Demon Slayer Episode 18

Demon Slayer Episode 18

A Forged Bond

If I’m being honest, which I always am, this week’s episode of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba was definitely worse than some of the preceding episodes. It didn’t do much in terms of story progression, and the two fights in it were anticlimactic (so far).

Not every episode can be better than the one which comes before it, but it’s felt like this arc was building up to something which we’re never going to get. By the end of the episode there are only two spider demons left, and while still probably powerful, they aren’t even the main ones.

However, we do still have the whole domestic violence theme of this arc carrying through this episode. I’m not quite sure how it’s going to be wrapped up, but something tells me it’s not going to have a satisfying ending — something like, “oh well, that was a sad story. Time to move on.”

Will our heroes really learn anything or grow from their experiences in this arc? Has Inosuke realized he can’t use brute force to solve all his problems? Did Zenitsu realize his true potential? And is Tanjirou beginning to question who his real enemy is?

I think that last question is the most important one for the story going forward. Tanjirou already doesn’t view demons as very different from humans, but the spider demon family are different than any other demons he’s come across. In many ways they’re more human than even Tamayo and Yushiro.

Yes, they’re demons who probably kill and eat humans in order to survive — we haven’t seen evidence of this yet. However, they also seem to have hidden themselves away in a secluded area. Could this be to avoid contact with the humans who wish to kill them?

Tarantula Demon

The Tarantula Demon is the first of the real Twelve Demon Moons we’ve come across in the series. But is he really stronger than any of the other demons we’ve seen so far? I mean, he doesn’t even appear to have a Demon Blood Art, so what’s the big deal?

Let’s go over what abilities we do know the Tarantula Demon possesses. For starters, it’s extremely strong in the physical sense. It was able to lift the tree Tanjirou dropped on it, and it’s punches send humans flying. Secondly, it appears to have very thick skin, to the point that Tanjirou and Inosuke can’t cut through it by normal means.

Additionally, he has the ability to regrow lost limbs and morph his body, something we previously saw from that one demon during the Final Selection. So again, what really makes him strong enough to be considered one of the Twelve Demon Moons?

And, I know that the one who defeated the Tarantula Demon, Giyu Tomioka is stronger than Tanjirou and Inosuke, but it still only took him one attack to win. I’ll discuss what his defeat at the end of this episode means later on in this review, but for now let’s assume he wasn’t actually defeated here.

Perhaps this was only the beginning, and the real fight has yet to come. Perhaps he does have a Demon Blood Art and it’s something which revives him after he’s been struck down. If this turns out to be the case, then I could definitely see him being strong enough to have earned his title.

Spider Silk Demon

We’ve finally gotten a chance to see what the son of the Spider and Tarantula Demons is capable of. Earlier on in the arc we saw him threatening his mother by saying that he would tell his father if she failed to take care of the incoming demon slayers. This week he’s turned his attention to his older sister.

It’s unclear exactly why he attacked his sister, but my guess is that it has something to do with her running away instead of fighting against the demon slayers. I’m also guessing that she’s secretly the strongest of the spider demons, but refuses to fight for some reason. Has she held onto her humanity more than the rest?

Anyway, the last time we saw him, the Spider Silk Demon as I’ll be referring to him, was standing upon silk threads in the treetops. At the time I suggested that this may be something all of the spider demon clan members can do, but it seems it’s actually just him thanks to his ability.

The Spider Silk Demon from the anime Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
The Spider Silk Demon

I won’t call this ability a Blood Demon Art just yet, because the other spider demons may be capable of it, but using silk as a weapon is this particular demon’s specialty. Silk threads are stronger than steel threads of the same thickness, so by fashioning his silk into thicker strands, he’s able to make a strong, yet flexible weapon.

We first see this in action when he uses it to chop a demon slayer into cubes in an instant. I don’t think this is the most interesting of abilities to have, but I’m still looking forward to learning more about the Spider Silk Demon as the fight progresses. He almost seems like the ring leader of the family.

One Down, Eleven to Go

Giyu Tomioka easily took down the Tarantula Demon in one motion. I’m disappointed that there wasn’t a real fight here, but at the same time I’m glad it was someone like him, and not one of our three main heroes who defeated it.

By having Giyu defeat the Tarantula Demon after our heroes failed, it shows that they have a long path ahead of them before they’ll be strong enough to go after Kibutsuji. I know I said the Tarantula Demon doesn’t actually seem that strong, but it’s more about his title than anything else.

If our heroes can defeat one of the Twelve Demon Moons on their own already, then they’ve already nearly reached the cap on their power. With this failure, they’ll be able to grow more in the future until they’re eventually on or above Giyu’s level.

Giyu Tomioka from the anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
Giyu Tomioka

The death of the Tarantula Demon also means there are only 11 of the Twelve Demon Moons left. Though, it’s always possible that a member of the Six Lower Moons could be promoted to fill the 12th spot. But do the Twelve Demon Moons really need to be defeated?

The answer is yes. Regardless of whether or not their defeat actively brings us closer to the conclusion of the story, these are demons who hunt humans. It’s not like Tanjirou needs to defeat them in order to get to Kibutsuji, but at the same time he can’t just let them run wild.

So, will all twelve of the Demon Moons be defeated before Tanjirou & company have their final battle against Kibutsuji? And will Kibutsuji even be the last antagonist in the series? Only time will tell.

Conclusion

What did you think of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba episode 18? Was this episode as good as the others in this arc? Was it better? Worse? Also, do you think the Tarantula Demon has really been defeated? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of the next episode is available here.

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