REVIEW: ‘Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- Entertainment District Arc,’ Episode 1 – “Sound Hashira Tenzen Uzui”

Demon Slayer’s Entertainment District Arc Episode 1 follows the events of the Mugen Train Arc and is the official start of Season Two of the hit anime series by ufotable. The series follows Tanjiro Kamado as he seeks to turn his sister, Nezuko, back into a human after becoming a demon.

Entertainment District Arc Episode 1 begins with a short recap of the end of the Mugen Train Arc, with the tragic death of the Flame Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku at the hands of the Upper Rank Three demon Akaza. After killing Rengoku, Akaza travels to meet with Muzan Kibutsuji to report what happened. Kibutsuji is less than thrilled, to say the least, that Azaka is proud of killing a Hashira, one of the top members of the Demon Slayer Corps. Kibutsuji believes that demons should be able to wipe out the entire corps, and anything less is seen as a complete failure. This level of standards from Kibutsuji helps set the stage for the upcoming battles between the demons and the Demon Slayer Corps and further highlights the danger Tanjiro is in.

Speaking of Tanjiro, our hero is taking the aftermath of Rangoku’s death harder than most. Usually a source of optimism for the other supporting characters, Tanjiro is instead struggling with feelings of despair. After all, if even the Flame Hashira couldn’t beat an Upper Rank demon, how can the Demon Slayer Corps stand any chance of defeating all 12 of them as well as Kibutsuji. Tanjiro confronts his despair head-on by delivering a message from Rangoku to his family, including his younger brother Senjoru. The emotions and family dynamics displayed in these scenes are well-written and performed with the utmost quality. The emotion is palpable throughout the sequence, and it left me feeling as much renewed hope as Tanjiro felt. The beautiful animation that the Demon Slayer series is known for also helps add to the emotional weight of some of these scenes. While the episodes is mainly focused on character development, the attention to detail in character design makes the episode even more impactful.

From there, the hour-long episode mainly focuses on the recovery of Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke, before they are introduced to the Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui. While Uzui meets the main characters at the Butterfly Mansion, where they are recovering. He is dealing with demons in the Entertainment District, and the group volunteers to assist him in place of Aoi. Unlike with Rengoku, the gang and Uzui don’t seem to get along at first, which could lead to some very interesting character development throughout the rest of the arc. Unfortunately, Uzui does not seem anywhere near as likable as Rengoku either, and it’s going to take a lot for me to end up liking him when all is said and done.

The severity of the threat in the Entertainment District is not quite known yet, which is slightly disappointing. It would have been nice to get a deeper look at what they would be up against outside of a brief visual tease. Still, I’m hopeful that the stakes will continue to rise as they have throughout the series. Entertainment District Arc Episode 1 is a good launching point for the new season, and I can’t wait to see what comes next for Tanjiro and friends.

Demon Slayer’s Entertainment District Arc Episode 1 is streaming now on Funimation and Crunchyroll.