Nezuko Ex Machina

Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc Episode 11 was very disappointing in multiple ways. I didn’t think this was a good episode at all. And, I actually think this entire arc is severely overrated. It had one really good episode and maybe one other that was good.

But, this is a review of Episode 11 specifically, so I’ll wait until the season review for my comments on the arc as a whole. So, my first complaint about this episode is the length.

Everywhere I saw, this episode was being said to be 45 minutes long, or double the length of a standard episode. It was not. It was 32 minutes long, including a minute and a half of recap and three minutes of ending credits. That’s basically a third longer than a normal episode.

Alright, so I’m starting off by complaining that we got extra content. Well, I wouldn’t be complaining about it if I thought the content was good. I didn’t really care about or for any of the content in this episode.

And with that, allow me to introduce my second complaint. Nezuko suddenly has the ability to burn away demon poison. This was a complete Deus ex machina. Nezuko just suddenly has this ability right when it’s needed — on top of all the other random abilities she has. I bet next arc she’ll start flying and altering time too.

There was really no reason to give Nezuko this healing ability. An obvious solution to the whole poison thing would just have been for Shinobu to show up. She’s already the character written into the role of a doctor who specializes in poisons.

Gyuutarou and Ume

Onto complaint number three. I didn’t care about Gyuutarou’s and Daki’s (Ume’s) backstory at all. Aside from Daki’s name originally being Ume, which literally doesn’t matter, what did we really learn from that flashback? I don’t think we needed that backstory to understand their characters.

Also, the fact that we got their backstory after they were killed made me care less about it. These characters are dead now. I no longer care about their motivations. That should come at an earlier point in the arc. The story could have even been told through the people who were killed within the red-light district.

For example, every time someone disappeared within the district, something about their disappearance could be a parallel to what happened to Gyuutarou and Ume. And then, in this final episode, it all comes together naturally.

In its current state, this backstory just seems like the author saying “Now that these antagonists are dead, here’s a more human side to them. Please cry now.”

At the very least I’ll admit that there were two, slightly interesting things to come of this part of the episode. The first is the appearance of another member of the Upper Six. In the backstory, he was the sixth of the Upper Six, the number Gyuutarou and Daki held in the present.

We don’t know anything else about this guy. Is he still alive and a higher-ranking demon now? Was he killed and replaced by Gyuutarou and Daki? One of the Upper Six had to die for them to get that title.

The second interesting thing is how the afterlife appears to work. Gyuutarou and Ume are presented with a choice in the afterlife. They can go towards the light or darkness. So does this mean they just get to choose between Heaven and Hell?

Snake Guy Is Going to Die

This isn’t necessarily a complaint with the episode, but I don’t like the Serpent Hashira. I don’t know his name and I’m not going to look it up, so I’ll be referring to him as “Snake Guy.” Snake Guy is extremely unlikable. But I think that’s the point.

Before I get into talking about Snake Guy, though, let me point out that I was right about Tengen surviving and then opting to retire. I’ve been saying for weeks that this would check all the boxes for what was foreshadowed earlier in the arc without turning Hashira deaths into a trope.

With that said, I think Snake Guy is a Hashira who’s going to die. His comments to Tengen were those of someone with a severe lack of awareness as to how strong Upper Six demons are. We know for a fact that he’s never fought an Upper Six demon, and yet he thinks they’re no big deal.

How do we know he’s never fought one? Well, simply because an Upper Six demon hasn’t been killed in over 100 years. So he’s clearly never beaten one. And he’s still alive, so we can easily assume he’s never fought one. If he had, he’d know how strong they are because he wouldn’t be here today.

Unfortunately, Snake Guy doesn’t appear to be a main character in the next arc (for which an anime adaptation has already been announced). The Mist and Love Hashira were shown during its reveal. So I think it’s a safe bet that they’re going to be the main Hashira of the arc.

Anyway, I just can’t wait until the Snake Guy’s arc comes and he gets absolutely destroyed by an Upper Six demon. Maybe he could be killed by a Lower Six just to rub it in. Or, possibly more realistically, he may even be killed by Nezuko.

Conclusion

What do you think of Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc Episode 11? Did you think this episode was bad? Or did you somehow like it? 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 and Toma 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.

I’ve Changed My Mind About Gyuutarou

To start off today’s review of Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc Episode 10, I want to say that I haven’t been overly impressed by the arc up to this point. I think most of the arc was pretty boring.

