Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. We’re closing this year’s Aniween with Kimestu no Yaiba S1. Younger viewers as well as few older ones have asked how did Kimestu no Yaiba rise to fame? Well it was kind of the perfect storm. Like I said, the manga had a good run but went kind of unnoticed up until the anime. Thanks to the stellar animation and soundtrack which enhanced the story, Kimestu no Yaiba quickly gain popularity and then it finally exploded in popularity thanks to episode 19 which we’ll get to later. Once the anime was over and the pandemic got started, people were desperate for something new to read and thanks to the anime they knew what they wanted to read. Would the series have still risen in popularity if not for the pandemic? Of course, the anime was a big hit. It brought in so many new fans, myself included and the manga lived up to the expectations of everyone who read it. Well let’s finish up Aniween on a high note and take a look at the second half of Kimestu no Yaiba.
Episodes 14-18
The second half of the anime starts with Tanjiro punching Inosuke in the chest so hard that he actually breaks one of his ribs (damn~. This guy needs to be DLC for the next MK game). Tanjiro and Inosuke get into a barehanded fight (okay, the winner takes on Shizuku) where Inosuke displays an interesting fighting style that resembles that of a wild boar and seems to have the upper hand until Tanjiro headbutts him (scene here: https://youtu.be/Lw26G3KlVR4, that was a Shibata Katsuyori headbutt. Don’t do that again). This results in Inosuke’s boar head falling off and we get to see his girly face before he passes out from a concussion (Shizuku: Damn it, they blue-balled me). After everyone makes graves for those who were killed, they make their way down the mountain where the older brother receives some wisteria which will act as demon repellent (that’s all it takes to keep the demons at bay? Why doesn’t everybody have this stuff? (Corbin): Quiet, fool! You’re gonna mess up our side business) and go their separate ways. Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke go to an inn where they get to relax and recover from their injures as they each have broken ribs. We see Inosuke keep trying to coerce Tanjiro into a fight but Tanjiro just plays them off (I don’t know if he’s doing this on purpose to screw with him or if he’s just that dense and kind. Either way, it’s funny). Zenitsu meets Nezuko and gets the wrong idea about her and Tanjiro so he goes off on him trying to kill him.
At the start of episode 15 we see that the Tanjiro misunderstanding with Nezuko was resolved so now Zenitsu has become smitten with her and tries to court her (you just tried to kill her brother, what makes you think for one second either of them would approve of you? Scene here: https://youtu.be/YddWTkBNHlg). Some time goes by and the boys fully heal up and get their next assignment which is exterminating demons on Mt. Nagamuto. They arrive at the mountain which gives off that dangerous vibe (sure it’s intimidating, but you can’t beat that view). Zenitsu being the coward that he is stays behind until he realizes Tanjiro took Nezuko with him and rushes to her aid. Meanwhile, Tanjiro and Inosuke enter the mountain and find another demon slayer named Murata. Murata explains that 10 demon slayers were given the mission of slaying demons just like Tanjiro and the others, but as soon as they arrived they began attacking and killing each other (thread manipulation with spiders. (Mira): How do you know that? (Nitsuj): Because it’s what I would write). The demon slayers get attacked by the other demon slayers with some of them still alive, so Tanjiro tells Inosuke not to kill them and he listens. It doesn’t take long for Tanjiro and Inosuke to figure out that the demon slayers are being manipulated by threads and spiders, but it means nothing if they can’t find the demon manipulating them.
In episode 16 Inosuke manages to pinpoint the location of the spider demon controlling everyone. Tanjiro and Inosuke go to face her while Murata holds those being controlled back (don’t die on us Murata). As Tanjiro and Inosuke run through the forest they run into other demon slayers being controlled who have broken bones and have more eccentric movements (oh that’s nasty). Not wanting to harm them, Tanjiro throws them over tree branches where they get stuck (wow, it’s like watching a bunch of cats). This pisses the spider demon off who is now desperate to defeat them out of fear that if she doesn’t her husband is going to beat her up (an abusive home environment. Didn’t think I would get that in an anime like this). She snaps the necks of the demon slayers (oh~) and this actually angers Tanjiro that even Inosukue is shaken up from sensing his anger. Tanjiro and Inosuke continue to the spider demon where they come across her last line of defense, a headless demon body. Using teamwork, Tanjiro and Inosuke destroy the demon and Inosuke launches Tanjiro into the air where he finds the demon and actually gives her a peaceful and beautiful death (I have never seen something so gory and yet so beautiful at the same time). Before the spider demon dies, she tells Tanjiro to be careful as one of the 12 Kizuki is here as well (scene here: https://youtu.be/CsN7-9cPTE4).
