Tokito Needs to Lighten Up for Everyone’s Sake

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba S4 Ep 4 Review

Now that Tanjiro is healed, he’s participating in the Hashira Training bootcamp. And apparently, that also means he’s helping the other trainees deal with their own issues. First, he got Giyu to join the camp, and then he gave the slayers under Tengen the fire they needed to get through their training. Now, he’s on to Tokito, and he’s not holding back on any of them! When Tanjiro becomes concerned, it falls to get Tokito to lighten up, or else none of the trainees will make it.

Tanjiro Helps Tokito Lighten Up

Ever since he regained his memories, Tokito has changed for the better. Whenever he talks to Tanjiro, Tokito is always smiling and showing real emotion. It’s clear that their shared experience fighting in the swordsmith village has changed Tokito for the better…to an extent.

As Tanjiro witnesses first-hand, while Tokito gets along well with him, he’s as cold and harsh as ever to everyone else. As a result, while he passed Tanjjro in five days, everyone else has to stay behind. And they’ve been training under him for two weeks.

Given how they’re fighting demons in what will be the final war, it’s expected for Tokito to be so harsh. He has to make sure they’re able to survive the final battle, so he can’t afford to go easy on them. However, he’s so blunt that its demoralizing everyone. And, once again, Tanjiro has to help.

His solution: paper airplanes.

Team-Building is Important for Morale

I never took Tokito as someone who was into paper airplanes, but its a pretty fun hobby. There are even actual competitions for paper airplane making and flying. And Tanjiro challenges Tokito to a contest to see who can fly the furthest. If he wins, Tokito has to be nicer to everyone.

He gets his butt kicked! But while he lost the battle, Tanjiro wins the war.

The sight of everyone laughing and making paper airplanes and throwing them into the air together is pretty inspiring. Its like a metaphor for how the Demon Slayer Corps can go further working together than they can alone. Or a symbol of the hope that they carry for all of Japan. Either way, Tanjiro breaks the ice between Tokito and everyone, and thus, he can go on his merry way.

I’m really enjoying this training arc. Its giving us plenty of chances to enjoy time with all the Slayers. Additionally, the anime even went out of its way to add a new scene to the story in the form of a three-way duel between Obanai, Sanemi, and Tokito. And it’s awesome!

It’s moments like this that remind us why Demon Slayer has proven so popular. The animation is art in motion, and I love it. I wish that more anime could pull off what Demon Slayer manages to do! If we get more scenes like this, then I don’t mind waiting another season for the final battle. This stuff makes it worth it.

That, and now I wanna make my own paper airplane.

I Give “To Bring a Smile to One’s Face” a 3.5/5

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