An episode like that is really easy-hard to blog. I mean, there’s not that much top say about it. Absolutely stunning action scenes which seemed to stretch on forever, that was pretty much it. Anything else was just hitching a ride, which is the double-edged sword of action that good. If you’re going to call yourself a battle shounen though it’s an awfully nice arrow to have in the quiver.
I guess I could ask this – just what is the deal with Zenitsu and the sleep-fighting thing anyway? I know I shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth – if the mangaka kept him asleep forever it’d be a boon worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize. But I mean, is there some explanation of this from my blackout period with the series? Cause it’s kind of strange and doesn’t really make sense that a person would be able to have conversations and fight better than when he’s awake when he’s effectively sleepwalking.
That aside, the whole preamble part of the episode was fine but just that, preamble. Try as it might Kimetsu no Yaiba just can’t make me care about any of these demon slayers, not really. Especially the hashira, who are about as two-dimensional as it gets. Not unlikeable or anything, just nothing like real human beings you’d feel a connection to. A shinobi? Okay fine, whatever. I often think the demons must be Gotouge-sensei’s favorite characters, because they seem to have so much more color to them and their backstories are far more impactful.
But that fight… I mean, it should be acknowledged that if any TV anime should have a huge budget it’s Kimetsu – the thing is a money generator of obscene proportions. Still, anime reality doesn’t always follow that logic and it’s good to see that the production committee knows what butters its bread. Uzui is definitely the right guy to be at the heart of this, because this would be on the one-hand shortlist of the flashiest anime fights I’ve ever seen. I could quibble that it was a little too busy if anything, moving so quickly that it was hard to follow what was really happening.
But in the final analysis, who cares? Show off, dammit – you’ve got anime’s biggest cash cow to milk. Fight scenes this good aren’t just a matter of throwing money at them – the animators both conventional and CG (and in this case it’s a lot of both) have to be great at their jobs. It was simply breathtaking stuff – drawn, animated and choreographed like a true work of art. Flashy? Hell, yes – but KnY needs that flash to really wow me, because the story and characters never will. At its best this can be a very respectable conventional battle shounen, but it’s only when ufotable really cuts loose like this that I can honestly say it’s exceptional. May there be many more fights just like it.
Jindujun93
January 24, 2022 at 9:48 pmI think the official explanation for the whole sleep fighting thing with Zenitsu is that his mentor drilled this so much into him that he can do the techniques even in his sleep, but when he’s awake he’s held back by his own cowardice so he ends up limiting himself there. Been a while since I’ve read that portion though, I could be misremembering some details.
Guardian Enzo
January 24, 2022 at 9:58 pmOkay, fair enough. But how does he manage to stay asleep? I mean, why doesn’t he wake the fuck up when all this stuff goes down?
Marty
January 25, 2022 at 12:23 amIf the is one thing I can give KnY Credit for is the Diversity of fighting Styles amongst the Hashira. From the 2 that we have seen fight seriously, Rengoku’s fighting style and Tengen’s are worlds-apart. I appreciate that a battle-shounen that centers around swordplay doesn’t completely fall into stylistic monotony.
Darrel
January 25, 2022 at 8:20 amCompletely unrelated to the post, but any thoughts on Hoshi no Samidare getting an adaptation this summer? I’m stoked, but also have no idea how this got through the production committee.
Marty
January 25, 2022 at 8:52 amOh snap!! I didn’t know that. Planet With was an excellent series, so I’m looking forward tk this adaptación. Here’s to hoping the anime doesn’t fumble the bag.
Guardian Enzo
January 25, 2022 at 12:39 pmExcited of course. Staff and studio look meh, and if it’s one cour it’ll be big trouble. Plus I would have rather had Spirit Circle (which is even better and would be easier to adapt and only needs a cour). But it’s house money – I’d given up on this ever happening at all.
Rasu
January 25, 2022 at 11:10 amIf I recall well, during the first season’s spider family arco, Zenitsu said something like “in his dreams he’s the ideal swordman that he wishes to be, courageous like the hero he’s not been to he”, I guess that, as stated before (in this chapter comment section), that’s something more like a defense mechanism that enables him to survive while making him think that “he’s not awake but sleeping”, so he’s only deceiving his own self in that fantasy until he admits his own talent and gains self-confidence again; that’s part of what defense mechanisms are for.
When he finally admits the true, maybe he’ll be one of the strongest or something shounen-like like that.
Guardian Enzo
January 25, 2022 at 12:41 pmOK, I’ll go with that.