Kimetsu no Yaiba: Hashira Geiko Hen – Episode 03 Review

「炭治郎全快‼ 柱稽古大参加」 (Tanjirou Zenkai!! Hashira Geiko Dai Sanka)
Fully Recovered Tanjiro Joins the Hashira Training!!

The latest Kimetsu no Yaiba’s episode gives us a glimpse at how Uzui’s training sessions are. But when Tanjiro decides to undertake the same training as the cannon fodder, he’ll have to whip the others into shape to get the upper hand on Uzui.

I BETTER KEEP MY ASS IN THIS OFFICE OR I’M FINISHED

There’s much to be said about dedicating an entire episode to a fleshed-out version of one page where Tanjiro visits Uzui. It is greatly appreciated to give us a little extra time with Uzui since he’s quietly written off as a retired Hashira in the manga who’d have no business fighting Muzan. I’m also grateful to see his wives get some screen time as well since they didn’t have as much time to shine in the original story as Uzui’s emotional support system.

That being said, the anime hasn’t had a good track record with making the filler compelling in any way. I think Ufotable feels the pressure to keep up with the positive reputation that Kimetsu no Yaiba’s animation has. But because of this, whenever they’re given a break from the source material, they tend to default to creating empty action scenes to flex those muscles.

It looks impressive to see the slayers doing cool things, but it’s tempting to skip a lot of the action scenes in this season because so much of it exists for the sake of existing. For a manga that has such quick pacing that they blew through Uzui’s side of the training arc with ease, it’s counterintuitive for the anime to draw scenes out to such a large extent that it creates unnecessary bloat.

I suppose that’s one of my biggest problems with the adaptation now that I’ve read the manga. For a story that is as basic yet respectful of your time as the old Star Wars trilogy, the anime is overly obsessed with telling this narrative like the Watchmen film where slow-mo fight scenes and making the characters look cool is the highest priority.

People like to say Kimetsu no Yaiba’s is carried by its animation, but I personally care more about the narrative and tone of the story than the action set pieces. There’s a ton of heart and personality that the series has that is told decently through its character interactions, but when so much of this is bogged down by discussion over the latest sakuga moment, the attention is taken away from the characters in favor of whatever cool shot the animators pulled off this time.

Cynically, you could say it’s because Kimetsu no Yaiba’s has such a basic story that anime fans would rather deify Ufotable than give any of the cast a second thought. That would also explain why people had such a visceral reaction to the demon slayers merely imagining the elements. “If the anime wants me to think the powers are so cool, why is it all make-believe?”

Centering Kimetsu no Yaiba’s discussions around its animation ties most of the series’ worth on what is and isn’t cool about the fights or abilities rather than what makes the characters click. I suppose that’s why this Training Arc adaptation feels a bit silly; this is the point of no return in the story. We’re supposed to get the characters as fleshed out as they can be since this last moment to get to know everyone before Muzan arrives. The fighting portions of a training regimen are one way to get to know a character, but shouldn’t take up so much time that what we do learn about the cast is inconsequential.