Forum - View topicSword of the Demon Hunter (TV).
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Edjwald
 Posts: 3505 |
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Sword of the Demon Hunter (TV) Source: Light Novel (completed @14 volumes, written by Moto'o Nakanishi, illustrated by Tamaki) Demographic: Seinen Animation Studio: Yokohama Animation Laboratory Genres: action, adventure, drama, fantasy, mystery, psychological, slice of life, supernatural Themes: dark fantasy, demons, demi-humans, Edo period, gore, Heisei era, historical, non-linear narrative, revenge, superpowers, swordplay, time travel, tragedy, transformations, youkai Plot Summary: Jinta, a bodyguard to a priestess in a remote mountain village, lives during Japan's Edo period. While Jinta is an outsider to the town, he is still tasked with seeking out a demon in the forest on a quest to vanquish it. But upon meeting the demon, it instead tells Jinta of a puzzling and mysterious future. The novels' story spans 170 years from the Edo period to the Heisei period, with the protagonists traveling through space and time while seeking a meaning for why they wield the blade. Air Date & Platform: March 31, 2025 (Monday) Available on: HIDIVE Episode Count / Runtime: 24 episodes [EDIT: Fancy opener stuff edited. -TK] |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 4987 |
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That was a good first (double length) episode. From the second or so minute I could smell the tragedy and things did indeed not end well. I want to say that better communication with Suzune could have avoided the tragic outcome but given how she could not comprehend having done something to upset Jinta humans and demons may simply not be able to really understand one another. I do wonder where things go from here, does the show jump to modern times and stay there with flashbacks of the past? Or maybe a Frieren type adventure as an unaging observer through history?
Anyway, the premise is interesting enough for me to want to see where it goes, the animation is great, the action feels exciting enough and the mc is... well, rather boring to be honest but not annoying or anything. |
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Edjwald
Posts: 3505 |
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Great voice acting, but wow, that was a whole lot of tragedy for a Monday afternoon.
So I guess episode 2 is when the show's going to finally start unveiling its comedy premise, right? At least I learned something from I'm the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire 
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 25599 |
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Episode 1
Wow, colour me impressed. The quickest way to my heart these days is to show some serious story-telling chops and this title is already displaying that out of the gate. I was riveted for the entire 53-ish minutes. It's always interesting when tragedy strikes not just because of some contrived external reason but because of the failings of the protagonists. In this case, the main failing of Jinta was not doing anything about the fact that his adorable little sister was a demon. Boy did that mistake ever come back to bite him on the ass. That bandage covered red eye and not aging should have been a pretty big clues she wasn't human. Sure she was cute as the Dickens, but come on. Interestingly, it was also his and Shirayuki's devotion to what they perceived as their duty over the feelings of their own hearts that also lit the fuse of tragedy. Shoulda eloped, peeps. I also like that the demons are not just simple, "argggh, me be evil" figures. It's stipulated that they all have an individual sense of purpose and when that purpose is fulfilled, they have no problem dying. They are fighting for their survival as a species. One of them who was able to see into the future saw what would happen to them collectively if they did nothing. I have a feeling this is going to be one of my Spring faves. |
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DuskyPredator
 Posts: 15851 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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This is what I was thinking, but also along the lines that I was thinking that it isn't super clear what Suzune's situation was. She wasn't aging and it sounded like knowledge that demon don't age like humans, so did people know that she was a demon? Was she actually integrated with the village that he said treated them well, or was she actually isolated was probably going crazy? Nothing really showed if she was enjoying the life there like he was, or he was possibly ignoring warning signs that she might go over the edge from seeing something that would go against living through him. There is the saying that a child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth. But I don't even know if it applies or not. |
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Animegomaniac
Posts: 4286 |
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Suzune was in love with her brother but she already knew she lost to Shirayuki. So what she did was reinforce her position as the dutiful little sister by negating her growth. I think she had a more adult grasp of the situation than Jinta did.
