Kimetsu no Yaiba S3 Anime Review 48/100

Another year, another season of Kimetsu no Yaiba. As what is most likely the most popular, and profitable, current Shounen series being produced, it’s no surprise Kimetsu no Yaiba got a 3rd season. The thing probably prints money. So you would expect at least some of that money to make its way back into the series, either in the form of grander visuals, longer schedules, larger time frames, better writing, etc. Yet the sad truth is that we don’t appear to be getting any of that. In fact it appears to me that this 3rd season, Kimetsu no Yaiba: Swordsmith Village, is the worst season we’ve got yet. Why could that be? It’s still directed by Haruo Sotozaki, still animated by Ufotable, and the original story still Koyoharu Gotouge. So why then is this the least excited I’ve ever been for the series? Let’s dive in and find out, but before you go on, which demon slayer hashira are you?

Be warned, this review contains major unmarked spoilers for Kimetsu no Yaiba Seasons 1/2 and minor unmarked spoilers for Season 3. It also contains major Season 3 spoilers in some sections however these will be heavily marked to avoid accidents.

Visuals

Starting from the top, how does this season’s visuals compare to the previous? Well I’ll just come out and say it: This season is a step down. In fact I would go so far as it call it the least visually engaging season of them all. Oh sure, there are still some rather nice highs as Yaiba brings in the flame effects of the Hinokami Kagura, as well as some nice animation in places. But the overall aesthetic of the show feels like a step down. And I think a lot of that has to do with one thing: The location. Season 2 took place in an entertainment district. Even at night it was filled with bright lights and colors, it was engaging to look at and made for a beautiful backdrop to a fun fight. But this season? It’s just a dark and dingy forest.

This isn’t to say dark forests can’t be visually engaging. Season 1 of Kimetsu no Yaiba pulled it off well enough with the Lower 6 by bathing a lot of scenes in soft moonlight, or using the colors of the characters attacks to offset the monotony of the forest. Season 3 doesn’t have either of those however. In fact I would go so far as to say that most of the attack effects are an active detriment to the series. Say what you will about Tokito, and I will say plenty later, but the visuals provided by his Mist Breathing just do not translate well into Ufotable’s CGI after effects heavy style. It ends up looking like noise on the screen, the color blending into the dim forest rather then contrasting it. This causes all of his scenes to end up feeling dull and emotionless.

But of course it takes 2 to tango, so while some of the heroes effects might be lacking the villains surely make up for it right? Well in some ways, yes. Kimetsu no Yaiba’s CGI has come a long way from the days of the Tentacle Train, with a lot of the effects used by the villains looking great. I assume you’ve seen some of the demon fish or wood dragon heads from the trailer or OP? Well those only get better and better as the season goes on, which is worthy of praise. Beyond those however, the choreography of these fights simply doesn’t match up to what we got in Season 2. They end up feeling very static a lot of the time, with character standing around and launching ranged attacks, with a few exceptions for when Tanjiro goes off of course.

Luckily there are two saving graces to all of this for Kimetsu no Yaiba: Kanroji and the finale. I have a lot of issues with Kanroji’s character, but her contributions to Yaiba’s visual spectacle is not one of them. I would say, personally, that she has some of the best cuts of the arc. Her ballet like acrobatics, the flowing movements of her sword, the little pink flashes to reflect her primary color. Whatever you think of her character, she makes any scene she’s in more interesting to watch, at least on a visual level. It’s a shame then that she’s not present for 80% of the show. It doesn’t matter how good she is if she’s never used after all.

And as for the finale? This is almost entirely due to the way dawns first light contrasts the dark and dismal forest. It’s a nice change of pace that I wasn’t expecting, but ends up making for a setting we really don’t get to see all that often in Yaiba. Typically the sun is for happy fun times while the darkness is for hunting demons. And that makes sense, that’s how their power works. But it’s important to try new things and this was a pleasant surprise. Sadly that isn’t enough to make up for all of the disappointments in the season. And that’s sort of what I would say about the season as a whole. It doesn’t matter how good Ufotable can get if they never actually use it properly.

Narrative

Similar to the visuals, Kimetsu no Yaiba’s narrative takes a downturn this season, both structurally and content wise. The big issue structurally is that it feels like Yaiba has absolutely no idea how to pace itself or handle tone. There is absolutely no artistry or effort put into figuring out where place scenes in relation to each other. Have a serious and important scene of a demon torturing someone or killing others? Let’s shove a joke right after it, complete with chibi animations! These things can work obviously, they worked in previous seasons. But you need to lead into them a bit better, maybe have some banter to slowly transition, or cut to a different scene that’s a bit lighter before cutting back and shifting to the comedy. And nowhere is this more obvious then with how Yaiba handles flashbacks.

