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Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (TV + movie) (w/ index).


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smurky turkey



Joined: 30 Jan 2022
Posts: 2040
PostPosted: Mon May 20, 2024 3:38 am Reply with quote
A lot of backstory this week, yet I actually really like how they are telling it. I feel that it is organic to share information about yourself because the big/final fight is upcoming and people will likely die. What demon slayer usually does is have lots of flashbacks in the middle of a fight in order to tell you about a character (usually shortly before they bite the dust) and that formula has gotten a little stale for me.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11415
PostPosted: Mon May 20, 2024 7:17 am Reply with quote
I kept waiting for Tanjirou to tell Giyuu that Sabito had trained him. Is that a forever secret or something? It would have been an interesting scene.
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ACxS



Joined: 03 Aug 2019
Posts: 904
PostPosted: Mon May 20, 2024 7:46 am Reply with quote
2:

Survivor's guilt. Such a classic motive for The Emo.

It's pretty clear that Demon Slayer is a shounen series, so you have your usual array of character archetypes. No reward to guess the kind of archetype Giyuu is, but there is something pleasant I noticed about Demon Slayer: the amount of angst is less than I thought. See, usually The Emo is driven by a lot of angst in a shounen series. Just look at Todoroki from My Hero Academia or Megumi from Jujutsu Kaisen.

Tanjiro was expectedly persistent, but I was expecting Giyuu to put up a lot more resistance. Before I could roll my eyes at Giyuu resisting, he caved in. Sooner than I thought. Personally, I'm not a fan of emo angst so this is a pleasant surprise, actually. Plus, the plot can progress now that that's over. Although I do wonder why Giyuu was selected to become the Water Hashira; is it really out of his merit or because he was the only survivor in the Final Selection?

Kocho is revealing the demon who killed her sister, and how to kill it. This is clearly foreshadowing. I might have heard this somewhere, but I read that the demon is spoiler[Doma.]
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11415
PostPosted: Mon May 20, 2024 9:26 am Reply with quote
ACxS wrote:
Although I do wonder why Giyuu was selected to become the Water Hashira; is it really out of his merit or because he was the only survivor in the Final Selection?

He wasn't the only survivor. Sabito was the only casualty. So I guess it must be his merit!
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smurky turkey



Joined: 30 Jan 2022
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PostPosted: Mon May 20, 2024 9:47 am Reply with quote
Good luck convincing him of that after everything that has happened though.
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ACxS



Joined: 03 Aug 2019
Posts: 904
PostPosted: Mon May 20, 2024 10:07 pm Reply with quote
Gina Szanboti wrote:
He wasn't the only survivor. Sabito was the only casualty. So I guess it must be his merit!

Ah.

Come to think of it, Sabito and Giyuu were students of Urokodaki so it's only logical for the latter to be awarded the Water Hashira title when Sabito was killed. There is some merit to it, I guess.
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Harleyquin



Joined: 29 May 2014
Posts: 2888
PostPosted: Thu May 23, 2024 12:14 am Reply with quote
ACxS wrote:
Ah.

Come to think of it, Sabito and Giyuu were students of Urokodaki so it's only logical for the latter to be awarded the Water Hashira title when Sabito was killed. There is some merit to it, I guess.

The Pillars refer to the strongest corps members who are awarded the title because of their accomplishments, the position is not hereditary. Although many of them have direct disciples (Shinobu and Kanao), not all of them go on to "inherit" the position. Those who did (Kanrouji was Rengoku's disciple) don't necessarily hail from the same school. Sabito did not pass the Final Selection, so there's no "award" if he's never a corps member to begin with.

Giyuu may not think of himself as the Water Pillar, but the fact is he annoys a lot of his peers because the title is officially his even if he doesn't admit it. Not participating with the others hence strikes them as arrogance, rather than an inferiority complex.
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Harleyquin



Joined: 29 May 2014
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PostPosted: Sun May 26, 2024 6:39 pm Reply with quote
#3

It is this episode that decides if casual viewers are going to stick around for longer while this arc continues. Unlike the other arcs, it's nothing but training and there's no action against the demons because they too are busy with information gathering. Although there's more time for exposition, it's gone the other way compared to the previous arc which may or may not sit well with viewers who watch this to see demons get dismembered.

The training is structured in such a way that cadets do not progress until the instructor passes them. Tengen is first up, so he basically does BMT with the grunt corps members until they are passable. The order in which they progress was laid out in the double header, so Tanjirou, having easily proven his fitness, now gets training from the Pillar's resident swordsmanship genius Muichirou.

