Review of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Entertainment District Arc

Have we peaked already? At least we did it in a FLASHY WAY! So at this point we should wonder whether Demon Slayer will stand the test of time, and I'm afraid the answer is No, but I'll get to that later on. The Entertainment District Arc continues our firmly established heroes on their path and is probably the pinnacle of Demon Slayer both now, and I predict will continue to stay that way in the future. I'm not sure why anyone would be watching at this point if they didn't enjoy the character design, but if you do then you will be very happy becausewe get a lot of fun moments with our protagonists. Saying that Zenitsu and Inosuke are comic relief doesn't do them justice. Without them Tanjiro would be exposed as a fairly dull MC that doesn't have a single unique thing about him (that happens next season). The other characters we get are decent enough but it must be said that in 11 episodes there is simply not enough screentime given to anyone else to really make the audience care about them. As usual we get dribs and drabs that are meant to set up an emotional payoff, and while I think it worked in the Mugen Train Arc it was far less effective in this one, and begs the question 'Do we really need something like that to happen every 10 episodes', or if that is even sustainable, and again the answer to both of these is No.

So what else is there to say about this season? Honestly not much. Of course, the animation, the visuals, the fight scenes, that continues to deliver just as strongly. The sound quality and OST even seem to pick up a bit, so it's not a stretch to say that this anime is a treat for the senses just as a shonen should be. In all honesty a lot of reviews (including this one) maybe miss the point of this being a shonen and intended for audiences that don't always care about plot holes, but that could also be a disservice to the intelligence of the audience, and I think the demographic tends to skew older anyway, but I digress. The point is that this anime is not a masterpiece, and it never will be. It still has a chance to achieve staying power and become a classic, but this narrative is on very bad footing. It's not enough to just retread the beaten paths and hope to become a classic in anime like its predecessors. As I said before, there is absolutely nothing unique about this protagonist, this show, this story, the setting, etc. At the end of the day it amounts to fast food which satisfies you in almost every way while you're consuming it (as long as you don't think too much about what you're consuming), but how you feel afterwards could be anywhere from great to terrible.

As a fan of the show there is actually a lot to be excited about with this series, and I haven't read the manga so I have no idea, but the potential could already be spoiled at this point. The beauty of this show and the writing seem to hint at something deeper, but the execution and explanation leaves us a bit lost and that's not going to be forgiven by the audiences forever.