REVIEW: ‘Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc’ — Episode 10

The Swordsmith Village Arc of Demon Slayer is almost over and things are coming to a head in Demon Slayer Season 3 Episode 10. Titled “Love Hashira Mitsuri Kanroji”, the episode picks up with Mitsuri Kanroji (Kana Hanazawa) joining up with Tanjiro Kamado (Natsuki Hanae), Nezuko Kamado (Akari Kitou), and Genya Shinazugawa (Nobuhiko Okamoto) in their battle against the Upper Four ranked demon’s final form Zohakuten (Koichi Yamadera).

Zohakuten is an insanely powerful demon who has summoned a multi-headed wooden dragon through his blood art form. Nezuko and Genya are trapped, and Tanjiro is on the verge of joining them until Mitsuri rescues him in the last episode. It’s Mitsuri’s appearance that completely changes the tide of the battle. As a character, she often gets lumped in as being “fan service” because of her appearance, but she shows in Demon Slayer Season 3 Episode 10 that she is much more than just good looks.

Mitsuri’s quick movement and flowing, whip-like sword are incredibly impressive in action. The animation from ufotable works perfectly to showcase how quick she is on the attack. It’s easy to see how she had the strength to become a Hashira, especially when she managed to withstand one of Zohakuten’s most powerful attacks. Her immense strength wasn’t always helpful for her, though, which Demon Slayer Season 3 Episode 10 does a great job of showing through a flashback to give her backstory.

Mitsuri was gifted with strength from a young age, but that strength also made her unappealing to marriage prospects. She believed that her purpose in life was to find a husband, but in order to do so she tried to hide her strength. She learns to find pride in her abilities, which is what leads her to join the Demon Slayer Corps. The Demon Slayer Corps sees her for who she is and respects her for that same reason, something her prospective husbands never did.

Where this Swordsmith Village Arc has struggled is in its pacing, but Demon Slayer Season 3 Episode 10 has rectified that a bit. The flashback sequences do not take up as much time in this episode as they have previously, but more importantly, they do a great job of amplifying what Mitsuri is doing in the present-day battle. Her internal monologue while she leads Tanjiro and her friends into battle against Zohakuten is given context through the flashbacks that make her incredible fighting ability even more impressive.

Essentially serving as the group’s tank, Mitsuri is able to hold off Zohakuten to give Tanjiro time to find Upper Four’s real demon form to eliminate him. In the process, Genya reveals more of his abilities to Tanjiro. He has the ability to consume demons to enhance his power, essentially making him a bit of a cannibal. Genya’s use of his abilities gives Tanjiro a chance to use Nezuko’s blood demon art to enhance his own powers and aim to behead Upper Four. It is a nice teamwork sequence that shows how Genya is able to work with a team when he previously seemed like he would never play well with others.

None of what Tanjiro, Nezuko, and Genya do would be possible if it weren’t for Mitsuri and her willingness to use her strength to protect others. The only way the demon slayers are going to emerge victorious and save the Swordsmith Village is thanks to Mitsuri’s ability to hold off their most dangerous threat and buy time for her allies. That the battle between Mitsuri and Zohakuten gets so much screen time in the midst of the backstory only serves to make it more enjoyable and increase the impact on viewers.

Demon Slayer Season 3 Episode 10 shows a closer look at the Love Hashira Mitsuri without taking away from the epic battle taking place. With only one episode left in the Swordsmith Village Arc, it seems like Tanjiro and the other demon slayers might actually be able to come out of this with a victory and save the swordsmiths from annihilation.

Demon Slayer Season 3 Episode 10 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.