Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba season two is here and the first episode started out with a fiery bang!
If you’ve seen the movie, Mugen Train, you can be encouraged to know that this whole episode centers around the passionate Rengoku and delivers all the happy vibes that I was hoping for (especially in light of all the tears I’ve cried at the end of movie)! Season two opens with Rengoku being in the same town that the Mugen train departs from because he is investigating as to why people are mysteriously vanishing and being killed. With at least 40 people who have died, resulting in immense fear of this unknown demon, businesses are no longer having customers and people are afraid to even leave their homes. As Rengoku and a younger demon slayer further their investigation, they question if they are dealing with the same demon on the Mugen Train or if it’s a different demon they haven’t met before.
As Rengoku and the younger demon slayer discuss their thoughts, we follow a separate conversation at the train station between two women who are a bento vendor. A passionate granddaughter, Fuku, defensively argues with her grandmother that demons do not exist and that her grandmother shouldn’t even talk about them being real. Fuku’s grandmother on the other hand, asks Fuku to more or less “indulge” her as they practice extra caution in their venturing at night and early morning between the train station and home. Her grandmother however is so unsettled by recent events that she even encourages Fuku to go home earlier as to avoid any possible danger. But with her granddaughter’s headstrong idea that demons aren’t real and therefore they don’t need to worry, Fuku might have just put them both in a grave danger she never expected or prepared for.
I absolutely loved this first episode! As someone who has rewatched Mugen Train more than once, this felt like the perfect way to comfort my heart due to prior events! While I know that this probably will be the last fully Rengoku focus episode, I am definitely going to break my personal rule of waiting for the whole anime season to air and continue watching this weekly! The animation seemed even more crisp then before and the storytelling was so vibrant! Rengoku has deeply been an inspiring character but this opening further reminded me and showed why exactly he is so inspiring. Plus, we even got to see a smiling Rengoku without all the tears that came with it last time!
I really think the episode was very well done in showing a human’s strong disbelief that demons don’t exist to Rengoku’s passion in protecting human lives from those demons regardless of the costs. I felt that his personality was captured so beautifully and was once again struck by Rengoku’s unwavering confidence in protecting those around him, but also learning he has an unfillable appetite! It was small things like that (and a super epic flashback that gave me goosebumps!) that really captivated me and made my heart happy. It was a fantastic opening and while I know what comes next, seeing Rengoku healthy and his encouraging, protective self really made for a powerful and compelling opening.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba can be streamed on both Funimation and Crunchyroll.
This episode was great! And yes, that flashback was great, and the animation throughout looked movie quality. They are really doing a good job adapting this anime from the manga. If you read the manga, it’s pretty “meh” in comparison to the animation.
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