I’ll say this for Sawashiro Miyuki – it’s not just that she’s really good (obviously).  It’s that there are very few seiyuu who have such a huge range while at the same time being instantly recognizable.  She has an ability to elevate material, though even she has to be given at least a little to work with.  She is here, and she flies with it (literally at one point).  Hearing Sawashiro and Seki Toshihiko together in that last scene was just delicious, making the irony of hopping right to Shimono as Zenitsu in the epilogue that much more painful.

Few series are more predictable for me than this one, not in terms of plot (though that too, somewhat) but execution.  When it tries to be funny, Kimetsu no Yaiba almost never works.  When it goes dark and sinister, it generally fares far better.  It’s something of an unlikely triumph that Zenitsu had the biggest role of the main trio in what was an overall excellent episode, but the fact is none of them were really that prominent.  The setting was the star here (well, and Sawashiro-san), and world-building has always been one of Kimetsu’s greatest strengths.

Warabihime – Daki to her friends – is the clear breakout character of Yuukaku-hen so far.  A beautiful and timeless oiran who’s a femme fatale in every sense, she’s obviously the one behind the disappearances of Uzui’s “wives”.  It’s Zenko who draws the short straw and winds up in her brothel.  He comes to the aid of a little girl who’s weeping – three guesses as to who’s the cause – and afterwards becomes entangled hopelessly in Warabihime’s web.  And he’s pretty clearly in over his head.

Daki has been at this for a while, a figure of legend who most don’t realize is a single figure rather than a serious of mysterious “Hime” whose wrath was as terrible as their beauty breathtaking.  I’m guessing the mistress of the house can’t possibly be the first person to have ever put the pieces together.  As Warabihime says, maybe the others were usually smart enough to keep their mouths shut about it, and I think we can guess what happened to the ones that weren’t.  It’s an interesting life this youkai has chosen for herself – it’s an all-you-can eat buffet, but one wonders if she actually fulfills all the duties of her oiran role.

This twist is pretty simple and straightforward, but it works.  Sawashiro is really exceptional as Daki, who in her hands comes off as someone not at all human no matter their appearance.  She’s the “Upper Six”, so I assume she’s pretty powerful – Muzan declares (I presume this was a flashback) that she’s taken out seven hashira herself.  Zenko and Inoko’s hapless efforts to try and make headway on their task find them less obnoxious than usual, and the tense atmosphere as Warabihime begins to dominate the narrative is quite engaging.  Sumiko doesn’t have a hell of a lot to do, but frankly that’s not a problem – Daki is more compelling anyway.

These sort of whipsaw quality shifts are probably something we can expect more of with Kimetsu no Yaiba going forward.  It just seems to be a “bitter with the sweet” sort of series – so much depends on tone and which characters are in the spotlight.  I think Yoshiwara is a good setting for this show, one that might just nudge it towards the better angels of its storytelling nature.  I won’t be shocked if I turn out to have been wrong about that, but an episode like this one at least engenders a bit of optimism.