There's that saying, "loose lips sink ships". That applies even for fictional characters, especially for corps members becoming complacent when their patrols have been quiet for an extended amount of time. Only the inner circle and Tanjirou's immediate comrades are aware of Nezuko's true nature, so the rank and file can't reveal much more to spying eyeballs. Unfortunately, if they are tailed back to their stronghold that is going to be the corps' undoing as the demon numbers mean a concerted attack on them would be fatal if it bogged down to a war of attrition. Too early to tell based on what is shown to judge how consequential that short scene was.

The demons still have the upper hand with logistics because the Biwa demon's space-time manipulation remains undocumented. If Pillars don't know about it after investigation, it shows how far they have to go against Muzan. It also reveals another glaring weakness even amongst the Pillars: a lack of cooperation. Neither of them spoke about their experience to the others and asking even once might have increased their chances of success. Being solitary killers does mean cooperation is not a virtue in this organisation.
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smurky turkey



Joined: 30 Jan 2022
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PostPosted: Mon May 27, 2024 6:30 am Reply with quote
You do not seem to be wrong in that I see people screaming about filler in discussions about this week's episode. I know that the arc is short, so I suppose adding filler makes sense to fill up the episodes a bit. Personally, I don't really mind when the filler adds some more character bonding, especially when it comes to the pillars. The final fight is near, so adding some depth to those heading into a possibly suicidal fight seems like a good choice.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
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PostPosted: Mon May 27, 2024 6:44 am Reply with quote
So let me get this straight: when there's fighting, some people whine because the battles go on too long. Then when there's no fighting people whine that it's "filler." Oi. This show can't win.
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smurky turkey



Joined: 30 Jan 2022
Posts: 2040
PostPosted: Mon May 27, 2024 7:09 am Reply with quote
The big issue for some seems to be that they have added non canon content/filler to pad the short arc out a bit. That seems to be an affront of some sort or other.
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ACxS



Joined: 03 Aug 2019
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PostPosted: Mon May 27, 2024 7:58 am Reply with quote
3:

A straightforward episode where there is nothing for me to comment about. Next!
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
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PostPosted: Mon May 27, 2024 8:40 am Reply with quote
Personally, the only time non-canon stuff would bother me is if it did something that seemed out of character for the show. I haven't read any of the manga (yet) but I wouldn't have had any clue it was non-canon unless somebody told me.
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Beltane70



Joined: 07 May 2007
Posts: 3905
PostPosted: Mon May 27, 2024 8:47 am Reply with quote
Whether it's filler or not, I quite enjoyed this episode. I loved watching Tanjiro effortlessly charge through the training with a big grin on his face! I generally don't mind when they extend what is a short scene in a manga and add to it to fill an episode as long as they do it well. This episode is definitely one of those instances.
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Harleyquin



Joined: 29 May 2014
Posts: 2888
PostPosted: Sun Jun 02, 2024 8:31 pm Reply with quote
#4

Even it wasn't obvious to viewers by now, it should be clear that some segments of this episode are completely original to the adaptation and not at all found in the source material. I won't say which ones as this episode made it quite clear with the distinction between the scenes which are from source and those which are not. As for reception, it's divisive as filler isn't always welcome. On the other hand, this is a training arc and there's only so much that can be said about Tokitou Muichirou drilling the cohorts as mercilessly as possible with Tanjirou easily passing the trial because of his previous combat experience and established relationship with the Pillar.

For a filler episode, it isn't the case that everything portrayed is completely pointless. Tokitou's personal swordsmith is now staying with him to maintain his surprisingly extensive collection of blades, and that expenses are approved and paid for by the Ubuyashiki clan. How many viewers realise the Pillars all have their own mansions with all expenses paid for and extras such as extensions and/or rooms approved without complaint? For a bedridden master with a cursed bloodline, that's serious economic heft to wield for the extinction of an entire enemy species. Not to mention moving entire villages in the supply chain in the event or aftermath of enemy attack at short notice.

Speaking of enemy species, someone got a promotion. For once, Kibutsuji Muzan knows how to pick his subordinates for advancement. The one Oni who doesn't have a quirky personality and is absolutely loyal to the cause gets promoted, and she's the most dangerous by far because she's the queen of logistics and information gathering. She's also doing a fair job at doing her master's bidding, and it's only a matter of time given the sheer number of familiars she's sending out to gather information. Why bother with grunt demons who are easily detected and killed, when a near-invisible spy can get the job done literally under the noses of the Corps?

Nezuko being watched over by Tanjirou's teacher is a minor point, but it's a development as she was previously staying over at Kochou Shinobu's mansion. She might still be, or she's been moved elsewhere with a guard posted on her 24/7. Further developments with her either involve demons, Shinobu, Tamayo or Muzan himself because of the nature of this arc. If it means not having Zenitsu slobber just thinking about her, that's a good thing as he and Inosuke haven't been seen since the first episode with the focus firmly on Tanjirou training with the other Pillars.
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