English Dub Review: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba “Trainer Sakonji Urokodaki”

 

Overview (Spoilers Below)
Tanjiro and Nezuko continue their journey up Mt. Sagiri in search of Urokodaki, the man that Gyu told them to seek out (with Nezuko staying inside a basket to keep away from the sun). Upon reaching a point high up on the mountain, the two encounter a temple. However, Tanjiro’s keen sense of smell alerts him to the smell of blood. As it turns out, a demon has massacred the occupants of this temple!

Tanjiro attempts to fight off the demon but ultimately struggles to keep up with its agility and strength. Nezuko, on the other hand, struggles with the urge to devour the fallen human remains. Thankfully, before Tanjiro is slaughtered, Nezuko comes to her senses and kicks the demon’s head clean off.

The demon’s body continues the fray, this time going after Nezuko. Tanjiro attempts to intervene, only for the demon’s head to grow arms and attack him. Tanjiro is eventually able to detach himself from the demon’s head and go after the demon’s body.

Before certain doom can be brought upon Nezuko, Tanjiro plunges towards the demon’s body, and ultimately, right towards a cliff. Thankfully, Nezuko steps in again and grabs the plunging Tanjiro.

While back at the temple attempting to destroy the demon for good, Tanjiro encounters an old man with a red mask. He states that what Tanjiro is attempting to use to kill the demon will not cut it. Grabbing a rock instead, Tanjiro hesitates and ultimately allows the sun to do his dirty work for him.

Soon after the demon disperses, the old man reveals himself to be none other than Urokodaki. He scolds Tanjiro for his empathetic nature and his indecisiveness. With these qualities, Urokodaki believes that Tanjiro will not make the cut to become a demon slayer.

Nevertheless, Urokodaki sees Tanjiro’s willingness to grow and adapt, so he grants Tanjiro a test of his abilities. Tanjiro and Urokodaki sprint towards Urkodaki’s home, allowing Nezuko to rest within his humble abode. With that settled, Urokodaki commences Tanjiro’s test. Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, Urokodaki disappears, but not before telling Tanjiro his task: to make it back to Urokodaki’s home before sunrise.

Despite multiple traps that stand in his way, Tanjiro makes it back to Urokodaki’s home. Urokodaki henceforth takes on Tanjiro as his next student.

Our Take
I have to say, I enjoyed this episode quite a bit more than the first! It kept the parts I enjoyed from the first episode and spiced up a good majority of the parts that I wasn’t too fond of initially. There’s a lot to unpack this round, so let’s dive in.

For starters, I definitely was more fond of Tanjiro’s voice this episode than the previous. His voice sounds a lot more natural to my ears versus the higher-pitched scream-like tone of his voice from the previous episode. While there are still some hints of that here and there, Tanjiro sounds a lot more realistic and true to his character this go-around. Like I stated last time, I had a feeling the voice would grow on me, and I’m glad to be proven correct here. I’m more pleased than ever by Tanjiro’s voice. I commend Tanjiro’s voice actor (Zach Aguilar) for the wonderful performance here.

I adore how strong Tanjiro and Nezuko’s sibling relationship continues to be. Tanjiro and Nezuko protecting each other no matter the situation just brings a smile to my face each time. Additionally, another tender moment is a flashback to Nezuko re-sewing her kimono. Tanjiro feels bad for Nezuko, and wishes to buy her a new kimono. Nezuko declines though, stating she’d rather have her siblings be fed over a new luxury for herself. It’s a sweet moment that reminds us to not be selfish and ultimately care for one another as a whole. Tanjiro then goes on to state that he wishes to do everything with Nezuko that he couldn’t do with the rest of his family. It’s a testament to how much Tanjiro cares for his family as well as others. I sincerely hope the show continues to have more heart-warming moments like these as it progresses.

We’re finally introduced to Urokodaki this episode, and boy, does he have an enticing vibe to him. First off, what is with the mask? Perhaps only those who prove their worth of being a slayer can see within? Maybe a tragic mistake that he hides out of shame and resolve to improve upon? I can’t say for certain, but I’m definitely interested to find out more regarding the mysterious red mask.

More importantly, though, we see a slight chunk of Urokodaki’s character. He’s the typical mentor figure with a harsh tone, showing no mercy towards mistakes or failure. This type of mentorship tends to appear more often than not within media. However, it kind of makes sense, in a way. In order to get results, one may have to resort to constant belligerence towards their pupil. He’s trying to push Tanjiro in order to make him a better fighter, rather than sugarcoat his abilities. It’s another example of tough love in media. I wouldn’t mind seeing Urokodaki act a little less harshly towards Tanjiro from time to time, but I believe Urokodaki still cares for and wishes success upon Tanjiro through helping him achieve his goal to become a powerful demon slayer and avenge the loss of his family.

Urokodaki utters an important piece of information to Tanjiro during this episode. Tanjiro must never allow Nezuko to take the life of and feast upon an innocent human being. However, this brings up something that confuses me a bit: how is she supposed to survive? From what we’ve seen thus far, demons pop out at night to consume human flesh. Thus, from that information alone, it can be inferred that she needs human flesh in order to survive. Yet, Urokodaki suggests that any consumption of human flesh by her is forbidden entirely. So, is Nezuko able to eat normally or not? This piece reminds me of Tokyo Ghoul and how the ghouls must eat human flesh to survive. I assumed that was what Demon Slayer was going for here too, but perhaps that is not the case after all. Either way, I hope this gets clarified sooner rather than later.

Let me just say, the abilities of demons in this world are pretty nuts. I certainly wasn’t expecting the demon to be alive after getting his head cut clean off! And the head growing limbs? Dang, this is one hardcore and determined demon! If anything, these abilities make my mind race in anticipation for how other demons will act throughout the rest of the series. I’m not expecting anything Looney-Tunes-crazy, mind you, but I’m certainly curious regarding where the show will go from here in regards to the abilities of demons to come.

Additionally, this episode touches a little bit on Tanjiro’s supposed character flaws that are in the way of him becoming a demon slayer. The two main traits that hold him back are empathy and indecisiveness. While neither of these are particularly bad traits to have (especially empathy), I can sort of see Urokodaki’s point here. If Tanjiro feels empathy even towards his enemies, it could very much lead to his downfall. And if Tanjiro can’t react quick enough to a situation, that also may lead him straight into death’s doorsteps. It’s practically a double whammy for poor Tanjiro.

However, in the case of empathy, it can also act as a strong trait for Tanjiro. Depending on the situation, feeling empathy towards a demon might actually help to create some good in the universe. For example, what if there was another demon like Nezuko who wishes not to harm humankind? Or a demon family who tries to co-exist with all forms of life? These are hypothetical of course, but empathy can really help prevent more blood from being shed in these cases.

With indecisiveness, that’s a bit more challenging. Tanjiro needs to be able to read situations quickly and make decisions on the fly. Demons won’t wait for Tanjiro to figure out his next move, after all. Of course, indecisiveness can prove useful in some cases, where one may need more time to consider the correct path to take. I wouldn’t recommend doing so in front of a hungry demon though!
Ultimately, it’s really about trying to find a healthy balance for these traits. They aren’t so much flaws, but rather traits that need a bit of improvement. Thankfully, it seems that Tanjiro plans to stay true to himself while working on balancing his sort-of cons into useful assets in and off the battlefield.

Overall, this was definitely an improvement over the first episode. The episode combines heart with fast-paced action that adds up to an immensely enjoyable second chapter. I’m more excited than ever to see where the story goes from here.