Before I launch into this week’s episode (rock solid – no surprise there) of Kimetsu no Yaiba, a quick word on something that’s been bugging me.  Urokodaki-san said Nezuko has been “recovering her energy” by sleeping instead of dining on yummy human flesh.  But what energy is she recovering, exactly, since she never had any demon energy in the first place?  She was human, she died, she turned, and she never ate at the viking buffet of humanity.  So why is she able to sustain herself strictly on sleep?  It makes no sense to me (like the demon hunter association’s cavalier attitude towards their applicants dying) but maybe we’ll get an explanation at some point in the future.

By the way – that question is rhetorical if you’re a manga reader, please don’t answer if it’s a spoiler…

In any event, this week’s ep finds Tanjirou off to his first assignment, and (finally) given a bit of background about what he’s in for by Urokodaki.  In addition to that and a bit of a benediction, he also gives his student a box made of “cloud pine” to transport youkaimouto-chan, and I suppose it’s a good thing the box is light because she has to way at least 80 pounds herself.  A black sword (seemingly an ill omen, or at least uncertain), a super-strong middle school uniform and a sister in a box on his back – Tanjirou is seemingly ready for anything the demons can throw at him.

I quite liked both the scenario in the “town to the Northwest” and the demon at the heart of it.  Things rolled out slowly, with a town on edge from nightly disappearances, and a young man named Kazuki whose girlfriend was just taken – for which he’s clearly blamed by her father.  This is a morphed demon, of the type that Uro-san warned Tanjirou about (he also warned him that the demon who killed his family and could restore his sister is likely named Kibutsuji Muzan).  He travels through solid objects and abducts the girls via the passageways he creates, which is pretty creepy.

Things really perk up when he starts talking, though.  That’s because this demon is played by Kimura Ryouhei, and Kimura is one of those seiyuu who can make any material better just by his presence.  Even better, here he gets to manifest the three sides of the youkai’s personality that he’s able to split himself into.  One just grinds his teeth very loudly, one appears to be all impulse and desire, and the other is a calm and sinister logician.  But they all enjoy the taste of 16 year-old girls, which doesn’t bode well for Kazuki’s girlfriend and all the girls who were taken earlier.

The formula – and I’m aware that word is a double-edged sword with this series – that Kimetsu employs is about as safe and reliable as it gets.  Really well-done action sequences in the fight of the week, extremely familiar voices in the cast (Kimura is one of the few who’s good enough so that this isn’t a mixed blessing), tight scripting and measured but brisk pacing.  I continue to be entertained by this show even if I’ve yet to really be surprised by it – it just does so many things well (including the music) that it’s hard not to be impressed even if you’re never awed.  A few core plot elements don’t seem quite common-sensical enough to me, but that’s certainly not a deal-breaker to this point.