English Dub Review: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba “Swordsman Accompanying a Demon”

Overview (Spoilers Below)
Tanjiro heads out on his first mission as a full-fledged demon slayer. While doing so, his sister Nezuko hangs out in a box upon his back.
Upon reaching the town, Tanjiro overhears about a man named Kazumi whose girlfriend was kidnapped during the night. Putting two and two together, Tanjiro confronts Kazumi regarding details of the incident and where his girlfriend was taken. Once the two reach the place, Tanjiro starts sniffing around for the scent of a demon.

As night begins to fall, the demon’s scent grows larger. Another girl in the village heads in for bed. However, the demon, via a gooey portal, has tracked her as his next target. Within a flash, the demon scoops up the poor girl while she’s in her bed, and leaves without a trace.
Tanjiro notices the sudden rise of the demon’s scent and dashes towards the scene. Kazumi follows closely behind. Soon after, Tanjiro uncovers where the demon’s scent is the strongest and strikes it with his blade. He makes his mark and grabs the girl out of the demon’s clutches.

This sets in motion the battle between Tanjiro and the portal-making demon (who’s now split into three parts). Tanjiro holds his own against the foe but keeps missing the demon’s vital parts. He also cannot commit a full-on blow on the demon while he’s additionally protecting Kazumi and the girl from the demon.

The demon soon corners Tanjiro nearby a wall, and pops out of a portal, ready to slash his eye out. Just before he can though, Nezuko pops out of the box and kicks him in the face. Thanks to some hypnotic suggestion by way of Urokodaki, Nezuko is now trained to see all humans as her family, and demons as her enemies. Thus, Nezuko prepares to strike again in order to protect the humans from the unforgivable demon spawn.

Our Take
This series continues to amaze me with how it tackles its various elements. There’s a lot of heart put into this show, creaking through its characters and animation. It goes to show that not all shonen series go down the route of predictable and longevity.

One major element that I loved here was the action sequences. The action scenes are powerfully choreographed, shining with unpredictability. They’re always exciting and full of fluid, fast-paced motion. The animation, in general, is pretty fluid for the most part. Sure, there are some short cuts that are typical of anime here and there, but not enough to distract from the beautiful parts. The background art is additionally an immensely pleasing attribute here. It’s astounding how beautiful this series looks and feels to the naked eye.

Additionally, I love the little hints of subtlety that this episode sprinkled within. One might not think much about Urokodaki’s send-off to a departing Tanjiro, but I believe it shows a lot of genuine character for him. He’s clearly wishing Tanjiro all the best in his upcoming challenges and cares for his safety. He might have given Tanjiro some tough-love during his training, but their relationship is clearly of heart and not of hatred.

Another bout of subtlety was Nezuko placing her hands on Kazumi and the girl. It’s a nice, silent method of telling them not to worry, she’ll protect them from evil. It’s a really sweet touch that adds so much to the beauty present throughout this episode and the entire series.

Muzan Kibutsuji, a name that just screams horror and terror. As we find out here, he’s the only demon who’s capable of turning humans into demons. Thus, he’s the main target for Tanjiro to go after if he wants to turn Nezuko human again. While it was only a little taste of the main baddy, I can already tell he’s going to be an exciting adversary for Tanjiro. From the grave tone of voice Urokodaki uses when referring to the demon, to the imagery of a shadowy figure causing havoc throughout, it just screams danger within my inner mind. He’s a powerful foe that doesn’t mess around, and I cannot wait to see Tanjiro go headfirst into battle with this main antagonist.

While not as breathtaking as Muzan’s reveal, there were some additional important details spread out during the episode. The first of these is regarding Tanjiro’s outfit and black Nichirin sword. His outfit is non-penetrable by demons, certainly a useful tool when battling demons at a constant rate! The sword, however, is a more mysterious element. It’s largely said to be reserved for swordsmen with little potential. What’s interesting though, is that Tanjiro takes this with stride. He doesn’t really care to be the greatest. Tanjiro just wants strength to challenge demons who may help in his quest of turning Nezuko human again. It’s a sweet trait to have that we can all learn something from. You don’t have to be the greatest to do great things.

The other reveal is learning of the hypnotic suggestion placed under Nezuko. This is an interesting element to reveal, if somewhat of a cop-out. It kinda takes away from Nezuko’s inner struggle to not feast on human flesh. Perhaps she will have to combat that at a later point in the series? On a more positive note though, it’s nice to see Nezuko fighting alongside the good. It’ll sure be a fun ride seeing more of her kicking demon ass and taking names.

Perhaps this is not too surprising in retrospect, but Tanjiro and Kazumi are revealed to have quite a bit in common with each other. Of course, the obvious shared element is how both have lost those who they’ve cared about. While it’s certainly a tragedy for both, it allows Tanjiro to connect better with Kazumi. Both have gone through some rough events at the hands of demons. Thus, Tanjiro is better equipped to fight off the demons, knowing that the one he’s fighting for has gone through a similar situation to his.

The other similarity the two share is a little more subtle. One scene features Kazumi taking a beating from his girlfriend’s father for losing her during the night. How does this seemingly unrelated incident connect to Tanjiro though? Well, one could look at it as a symbol of how the two of them were initially low man on the totem pole when it came towards demons. They each lacked experience with the demon world. Tanjiro, however, was able to rise from that point to become a full-fledged demon slayer. It goes to show that we all have to start somewhere. Perhaps Kazumi will realize this too, and join the ranks sometime in the future. I have to give the show credit, this subtle touch was a nice addition to the overall story arc.

All in all, another wonderful addition to the ongoing Demon Slayer adventure. This series continues to excite me to my inner core, with beautiful backgrounds, wonderfully developed characters, and exciting twists and turns around every corner. This series is most certainly going places, and I cannot wait to see what places it shall go.