So a majority of episode 17 focuses on Zenitsu. He comes across another spider demon (with the body of a spider and the head of the devil himself) who poisons him and will turn him into a spider in 30 minutes. This freaks Zenitsu out so much that he passes out which allows him to be a badass. As he’s trying to get a hit in we actually learn that he only knows one move of the lightning breathing technique but it’s a form he perfected so much that that one move is all he needs to beat his opponent. We see glimpses of his past where we find out he was trained by his grandpa who never gave up on him. Zenitsu knows that he’s a coward and crybaby who always runs and needs to change for the better. No matter how many times Zenitsu tried to run away or wanted to give up, his grandpa was always there to drag him back and encourage him to never give up saying that it’s okay to be afraid and it’s okay to cry, but don’t ever give up (wow, that’s. . .actually pretty good). Zenitsu finally manages to get a hit in and kill the spider demon with one hit (scene here: https://youtu.be/vg6g0Dvm3LQ, I know he’s a coward, but the animation for his attacks are so cool). While that’s going on, Tanjiro and Inosuke run into the spider-daddy of the demons who just happens to be one of the 12 Kizuki.
Episode 18 is an episode of suspense and cliffhangers. It starts off with Tanjiro and Inosuke fighting spider-daddy where Tanjiro gets flung across the mountain but lands safely where he meets one of the spider demons picking on their sibling. Tanjiro expresses his anger at the boy spider for picking on his sister and calling their relationship false which pisses the boy off (hey if your mother was anything to go off of, this is a very broken family) and he attacks Tanjiro with his web thread that cuts people up (Mira: Oh hey that’s my fighting style. (Nitsuj): Yep, it’s a fighting style I’m glad to see coming back). Back with Inosuke, he attacks spider-daddy head on despite being injured badly and actually manages to slice one of spider-daddy’s arms off which forces him to run away. Just when Inosuke thinks he has the upper hand, spider-daddy sheds his skin (can spiders do that?), regrows his arm and is now bigger and stronger than before. For the first time ever Inosuke is scared for his life and realizes that he’s going to die (even a wounded animal knows when he’s in danger of dying). Spider-daddy just smacks Inosuke around, breaks his swords and almost kills him until he gets saved by Giyu who was sent with another demon slayer to provide backup. He comes in and takes out spider-daddy in the blink of an eye that even Inosuke can’t help but be amazed by him (scene here: https://youtu.be/6miwumUqkK4). Back with Tanjiro, just when it seems like he’s gotten the hang of the spider demon’s attacks, his sword winds up getting broken and he finds himself at the mercy of the demon with his fate all but decided.
Episodes 19-22
So in episode 19 we find out that the spider-daddy isn’t one of the 12 Kizuki. Nope, the 12 Kizuki is actually that boy demon Tanjiro is fighting named Rui (his luck continues to run bad). Rui forced the other demons to act as his family as he wanted to know what having a family bond was like. Since everyone was scared of him, they had no choice but to follow his orders or die. Tanjiro continues to fight Rui with a broken sword (showing some major guts, I like that) where just when he was about to die, Nezuko protects him with her body and gets cut up badly (how dare you). Rui is estastic about the sibling bond Tanjiro and Nezuko share with each other and decides he wants Nezuko as his little sister (snowball’s chance in Hell). He kidnaps Nezuko and ties her up in his thread which forces Tanjiro to keep on fighting in the hopes of cutting his neck which will be impossible. Rui actually gives Tanjiro a free shot at his neck where it’s so strong that Tanjiro couldn’t cut through it (https://youtu.be/KyoElzBhbXg). But, Tanjiro manages to find a way by using total concentration breathing and manages to cut through Rui’s threads (with breath-taking animation I might add. Seriously, this is beautiful and is hands down the best scene in the anime period. Even the author of the series was brought to tears by this scene). Tanjiro begins cutting his way to Rui where the demon boy makes his thread stronger by infusing it with his blood (well blood is thicker than water). As Tanjiro’s life flashes before his eyes, he finds himself remembering his dad who had a frail body (usually it’s the mom with the frail body. Nice change up), but come winter time he would do the Hinokami Kagura dance to ward off demons for hours without getting tired. The reason for this was because he mastered a strong breathing technique and passed on this knowledge to Tanjiro (and the theory about Tanjiro’s dad being a demon hunter becomes more credible). After remembering this, Tanjiro combines total concentration technique with the Hinokami Kagura dance where his water dragon turns into a fire dragon (Isis: Yes! Burn it! Burn it to the ground) and with help from Nezuko using her demon art powers he’s able to slice through the blood thread and kill Rui (scene here: https://youtu.be/dUfxDILVTkE, you the man Tanjiro).
