Kimetsu no Yaiba S2 – 9 [Infiltrating the Entertainment District]

Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of Kimetsu no Yaiba! Last week kicked off our new content but this week is what sold me on it. I have a lot of positive things to say so lets jump right in.

First the obvious: Kimetsu no Yaiba look good. I normally have a lot to say about Ufotable’s dependency on post-processing and after-effects, not all of it positive. They actually really over due it at times if I’m being frank. Just look at some of the recent Heaven’s Feel movies. But that very same love of after-effects and lighting lends itself really well to the nightlife of the entertainment district. The glow of the lanterns contrasting with the night sky, the colorful yukata, makeup and accessories everyone is wearing. I think it’s really nice, a veritable treat after the CGI tentacle fest of the last arc where the only light came from the train! That the entire arc is going to take place here is exciting and I’m looking forward to whatever bombastic fight they have planned.

As for the characters, lets start with Uzui. You may remember that I was apprehensive about him last week. I found his womanizing and arrogance to be off putting. This week though he’s really grown on me. I like what he brings to the dynamic! The way he bounces off everyone, this air of supreme confidence and ridiculous arrogance works well. Tanjiro’s earnestness acts as the straight man while Inosuke both encourages his bullshit and acts as a sort of counterbalance with his own antics. They make a great trio! We see all of this multiple times in the episode! From the opening scene to the sequence when Uzui is trying to sell them in town. As you may have noticed though there was one name I left out. One name who, sadly, only displays his worst traits around Uzui.

I am of course talking about Zenitsu. I normally like Zenitsu, or at least tolerate him. He has a lot of potential that Kimetsu no Yaiba is failing to capitalize on. When he’s interacting with Uzui though… everything I hate about him comes out. His creepy, I hate to use the word but its so accurate, “incel-y” behavior is dialed up to 11 around him. It’s like how some internet neckbeards unironically think about “chads”, as if their almost stalkerish behavior is acceptable. It’s a shame because Zenitsu does have some decent scenes, by and large the comedy is done well! I’m talking about stuff like the Shamisen or being the last left to be sold. These jokes work! But the everything around Uzui’s wives just… doesn’t. Zenitsu was just insufferable anytime women came up in conversation. And with Uzui being the “chad” he is, it’ll probably continue.

Getting back to Uzui and the main story, his reasoning for bringing them here makes sense. He needs someone to look around and investigate for him because he sticks out like a sore thumb. Of course that’s due to his own stylistic choices, but those choices are built out of his characters flaws so it’s alright. I also think the whole “courtesan” thing worked well! Each of our 3 leads got their bit, both comedic and serious. From Tanjiro’s scar getting him in trouble and his earnest, hardworking attitude getting him out of it to Inosuke being hot under the terrible makeup Uzui put him in to feeling restricted in the dress. I think all of this works! I like watching these characters deal with these kinds of social situations. Stuff outside of fighting, though that’s always a good time to.

I also think that Kimetsu no Yaiba did a good job thinking everything out. It made a good case for why the district would be a convenient place for demons, what with its hours of activity and amount of traffic. On top of that there’s also the Ashinuke, acting as a good explanation anytime someone happens to go… missing. Whether or not this is a real historical/Japanese term or not I don’t know! I’m sure there’s some kind of phrase for someone breaking their debts though so it works well enough. My only real question/concern is why only now are we coming here? Maybe this is my fault for not knowing proper Japanese history but it seems odd to fight demons for so long and not check this place until now. Especially if you have a base of operations here. Not a big thing, but I did wonder.

This brings me to Makio and what we have to look forward to! Now obviously there’s going to be a fight, everyone knows it, this is a Shounen series. But what kind of fight do you think we have to look forward to? Based on the small scene we get with Makio being captured it looks like the demon has some sort of power of clothing. In a place like the entertainment district, along with the fact that literally everyone has to wear clothes, this seems like a really strong power! Maybe Inosuke, someone who lets be honest probably doesn’t care much for clothing, could prove useful. But what do you think? Has Kimetsu no Yaiba set the arc up well or are there issues I haven’t noticed? Let me know down below!

As for my thoughts all in all I thought this was a pretty good episode. The comedy was largely on point with only Zenitsu falling short and the production was quite pretty. This was a really strong introduction to the arc, much more so than the double length episode we got last week. Hopefully Kimetsu no Yaiba can continue this trend through the rest of the arc and give the time it needs to properly introduce and explore whoever our new antagonist. That we are already meeting them in what is, effectively, 1 episode into the new arc is a good sign I feel. So yeah, I’m looking forward to what is to come.