Is it just going to be a running gag until the very end of the series that Tanjiro & crew just…cannot keep their swords in one piece? Is every arc gonna end with an increasingly ludicrous reaction to Tanjiro needing a new blade? Am I going to have to stop reading after each arc just so I can properly prepare to be hunched over in laughter?
Yes. Thank you. May I have another?
Cover by Koyoharu GotougeWritten and Illustrated by Koyoharu Gotouge
Translated by John Werry
English Adaptation by Stan!
Lettered by John HuntThe battle against the powerful sibling demons Gyutaro and Daki is not going well. Although finally able to fight alongside Tanjiro against the monsters, Zenitsu, Inosuke and even the Hashira Tengen Uzui may all be overwhelmed. Battling even one of Lord Muzan’s Twelve Kizuki is hard enough — can Tanjiro face two of them alone?
Before we get that, however, Gotouge has to bring the Entertainment District Arc into the station with an absolutely white-knucked, desperate, last-minute win for our heroes and a ton of reversals of fortune, followed up by Tanjiro proving once again why he’s our hero by empathizing with Gyutaro & Daki/Ume played up against the reveal to the audience of who these demons were before they became infused with Kibutsuji’s blood. Taking up all of volume 11, it’s primarily a fight that’s handled with Gotouge’s usual aplomb and narrative weight. There are moments of levity, usually at the expense of Inosuke, Tanjiro & Zenitsu, some near experiences thanks to repeated stabbings by the demons, and a few long-term plot hooks which get teased out, such as the fire scar suddenly appearing on Tanjiro when he’s burning fumes.
I’m a little annoyed that chapters 96 & 97 throws my theory about not getting empathetic with the upper rank demons out the window but I’m glad I was wrong in the general. What Gyutaro & Ume represent – rage against a world which mistreated them for being poor and/or ugly and taking power where they could – is far more interesting than them just being another power for power’s sake character. Plus, seeing how being demons for so long twisted them to the point that, when defeated, they even forgot the familial bonds & love that sustained them as humans makes their ending that much more tragic. It also makes me far more curious as to what the other Kizuki have forgotten and what originally motivated Kibutsuji.
I was more luke-warm on this arc before but this climax was truly excellent at keeping the stakes high without them getting out of hand and making every change in upper hand feel earned. Anytime Gyutaro or Ume turned things around and beat down Tengen or Hinatsuru or Tanjiro or Inosuke, it was devastating and I couldn’t put the volume down for fear of not knowing how they’d get out of it. And, like, of course I know they’re going to win but the cost is unknown. Will Tengen bite the bullet? Will Inosuke or Zenitsu? What permanent damage will Tanjiro or Nezuko suffer? These were all questions I held and could not shake.
Moreover, Gotouge knows how to use the consequences our heroes face as proof of their growth. Tengen & Inosuke survive thanks to Nezuko’s greater grasp of her blood demon art, and they all survive thanks as well to Inosuke & Zenitsu’s level up in power and greater ability to work as a team, to Hinatsuru’s skills as a ninja, and to Tanjiro’s slow mastery of mixing of the various breathing arts and fucking relentless nature. However, Tengen & Inosuke still almost die of poison & blood loss, Tengen loses his hand, the town is destroyed, many innocents still died, Tanjiro nearly dies like three times and only lives on through sheer force of will, and Zenitsu gets a little scraped up.
I continue to appreciate how Gotouge takes the time to show how these fights lay our crew low and lets the after fight, and after “empathy with the demons,” chapter(s) be low-stakes and focused entirely on recovery. It gives a sense that these are still people and that the injuries sustained in battle aren’t superficial. It also lets Gotouge let loose with the comedy and up the antics without it feeling out of place. There’s even a honey badger so you know I’m all in.
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It was also a good choice to have the two chapters which focus on the Upper Rank Kizuki being toxic with each other come in between the end of the fight and the aforementioned rest one which, as it turns out, is chapter 100! What a great, low key way to ring in triple digits.
At least it is, before the demons attack.
Yes, just when you think we’re getting another training arc, which we technically do get from chapters 100-105, it’s actually just the lead-in to another demon attack, this time on the village of the swordsmiths. This village, which is supposed to be so secret that Tanjiro had to have his eyes, ears, and nose plugged while ferried by a chain of people who only know short segments of a route which is constantly changing, gets found less than a week after Tanjiro shows up; either they really messed up or the demons are now just that determined after the death of two more of their own.
It’s actually a great set-up because, much like Tanjiro, the young swordsmith Kotetsu, the two Hashira that are there – Muishiro Tokito (Shoto with Eraserhead’s aesthetic) and Mitsuri Kanroji (Nejire with Mt. Lady’s *aesthetic*) – and the final member of Tanjiro’s “Wow, I didn’t get murdered on a spooky mountain” class Genya “King Explosion Murder” Shinazugawa, the audience is also caught completely off guard by their arrival.
By having us spend time with these characters without the expectation of a mission, we can see them as people first and see the cracks & faults between them as well as how those cracks might be filled. Genya is hot-headed in a different way from Inosuke while Tokito doesn’t give other people’s feelings much thought. Mitsuri is a bit flighty but that belies a strong understanding of others & the world they live in while Kotetsu & Haganezuka are both very prideful swordsmiths who aren’t the greatest at communication.
Rather than having to filter all that through how it will help them defeat or discover the latest demon, we get to meet them on their own terms. The conflicts are no less compelling than if there were life or death stakes and the humor Gotouge’s infuses bolsters their arcs and personalities rather than clashing with them. Kotetsu wants to protect the swordsman automaton because it’s important to him and the clan and they’ve long since lost the knowledge of how it was built, but he also wants it to be used with care, which is not something Tokito will do. Thus, motivated by spite and because Tanjiro is just that good of a boy, he helps Tanjiro train with the doll. The catch is that he’s an awful teacher just like Tanjiro!
He’s got the skill to identify Tanjiro’s weaknesses but not the skill to actually get him to improve and Gotouge presents this to us not as a serious problem but as a comedy of errors that, at the end, resolves in a completely earnest way that feels earned and meaningful in addition to having a punchline. It’s masterful and I know I praise it every time but I cannot get over just how damn well the humor is used! It’s character-based, rarely mean spirited, and never out of place. Whenever there’s a gag, it’s not an aside but rather integral to the overall message and that levity is essential to keeping the flow of “Demon Slayer” going.
Now, how much levity will remain in the next couple volumes is up in the air. I’ll save my thoughts on the gross jar demon & the Flea Man demon who’s actually two(????) for next time in volumes 13 &14, mostly because the splitting into two has yet to be explained and understanding that part of “Demon Slayer” continues to elude me. I love you “Demon Slayer” but damn if I have no idea how any of the demon shit works.
