Kimetsu no Yaiba: Katanakaji no Sato-hen – 04

「時透君ありがとう」 (Tokitou-kun Arigatou)
“Thank You, Tokito”

The Swordsmith arc of Kimetsu no Yaiba is starting to come into its own as more of the fights have started to roll in. It captures the tug-of-war that Tanjiro has to make between fighting for survival and protecting his allies.

WHAT A SHOCKER

Spectacle was always a huge draw for the fights in Kimetsu no Yaiba, and the fights in this episode are no different. Most of the fights have the same rock-paper-scissors mechanics of most shonen with each opponent having to select the right move to be flashy with. It’s something that could be a reasonable critique, especially considering how Kimetsu no Yaiba is consistently not taken seriously because of how simplistic the show’s fights are.

But even with people saying the show is carried by its fight animation, its combat also makes the show less interesting to talk about and more riveting to watch. I could write multiple paragraphs on Tanjiro as a character considering his fluctuation between being kind and noble to stubborn and arrogant. His pride tends to be very amusing, especially in episodes like this where he flashes a sadistic grin upon finding out he could cut his opponent to pieces until his attacks don’t hurt him.

At the same time, it leaves little room for reading character motivations aside from an outright fight for survival. It’s a “Don’t Think, Feel” mentality that makes a lot of Kimetsu no Yaiba’s fights stick the landing. If you have a move that can tear a demon into bloody viscera with the power of gunfire or just plain ol’ fire, it’ll help mitigate the supersonic screaming or the electric volts that cause the screen to barely register what’s happening.

Think back to the Dragon Ball Super movies. Are those fun character studies on the DB cast, or are they fun, turbo-powered MMA matches you can watch on a big screen? Because even on a PC monitor, watching Goku and Broly beat the tar out of each other was THE reason to watch it. Similarly, with Kimetsu no Yaiba, if you’re watching a fight in this show, it’s one where you just have to hunker down and let the flashing lights consume you.

And what a better episode to do that for than this one, where you see Nezuko and Genya fight for their lives as they put their bodies on the line to make a dent in Hantengu as Tanjiro tries to outmaneuver the demon’s prideful form. It makes for great television and continues to prove how much value the fights in Kimetsu no Yaiba have in building up hype for the series.

Preview: