English Dub Review: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc: “Awful Villain”

Overview: Tanjiro (Zach Aguilar) and the others must now contend with the demons’ new merged form, Zohakuten, (Ben Balmaceda). Meanwhile, part of Muichiro’s (Griffin Burns) memory comes rushing back as he finds himself in a life-or-death situation. 

Our Take: Of course, Hantengu wouldn’t be THAT easy to behead, because why should things go simply for Tanjiro and the gang. The Upper Rank are Russian dolls with all the layers their powers have. It is that very versatility that keeps the pacing of the ongoing battle new and fresh. The combined demon, Zohakuten, nicely simplifies things, as adding more demons runs the risk of losing the focus. One unified threat shakes up the pacing, but also intrigues as a menacing foil with his imposing, physically encumbering aura. 

While Zohakuten has a strong physical presence, the same is not the case for his character, at least for now. The tired back-and-forth between him and Tanjiro is tired and pointless. Zohakuten’s delusions of being the real hero are bland, mostly due to how uncompelling his arguments are. 

Gyokko’s outrage at Hotaru’s unrelenting swordsmithing points to how eccentric and deranged his artist persona is. On the flip side, Haganezuka’s got a little crazy in him with how committed he is to his craft that’s conversely very commendable. Funnily enough, his face reveal is also stunning in how shockingly pretty he is. 

Muichiro’s side of things are a bit more interesting in how he escapes his watery prison. There’s a tender, personal connection to the way Tanjiro strikes a chord within Muichiro in how reminiscent he is of his father. Kotetsu’s selfless act coupled with Tanjiro and his father’s noble words is a sweet, hopeful moment to reinvigorate his fight to survive.