However, Episode 10 is my current pick for the best episode of the season (across all anime I’m watching). This was an insane episode both in terms of animation quality and character writing.

But, I also want to point out how much the animation quality impacted the characters on screen. For example, I wasn’t very impressed with Gyuutarou until this episode. Seeing his mannerisms animated so well really made me appreciate his character more.

And it’s shots like the one pictured below (which looks amazing) that made me view him as a good antagonist.

There’s more to being a good antagonist than simply being a strong opponent. Gyuutarou is strong enough, sure. But there were aspects of his character holding him back for me, such as his NEET personality.

Of course, that did still come up in this episode momentarily when he said “weak sauce” in the official translation. I don’t mind Daki speaking like a gyaru. But that coming from Gyuutarou was pretty offputting.

With that said, Gyuutarou more than made up for it by acting genuinely scary. He’s a demon. He’s supposed to be uncanny in that he’s so similar to humans, yet so different at the same time. And I think that’s exactly how he came across in this episode.

I think I’d even go so far as to say that Gyuutarou is the first demon we’ve met in the series who comes across as a legitimate monster. Akaza definitely didn’t.

Another Reality

I’ve seen a lot of people posting the dual images of Tanjirou/Nezuko and Gyuutarou/Daki we got in this episode (the Gyuutarou and Daki one is pictured below). I think this was a very interesting part of the episode because it made me question Tanjirou’s resolve.

Tanjirou recognized that in another reality, he could have easily ended up like Gyuutarou. He could have chosen to become a demon to live with Nezuko that way forever. And when he thought this, I actually believed he was going to remove his blade from Gyuutarou’s neck for a moment.

Because of his connection to Nezuko, Tanjirou’s able to see demons as the people they once were. He knows that every demon was once a human. And he knows that not every demon is inherently evil. If he had let Gyuutarou go here, I would have thought that was on-brand for Tanjirou.

But, of course, Tanjirou then says that had he chosen to become a demon, he would expect a member of the Demon Slayer Corp to free him by cutting off his head. Once he said that it was clear that he wasn’t going to allow Gyuutarou to escape with his life.

And I should point out that not allowing Gyuutarou to escape is also on-brand for Tanjirou. He’s able to empathize with his opponents, as we saw here. But that doesn’t mean he ignores the fact that these demons are extremely dangerous and have killed countless people.

Regardless of which way Tanjirou went, I think an argument could be made for it to make sense for his character. If the arc was longer, I probably would have preferred the former. But since next week is the final episode, I think having Tanjirou resolve to kill Gyuutarou here and now was the right choice.

Zenitsu Claps Back

One of the funniest things about the Entertainment District Arc is that Zenitsu has actually been a bearable, even cool, character for the second half of it. Because he’s been asleep this whole time, none of his annoying traits are present. And he can actually show off what a powerhouse he is.

I love that the author made him able to communicate with his allies, see things, and generally function at a high level all while sleeping. It’s almost as if the author could have written Zenitsu’s character that way from the start.

But hey, if we’re lucky, maybe Zenitsu will never wake up and this is just who he is for the rest of the series. I wouldn’t mind that at all. He can even keep crossdressing and wearing too much makeup for all I care as long as he never wakes up.

Now, I want to make a slight shift to discussing what I think is going to happen after the events of this episode. There was a giant explosion, and it seems unlikely that everyone made it out unscathed, right?

Well, I could actually see Zenitsu coming to the rescue. He can move so fast that he may have saved everyone from the explosion. Or, at the very least, he probably saved Inosuke. And if that’s the case, I’m going to guess Nezuko saved Tanjirou and Tengen.

That’s right, I’m still going to predict that Tengen doesn’t die here. I know death flags were set up for both him and Hinatsuru, but I still don’t think they need to die. Tengen is severely wounded. His Hashira days are over. So having him retire would effectively be the same as if he was killed.

I think the death flags were just bait. Shinobu is going to show up and treat everyone’s wounds. She probably knows where they are because Tengen originally planned to take Aoi and Naho.

Conclusion

What do you think of Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc Episode 10? What are your thoughts on Gyuutarou saying “weak sauce?” Would it have been in character for Tanjirou to let Gyuutarou go? And who do you think is going to die in the next episode, if anyone? 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 and Toma 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 11 is available now.

Death Flags Galore

When I started watching Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc Episode 9, noticed that the title of the episode is “Defeating an Upper Rank Demon.” I thought that was pretty strange for the events of the episode to be spoiled like that. But now I see it was a lie.

