English Dub Review: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba “Mount Natagumo”

Overview(Spoilers Below):

Hot off the heels of a much-needed period of recovery, Tanjiro and his fellow Demon Slayers get word of their next task, which takes their efforts to the dreaded Mount Natagumo. Very quickly the team learn that this area lives up to its reputation and it’s not going to be as easy as their previous missions. Matters become much more complicated as fellow Demon Slayers show up as victims and it looks like the true nature of the enemy isn’t as simple as it initially appears. A suspenseful story about possession, arachnids, and more than anything else, family, steers Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba on the right track with “Mount Natagumo.”

Our Take:

Demon Slayer has been in a bit of a resting period for the last tiny stretch of time. The conclusion of the 13th episode provided much emotional catharsis for the first half of the season and the previous installment felt more akin to filler as Tanjiro and company kicked back and had a more laid back, humorous time together that revolves more around taking a breather and rebuilding strength than facing a new challenge. Entries like that are necessary for shonen series, but now that Tanjiro and company have had a chance to lick their wounds, “Mount Natagumo” throws these Demon Slayers back into dangerous adventure.

It perhaps should come as no surprise that the episode’s titular Mount Natagumo is the home of the next big challenge for these Demon Slayers. The trio of Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Zenitsu are trepidatious towards this hotspot for demonic activity, but they don’t understand the true gravity of the situation until they encounter Murata, another Demon Slayer who’s been metaphorically (and nearly literally) chewed up and spit out by the evil mountain. This is honestly a great introduction to Mount Natagumo that actually manages to be frightening on some level.

This trio of Demon Slayers has faced some sizable threats in the past, but one of the most interesting aspects of this episode is that the fear behind this new challenge is too much for Zenitsu. Tanjiro and Inosuke can’t help but rush into harm’s way, but Zenitsu actually spends most of this episode hanging back as he tries to build the courage to follow his friends and help them in battle. Shonen series have a tendency to present characters as hyperboles where everyone actively craves danger as if they need it to survive. The threat comes from whether they’re strong enough to vanquish this evil, not in if they’re mentally prepared to face a new threat. This is quite the breath of fresh air for Demon Slayer and “Mount Natagumo” still manages to tell a compelling story, yet through Zenitsu’s stasis and fear, rather than his actions. By the end he gets his groove back and becomes a helpful pillar of the final battle, but it means all the more after understanding how hard it is for him to get to that place. It is nice to see that Tanjiro takes a moment to try and bolster his confidence and fighting spirit before he ultimately leaves him.

On the topic of Zenitsu’s inability to act here, part of the reason that Tanjiro is so drawn to Mount Natagumo ties back to some interesting lore that was previously teased in the series. It’s been mentioned that if a Demon has killed many people, their odorous stench is even more intense (likely because of all of the death that hangs over them). Tanjiro’s naturally brave instincts would have pulled him into battle either way, but a major reason that he enters the fray here is because of the stench that he recognizes within Mount Natagumo. This is no doubt the same odor that’s been referred to before and is a clever way to foreshadow just how deadly this threat is and that Rui and his family have taken many victims before. This is far from their first Demon rodeo.

Something that “Mount Natagumo” is interested in is creating big stakes. In this episode, the threat that’s faced doesn’t just victimize some lost travelers, but it’s taken on a pack of nearly a dozen Demon Slayers and made swift work of them. Immediately that establishes the weight that’s present and hints that Tanjiro and his company could befall a very similar fate (and they nearly do). This threat is even significant enough that two of the strongest swordsmen also get sent as backup, Giyu and Shinobu, who also add a lot here. They’re smart additions that actually offer something different here and don’t feel like superfluous appearances.

The threat that Tanjiro and company face in this episode is one of the creepier and more complex foes that they’ve faced. For starters, they are arachnid in nature so anyone that has intense fears of spiders isn’t going to be a major fan of this episode. The animation works hard to make these demons look as sinister as possible. The other twisted dimension to all of this is that these spider demons actually use their web-like threads to control individuals and make them attack their own. They play puppetmaster in a deceptive, wicked way where Tanjiro and company struggle to defeat these puppets because they’re still just innocent people who are being manipulated. This introduces a creative aspect to the battle that’s both offensive and defensive as Tanjiro and Murata find the best way to neutralize this danger.

Finally, when Rui, a demon child reveals himself and boldly announces to Tanjiro that he and his family can’t be pushed out of the forest. Yes, Rui, his arachnid mother, and their family are preserving their territory in questionable ways, but it’s significant that this is the first family of demons that have been encountered. The entire premise of Demon Slayer comes down to family in the end, so for Tanjiro to face enemies that simply want the same thing as he does and to live a happy existence with their kin adds a whole other wrinkle to this challenge. This is a motive that he more than empathizes towards. The series continues to flesh out the depth of its demons and villains and with this threat far from extinguished, Rui and his family will probably only receive more development as the battle intensifies in next week’s installment.

“Mount Natagumo” takes some time to get moving, but once it does it amounts to an especially satisfying installment of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. It properly sets up the show’s next big arc and already starts to move into heavy, complex territory. There’s a solid mix of action and character development in store in this episode and the helpful hands that assist Tanjiro and Inosuke in their pursuit are welcome additions. With a new, strong threat properly established, the run of the next few episodes should only build off of “Mount Natagumo’s” success and get even better.