“After a series of mighty clashes with Upper Rank Demons, the Ubuyashiki clan prepares for one last battle with the hellish forces of Muzan Kibutsuji. In order to finally defeat the Demon leader once and for all, the clan devises a training camp for the Demon Slayer Corps, one led by the remaining Hashira—the most elite warriors in the organization. Each Hashira forms a specialized exercise that will hone both their own abilities and the skills of the ordinary soldiers.
Tanjirou Kamado, a boy at the heart of the brewing conflict, recovers from wounds received in a recent fight. While his half-Demon sister Nezuko is studied by researchers like Shinobu Kochou, Tanjirou embarks to train with the Hashira, seeking mastery in each of their assigned areas of expertise to be best prepared for the coming war—skills vital to Tanjirou, as he has vowed to be the very warrior who will eliminate Muzan for good.” – MAL Synopsis
– Genres: Action, Supernatural
After a pretty disappointing last arc, I was hoping Demon Slayer would come out of the gates swinging for this season and, in some ways; it did. This wasn’t the most action packed season, but there was a fair share of character development, plot development and, of course, amazing fights to go along with it. This season isn’t perfect, but it is the prelude to something amazing.
The first episode was great. I’m always down for more Hashira meetings and it’s clear that the blow of losing two (two of the strongest) Hashira in such a short time frame is a heavy one. But there’s been a lot of new developments, and Muzan and all demon activity has been quiet, so it’s time for a training arc to take advantage of that downtime. But with the dwindling numbers, that means some retired hashira are also stepping in to help (sign me up for more Uzui all day). I like how the training was handled. Nothing was too drawn out and honestly, other than a few training sessions, they all flew by pretty quick in a lot of instances, but it was fun. We got to see more glimpses into the hashira that we’ve already met and learn about some that we haven’t dived deep into. The stone hashira was interesting, but Giyu’s backstory stole the show early on.
I love how Giyu’s personal baggage and backstory really throw back to things that he had said and things that we’ve seen way back in season one. He has always felt like an outcast in regards to the hashhira and learning that it’s self imposed because he feels unworthy and that he feels like he got his best friend [Sabito] killed during the exams really hits. Tanjiro is one of my favorite protagonist just by way of his ability to genuinely empathize with people around him. And when he realizes that Sabito is the ghost that helped him during his training and how old he would be today, it just all clicks with him and he just says the right things. Giyu has always been the cool cold character, but the depth given to him and seeing a silly side of him was very welcome. I also think it’s very sweet that his current robe’s pattern is half his, half Sabito’s.
Speaking of Tanjiro, he continues to be an amazing protagonist. Inspiring the lower ranked demon slayers by just his sheer work ethic, ability and niceness. He even turned into the group parent cooking for everyone.
For 7 of the 8 episodes its just training and seeing glimpses of the corp being spied on by Muzan and the biwa girl and it quickly became very apparent to me that Muzan was storing all the demons in the Infinity Castle and was waiting to strike while they looked for Nezuko. And seeing how episode 8 ended, they got half of what they wanted.
Rewinding for a bit. The two biggest reveals of the season are that demon slayers can grow a mark if they survive the conditions of a dire moment and after the first marked person appears (the first one would be Tanjiro). It is a symbol of the first swordsmen and his comrades who fought Muzan and I’m assuming it is like a power boost but the fate of those who get marked is left vague, but I assume it has something to do with death or shorten life spans. That will probably be revealed soon.
The other big reveal (maybe this was hinted at earlier but I may have forgotten) was that Ubuyashiki and Muzan are related thinly. Muzan’s demonic transformation thousands of years ago put a curse on his bloodline and makes the born children very weak and frail, which in turn led to them seeking out help from priests and marrying priestesses to help their bloodline survive. Which is very interesting and adds to how much hatred and connection Ubuyashiki has with Muzan.
That connection between the two is very interesting and let me just say, the end of episode 7 and beginning of 8, Muzan has so much aura, it’s crazy. Just a slow-mo of him walking through the misty barrier towards Ubuyashiki was chilling. Ubuyashiki really got a lot of heavy characterization in his final moments. While he is kind, loving, and deeply loved by those under him, he has one life mission that is his families only mission and that is to erase the stain that is Muzan and he would do anything to make that happen, which includes working with a demon (Tomayo), which includes killing himself and his family just to give the Hashira a sliver of a chance. Its very dark and noble in a twisted way.
So Yeah, this season was a step up from last season. Very fast paced, but it was clearly a setup for the endgame and a lot of pieces are in place, but there are also questions that need to be answered. Zenitsu got a letter and has been locked in since. Muzan never found Nezuko’s location, which means she’s most likely outside of the Infinity Castle. I’m excited to see the marks manifest and who they manifest on. What few action scenes we got this season were gorgeous as always, so it will be at the very least a visual treat experiencing this upcoming trilogy of movies. I’m super excited.
Demon Slayer: Hashira Training Arc – 8/10