Episode 20 opens up on a big shock with Rui still being alive (oh hell). Before Tanjiro sliced Rui’s neck, he severed it himself with his threads and reattached it. Tanjiro is now too exhausted to fight and looks like Rui will kill him until Giyu shows up to save the day. Giyu just owns Rui by slicing through his threads like nothing and then slicing Rui’s neck with ease (scene here: https://youtu.be/QbiRUe5441Q. Damn, it’s like watching a level 15 Fighter fight a level 5 Theif from Dungeons and Dragons). We do learn that Rui was serious about having a family bond. He has no memories of when he was human, so he figured that if he could create a pretend family he might possibly get his memories back (and did he? No). We also see his sister somehow survived his attack and tries to run away only to come across the sweet yet scary Shinobu (she’ll kill you all while having a smile on her face. (Seras): My kind of girl). Shinobu shows us that there’s actually more than one way to kill a demon besides beheading: wisteria poison. Yeah, Shinobu crafted a poison made out of wisteria and once it enters the body, it slowly decays the body from the inside and kills the demon (scene here: https://youtu.be/PDXsObGaBW0, this is actually worse than decapitation).
In the first half of episode 21 we see the backstory of Rui. He was born with a frail body, so he couldn’t go outside or play with the other kids. Even getting up to walk was painful for him. However, Muzan came and turned him into a demon much to his parents’ shock and anger. After Rui killed a human, his parents decided to end him, but Rui beat them to the punch not knowing that they were intending to die with him so he wouldn’t be alone (a family bond just like he wanted). Rui felt terrible about killing his parents but couldn’t take the guilt so he tried desperately to get that family bond only to fail. As Rui’s body slowly decays, Tanjiro reaches to touch him and for the first time in his life Rui feels warmth and is reunited with his parents who embrace their son promising to be with him forever, even if he goes to Hell (that was beautiful). In the second half of the episode, the cleanup crew shows up to treat everyone and clean up this mess (they’re basically cleaners) while Shinobu tries to kill Nezuko as she’s a demon. Giyu defends her and tells Tanjiro to make a getaway with her while he holds off Shinobu (why do I get the feeling you two will do more than just sword fight?). Unfortunately, another demon slayer appears (a mini Shinobu if you will) who knocks out Tanjiro and attempts to kill Nezuko who runs away from her (in very cute fashion). The crows deliver a message telling everyone that Tanjiro and Nezuko are to be brought in alive so Nezuko is safe (scene here: https://youtu.be/INYlKp5P6Ks).
Episode 22 starts with Tanjiro waking up in the presence of the Hashiras the best demon slayers around (the cream of the crop, the board of the directors, the badasses with the skills to kill. Do you need more? I can keep going). Of course they’re weird but that’s beside the point. Tanjiro is being placed on trial for violating the rules of the Demon Slayer Corps by traveling with a demon and will be executed for his actions along with Nezuko. Tanjiro explains the situation but they could care less and want to kill Nezuko especially Sanemi who actually stabs Nezuko and Tanjiro headbutts him (Tanjiro with the headbutts. The teachings of Shibata live on). Before things can get out of hand, the master of the Demon Slayer Corps arrives. We see that he’s blind due to some kind of illness but all the Hashiras respect him. He tells them all that he has sanctioned Tanjiro and Nezuko thanks to a letter from Sakonji who explained the situation to the master saying that if Nezuko does kill another human than he, Giyu, and Tanjiro will commit seppuku for it (wow. Tanjiro I can understand, but Sakonji and Giyu are willing to risk their lives as well. That’s pretty cool). The master wants everyone to accept this but they refuse (they’ve been trained and raised to hate and kill any demon they come across. Why should this be any different?) especially Sanemi who only sees demons as ugly creatures. He decides to prove it by cutting his arm and letting blood drip into Nezuko’s box and once she’s in the shadows she comes out where we end on a cliffhanger (scene here: https://youtu.be/XyjLqja_WoE. Will Nezuko finally give into her demon instincts and forsake her humanity and family bond she has with Tanjiro? Find out next time on Dragonball Z, I mean Kimetsu no Yaiba).
