Kimetsu no Yaiba: Yuukaku-hen Episode 10

I think the last episode of Demon Slayer that gave me a strong emotional response was episode 19 of the first season. Demon Slayer has had great moments, but episode 19 was the one that really gave me emotions that left me on the edge of my seat. THIS episode literally left me shaking by the end, squeezing my heart out and screaming at certain parts. Episode 19 was more of "the family feels like it's got me, I'm crying my eyes out", whereas this one was just pure emotion and some fear. That cliffhanger is killing me. Read more information here about this article.

Now, the episode didn't exactly start off with a bang. I think it was annoying that a decent portion of the episode was filled with nothing else to talk about, mainly Gyutaro talking shit to Tanjiro's face and saying the same thing over and over again. I get it, but I think it could have been shortened. However, I did like Nezuko's scene at first, with her words bringing her brother back into action.

Speaking of which, I like the parallel we've had between Tanjiro/Nezuko and Gyutaro/Daki. And as usual, I love that even in this desperate moment of life and death, Tanjiro is able to sympathize and acknowledge that he and Nezuko could have been demons too. One wrong turn in her life and they would be exactly the same way. The main reason Nezuko has retained her humanity is because of Tanjiro. If Tanjiro had also become a demon, I don't think the humanity for either of them would have been there. That sibling bond, perhaps, but they could just as easily have been like any other demon. Tanjiro's train of thought was interesting near the end, but it also worries me. For some reason, I felt like that was foreshadowing and red flags with him believing someone from the Demon Slayer Corps would be the one to kindly behead him if he turned into a demon. I don't know if I should be worried, but that bothered me, and for some reason, it worries me a lot. I know what you're trying to say, but right now I'm worried about everything. This season has really kept me up to date with their new developments.

Now what else can I say about this episode other than it was a show. It was a feast for the eyes animation-wise, but the fight choreography was spectacular. Like I said, the first third of the episode dragged on a bit too long with a couple of good moments here and there. Tanjiro's ingenuity reappears with the kunai, he reminded me of the first episode when he did the same strategy with Giyu with the axe. And starting with the kunai and the head butt is when the episode seriously sped up. If you took your eyes off the screen for even a fraction of a second, you would miss something. I just can't believe that this show can continue to look so beautiful with each passing episode, and this was definitely one of the best. It may have been over the top at times, where it reminded me of DBZ with Zenitsu's Godspeed Thunderclap, but I also like DBZ, so that moment was very exciting lol.

I can understand when I see people complaining about the "asspulls" in this episode, with each character near death and saying "Not really!" Maybe it's because I've seen a lot of shounen, one of those shounen is Jojo's Bizarre Adventure and it's full of weird asspulls and just... things that happen and we just accept them because JJBA is like that. And it's great! Inosuke moving his organs isn't the weirdest thing since we've seen his body in the weirdest ways, and Tengen can stop his heart and all probably because of his shinobi training. We have also seen other madness. Also, I think it's just the characters channeling their last drop of adrenaline in their desperation to survive and defeat these demons. At least to me that makes a lot of sense. But their bodies have been seriously pushed to the absolute limit and things are looking even worse for our group, especially with that cliffhanger! I'm so worried!