There is no communication in the world that would fix that situation once Jinta accepted being rejected by Shirayuki. Everybody thought he was being an idiot about it, including Shriyauki and the man she was marrying, the son of the chief. But here's the question: why was Shirayuki ready to initiate sex with her betrothed right then and there? Oh, she wanted to get caught in the act by Jinta, pushing him to say he loves her so they could just elope. Everybody did the right thing the wrong way, in a very neat bit of plotting. Anyways, it was a good movie and I wonder what the first episode will be like. |
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Gina Szanboti
 Posts: 12724 |
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I really liked it, but I had trouble keeping up with the time skips. Like a daytime scene jumps suddenly to night even though it seemed like they were concurrent, and then we suddenly skip ahead a few years with no warning. Since they'd put up year markers twice before, why skip doing it then? I also wanted to know what happened to the previous maiden and sentinel, but they just skipped right past that.
The original shrine maiden and sentinel (I forget their names at the moment) knew she was at least half demon, as they'd both seen her eye. They didn't seem to have a problem with it though. And I thought Suzune seemed to be enjoying her life there, playing with the other kids, and sneaking off to the shrine, and joking around with Shirayuki and Jinta.
Well, fiance came on to her first (which made it seem weird that he got so freaked out when she agreed), but I thought the reason she agreed to it then and there was because Jinta was out killing demons. Any other time, he would've been dutifully hanging out outside guarding her and listening in whether he wanted to or not. So she figured get it over with while he's out and maybe if she's lucky they won't need a second shot at getting her pregnant. |
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Tony K.
 SubscriberModerator  Posts: 12058 Location: Frisco, TX |
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I have a feeling the narrative will jump around a lot like Frieren. The kicker, though, is that this show's plot summary also mentions "traveling through time and space." And with the one demon lady already seeing 170 years into the future, I'm wondering if this will be a mix of: 1) Past, present, and future expositions. 2) Some time travel with their corresponding butterfly effects. 3) The concept of defying fate. 14 light novels is a good amount of content to draw from, and I'm liking the prospect of a supernatural fantasy time travel plot. The one demon guy's "gift" to Jinta was kind of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, I'm guessing Jinta is now part demon, which actually allows him to live into those 170 years, while also giving him a little extra oomph for demon slaying. On the other hand (pun intended), he has to live with all the negative emotions experienced during that fateful night that set everything in motion. Anyway, production-wise, this is pretty good stuff. I'm glad they didn't make the dark scenes (as in low-lit) too dark, and I'm curious if all the time-jumping will also result in different color palettes and lighting to give the overall art style some stark contrasts. The gore isn't too detailed, which I'm totally okay with, as it still gets the effect across without being over-the-top. Although, I wouldn't mind some extra-gory sequences for a demon kill here and there. But overall, a very solid start. Even if they only animate one cour at a time, as long as it can maintain good quality, I'm okay with waiting a few months in-between seasons. Looking forward to the rest. |
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Edjwald
Posts: 3505 |
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In a way, this show is like the opposite of Welcome to Japan Ms. Elf for me. Now, hold on, hear me out. W2JME was perfectly positioned at the end of the working week, a light...I won't say frothy...refreshing little show great for relieving some stress. This show is dark, tragic, bitter, and intense, squatting on a Monday afternoon right at the beginning of the working week when everyone feels tired and at least mildly discouraged.