Episodes 23-26
We start episode 23 with Nezuko resisting the urge to rip Sanemi’s head off for stabbing her three times (talk about turning the other cheek). She instead just retreats back into her box and just growls at him (I can relate to this on a spiritual level). With this, Nezuko proves that she won’t attack humans and will be allowed to accompany Tanjiro on his journey. Tanjiro vows to defeat Muzan but the master says to start slow and just take out one of the 12 Kizukis first (baby steps Tanjiro. Baby steps). The master tells the Hashiras and Tanjiro to get along with each other which they all agree to do. Shinobu’s men take Tanjiro away but he refuses to leave until he headbutts Sanemi for stabbing Nezuko (scene here: https://youtu.be/VghQ8cQYvcA. What is with you and the headbutts? Also, I’ll allow it). He gets dragged away and taken to Shinobu’s Butterfly Mansion (Baron: Ha! Symbolism. (Nitsuj): For what? (Baron): You know what it is) where he meets Kanao a girl who was also at the Final Selection with Tanjiro. Unlike Tanjiro, she’s known as a Tsuguko, someone who is personally trained by a Hashira because they have remarkable talent. Tanjiro gets taken to the infirmary where we see Zenitsu and Inosuke are recovering as well. Zenitsu almost got turned into a spider so his arms and legs shrunk. He now has to take this special medicine to grow his limbs back. As for Inosuke, his voicebox got ruptured and he falls into depression as he was useless up in the mountains (which is kind of true. Give Zenitsu credit, he actually killed a demon). After this, the Hashiras continue their meeting with the master as they’re concerned by the rise in demon activities and know Muzan is up to something.
In episode 24, Tanjiro and the others begin their rehabilitation training which involves a majority of reflex exercises and stretching. A few days go by with Zenitsu and Inosuke deciding to stop coming and this just leaves Tanjiro as the sole survivor (his prize is getting tea splashed in his face). Tanjiro wonders why he can’t manage to beat Kanao in his training until he finds out from some young assistants (who like him) that Kanao as well as the other Hashiras are doing total concentration breathing 24/7 something that Tanjiro can only do for a short period of time. Tanjiro begins training himself to do total concentration breathing around the clock. At first, he feels like he’ll die (death will only make you stronger) but as the days go by, he starts to get better at it. One night while meditating, Shinobu comes to speak with him where Tanjiro can smell a scent of anger around her (than my advice would be to run. Nothing is more dangerous than a woman’s anger). Sure enough, behind Shinobu’s innocent smile and soft voice is a very angry woman who hates demons. Just like Tanjiro’s family a demon killed Shinobu’s older sister who just like Tanjiro actually felt pity for demons. Even as she was dying she still couldn’t help but feel sorry for them. This is why Shinobu has taken a liking to Tanjiro, he shares the same dream as Shinobu who wants to create a world where demons and humans can be friends and she believes Tanjiro and Nezuko can make that a reality. Shinobu takes her leave saying that his total breathing concentration has improved.
Tanjiro continues his training to constantly do total breathing in episode 25 where Zenitsu and Inosuke join him hoping to not fall behind. Shinobu encourages Kanao to join them (starting to think she’s a mute) where she flips a coin to decide on what to do. We do learn about her past such as how she was born into poverty and beaten up on a regular basis. Then one day, something broke inside her and she stopped feeling emotions. Her parents sold her off but, Shinobu and her sister bought her and took her in. Tanjiro’s training finally comes to fruition as he’s finally able to catch Kanao in a game of tag and beat her in the tea game (of course being the gentleman that he is, he doesn’t throw tea in her face. Scene here: https://youtu.be/wQl02vPFr0Y). Tanjiro is finally given the green light to return to demon slaying. In another funny moment in the episode, Tanjiro and Inosuke receive their swords where the swordsmith who forged Tanjiro’s sword tries to kill him for breaking it (understandable) and another swordsmith tries to kill Inosuke after he purposefully chips his dual swords with a stone (scene here: https://youtu.be/dEjzOuYbMP8).
In the final episode we start off with Muzan (who is now a female. Wow, he’s like Gozer from Ghostbusters, he can be anything he wants) summoning the remaining Lower 6 Kizuki in this cool Japanese version of Crazy Stairs. He’s disappointed in how weak the Lower 6 are and decides to do away with them. He kills each of them one by one except for the last one who he injects with his blood and sends the demon out to kill Tanjiro (scene here: https://youtu.be/kYjGN5WrmXs, something tells me Muzan is carrying a grudge against Tanjiro’s family). Back with Tanjiro and the others, they receive their next mission which is to investigate a string of deaths and disappearances on the Mugen Train. We get a cute moment between Tanjiro and Kanao (which makes the shippers happy) where Kanao actually speaks to Tanjiro and he tries to help her get over her Two-Face anxiety on flipping a coin to decide what to do. Tanjiro and the others take their leave and make it to the train station where in a funny scene Inosuke attacks the train believing it to be a demon and Tanjiro mistakes the train for a guardian spirit as this is the first time he’s ever seen a train (this also confirms that the anime is taking place sometime after 1907). They sneak on to the train and we end the anime there with the confirmation of a movie in the works.
