REVIEW: ‘Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc’ — Episode 8

The Swordsmith Village arc has been a slow burn, but things are starting to heat up. A new demon has been revealed and Tanjiro Kamado (Natsuki Hanae) and friends have a lot to handle heading into Demon Slayer Kimetsu no YaibaSeason 3 Episode 8. It is yet to be seen if he and his fellow demon slayers will be able to emerge victorious.

One of the more interesting side stories this season has been that of the Mist Hashira Muichiro Tokito (Kengo Kawanishi). Confined by the Upper Five demon in an impenetrable water trap, he had been stuck there for several episodes and was relegated further into the background. Demon Slayer Season 3 Episode 8 is aptly titled “The Mu in Muichiro” and finally gives him the focus he deserves after gaining his freedom. He has come across as a jerk throughout his interactions with Tanjiro so far, but so did Genya Shinazugawa before his backstory was explored. Demon Slayer Season 3 Episode 8 serves to give Muichiro the same treatment, switching focus from the village of swordsmiths onto him.

Like most characters in Demon Slayer, Muichiro has a tragic backstory. It becomes clear that his head is filled with tragic memories of his twin brother Yuichiro. A flashback to his youth shows that he was the son of a woodcutter whose mother was sick and dying. His father tragically fell to his death while trying to find the herbs needed to save her, and his mom died shortly after.

Muichiro’s twin Yuichiro Tokito is also revealed, as is his fate. It’s a truly tragic story and relationship between the two grieving children. Yuichiro blames their father for his own death, saying he should have stayed instead of going out in the middle of a storm. The idea that he should have left his own wife to die is unfathomable, but Yuichiro is so bereft with grief that he will use any rationalization he can.

The way Demon Slayer Season 3 Episode 8 portrays the grief of losing loved ones at a young is so well done. Different people have different reactions, even if they are twins. Two people who are alike in every physical way handle their emotional trauma in dramatically different ways. Yuichiro sees Muichuro as meaningless, that is existence has no purpose. The way it pushes Muichiro to find his purpose by becoming a demon slayer feels so natural, and it also makes sense that Yuichiro does not follow the same path.

Muichuro is recruited into the Demon Slayer Corps by one of Kagaya Ubuyashiki’s wives Amane Ubuyashiki who visits the brothers in their home. She gives the twin brothers a bit of their family history, but Yuichiro doesn’t care and sends her away. Muichiro is excited at the prospect, but Yuichiro is so consumed by his grief that he is incapable of finding meaning in anything. He berates Muichiro constantly and ends up pushing him away too. Yuichiro eventually reveals that he blames himself and that no one can help people except for the Chosen Ones. It’s a great revelation that shows just how different each twin brother is in their belief of whether they can really make a difference or not.

This all culminates in an encounter with a powerful demon, and the tragedy really jumps up a few notches here. It is a brutal, gut-wrenching moment that explains so much about Muichiro. The final scene between the two brothers is especially heartbreaking. His go-it-alone nature starts to make more sense when you see what he has been through, but it also shows just how brutal a fighter he was from a young age. It sets him up to play an even bigger role in the battle against Upper Five and Upper Four as well as the other Upper Ranks.

The one real issue with Demon Slayer Season 3 Episode 8 is that it takes the steam out of what the Swordsmith Village Arc has been building towards. This is the second backstory episode of the season, and it comes right after things were really starting to get interesting with the Love Hashira Mitsuri Kanroji waiting in the ranks. Learning Muichiro’s backstory is vital and was well done, but it does make the season feel like it is starting to drag. Thankfully there is a truly epic battle at the end that makes it all worth it, even if there isn’t a firm conclusion yet to Muichiro’s side story yet we’re still waiting for future battles and an epic showdown.

Demon Slayer Season 3 Episode 8 is a solid episode that gives needed backstory but starts to show the pacing issues of the Swordsmith Village Arc. The end more than makes up for a slower first half, and hopefully things will continue to keep the intensity up for the rest of the season.

Demon Slayer Season 3 Episode 8 is available now on Crunchyroll, with new episodes every Sunday with English subtitles.

The English dub of Demon Slayer Season 3 has begun airing on Crunchyroll as well.