English Dub Review: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba “Final Selection”

Overview (Spoilers Below)
Urokodaki discovers the triumphant Tanjiro, and he couldn’t be more proud of his pupil. To celebrate Tanjiro’s achievement, Urokodaki begins a feast for Tanjiro to enjoy before he heads off to the Final Selection in the morning.

With the sun in full bloom, Tanjiro journeys to the Final Selection’s testing grounds. Upon arriving there, two nightmare-inducing guides introduce themselves to the fellow applicants, all surrounded by an assortment of colorful blossoms. The two guides disclose the task the applicants must complete in order to pass the selection: survive seven days in a demon-infested forest.

Soon after, Tanjiro and the other applicants make their way to the forest. Almost immediately, two hungry demons confront Tanjiro. However, neither one can seem to agree on who should get Tanjiro as their next meal. Once the two demons strike simultaneously though, Tanjiro goes after the kill and succeeds in decapitating his targets.

There’s no time for breathing though, as Tanjiro hears the screams of a fellow applicant. The cause of the applicant’s screaming truly terrifies Tanjiro: a huge mutated demon with multiple limbs. The demon proceeds to go after the applicant and manages to grab him in his clutches. Being quick-witted though, Tanjiro strikes down the demon’s hand before the applicant can be devoured.

Upon their initial greeting, the demon recognizes Tanjiro as one of Urokodaki’s students. The demon states that he’s been in the forest for 47 years, thanks to Urokodaki. As revenge, the demon slaughters all of Urokodaki’s students, among others.

Furious, Tanjiro goes after the beast, but the horrific creature knocks him out. With the encouraging cries from his younger brother in his mind, Tanjiro wakes up and gets back into action. After an intense match, Tanjiro succeeds in killing the horrific demon.

Our Take
Another pretty solid round for the books, folks! While not without its flaws, this episode cranks the intensity up to 11, solidifying an enjoyable experience all-around.

We finally get some information here regarding the purpose of the mask and the abilities of demons, two points I had pondered about previously. While both elements are rather minor, it’s nice to have some explanation here. Both elements can certainly allow viewers to further understand the world presented within this series. However, the information on demon abilities mostly felt like a recap, with perhaps the exception of the fact that human consumption increases their abilities. I wish the episode had gone more into depth here, but a little mystery never harmed a series.

There’s also some other information brought up, including the specialized Nichirin swords for demon slaying and the invisible thread that guides Tanjiro towards his opponents. With the exception of the name, the sword information isn’t really anything new, but nice information to know about regardless. What struck me as odd is how fast-paced this invisible thread thing was brought up. The concept seems to have come up from thin air. While the episode does explain it to a small degree, I feel as though this should have been brought up during Tanjiro’s training. This mysterious technique seems to be too vital to the overall story to just be briefly explained here and just accepted as fact afterward.

This episode also had quite a bit of formidable foreshadowing present throughout. There are several clues throughout (told through Urokodaki (regarding Sabito and Makomo) and Sabito and Makomo themselves (regarding the main demon) that looking back upon shape the entirety of Tanjiro’s trials this episode. It’s definitely impressive to see so many hints present that one doesn’t truly understand until later on.

The one thing I don’t quite understand regarding the foreshadowing is how Tanjiro didn’t realize Sabito and Makomo were deceased. The end of the previous episode seemed to indicate that by striking the rock rather than Sabito, the duo wasn’t physically present. Yet, Tanjiro continues to act throughout the first half of this episode like they were actually there. I suppose it makes sense to not immediately come to the conclusion that they’re ghosts, but it seems rather odd for Tanjiro to not catch on almost immediately after his battle with Sabito.

I have to give credit where credit is due here. The atmosphere in this episode is so breathtakingly beautiful. The array of beautiful scenery when Tanjiro walks through the Mysteria blooms is awe-inspiring. I was also quite impressed by the multi-hand demon presented here. It had a quirky personality alongside a creative design. The aspect of the hands covering his mouth is also a creative shortcut when it comes to animating mouth flaps.

As per usual, this episode lets off a bit of deep insight, though not as much as previous installments. One thing I noticed was how Tanjiro prayed for the two fallen demons to rest in peace. He does this despite the fact that they were super close to having Tanjiro as a midnight snack. It really says a lot about Tanjiro’s character. While Tanjiro has grown to not hesitate in the face of a demon, he still shows some empathy towards all living creatures, no matter what they might have done. It’s an aspect that is applicable to everyday life: forgiveness. It may be hard to forgive people for some of the wrongful acts that they have committed. However, perhaps in certain cases, it may be better to forgive and forget than to hold onto a grudge for a lifetime.

To conclude, Round Four of Demon Slayer was another thrilling chapter in the ever-growing world surrounded by demonic battles and human survival. It may not be as impactful as the previous two installments in regards to the deep insight and pieces of the story, it’s pretty damn close. I’m excited as ever to see where this show takes us from here.