We’re kicking off the training arc with good ol’ Tengen. It’s always a joy seeing this guy on screen and I’m still shocked by how much he’s grown on me since the second season. While Tengen’s training style seems a bit overly harsh, it’s not hard to see why the Hashira are pushing the lower ranked demon slayers so hard. Even before this episode, there was a pretty big distinction in some of the demon slayer corps attitudes. Clearly, there are those who just want to get by without putting in 100%. If they were to go into war now, there is no way they’d be making it out. I’m not sure if it was communicated to the rest of the corps that they are training for a war, but I am seeing how unmotivated a lot of them are. Most of them just seem to be going through the motions without actually training towards a goal or going through the training with urgency. It’s definitely frustrating to overhear them talk about skimping out on training or being glad to have an excuse to get out of it.
This is probably especially disheartening for Tengen to hear considering he WANTS to be out there in the fight, but with how he currently is, there’s no way he can fight off an Upper Rank like he used to. A part of Tengen trying to go hard on all the other corp members is most likely him desperately wanting to go back onto the field because so many things are left undone. Especially since they are training for an all out war against the demons and for someone like him, it must be so frustrating to watch everyone else fight but you can’t do anything.
…And then there’s Tanjiro just so happy to be here. I cracked up with just how happy Tanjiro was doing the training. Like bro, you’re way too into this lololol. His and Tengen’s dynamic is also so cute and I love seeing them interact. Especially with how upon seeing Tanjiro, Tengen’s face just lit up in excitement. Clearly he has a favorite among these trainees lol.
Though it’s also frustrating when people compare the likes of Tanjiro to themselves as “ordinary folk.” Just because Tanjiro is an exception and a genius in sorts to his determination in training and whatnot, that shouldn’t deter you from trying to improve yourself and get better so that you can maybe one day reach that level or at least a level closer to it. Like from Haikyuu, there are so many characters who are not the exception, but through sheer will and determination were able to get to a level where they can rival the “geniuses” and “exceptions” despite only being “ordinary folk.” Though I also understand that people have differing amounts of motivation and there are cases where no matter how hard someone tries, they just can’t reach the same level. So I do appreciate that by the end of the episode, the other corp members are at least training to reach a level where they can lend assistance for those who have the motivation and strong desire to become stronger. Not everyone can train themselves to rival the higher ranks, but at least they are willing to give it their all to at least offer support and to not give up. And at this point, that’s all they can ask for from them.
Also I am still not over how swol Tanjiro is XD. I feel like his head/face doesn’t match the body that he is had lololol.
While the scene was small in comparison to the overall episode, I just really like Sanemi and Obanai’s dynamic. The way they act feel very akin to rivals like that of Bakugou and Todoroki. But they don’t interact in the typical shounen rivals fashion. From what we’ve seen of them so far, they are respectful, able to hold conversations and even open up to each other. In a different series, their personality types would probably cause them to clash like rivals. And with both of them making a proposition to fight each other after their conversation, it really gave me that vibe. The two are constantly on the same wavelength in terms of concern and urgency. While they don’t share all of the same feelings, they are able to talk it out and listen to the other. Sanemi seems like the type of guy who couldn’t hold a civil conversation with anyone and will fly off the handle at a moment’s notice, but he holds himself up with a degree of maturity that I feel like I don’t see that much in his character type. For all I know, he COULD have been that type of character at once point (though he still has his moments), but from what we can see now, he definitely seems to understand a “time and place” for such emotions.
I totally understand where Obanai is coming from when there is an overarching problem, you do things that allows a distraction, but when you start thinking about it again it makes you anxious. I relate a lot to what he’s feeling and it does make him a little more sympathetic in that light since he’s been giving off an aloof and demeaning attitude. It shows that he does care about the coming issue and he’s not as aloof as he presents himself as. There’s so much more to both Sanemi and Obanai as characters and I’m honestly excited to see more of them.
Again, not too much happened in this episode, but I am liking the set up. But goodness, there are so many things they keep leaving me on a cliffhanger for. Such as last episode’s Shinobu dropping she knows how to kill the demon that killed her sister, the match between Sanemi and Obanai and also what will Giyu do during the training camps. Not to mention there’s a freaking eyeball with the character “four” on it. Considering Hantengu was killed last season, I feel like it’s safe to say that Muzan elected a new Upper Four in his place. Which is honestly really concerning because it felt like we were finally gaining traction on whittling down the Upper Ranks. But it looks like Muzan is still able to replace them. Next stop in the training arc is Muichiro, so I guess we’ll see what will happen with his training. Though I don’t doubt that Muichiro is going to show just as much favor towards Tanjiro as Tengen did lol.
