Welcome everyone to episode 3 of Kimetsu no Yaiba! This week we continue our rewatch of the movie in the long wait until December for new content. So without further ado lets dive in!
This week lets skip the production talk. You know it, I know it, everyone knows it, this is a movie, it looks good. I’ve also already mentioned the pacing issues. So instead lets go right to the crux of the episode: Dreams. I mentioned last week that this was a pretty clever way to explore the characters, and I stand by that. However that’s only true if Kimetsu no Yaiba chooses to engage those characters in that way. And sadly half our cast don’t get that kind of treatment. Both Inosuke and Zenitsu seem to have been relegated to comic relief in this arc and I think that’s a shame. This was the perfect opportunity to expand on both of their characters but Inosuke especially. The guy never talks about himself, he doesn’t really share his personal feelings, and the dream was the perfect opportunity to get around that. It’s a missed opportunity if you ask me.
Moving on to the dreams that matter lets start with Rengoku. I’ve always thought this was a bittersweet dream and tells us a lot about who Rengoku is in a short amount of time. An older brother who keeps up a strong front and bright personality to lead the way for his younger brother. Giving to him something Rengoku no longer has, a loving parental figure. As an older brother myself I found their conversation to be very touching. There is no sugarcoating there, Rengoku doesn’t lie. He speaks the truth, both good and bad, where many others would simply lie to keep them happy. Combine this with the animal original 1st episode and I think it gives us a good idea of who Rengoku is. At the very least he makes a strong impression early on in the season.
Rengoku’s dream also serves a second function: To introduce us to the Spirit Core mechanics. Though if I’m being honest I don’t think there’s much here to “get”. It’s literally just stabbing their soul and killing their mind. I don’t know why Yaiba is trying to obfuscate it like this. Maybe its a translation thing? Whatever the case it’s so minor an issue that it really doesn’t matter. Getting back to Rengoku, we learn about the borders of dreams and what the demons plan is. And all of this takes place in the mind of the character who, as a new introduction, is both expendable and unknown. So there is that “Is he safe” factor combined with “What can he do to stop it”. I think its a decent showing of just how good a Hashira is myself.
This brings me to Tanjiro’s dream which is also… bittersweet. Damn I need a new adjective for that. Uh… Melancholy? Good enough. Back to the dream, I really like this dream in concept. We got less than 10 minutes with Tanjiro’s family all the way back in season 1. Yet they play such a big part in Tanjiro’s motivations and character that I wish we knew them better. So Yaiba choosing to sit down and give us a whole half of an episode dedicated to just… spending time with them? To building up a connection with them again only to remind us of their loss? I think it does a good job of connecting us to Tanjiro and what he is feeling that moment. There are no flashbacks or bloody scenes to spike the adrenaline. Just a sense of looming melancholy as the winds pickup and he says goodbye.
And the thing is, the goodbye scene is really well done. I love the constant temptation of it all. The reminder that this idyllic life isn’t some far flung dream, Tanjiro already had this. He isn’t imaging some make believe future but a past he already lost. And by having Tanjiro recognize that, having him show emotion here rather than stoically turn away, continues to make him feel more human than many of his Shounen counterparts. Yaiba gets a little weird about this when they show his Spiritual Core though. I understand wanting him to be serene and loving, “warm”, as its described. But this feels like a bit much no? It’s almost comical the level of “My god Tanjiro is a perfect saint” that we get out of that scene. Am I alone here? Am I the only one that laughed a bit at that? Let me know below.
Speaking of a bit much, lets talk about SUICIDE fuck yeah. I’ll be honest, I’m up in the air on this. It felt weird in the theaters, and for those who didn’t see you’ll soon find out why, and it feels weird here. I know on an intellectual level that Yaiba isn’t supporting or advocating suicide. But I can’t help but be a little concerned about what the younger audience will take from this. On top of that the whole “waking himself up” thing feels… inelegant? Nezuko rolling out of her box and stuff was cute, don’t get me wrong. I always love our mute princess in a box. But what sets Tanjiro about from say… Rengoku? Why can he figure this out and break the spell but Rengoku can’t? Am I just nitpicking here or did this stick out to anyone else?
Anyways nitpicks and ridiculous concerns about suicide aside, I did enjoy the episode. The only reason I’m even calling these things out is because I’ve had literal months to think about them ever since I saw the movie. I imagine these things don’t even bother a viewer on their initial watch and so I’m not holding them against the episode all that much. But with how negative some parts of that may read let me make this clear: I had fun with Yaiba this week. Or well… maybe not fun, but I had emotions with Yaiba. And I think that’s a pretty good sign not only of my engagement with the show but of the content as well. Please don’t take my ramblings about suicide and freaking… serene lakes as a condemnation. It was good. Now just give me a gif of Nezuko rolling out of that box please.
P.S. I forgot to mention in the Tanjiro rant, but the small hints and mentions to Nezuko in his daily actions were a nice touch. Thinking back I suppose you could see that connection as the difference between him and the others as to why he could break out. Whatever the case, callbacks to how his life has changed despite the actions themselves being similar is good shit. Kaijura’s OST still rocks.
I like Inosuke dream because it showed how far he came. Remember that he is a lone wolf at the start and he is very simple-minded (been raise by boars). The fact that he want to go on adventure with his friends now show that he at least move on from his lone wolf attitude.