Kimetsu no Yaiba – 09

(Temari Oni to Yajirushi Oni)
“Temari Demon and Arrow Demon”

Well, yet again, Im a few days behind on the episode review. Apologies to all the Kimetsu no Yaiba fans who were looking forward to reading my rants.

Alright! Onto the good things.

I havent read the source material and Im happy to keep it that way. This episode felt a lot like putting a bag of popcorn in the microwave. Were about two minutes in and the bag is still popping. There was no time to mourn Yushiro losing his head and there was no time to take in all the information we received. I had a brief moment of horror when he was decapitated: Why would we get such an interesting character just to have him die five minutes into his screen time? Well, who knew his head would grow back so quickly and gruesomely? Ew. Either I forgot only demon slayer blades could really destroy a demon or I just havent witnessed anything similar in my lifetime of watching anime.

All that aside, Im a big fan of Muzans underlings. Theyre much more interesting than the past few demons Tanjirous fought and theyre much more powerful. Susamaru with her temari balls working alongside Yahaba with his directional arrows are foes I wouldnt want to reckon with. They fight in tandem so well it really is difficult to grasp theyd met just minutes before heading into battle. They have such a voracious hunger to kill Tanjirou, I couldnt blame Tanjirou for chopping Yahabas head off.

It looks like Muzan also has a warrant out for Tamayos head. We have yet to truly understand her background and her true relationship with Muzan Kibutsuji but Im sure well discover more as the season progresses. In addition to this new set of information, we learn of Yushiros Blood Demon Arts ability which he calls Blindfold Technique. We also learn of his ability to conceal not only objects but himself, and we discover that Susamaru and Yahaba make up only two of the twelve demons directly (and most closely) related to Muzan by blood. And lastly, we learn of Nezukos biggest weakness: her inability to heal as quickly as other demons. This is, I assume, a direct result of her continuing on without intaking any human blood. This issue will be a difficult one to overcome by both Nezuko and Tanjirou. Theyll have to ensure she doesnt get hurt during battles.

All in all, it was a clever and extremely well animated battle. We learned a little more about Tamayo, a little more about demons regenerative abilities, and even a little about the politics surrounding Muzan and his Twelve Demon Moon generals. And it was entertaining to boot! Even in the midst of battle, there are spurts of snark and comedic tones between Tanjirou and Yushiro, a sure sign of their upcoming friendship.

Is anyone concerned about Yushiros stalker-like love for Tamayo though? Hes definitely letting out some creepy vibes. I guess it just makes him that much more loyal. He was a little annoying at first but I like it when he breaks his cool. Could it be Ive finally found my crush for this spring season? Ill let you know after a few more episodes.