And of course, I'm going to be watching it anyhow, I just wish it had landed somewhere between Thursday and Sunday . This show is ambitious, and the first episode was well made. Yah, the use of darkness was good, the plotting and editing were excellent, and the pace was weird but weirdly effective...but I meant it when I said the voice acting stood out to me. If I spoke Japanese, I have a feeling that I could have just listened to the audio like a radio show and enjoyed the hell out of it. I will say that it was reassuring when the MC didn't lose control and behead the old geezer who confessed to being at fault after the tragedy went down. It doesn't seem like this is going to be all edgelord, all the time. At the same time, I was a bit disappointed that the MC's demon arm didn't sprout talons and impale the guy. "Oh, so you gave evil a crack to slip through because your son is a piece of shit, and you thought the way to fix that was to abuse your power and make two decent people unhappy for the rest of their life so that you could keep giving your son things he hasn't earned or deserved. Because that's worked so well so far!. What's that? You're going to have to speak up with that punctured lung and all..." Good stuff, even if it is the 100% dark chocolate. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 3443 |
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#1
The source material is highly regarded by its fans, so an adaptation with high expectations riding on it. There was concern that the studio in charge wouldn't be up for the action sequences, but what is shown thus far hasn't been awful. Then again, the action sequences aren't the main focus of this tale, it's the characters and in particular their motivations driving them forward which will take centre stage. The background has a surprising number of similarities with Kimetsu no Yaiba, what with the role of demons as outright villains as well as a brother and sister duo as the protagonists of the tale. The superficial similarities end there, as the double-header hits the ground as a full-blown tragedy which will most likely end in fountains of bloodshed. The sword in question doesn't really play that major a role in the double-header, yet it supposedly has a huge influence on Jinta since the demon who took his arm keeps asking him that question about why he wields a sword. By episode #3 Jinta (now Jinya) will have spent close to two centuries with it and his answer to the demon's initial question will have changed since he lost everything he trained to protect. I had wondered whether Jinta and Shirayuki knew about Suzune's true nature, and the answer is only revealed towards the end. It does raise the question of whether Shirayuki's father spared Suzune on account of Jinta, or because he chose not to act because she wasn't a threat at the time they were adopted. Also, the villagers didn't do anything to Suzune for years, and Suzune definitely spent time with them when she was younger as she played with the Dango restauranteur Chitose. By the time Suzune returns to the village after the prophesised time has passed, none of the villagers will be around but some of their descendants might still be. The miko at the end of episode two might well be related to the chieftain whose selfish proposal was such a major contributor to the tragedy. Suzune won't have been idle over the 170 years either, so Jinya is going to need help if he's to face her in a final confrontation. I don't think it'll be as simple as that, as there's more to this story then just the final showdown. If the selling point is a story spanning over a century, much would have happened for the siblings during that period. I do not know why the assimilation demon gave Jinya his severed arm and hence turned him into a demon as well, perhaps that question will be answered in the adaptation (especially as demons are not supposed to be able to draw Jinya's current sword until they are of a certain strength). This tragedy isn't going to be everyone's taste, but the pilot double-header should have piqued the interest of enough viewers to at least get them to watch what next week has to offer. I'm sticking around because action combined with navel gazing into motivations isn't something which comes along every season, so how this turns out will determine if the hype for this adaptation is justified. |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 4987 |
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Episode 2 is a rather suprising one. First up is the opening that is a bit different in tone than I expected. It is not an opening without any darkness in it but it also shows happy moments and the tune is somewhat upbeat. The second surprise is the initially vanilla demon slaying case being a family matter. I did not expect to see nor hear about Jinta's dad ever again. The reality is that Jinta was able to close the book on his past and that his father very much knew it was him. The positive ending is welcome since I would hate for every episode to be tragedy.