Well, it was less of a lie and more of an intentionally misleading title. What it was actually referring to was Hinatsuru’s request that Tengen and his wives retire from demon-slaying after they defeat an Upper Rank demon.

And, this reminded me that defeating Upper Rank demons isn’t a normal occurrence. Upper Rank demons have talked about how many Hashira they’ve killed. But I believe it was once mentioned that the Upper Rank demons haven’t changed in generations (of humans).

Anyway, Hinatsuru’s line about retiring after they kill an Upper Rank demon was only one of the death flags to come in the first half of the episode. The other one was the episode literally opening with Tengen at his family grave talking about how one day he’ll join his siblings.

Even after knowing how the episode ended, which I’ll get to later, I’m not sure if I believe these death flags are real. They were very obvious. But that alone doesn’t mean they’re bait. I’m just not sure if killing off Tengen and Hinatsuru makes sense.

It could also lead to a fairly predictable pattern where each main arc Hashira dies in the end. Though, maybe you could argue that Tomioka’s and Shinobu’s arcs have already passed and they’re still alive. I don’t know if what we got of them in Season 1 really counts as “their arcs,” though.

New Breathing Technique?

I’ve said a few times that I thought Tanjirou would push his Water Breathing technique to the side and focus on Sun Breathing. Now, it seems that rather than doing that, he’s going to create an entirely new technique by combining Water and Sun Breathing.

To be fair, I’m not entirely convinced that this is going to develop into an entirely new technique. He may simply continue to combine the two established techniques as needed without creating something new. At this point, that makes the most sense.

After all, what would this new breathing technique be called and where would it fall on the breathing technique chart? Since it only partially relies on Sun Breathing, would it be within the first tier of offshoot techniques? That would put it on par with Flame, Water, Wind, Stone, and Lightning.

However, since it also uses Water Breathing, would that put it as a second-tier offshoot of Water Breathing along with Serpent and Flower Breathing? That seems kind of far down the hierarchy for a technique that directly includes Sun Breathing.

To me, it would kind of make the most sense for this new breathing technique to be on par with Sun Breathing. And that seems unlikely. So instead, my guess is that it’s simply going to develop into derivative “forms” of Sun Breathing.

I also have no idea what this new technique would be called if it did become a new technique. I want to say Steam Breathing. But that would be more of a combination of Water and Flame, not Sun Breathing. Also, none of the other techniques are combinations, as far as we know. Breathing techniques don’t seem to work like chakra natures from Naruto.

The Demon Slayers Have to Win, Right?

After Akaza escaped at the end of the Mugen Train Arc, it feels like Daki and Gyuutarou need to be killed by the end of the Entertainment District Arc. Progress has to be made. Upper Rank demons have to be killed at some point for Tanjirou to make his way to Muzan.

And in case you forgot, Demon Slayer isn’t a super long series. The manga ran from 2016 to 2020 and has 207 chapters. That’s long. But not so long that we should be able to get through two seasons and a movie without having even defeated one of the Upper Rank demons.

Of course, they don’t have to kill all of the Upper Rank demons. I can only remember two of the Lower Six being killed, although I’m sure more than that have been killed. But, my point is that they only need to kill enough to get to Muzan.

Still, it kind of makes sense to me for an Upper Rank demon to die by the end of this arc. And, naturally, that would be the twin demons of Daki and Gyuutarou. But, why does it make sense for them to die other than because I think Upper Rank demons need to die?

Well, look at it from a character growth perspective. By the end of Season 1, Tanjirou & co. had defeated at least one Lower Rank demon. Then in the Mugen Train Arc, they defeated another Lower Rank and lost (because Rengoku died) to an Upper Rank demon.

To me, the logical next step would be to defeat an Upper Rank demon, but not easily. Perhaps Tengen and some or all of his wives will die, making the defeat of Daki and Gyuutarou a bit hollow. Or, perhaps they live, but Tengen is no longer in physical shape to be a Hashira and so retires.

To me, that latter outcome checks all the boxes without turning Hashira deaths into a series trope.

Conclusion

What do you think of Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc Episode 9? Did you think Daki and Gyuutarou were going to be defeated based on the title? What should Tanjirou’s “new breathing technique” be called? And will an Upper Rank demon be defeated by the end of the arc? 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 and Toma for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month, as well as Key Mochi~ and Rob for supporting at the Senpai and Kouhai tiers respectively. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 10 is available now.

