Kimetsu no Yaiba – 17 & 18

Episode 17

Episode 18

「一つのこと極めけ / 偽物の絆」 (Hitotsu no Koto Kiwame ke / Nisemono no Kizuna)
“You Must Master a Single Thing / A Forged Bond”

Another double-whammy for ya!

Well that was not what I was expecting. My impatience’s been brewing since Giyu and Tanjirou’s reunion was teased a few weeks back. Safe to say I was less than pleased when, by the end of the seventeenth episode, Giyu was nowhere to be found.

Regardless, the episode was good for one thing: Zenitsu’s backstory! It turns out he’s more interesting than I thought. For one, he was struck by lightning in the midst of fleeing from his training causing his hair to turn into an electrifying colour. It’s most likely what awoke his ‘sleep walking’ ability. I’ll elaborate on that shortly.

Zenitsu’s character is a result of his low self-esteem. He’s had bad luck in his life, true, but his backstory doesn’t seem worse than Tanjirou’s and Nezuko’s who have both learned to play the cards they were dealt with. Zenitsu’s cowardice is nothing but a front. Or perhaps, he’s so good at playing his role, it’s become his solace. But personally, I would rather he not play the distressed victim all the time. His reactions sometimes distance me from the event at hand rather than have me feel empathy towards him.

But like I said, there’s much more than meets the eye. The origins of his mysterious Thunder Breath techniques have surfaced! Aside from wanting to play the coward, there’s a deep part within him that yearns to be better, to be great, to be stronger, and to protect those around him. The cowardice is a cover for what he really wants but fears he’ll fail to accomplish.

Zenitsu carries the desire to be strong deep in his heart, mostly because he wants to prove to his sensei that his rigorous training wasn’t a waste. And when the lightning struck, it brought his dream to life. All he had to do was close his eyes and ‘sleep walk.’ Zenitsu might think he’s dreaming, but really, the only part of him that goes to sleep is the coward at the surface – so he can make space for the hero within him to emerge.

Yeah, I heard myself. I gagged a little at my level of cheese too.

Alright, now onto the good stuff. Episode 18 of Kimetsu no Yaiba was everything I could expect with the exception of Nezuko not being part of the fun. We’re back on the mountain, but this time the focus is on all characters. All three stooges (Tanjirou, Inosuke, Zenitsu) are struggling against their opponents.

Zenitsu is slowly dying and turning into a demon from the poison. He does, however, slow down its effects using a breathing technique long enough for Kochou Shinobu to come to his aid. It turns out he’s not as useless as he might think. He’s a main character so I doubt this is the end for him.

Inosuke is struggling to figure out how to battle the Father Spider, who by the way, isn’t the Kizuki Demon. I’m ready to bet he’s Boy Spider‘s puppet. It didn’t come as a surprise when Tanjirou and Inusoke made no dent against the demon. They’re rookies meaning they can’t always win the difficult fights. There’s a learning curve to this job and Giyu just set the bar.

Tanjirou, on the other hand, is not only fighting Boy Spider but upsetting him in the process. This demon is most likely the Kizuki Demon he’s been searching for.

But let’s talk about the real gems in this episode.

The first is the moment Father Spider begins to crush Inosuke’s head in his hand. The crunching sound, Inosuke’s moans, and his lost memories made the scene so heavy, I was stress biting my nails. I knew he wouldn’t end there but there was a moment of hesitation when the gush of blood came running out of his board head. Giyu shows up to save him and I let out a very relieved sigh which was perfectly timed to the beautiful soundtrack created for this moment.

The second gem is the cliffhanger. It’s not often Kimetsu no Yaiba leaves us with a cliffhanger of this magnitude. The reasons for how and why Tanjirou’s blade only split against this thread are unknown. But what a cliffhanger it was!

I’m not only excited to watch the next episode, I’m craving it. It’s vital to my mental health for me to find out what happened.

Don’t spoil it for me!