The final surprise is the information that demons can form from a collection of strong enough negative emotions. That suggest demons can never truly become extinct and that makes me wonder about the first episode where the female demon stated that demons could have become no more than myths in the future. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 3443 |
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#2
Reactions from the home market gave a cautious welcome to the double header, because the expectations were high due to the strength of the source material yet the studio was unproven. Having an OP animation which is just a montage of the double header pilot and an an ED which is just a credits roll does not inspire confidence in the studio's ability to deliver. That said, they might just be saving budget to focus on the actual episode. And this episode is a surprisingly good starter for Jinya's stay in Edo decades after he left the village. Alert viewers might well have seen the twist coming at the end, but it's still a surprise to see the starter for this Edo stay being a closure on Jinya's part. Jinya being dense is an inherited trait, which appears to run in the extended family as well due to the environment. The main exposition in this episode is the origin of demons, which is something casual viewers partially worked out in the pilot header. Suzune was an obvious example of hybrids, but demons manifesting naturally and from the emotions of humans is unexpected. For the latter case, it is fitting that Jinya would be the one to finish off the seemingly indomitable demon as he is the object of the feelings fueling the demon's existence. Even the rumours about him were not off the mark entirely. Although distantly related to Natsu, it is a surprise his father figured out who he was during their brief meeting. Turns out the anti ageing properties of the demon arm can't fool his father since the resemblance between the two is there. This arc isn't just about Jinya's past, since the official website has unveiled a whole slate of new characters for Edo. Looking forward to seeing how it progresses, despite ongoing concerns over production. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 25599 |
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I have to admit that I was disappointed the episode didn't start from where the premiere left off with Jinta in the present day. Setting that aside, however, I liked it. It fills in more of Jinta's personal history and revealed more of the show's demonology.
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Tony K.
Subscriber Moderator Posts: 12058 Location: Frisco, TX |
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I like that it's mixing some main and semi-episodic storytelling. The semi-episodic stuff could make for great slice of life and/or poignant moments related to stuff that's not just Jinya trying to find Suzune. In the case of this episode, I felt the "get a hold of your emotions" message is a great reminder of what can happen when we lose control of ourselves.
In a not-so-ironic way, a lot of this episode's theme can resonate with the first: the forbidden love between Jinya and Shirayuki could be said to have led to their own downfalls. Suzune's obviously more apparent bad-handling of her own emotions led her to killing Shirayuki on impulse. And for all we know, if Jinya had just been more truthful to either of them from the beginning, there could've been less misunderstandings causing the whole ordeal to unfold. If the show continues this format, I'm gonna' like it a lot. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 3443 |
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#3
Interesting this adaptation didn't make the reviewer cut. Not unsurprising, since the series has tough competition and it doesn't have a big studio backing it to make it stand out more. No matter, I'm enjoying what I'm watching. The OP visuals have changed again, this time to reflect Jinya's stay in Edo with the Europeans and Americans knocking on isolationist Japan's door. There are a lot of characters that are not yet introduced as each of them has their own story, for now the focus is on the serial killer with the Soba stall father-daughter pair in the spotlight. Likewise, the ED isn't just a credits roll and it has visuals (simple and not budget-breaking) which reflect what has already transpired and what is to come for this Edo setting. The series stands out more because there really is a lot of navel gazing for a franchise ostensibly about revenge and the tragedy underpinning it. This week again, Jinya is asked why he wields his sword to slay demons. Each time he's asked that, he has to think again about what he's fighting for. For now, revenge and hatred still fuel him as it hasn't been too long (by an unageing demon's standards) since the tragedy occurred. What's even more interesting is Jinya will not kill demons if they parley with him. This arc's guest is Mosuke, who has a troublesome ability to overcome but is not up to Jinya's level in a straight fight. Seeing what Jinya looks like through Mosuke's eyes when he's transformed is also interesting; Jinya is essentially inheriting the adaptive demon's appearance after the arm was grafted onto him. He even agreed to work with Mosuke to help him with his revenge, he even buys good sake to share with him during evenings when they don't have a trail. If Mosuke had a contract placed on him Jinya would not hesitate to kill him, but Mosuke himself has said he just wants to live a quiet life with his immortality and tend to his human wife's grave and Jinya has accepted it (it's interesting what he said about demons not lying and also withholding the truth, the foresight demon which brought down Suzune did the same thing) The scene with Jinya and Ofuu at the snow willow has a surprising amount of time devoted to it. As an analogy to Jinya's own situation, the parallels are obvious. It would be quite the twist if Ofuu turned out to be something more than just a soba stall serving staff, but the story very much indicates this isn't the case and that the serial killer is a male demon. All that's left then is to see when and how the serial killer demon goes after Ofuu, what with her dangerous habit of going out at night to admire flowers. |
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