Kimetsu no Yaiba ends its first cour on a modestly positive note, though we’re still short of the highs it hit a few weeks ago. The last two episodes have set a very low bar if we’re perfectly honest, but less Zenitsu = better results. Above and beyond that the inevitable toning down of the character finally started to kick in this week, though that doesn’t make him any less of a preposterous literary creation.
One interesting pattern I’m noticing with Kimetsu is that the youkai that Tanjirou encounters almost invariably end up being the most interesting characters in any given episode. Not just Kibutsuji (though he’s the most interesting so far) but the doomed-from-the-start monster of the week characters too. I’m quite torn about this, actually. I like that characters such as Kyogai are given real backstories and presented as more than just dangerous natural forces. But if they’re all going to die anyway by the end of the subplot, does it matter? The cycle repeats – monster enters the fray, becomes kind of interesting, Tanjirou kills them and then gets sad about it.
It’s an interesting conundrum. I’m not suggesting that Tanjirou’s somber tone after he dispatches the weekly demon is insincere, but does it matter? Dead is dead. I think this side of the series would be more interesting if the demons were actually in the right sometimes, or at least managed to avoid being killed. Given that the youkai here are generally speaking more interesting than the humans, the more diversity we get in their depiction the better. We already know that demons exist who aren’t the enemy of humans – I’d like to see more points on the continuum between Kyogai and Nezuko/Tamayo.
Once Kyogai is dealt with and Tanjirou pulls his sad face, the story turns back to Zenitsu. We really see his best side here – when he’s unconscious. Unfortunately he does wake up, but perhaps the concussion has toned down his antics a hair. He has his moment of glory here in stepping up to defend imouto-in-a-box from Inoshishi-man, who only knows she’s a demon and thus needs to be eliminated (it was nice of Tanjirou to stand around being emo for about 5 minutes as Zenitsu was getting pulped defending her). Zenitsu knows too – apparently his super hearing (does Inoshishi have super eyesight, maybe?) has detected the demon sounds he makes – but he’s willing to give Tanjirou the benefit of the doubt and hear his reasons for carrying a youkai around with him.
Of course this rehabilitation of Zenitsu was always going to happen, but for me that doesn’t mitigate his awful introduction, which totally took me out of the moment and from which I’m still not fully recuperated. As for Inoshishi-san, at this point he’s basically a berserker – his mode is to kill every demon he encounters as fast as possible, and apparently he’s not averse to killing humans who’d dare stand in his way. That’s a pretty serious line to cross, and I hope Kimetsu no Yaiba doesn’t lightly toss it aside as his character is delved into a little deeper.
Any new season brings a new set of variables, and I’ll re-assess where I stand with Kimetsu both when I see how it fares in the new season and how the season as a whole does. As barren as the schedule looks I’m inclined to say I’ll stick with it, especially as the worst has probably passed where Zenitsu is concerned. But it’s still going to have to deliver the goods at least somewhat, and the last run of episodes hasn’t been its best. We’ll see.
DnAFan
June 30, 2019 at 5:23 pmVery interesting takes on this episode. I don’t think the demon backstories are to just show a sad Tanjiro. We see the back stories to highlight that these demons were once human and the very relatable struggles and troubles they had in their life. Into these lives comes Muzan who tempts them into becoming demons with promises of strength and power. He gives them the ability to take revenge on those who hurt them or who they blame for their problems. Of course becoming demons traps them into a different sort of hellish situation. As we have seen in past episodes they are pushed to keep taking human lives and if they mess up or do something like compromise their leader’s identity they are horribly killed. Usually in movies or tv shows demons like this are just killed and everyone is yay they are dead. Kimetsu takes a different approach by showing the past humanity of the demons and increasingly showing the tragedy of their disparate situation. However the series is also very straight forward in that the demons have murdered and eaten many people and must be held accountable for their crimes
Lady Tamayo and Nezuko (and Yushiro) are outliers but the demons we see in the show are killers. Maybe they will have a demon who only preys on criminals or murderers but I don’t think Muzan would stand for that.
Zenitsu to some viewers is more than a literary prop. Although cowards that redeem themselves seems to be common in Japanese superhero/ hero stories they really don’t appear in Western media. There are reluctant heroes who were once bad ass but something terrible happened so they don’t want to get involved then there are also the reluctant mercenary types. Cowards in hero or superhero stories in the West are usually craven cowards who throw other lives under the bus to save themselves. Zenitsu is a coward but he is not craven. He does not want to get involved in demon hunting missions because he believes he does not have the ability or strength to survive the missions. Which is logical. He wants the stronger demon slayer to protect him because he feels the stronger should protect the weak. But that is why he protects the younger boy Shoichi from the demon. He runs with him, grabs him out of the way of danger using his body to shield him and protects him when they fall out of the house. He protects Tanjiro’s box out of a sense of loyalty and the need to protect the demon that elicits such a sad and kind response from Tanjiro who he respects. And if you watch how he protects the box, he uses mainly defensive moves because he knows if he escalates to offensive moves it is game over and he will be knocked out by the stronger Boar head character. He’s interesting. Yeah because of Japanese comedic mannerisms he can be irritating especially to western audiences. But he is definitely one of those characters that will have an arc of discovery and development
What also interesting about this episode is that the fight between Zenitsu and Boar head was actually animated. It highlighted Zenitsu courage in protecting the box but also, believe it or not, made Boar head seem less hard headed and reckless than the manga in that he actually talked to Zenitsu about why he had to kill the demon in the box and it was only after struggling for awhile and becoming impatient that he threatened to cut the box even if it meant cutting Zenitsu.
I really enjoy reading your reviews Enzo but after your last two takes on the episodes, I am glad you are leaning towards not reviewing the second season. Zenitsu is part of the main ensemble.
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Guardian Enzo
June 30, 2019 at 6:05 pmWow – that last part was pretty much giant manga spoilers, huh?
Scampi
June 30, 2019 at 8:23 pmTanjirou taking his time to stop the one sided beating is very serious pacing issue. I know it’s a very faithful adaptation to the manga but I wish they could have taken the liberty to add more scenes to Kyogai instead of stretching the last part.
Personally I’ve caught up with the manga, but I’m still not invested in either the boar or Zenitsu. Like you said, the best parts are the oni backstories.