Final Thoughts
A masterpiece, simply a masterpiece. Kimetsu no Yaiba was a spectacular anime from beginning to end. The animation was phenomenal, the fight scenes spectacular, the music was atmospheric and enjoyable, and the characters are just great. Tanjiro isn’t your typical shonen protagonist. He’s not a hothead, overly emotional, impatient, or a fighting maniac out for revenge. He’s just a guy trying to save his last family member because that’s the most important thing to him. I like how he shows compassion to his enemies. Despite the fact that the demons took everything from him he still can’t find it in himself to hate them. He knows at a time these demons were once human. Just like him and us for that matter they struggled, they lived, they had good/bad days, had dreams and aspirations, and had people they cared about. Being a demon was something they never wanted to be and Tanjiro does everything he can to give the demons a peaceful death. It’s beautiful and shows how Tanjiro is above things like hate and prejudice. I also like Nezuko. Despite the fact that she doesn’t talk they do a good job giving her a cute and enduring personality. She fights hard to protect Tanjiro and other humans, and even seems to have her own mystic arts that other demons have.
Zenitsu and Inosuke are also enjoyable characters. Zenitsu started off bad but once you see his skills you start to like him. His whining and character can get annoying but he does provide us with some good laughs throughout the anime and his swordplay style is easily one of the coolest and flashiest in the anime. I always got excited whenever he got into a fight because I knew it was going to be cool to watch. Inosuke provides us with the most laughs throughout the anime. Unlike Tanjiro, Inosuke kind of follows the typical shonen protagonist formula. He’s reckless, hotheaded, stubborn, impatient, and always looking for a fight. He’s the complete opposite of Tanjiro and that’s what makes him so interesting and what makes Tanjiro’s character work out so well. Tanjiro doesn’t need to follow the typical shonen protagonist formula because Inosuke does it for him allowing Tanjiro to have his own personality that’s different and unique from other shonen protagonists. Inosukue’s fighting style is rough, wild, and unpredictable like a wild boar which matches his personality perfectly. Out of all the swordplay styles we’ve seen so far in the anime his style is the least appealing. It’s still cool to see and I’m interested in seeing what other crazy moves he’ll be pulling off in the future. The chemistry between the three slayers is great and leads to a lot of fun and comedic interactions. I love how Tanjiro is able to handle Inosuke’s childish behavior and Zenitsu’s constant whining. I chalk this up to him being an older brother and just having experience dealing with this behavior because of his younger siblings and his family situation. He puts his family first and is used to sacrificing for the betterment of his family. Because of this, Tanjiro is selfless when it comes to their actions and can manage them better than most people. If these two had partnered up with anyone else that person wouldn’t have the patience to handle them like Tanjiro does.
Like I said before the animation is phenomenal here. I’ve always heard Ufotable delivers when it comes to their animation and they weren’t lying. The animation matched the tone and setting of the series and made the special attacks look awesome. Speaking of fight scenes, you won’t be disappointed. Along with the styles of swordplays each demon has their own fighting style as well and fights differently, so each fight feels different than the previous fight and makes them all unique. The biggest selling point for this series for me is the sibling bond between Tanjiro and Nezuko. I haven’t been invested in a sibling bond like this since FMA.
Final Score
The final score for Kimetsu no Yaiba is a 10/10 with a must watch stamp of approval. If you haven’t checked this anime out yet definitely give it a watch and check out the manga if you haven’t already. I’m told that the second season is coming out this year but haven’t heard a date yet. There is a movie out and I think that deserves a review as well. Maybe next week perhaps? Until then, thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj. MUHAHAHAHA-
*Shizuku comes out of nowhere and delivers a left hook to Nitsuj which knockes him out*
(Shizuku): Sorry boss. Fighting my Two-Face anxiety.
*Shizuku takes out a quarter and flips it. Once it lands in her hand it comes up tails and she kicks Nitsuj*
(Shizuku): Nothing personal, boss. Just following the coin.