REVIEW: ‘Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba- Entertainment District Arc,’ Episode 11 – “No Matter How Many Lives”

Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc Episode 11 picks up right at the end of the final battle against Daki and Gyutaro. Tanjiro, Zenitsu, Inosuke, and Uzui may have won the day, but at what cost?

The end of Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc Episode 10 left viewers, myself included, wondering if anyone actually managed to survive. While it was clear that Daki and Gyutaro had been beheaded, the aftermath of their defeat left Tanjiro and his friends on the brink of death. Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc Episode 11 thankfully answers any lingering questions, but not without a little bit of suspense. The injuries to Tanjiro and Uzui specifically seem completely irreparable. This gives Nezuko a chance to use her newly developed healing powers to help save the entire crew, wiping away the poison in their system.

My only real issue here is that it quickly lowers the stakes that were facing our heroes at the end of Episode 10. I was left with a feeling of complete despair and watching them get healed so quickly and thoroughly felt cheap. I’m extremely glad that none of the main characters died in the incredible battle, but it does lessen the stakes a bit and that was mildly disappointing.

Thankfully, Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc Episode 11 managed to quickly wipe away my disappointment with the exploration of Daki and Gyutaro’s backstory. As they lay dying, two heads side by side, they begin bickering and dropping offensive comments to each other. This interaction presents some interesting storytelling experiences as Tanjiro discovers them. First, we are able to see the juxtaposition of the two different sibling relationships.

Tanjiro and Nezuko have an extremely close relationship, while Daki and Gyutaro are as different as possible. Tanjiro also immediately jumps in to try to stop Gyutaro from saying things about his sister that he will regret. It shows how deeply Tanjiro cares about everyone he encounters and not just those that are close to him. That approach may seem naive at times, but for me, it makes Tanjiro even more likable as the main character.

In this episode, we also get to see some excellent backstory involving Daki and Gyutaro. While they were really fascinating as villains, they are even more intriguing when you get to learn about their lives before they were demons. The two siblings suffered extremely different childhoods, including being involved in the death of their mother. I don’t want to give away too many details of their childhood, because I really think fans are best served to view it for themselves. The character development is well-done, as most character development in the series is.

While the episode doesn’t include any of the high octane battles of the previous episodes, it is still visually quite impressive. The damage and despair at the end of the massive battle is very noticeable, with even the smallest background details standing out. There was clearly a ton of attention to detail paid to the portrayal of the aftermath as well as the environment shown in the backstory sequences.

Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc Episode 11 does a fantastic job of ending the Entertainment District Arc as well as setting up for the Swordsmith Village Arc that was recently announced for later this year. It got off to a slower start than previous episodes but gave more context to the events that took place which I really appreciated. The Demon Slayer Corps finally have new hope in the form of Tanjiro, and his growth throughout the Entertainment District Arc was shown perfectly. Episode 11 is an excellent finale and has me even more excited for what is coming up next in the series.

Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc Episode 11 is streaming now on Funimation and Crunchyroll.