No, but really. Where’s my prize?

Kimetsu no Yaiba
Studio(s): ufotable
Genre(s): Action, Historical, Demons, Supernatural, Shounen

This is probably going to be the shortest review you read on this episode because there’s surprisingly little for me to say from an analytical standpoint. I can get into emotions, but it’s not like the episode was ever being subtle about its intent in that regard. So I’m not even going to bother with that. No, to be blunt, this episode had an objective and nailed it. Period. Full stop. It was an episode handled with the absolute maximum efficiency. It being predictable doesn’t hurt it in the slightest to someone like me (I’m difficult to surprise, as it is). The execution was the important part, and it handled the execution quite well.

Tanjiro got on his way to the Final Selection and we were properly teased as to the nature of the two who helped him before. The same two that I called – immediately – to be dead in the previous episode. It was basically cemented for me with all the cryptic dialogue, mysterious appearing and disappearing, and the apparent desire to help the guy out of nowhere. Also, Tanjiro called her cute. In a show like this, the instant a character says that, it means the character in question is either already dead or “already dead.” Of course these two were pupils of the master who died at some point. It was all a matter of telling that story and this episode set out to do so rather effectively, opening one story – Tanjiro’s trials in the selection – by bookending another story altogether.

The demon was… sufficiently grotesque and further exemplifies what these creatures are capable of. The way in which he rants to our hero while describing – in vivid detail – how he murdered the two kids we’ve kinda-sorta gotten to know was a decent way to establish the tense, uncomfortable atmosphere they were going for. And Tanjiro’s overcoming this beast was made all the more satisfying because of it. (Though I’m a unique case in that I was more annoyed than disturbed and just wanted Tanjiro to shut him up, but that’s something I’d attribute to my own disposition, not a failing of the show. As I’ve said, I’m not easy to manipulate) As well as showing how Tanjiro has grown, of course. I think the only thing that might’ve been worth tightening up was the stopping of the story, at times, to deliver some exposition. But it wasn’t really anything important. A minor nitpick, if anything. We know I don’t exactly live for episodes like this, but even despite that, it was Super Effective in how it was handled and continues the trend of quality, for this show.

What’d you think of the episode? Let me know, down below. As always, thanks for reading, folks! Keep up the Awesome!