English Dub Review: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba “Temari Demon and Arrow Demon”

Overview (Spoilers Below)
Tanjiro and the others face the Temari Demon and Arrow Demon in a full force, action-packed, high stakes atmosphere.

Our Take
Just when I thought this series couldn’t climb any higher up the entertainment chain, it does a double flip and a somersault all in one. That’s the fancy way of saying, this episode is pretty damn fantastic. The entire episode flew by in an absolute flash, all thanks to the entrancing battle between good and evil.

To begin with, the animation here is completely off the wall phenomenal! The way the characters move astounds my inner being to its core. The fluidity of their movement really helps you to be sucked right into the action. I did at times get knocked out of the realm of battle when I noticed what appeared to be CGI models of the characters. However, I’m able to excuse that, as the fight as a whole did wonders for my enticement as a whole. I honestly wish more anime studios could pay this close to the nitty-gritty details. It seriously adds a whole level of added enticement to the shows, making the series feel truly alive. If this were a school setting, animation studio ufotable would definitely receive top marks for sure!

Additionally, the execution of the twists felt like magical wonders of mastery. I honestly can’t say I saw any of them coming! The intensity at their moment of the impact made me release volumes of audible shock. The music, visuals, and vocals really help to create a suspenseful atmosphere whenever these twists arise to attack. I really commend Demon Slayer for a job well done!

Speaking of vocal talent, I have to give a shoutout to the Temari Demon’s voice actress (Sarah Anne Williams). She absolutely nails the tone of the character as a whole. The Temari Demon’s voice is a perfect mesh of excitement and terror all wrapped up into one complete package. A wonderful performance for sure that I hope we’ll be able to hear more of next time!

My only true gripe with this episode was the filler scenes used throughout. These recaps of the plot felt largely unnecessary. Their only purpose is to pad the runtime and nothing more. I especially cannot understand the inclusion of the repetition of scenes directly before and after the ad break here. We as an audience literally just saw these scenes moments earlier. Why repeat them verbatim? While they do interrupt the flow of the narrative to a degree, I think this is a largely passable grievance. The studio behind this series worked so hard to enhance the rest of the episode that, in the grand scheme of things, dilutes this issue.

To conclude, this is the tip of the top, the cream of the crop. It compacts all the right elements together into one suspenseful joy ride. This episode is proof that this series keeps you on the edge of your toes, begging for the next episode to arrive.