Enigma and Prodigy

I’m sure we all agree that Episode 8 was the best episode of Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc so far. It’ll probably be beaten out by one of the future episodes. But for now, I think it’s the best. And I’ve heard this season is only going to be 12 episodes, unlike the first season.

The first thing I want to discuss regarding this episode, though, is something that wasn’t the focus at all. In response to Gyuutarou’s comment about Tengen being born gifted, Tengen responds by mentioning three other Hashira to whom that applies to more than him.

One of these Hashira is Rengoku, who appears to have been the “leader” of the Hashira before his death. I think all of the Hashira are actually equals. But based on how Rengoku acted and the other Hashira looked up to him, I think that’s a fair claim to make.

The other two Hashira Tengen mentioned were the Stone and Mist Hashira. I don’t remember their names, but perhaps that’s because we weren’t given their names yet. So I’m going to assume that’s the case and not look them up.

Anyway, Tengen refers to the Stone Hashira as an enigma and claims that the Mist Hashira rose to the rank of Hashira within 3 months of first picking up his sword. If the latter is true, that would make the Mist Hashira a true prodigy.

As for the Stone Hashira being an enigma, I have no idea what Tengen could have meant by that. Is he saying that nobody knows how the Stone Hashira rose to that rank? Or simply that he doesn’t know anything about him?

Will Tengen Follow Rengoku?

When Tengen was putting on a brave front after being poisoned by Gyuutarou, we saw a visual comparison between him and Rengoku. Both were able to smile in the face of a formidable opponent and did so in order to protect those weaker than them.

However, I think the similarities between the two really stop there. Tengen was putting on an act when he was pretending that the poison had no effect on him. He knew the reality of his position but decided the best course of action was to not show weakness.

Whether this was a psychological tactic meant to fake out his opponent, a way to reassure the younger Demon Slayers with him, or both, I don’t know. But it was pretty clear to me that this was simply Tengen playing up his “flashy” personality.

What makes Rengoku different is that I never got the impression his smile was fake. Even when faced with his own death, Rengoku’s smile was genuine, even if it did have the added effect of reassuring Tanjirou.

So, why were these two compared to each other in Tanjirou’s mind? Does he really think their personalities are so similar? Or was he comparing the way these Hashira were able to smile when faced with their own mortality?

Keep in mind, this comparison comes after Tanjirou finds out that Tengen has been poisoned. As far as Tanjirou knows, this poisoning could be fatal. In which case, Tengen would be smiling while facing down his death just as Rengoku did before him.

And if we consider that Tengen looked up to and respected Rengoku, it may be fitting for Tengen to follow in Rengoku’s footsteps. By that, I mean that Tengen may die by the end of this arc in order to protect the younger Demon Slayers, his wives, and the people of the red-light district.

The Shinobi Fighting Style

From the first time I saw Tengen’s character design, I thought his choice of weapon seemed impractical. He has two, relatively short swords with a much larger profile than a katana and a portion of the blades cut out. But that’s not what makes his weapon an odd choice.

What makes it odd is that these two swords are actually combined by a chain that connects their hilts together. That chain has to be restrictive to his movements. For example, he can’t extend his swords very far in different directions.

I’m not sure why he would need to extend them in different directions. But if he did, he wouldn’t be able to. It also means he often has to swing the two of them together in a single motion. At that point, why not just have a single blade?

Well, now that we’ve seen Tengen in an all-out fight, his weapon choice makes a bit more sense. Tengen is, at his core, a shinobi. And as a shinobi, he fights in a completely different way compared to traditional swordsmen.

Many of Tengen’s attacks rely on the element of surprise combined with his immense speed and strength. We saw this when he extended his reach by holding onto the tip of one blade and swinging the other around at Gyuutarou’s neck.

His weapon allows him to perform these sorts of surprise attacks that his opponents won’t be used to countering. We also saw this fighting style in action when Hinatsuru fired off a volley of kunai at Tengen and Gyuutarou. Rather than dodging the kunai, Tengen took advantage of Gyuutarou’s surprise to close the gap between them.

Oh, and of course, Tengen also makes use of small explosives and smoke bombs. He relies on everything at his disposal, not just his blades.

Conclusion

What do you think of Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc Episode 8? Why do you think Tengen called the Stone Hashira an enigma? Do you think Tengen will die at the end of the arc? And which Hashira has your favorite fighting style so far? 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 and Toma 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 9 is available now.