Simply put, the way Kimetsu no Yaiba handles flashbacks is nothing short of horrendous. Not only are they numerous and placed perfectly to absolutely annihilate any tension in a fight, most of them aren’t even that good! Ranging from your standard tragic “My entire family got killed” to “I want to find a husband”, they always feel horribly out of place and are never particularly interesting. They take up like 10 minutes of an episode and teach you nothing you didn’t already know about the character or couldn’t have figured out from a small scene a quarter in length. Compare it to say… Uzui in Season 2, who we learned about primarily through his internal musings and interactions with other characters, like the Hashira. It feels like a step down in every way.

Overall the story of this arc just feels like… Filler? Unimportant and unnecessary? There’s nothing here that’s thematically relevant to the plot, it just exists to make us think that the Demons are starting to proactively attack the Demon Slayers. But this was something we had all the way back in the Mugen Train movie with Akaza. There’s also the finale I suppose, but for what little promise that held Yaiba ended up shooting itself in its own foot there (If you want to know more I talk about it, spoiled, later). Add on to that how 2 Upper Rank demons are apparently having a harder time then a single Upper Rank of higher number and you get a season that I doubt anyone will remember by the time Season 4 comes around. And sadly, in case it wasn’t obvious, the characters aren’t any better.

Characters

Suffering from many of the same issues as the narrative, this seasons batch of new character feel rather… underwhelming. Some are nice. Kanroji is perhaps the best of the bunch, being the most emotive and flashy. She at least has a fun personality, which is more then can be said for the others. Her only failing is that her design looks like someone ate a watermelon and then threw up on the page. Meanwhile Genya is an interesting addition to the cast who adds the most to Yaiba’s narrative with his… condition. As for our leads, Tanjiro is the only one present for this arc meaning we are spared Zenitsu’s presence, a pleasant surprise. But that’s really it as far as the positives are concerned. No one else this season makes anything even resembling an impact.

Tokito? The guy is a blank slate for most of the season. He has no emotions beyond a small bit of repressed rage by the end, making about as bland as his Mist Breathing looks. This is compounded by a rather lackluster case of Amnesiac Hero where he remembers nothing and we are drip fed bits and pieces throughout his fight. His opponent, an Upper Moon? Nothing but a generic super sadist who gets off on pain and torturing others. The guy didn’t even get a flashback, in Kimetsu no Yaiba a show all about flashbacks, that’s how unimportant he was. The other Upper Moon? Marginally better, if only by virtue of having more mouths to talk and expound with. Compare these to Uzui, or even Gyuutarou and Daki, all of whom had more going on with them in less time.

It’s a real shame because it’s not like these characters didn’t have potential. Take Tokito and have him emote a bit, maybe seed his backstory across the entire season rather then shoving it into a flashback, make him have a role model other then Jesus “Tanjiro” Christ, he could have been interesting. The Upper Five is a similar deal. Really lean into the artist shtick and his obsession with it, use it to play up the difference between giving up and becoming a demon vs the indomitable human spirit like was done with Akaza vs Rengoku. It’s actually such an easy line to follow I’m shocked Kimetsu no Yaiba hasn’t done it more. It just feels like a lot of missed opportunities considering the setting and contents of the arc, ultimately leaving none of the characters particularly memorable.

OST

With that we come to something I can finally be positive about, the OST. Sadly this OST has yet to be officially released so I can’t give you specific tracks as examples. Still, composed jointly by Yuki Kajiura and Gou Shiina, you should know what you’re getting inti and it should come as no surprise that there is a degree of quality to it. The motifs are great, the heroes sound suitably heroic, the demons sinister and evil. In particular the vocal tracks stand out as head and shoulders above everything else. It’s all very… consistent. And by this point in their careers? A little uninspired. Don’t get me wrong, Yuki Kajiura is a fantastic composer. But it feels like she’s been repeating the same sound, the same style for music, for the last 20 years. If you like that style, which I do, then great! If not? There’s nothing new here.

Overall with Yaiba’s OST, I would say it continues to have the same standard level of quality and type of sound it’s had since Season 1. Nothing in it “wows” or particularly impresses, but it also doesn’t sound bad. It’s just more of the same. And if you liked that same, then great! You’ll have a good time here with it. If not? Don’t expect to be buying any of the OSTs when they release.

Circling the Drain

With that we come to what I call the “Personal Section” of this review. Basically I’m just going to ramble a bit, talk about my personal experience with a show and try to give you a window into who I am so that you can better understand where I’m coming from with everything I’ve just talked about. If that doesn’t interest you then feel free to skip. This is mostly going to be me bemoaning Yaiba’s wasted potential. If you are interested though then read on! Oh, and be forewarned: This is a no-holds-barred spoiler section. So if you haven’t watched the season either don’t read it, or don’t yell at me.

So where to begin… I suppose I can start by saying that I actually had a lot of hope for Yaiba when it started. Back in Season 1, when it first released, I felt like there was a passion, a genuine desire to take the classic Shounen trappings and make something… Maybe not new, but earnest. That wasn’t just a cash grab. Hell you can go read my review on it, it’s still on this site and still a good representation of what I enjoyed about it. And then Season 2 came about, and it was still for the most part there. Felt a bit rushed in places narratively, some things could have been better, but the structure was there and the paint job from Ufotable looked great! But now we come to Season 3 and it’s just… It’s actively getting worse.

The heroes are losing what made them unique, such as Tanjiro’s empathy and clear desire not to kill another living being even a demon getting replaced with a murderous fury. However just it is, it feels out of place on him after the previous seasons. Similarly the villains are losing that tragic and unhealthy relationship with Muzan where he takes these people at their lowest point and twists them into the monsters they become. He used to be like a drug dealer, keeping everyone on a short leash with their dependency. Now he’s more like your stereotypical monster, though that voice is still pretty sexy. You can see it in just how lazy the characterization for these demons are, with the Upper Five and Upper Four having less personality then some random shmucks we’ve met! And as a fan of the show… That sucks.

And here’s the thing, I don’t want to blame the author, Koyoharu Gotouge, to much. Because I believe he is falling prey to something that has claimed many many manga before his. That is currently in the process of claiming My Hero Academia, and previously claimed even acclaimed series such as Bleach: Burnout. The schedule of a popular mangaka, writing and drawing for a deadline every week, trying to be ambitious and tell the story you want to tell but not having the time our resources to do it because the machine that is Weekly Shounen Jump must be fed. The inevitable dip in quality as you struggle to stay afloat and keep your editor, your readers, happy. Only to find you can’t. And sadly, there’s really nothing Ufotable can do about it. We can get flashy action in a lot of places. You can’t put lipstick on a pig.

What makes it hurt the most is that you can see the good ideas. The Upper Five had potential, his interactions with Haganezuka, his refusal to accept he was being surpassed as an artist, was the most interesting he was all season! Yaiba could easily have turned that into another reflection of the idea that becoming a demon is to give up while to stay human, to face your mortality and walk forwards anyways, is to progress. This idea that started with Rengoku and Akaza, that continued with every backstory of Muzan tempting someone to their doom. And it could have worked! Instead we got nothing. The same goes for Tokito being an amnesiac and suddenly having a brother just to have “Muh tragic backstory”. Or Kanroji and her desire to find people that love her for her and not something she isn’t. It’s all there! And Yaiba does nothing with it.

Perhaps the most egregious example of all comes in the season finale. Tanjiro, Jesus Christ himself, has a moral quandary. And in his eyes? He failed. He chose his sister over the lives of civilians. Imagine him living with the weight of that for the rest of the show? Or the weight of his sister being scarred by the sun after kicking him away to go do the right thing? There could have been consequences, beautiful consequences, for killing 2 of the most powerful demons in the entire country. Instead… Instead Nezuko is immune to the single greatest weakness any demon has. She’s perfectly fine. There are no consequences. And it’s that kind of toothless writing that makes me question if this is the same guy who killed Rengoku, who took Uzui’s arm and ended his career, who offed Tanjiro’s family. It just feels… disappointing.

Conclusion

Basically what I’m saying is that, all in all? This season of Kimetsu no Yaiba was a let down. Was it fun? Did I still get to see demons die and some cool effects work? Yeah, sure. If all you want is some stupid fun without any of the heart that made it special when it first started then I’m sure this season will be fine for you. But if, like me, you want, no you expect, something more from Yaiba? Then you’re probably in for a disappointment. Because no amount of poor mist effects or First Person CGI forest running is going to make this season anything more then a forgettable, mediocre pit-stop on our way to kill Muzan. I suppose we should count ourselves lucky it wasn’t a total loss, eh?