For the first time since the series started airing, I’ve finally caught up with Demon Slayer!
Season 4’s arc was dedicated to the Swordsmith Village, and I have a thing or two to say about the overall quality … but before that, how would I rank all the episodes?
You can check out some of my related blog posts below:
OK
11 – Yoriichi Type Zero (Ep 2)
There’s always one Demon Slayer episode per season (usually the second episode) that feels filler and has some cringy comedy, and this season continued that unwanted trend.
“Yoriichi Type Zero” was all about Tanjiro training with the ancient dummy, and my investment in the season had never been lower. Stop with the cringy jokes / animation and get back to the good stuff!
Good
10 – A Sword from Over 300 Years Ago (Ep 3)
“A Sword from Over 300 Years Ago” picks up right where Episode 2 left off … with the cool new sword being taken away. Great. I know it was to build tension for the final showdown, but it was a hell of an anticlimax.
What wasn’t anticlimactic, however, was Upper Four suddenly attacking the Swordsmith Village. His immense power is on display immediately, and I loved the chaos they teased for the next episode.
9 – Awful Villain (Ep 7)
The second half of the season was starting to pick up steam, but “Awful Villain” put things on hold for a little bit.
The Hatred Demon is a cool addition, Haganezka keeps working despite his injuries, and Muichiro saves a boy after heeding Tanjiro’s words. All good stuff, but none of it really stood out.
8 – Someone’s Dream (Ep 1)
The first episode of the season started with a bang – the Upper Rank Demons meeting in the Infinity Castle had incredible atmosphere and animation, and was possibly the highlight of the whole season.
The rest of “Someone’s Dream”, however, was a bit boring. Tanjiro trains and reaches the village but nothing much happens, but at least the dream of an ancestor (I think) was a cool narrative hook.
This’ll be a huge nitpick, but why wasn’t Tanjiro treated as a hero during his rest in the Demon Slayer Corps? Defeating Upper Six was made out to be a huge, once-in-a-lifetime accomplishment at the end of last season, but the Corps act like Tanjiro and friends just killed another simple demon. I know there wasn’t enough time in the episode for a full parade, but give the man some credit …
7 – Love Hashira Mitsuri Kanroji (Ep 10)
“Love Hashira Mitsuri Kanroji” was a good episode full of great action, but I was a little disappointed not to have my socks blown off by the penultimate episode of the season.
It focuses mainly on Mitsuri’s backstory, which I thought was the weakest of the bunch. It wasn’t bad, don’t get me wrong, but when compared to the two other heart-breaking tales of brotherly-love-gone-sour Mitsuri’s felt quite tame in comparison.
Great
6 – Thank You, Tokito (Ep 4)
Season 4 was chugging along nicely, and I was expecting a couple more episodes of character building before the action kicked off … so it blew my mind when the Emotions Demons began their devastating attack in the fourth episode.
The two other stand-out moments are Muichiro saving the boy and Genya’s gun – the latter of which is the kind of ridiculousness I can get behind.
5 – Aren’t You Going to Become a Hashira? (Ep 6)
“Aren’t You Going to Become a Hashira?” had the tough job of following a fantastic episode, but I liked how they focused on Genya.
His backstory is both intriguing and horrifying, and his sacrifice at the very end was heart-breaking (although it’s revealed to be a fake-out, but I enjoyed it nonetheless).
4 – Mist Hashira Muichiro Tokito (Ep 9)
Demon Slayer follows the predictable format of Tanjiro growing stronger and eventually being the one to fell the mighty demon, so I loved how Muichiro got to be the one to kill the big baddie.
His physical and verbal fight with Upper Five, including the demon’s true form emerging, was lots of fun, and Mitsuri saving Tanjiro was a great end to a solid episode.
3 – The Mu in Muichiro (Ep 8)
There’s an argument to be made that Muichiro’s backstory is too similar to Genya’s, but that didn’t stop me from absolutely loving the narrative in “The Mu in Muichiro”.
It’s fascinating to see what made the quiet Hashira into the man he is now, and the reveal that he and Tanjiro are distant relatives (maybe? It’s a little unclear) sent my mind into overdrive.
Amazing
2 – Bright Red Sword (Ep 5)
“Thank you, Tokito” teed-up the Upper Demons’ attack on the village, and the following episode “Bright Red Sword” knocked it out of the park.
Mitsuri saves the village chief, Muichiro faces Upper Five, and Tanjiro uses Nezuko’s blood to create a flaming sword and takes down multiple demons at once in the slickest, most stylish action set piece in the season.
1 – A Connected Bond: Daybreak and First Light (Ep 11)
Demon Slayer finales always go all-out in the action department, and “A Connected Bond: Daybreak and First Light” was no exception. It might not have been as strong as previous finales, but I still had a blast.
Tanjiro uses Thunder Breathing to sprint (which was cool but a little out of nowhere), he uses the ancient sword to kill Upper Four, and Nezuko burns in the daylight – the fake-out death annoyed me a little, but I’m excited for what that future storyline has in store.
What made this episode the best of the season, I think, was Muzan’s section right at the end. His raged-fuelled outburst is gloriously bloody, and we finally got the backstory for one of anime’s most fearsome foes. Bring on Season 5!
Season Rating: B
I enjoyed the Swordsmith Village Arc, but it was a sizeable step down from the Entertainment District Arc. Having two Hashira meant Mitsuri felt under-developed and unnecessary, and I can’t believe I’m going to say this – I actually missed Inosuke and Zenitsu. You’ll never hear me say that again.
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