Gyomei’s Training Makes Everything Before Look Weak in Comparison

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba S4 Ep 6 Review

This Hashira Training Arc may have little action, but does it show how hard the Demon Slayers are working themselves! Even though he breezed through the earlier portions, the last episode of Demon Slayer saw Tanjiro starting to really exert himself. Mitsuri’s flexibility training made men scream. Obanai hated Tanjiro’s guts for being friends with Mitsuri. And Sanemi? Tanjiro got banned from training with him for standing up for Genya! However, all of that pales in comparison to the training under the strongest Hashira, Gyomei Himejima (the one who’s always crying.)

Can we go back to Mitsuri or Obanai? They weren’t trying to kill him!

This is Brutal!!

So, having made it to Gyomei’s training course, Tanjiro and Zenitsu realize two things. Firstly, its very simplistic, consisting of strength training exercises. Secondly, and this is the most important, they’re all brutal beyond belief!

Standing under a freezing waterfall until they pass out! Lifting gigantic logs over their heads!And pushing a massive boulder hundreds of feet! And they have to do that every day until they pass out!

The whole experience is so brutal that several of Tanjiro’s fellow trainees call it quits and bail. You could call them cowards, but knowing your limits is important. Yet Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Zenitsu persist in it, with Tanjiro working the hardest, and unlocking a very important power: his Demon Slayer Mark.

Tanjiro is Unlocking His Shonen Transformation

Tanjiro has unlocked his Mark before when under extreme circumstances, but he’s never been able to control it. He doesn’t know how he activates it, but realizes that if he learns that trigger, it could be make all the difference. And thanks to some advice from Genya and Gyomei’s brutal training, Tanjiro starts to know what makes it work for him. The memories of his murdered family. The last words given to him by Rengoku. By remembering how he felt, Tanjiro starts to gain better control over his Mark. The episode ends before showing us the full extent of the results, but Tanjiro is on the right track.

Muzan is on the Move

And not a moment too soon, as Muzan is moving from amidst the shadows.

This season has seen a massive absence of the Demons that the Slayer Corps must fight, and for a good reason. Muzan is marshaling his dark army for the final battle. However, there’s more to it than that. He’s looking for two people: Nezuko and Kagaya Ubuyashiki. And he’s using one of his Upper Four, Namiko, to do so.

I had to watch a video on YouTube explaining this, but Namiko might be the most important of Muzan’s remaining minions. Firstly, she can create those little eye-monsters that he’s using to scout the location of the Corps to find Nezuko and Ubuyashiki. Secondly, those videos revealed that she’s the source of the Infinity Castle that he uses as his headquarters. So, taking her out will be an essential part of this final battle.

As I was watching this episode, I couldn’t help but feel bad for Tanjiro. I knew that the Hashira Training Camp would be brutal, but Demon Slayer has a way of making it even worse than we can imagine. Or that’s just me. Either way, the episode’s ending shows that Tanjro’s training under the strongest Demon Slayer (physically) is not done. Judging by the title to the next episode, I’m hoping to learn more about Gyomei’s past. Specifically, why is he always crying? It’s out there, even for the Hashira’s!

I Give “The Strongest of the Demon Slayer Corps” a 4/5

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