That was quite the cliffhanger to leave us on for two weeks! Not that I thought Tanjiro was actually going to die but you know!
So Demon Slayer didn’t air last week because of the live election coverage in Japan. I saw quite the stir on Twitter with some fans being very unhappy. A tweet that made the rounds a lot was a fan demanding an explanation for the delay, seeing as all they had to do was “recut scenes from the movie”. What are your thoughts on that Crow?
Tankiro? You’re channeling Inosuke, aren’t you?
I think that as a fan, I’m grateful they brought the show to television at all. Not sure what standing I’d have to make any demands. It’s not like I’m a shareholder in ufotable or anything! And if Japan wants to provide live coverage of an important instrument of democracy, I say, “Go Japan!”
In any case, the episode picked up with Tanjiro ready to kill himself in his dream in order to wake up. And thankful he was right. Uhm…spoilers… Sorry guys.
I did enjoy following Tanjiro’s little dream invader around. Those scenes were so disarmingly serene. And Tanjiro’s little soul buddies are just cute. I’m not sure why I took to them so but I really liked the little glowing fellows.
I wish I could remember what they reminded me of. But it was just like Tanjirou to help even an enemy! Loved how that worked out, too. Just by sheer warmth, Tanjirou’s little soul buddies helped purge the need to kill from the soul of the Tired Child (the one who had tuberculosis).
We finally got a glimpse of Inosuke and Zenitsu’s dreams and well… Inosuke seems too, uhm, let’s call it simple to even have a subconscious. All of his layers are basically the same. While fans have long speculated that Zenitsu is just a huge creeper and I guess we now have confirmation. It was a nice little moment of comic relief in the episode though. What did you think of the various subconscious dreams, Crow?
Zenitsu running amok with hedge trimmers was quite the sight. It’s like his subconscious is one hundred and eighty degrees from his consciousness. Externally, he’s trying to live with crippling fright. Inside, he’s trying to kill with manic delight.
No wonder he has to fall asleep to be effective in combat!
I wasn’t sure where to talk about this but I’ll fit it in here because this is where it shows up in my notes. I’m not sure they got the proportions of little Nezuko quite right. Her hands in particular looked very odd to me. Maybe I just need to get used to it?
Ever since you mentioned it in our episode 3 review, I’ve been on the lookout to see how the show portrays Nezuko. In this case, I think you’re right. I noticed it a couple of times, like when Tanjirou ducked the attack of one of the Tired Children. Nezuko seemed too small there. Also when Tanjirou went to face Enmu. I supposed I could chalk it up to Nezuko having such amazing control over her physical size. Still, I noticed it, too, and it did throw me off.
Anywho, like I said, Tanjiro did manage to wake up and quickly figured out what was going on. In part at least. A train full of sleeping people and demon stench, let’s just say it wasn’t a very hard conclusion to jump to.
And a good part of the episode is dedicated to the confrontation between Tanjiro and Enmu. I must have said this before. Probably many times at that. But it bears repeating. Demon Slayer is the best-animated series I have seen in recent years. Wait, that sentence is a little confusing. I mean the series that is animated the best. The train top fight was spectacular and this is the second high-speed, three-dimensional intricate action sequence we have had in only 4 episodes. I’m not sure how much money they are pouring into this baby but boy, it looks like a million bucks!
Good call-out on the three dimensionality. The camera angles weren’t just amazing — they served to accentuate the action. Very immersive, too!
Tanjirou’s technique never gets old. He used the tenth form, Constant Flux, this week, and as you said, it looked spectacular!
One thing that was not as successful for me, was Emnu’s bad guy monologue. Even without having seen the movie, I was following along pretty well. I didn’t need Enmu to put the scene on hold and explain it to me. And I thought that weakened the menace of his characterization. It made a character that shines through his oddness, a little more cliché and that’s a detriment. In my opinion.
Oh, was it around 19:16? My notes said, and I quote, “Okay, the monologuing was a bit annoying.” But that wasn’t the only case. For the most part, Enmu’s almost lyrical voice came across as delightfully evil. But I agree with you that in a couple of places, it went overboard. It’s not like there was any lack of clarity about what was going on!
In any case, Tanjiro does manage to get the upper hand in the fight. Although it took a lot of willpower on his part. That one jump cut in the middle of the action back to Tanjiro’s nightmare of his family blaming him was masterful. How the sound disappeared and the colours completely changed in the blink of an eye, followed by what seemed to be eternal seconds of sadness when a moment before everything was zooming by at top speed…
Demon Slayer was always very well animated. It was always visually rich and appealing. But I’m thinking the director stepped it up a notch this season. There are these camera angles that are very interesting, sound design has been whimsical and now, this sequence, although not completely out there, was very artistic and more challenging than what we’ve seen in the past. Sorry I went off on a tangent there.
It’s a tangent well worth exploring!
What I was actually going to discuss was Enmu’s final revelation. The twist that his true form is now the train. I don’t know how I feel about that. I mean it’s kind of silly, and that’s the polite way of putting it. But it might be silly enough to be amusing. I just don’t know yet.
You probably already knew this Crow so it’s not a twist for you, how do you see it?
I saw the movie, but I can compartmentalize when I watch the series. My reaction to that revelation was a continuation of what you mentioned earlier. Namely, that Enmu talked too much. There was no reason for him to tell Tanjirou. Forcing Tanjirou to figure it out, or collaborate with his team, would have been more dramatically effective.
Cut out the unnecessary dialogue, and I’m sure they could have fit in something that Tanjirou earned.
Regardless of anything else the final moments of the episode might have done, I was honestly thrilled to see Inosuke again. I cheered a little. And I’m not even an Inosuke fan or anything. I just got wrapped up in the moment. And that is the sign of a good episode in my opinion!
I was happy to see that, too. Especially since Tanjirou had just admitted that he needed help. I’ve always loved that about Tanjirou: He’s confident, but not overly so. If he needs help, he admits it. I admire that in a character!
Huh…..this doesn’t sound half bad! I think the reason they stepped up in animation was kind of because of the movie. I mean; they had the same staff for season 1 and the movie, right? Them coming down from the movie- plus all the cash they have to throw around because(at least financially) the movei was basically “Anime Avengers: Endgame-” means they can flex even HARDER. If the arc retelling can actually REACH the movies level, then you know they’re kind of just showing off at that juncture.
Do you think they stepped it up? It looks great but it looked amazing in s1 as well. I can’t put my finger on if it’s just straight up animation boost or rather a more interesting directoral style with better dynamic framing.
The little glowing soul buddies, maybe they remind you of the white bobble-head spirits from Princess Mononoke? Or maybe that’s just me.
Oh! I think that’s it! Thanks for that — it was still bugging me!
No problem!
Now that you mention it, I see it too!