon around the brothel, but nothing came of it and the situation is the same as when the episode began.

Something I will say is that it’s a bit odd that there are multiple demons who seemingly have the same ability. The demon who captured Makio in the house Inosuke is in uses the same ribbon ability as Daki, the demon in the house Zenitsu is in.

I guess you could say that counts as new information. I don’t think Daki is going to be revealed to be the demon in all three houses. And I don’t think there are three Upper Six ranked demons around. But, maybe the three demons are siblings or something, with Daki being the eldest.

Hiding in Plain Sight

Speaking of Daki, since she’s the only demon we’ve met so far in this arc, I found it interesting that she’s able to conceal her presence so easily. It was stated that only someone who’s at the level of a Hashira or higher would be able to pick them out of a crowd.

Obviously, Zenitsu was able to recognize that Daki (Warabihime) is a demon. He even correctly assumed that she’s a member of the Upper Six. However, Zenitsu didn’t realize she was in the room until just before she spoke to him.

If Daki was in a room of other women, Zenitsu wouldn’t be able to single her out even if he sensed that something was off. So, this explains why Daki and the other demons of the red-light district have been able to hide in plain sight.

Based on the fact that Daki has already killed six Hashira (probably over a span of decades, if not centuries), I’m going to assume that she took them by surprise. They likely knew a demon was around but didn’t realize it was Daki until it was too late.

Now, something else that came to mind while I was thinking about how Daki is able to hide in plain sight is her profession. Yes, she’s a demon who eats people. But she’s also the Oiran of her house and is responsible for keeping it afloat financially.

This implies that she does actually have paying customers whom she doesn’t eat. And that’s really strange to me. Based on her reaction to Zenitsu grabbing her arm, I just can’t imagine a demon like Daki sleeping with humans. She seems like she’d be more liable to kill them at the very mention of hiring her.

The Strongest Upper Six?

Something Muzan said to Daki stood out to me. He stated that not only is she the most beautiful, but that she’s also the strongest. While I’m not going to question Daki’s beauty, I am going to question her strength.

She’s the sixth of the Upper Six, meaning that she ranks the lowest of them all. How could the lowest-ranking of the Upper Six be the strongest? That doesn’t seem to make much sense. I’m betting that Daki will be killed by the end of this arc. And I don’t see the rest of the demons after her being weaker.

So, what does Muzan mean when he says that Daki is the strongest? My guess is that he means she’s the Upper Six member with the most promise. We know Daki has been around for a long time within the same area and performing the same role

That, combined with the fact that she’s killed six Hashira, seems to imply that she’s never failed in her role as a demon. She’s never been chased out of the red-light district by demon slayers and seemingly always succeeds in killing those who do show up.

Compare that to the other Upper Six demon we know, Akaza from the Mugen Train Arc. Akaza is the third of the Upper Six, meaning that he should technically be stronger than Daki. And, in a straight-up fight, he probably is stronger than her.

But, Akaza was proud of himself when he managed to kill a single Hashira. Let’s also not forget that he almost died during that battle himself. And to make matters worse, he fled the fight instead of killing Tanjirou, Inosuke, and Zenitsu, angering Muzan.

The only question that brings up is, why isn’t Muzan angry with Daki for never leaving the red-light district in search of Demon Slayers to kill?

Conclusion

What do you think of Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc Episode 3? Did you find this episode to be as lacking in substance as I did? Do you think Daki actually has clients? And why do you think Muzan referred to her as the strongest? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server if you’re interested in discussing anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman 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.