Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Episode 7 Review: Muzan Kibutsuji

This week’s episode of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba continues the trend of high quality and high drama. We return to Tanjiro and Nezuko in the midst of the battle with the trio-demon. As the siblings fight, they will need to trust in one another and in their own abilities. Especially when they come face to face with the demon that started it all.

Japanese Original Episode Title : 鬼舞辻無惨

Plot

With Nezuko joining the battle, Tanjiro is conflicted between trusting his sister’s abilities and wanting to protect her. Thankfully, he doesn’t have much time to decide and leaves her to protect the bystanders as he jumps into the ground. After a brief battle, he defeats the demons and relative peace is returned to the town. But, there’s no rest for the wicked, and no rest for Tanjiro. He’s sent to Tokyo on his next mission where a familiar smell catches his attention. Tanjiro finally meets Muzan Kibutsuji, and he’s far more terrifying than one could imagine.

Episode Highlights

Keep your hands off my sister: We’ve always seen the siblings looking out for each other, but it was great to see Tanjiro turn on his protective brother mode. Especially when he sliced off the demon’s arms that hurt his sister – poetic justice?

Tanjiro’s Burden: One thing viewers tend to forget when watching these kinds of series is how young the protagonists actually are. It really rung home when the man asked Tanjiro how he could know what he had gone through. He was saying that Tanjiro was so young, he couldn’t have possibly experienced any pain similar to his. Tanjiro’s sad smile back absolutely broke my heart. It really cemented the idea that this story, as much of an action and adventure story, it is also a tragedy.

I’m hungry: Ahh that beautiful bowl of udon sent my stomach growling! I actually cried out when Tanjiro dropped it on the ground. At least give it to Nezuko (even though she can’t eat it) or put it down safely. Such delicious food gone to waste.

Themes & Trivia

Asakusa: The second half of this week’s episode took us out of the country and into the city. Tanjiro and Nezuko travel to Asakusa, Tokyo. Even today, Asakusa is a booming part of Tokyo with the famous Buddhist Sensoji Temple. The area has a lot of food stalls, and traditional shops. If you’re even in Tokyo, it’s a must-see destination. The currently airing anime Sarazanmai is actually set in present-day Asakusa, if you’d like to see more of its animated glory.

Comments

In this week’s episode we finally meet the ‘big bad’, Muzan Kibutsuji. In last week’s episode, Urokodaki explained that Muzan is the only demon who can turn humans. He’s also the first demon ever. When we first saw him, I was totally all ready to hear his tragic backstory and how he became a demon. But wow, when he scratched that random boy’s neck!? That made him far more terrifying than stories and flashbacks of gore. He didn’t even hesitate in ruining that poor man’s life as it benefited him. Of course in this scene what was more interesting to see was Tanjiro’s reaction to the demon. He did exactly what Urokodaki and Giyuu have been telling him NOT to do – he hesitated. Granted, this was an appropriate hesitation but it still caused another person to be harmed.

I am finding the story pacing in each episode a bit odd. It seems the second half of one episode introduces a new story, and it ends in the first half of the next episode. It feels a bit stop-start, and I’d prefer the traditional story-telling of one story, one episode. Or one story carried across two full episodes.

Don’t Drop your Udon!

Tanjiro has definitely landed himself in some hot water. The big bad guy now knows his face, and the element of surprise is gone. Even worse, there’s another demon about to start rampaging in the middle of Asakusa. Guess we’ll just have to wait until next week to see how Tanjiro will get out of this mess.

NEXT TIME: Bewitching Fragrance of Blood

Remember to check back next week for my review of episode eight. In the meantime, make sure to check out the rest of our Spring 2019 reviews. This series is also part of our weekly anime previews.