Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba S3, Ep 10 Review
Everyone remembers Sakura Haruno from Naruto, for better or worse. She started as Sasukeโs number-one fangirl and didnโt do much. Then Sasuke ran away and she dedicated herself to getting stronger, which she did, gaining superhuman strength. However, nothing could save her from the menace of poor character writing. Even someone who thinks sheโs overhated like me understands that she was underutilized. Thankfully, we live in a world where thereโs an improved version of Sakura in anime. Her name is Mitsuri Kanroji, AKA the Love Hashira, AKA Sakura 2.0.
Mitsuri Kanroji is such a Badass
After she swoops in to save Tanjiro, Nezuko, and Genya, the disrespectful demon calls Mitsuri Kanroji a shameless tramp, angering her and the fandom to no end. However, she proves sheโs anything but as she proceeds to demonstrate the power of her Love Breathing style. It lets her cancel out other peopleโs attacks, making it extremely powerful. Unfortunately, she makes the mistake of going directly for Zohakutenโs head, unaware itโs not his real body. Thankfully, the counterattack that follows doesnโt kill her.
It turns out, despite her small size, Mitsuriโs muscles are denser than a normal human’s. As a result, she survives that initial attack long enough for the others to save her.
Itโs at this moment, though, where we learn about her backstory, and how it makes her better than Sakura.
Those People Donโt Know what theyโre Talking About
As we see in Mitsurriโs memories, sheโs always been this incredibly strong. When she was a baby, she could lift a pickling stone that even adults would have trouble carrying! As a kid, she could out-eat sumo wrestlers and beat them in arm wrestling contests! Instead of giving her a happy life, though, Mitsuriโs abilities brought her hardship. The man she was interviewing for marriage dumped her for this, plus her pink hair color!
After that happened, Mitsuri felt ashamed of who she was and started hiding it from the world. She wanted to find love and fit in with others, but all this did was make her miserable. All this led her to join the Demon Slayer Corps to help people, find love, and be herself. And it worked!
This is how you write a better version of Sakura Haruno. Sakuraโs initial motivations were shallow, self-centered, and continued to be a big part of her throughout Naruto. While she got better, she never lived up to her full potential. In contrast, Mitsuriโs motivations, while similar, come off as more genuine. She wants to love people, and for people to love her for who she is, something many can relate to. Itโs what makes her a better version of Sakura.
Hantenguโs Done Running
Thanks to the efforts of Mitsuri, Zohakutenโs distracted long enough for Tanjiro, Genya, and Nezuko to chase after Hantenguโs main body. The coward continues to flee, but despite his best efforts, the Demon Slayers arenโt going to let him escape. The Demonโs crocodile tears deserve no sympathy from anyone; heโs done.
Thereโs one problem, though: as Nezuko goes to make the final blow, it becomes apparent that dawnโs almost upon them. If that happens, Nezuko could die! They need to finish this soon for her sake!
Next week, weโre getting the finale to the Swordsmith Village arc, which is a shame, since I thought there would be two more episodes. Given what has happened, though, I think that itโs ending at an appropriate time. At least it doesnโt drag things out like many other Shonen anime tend to do!
I Give โLove Hashira Mitsuri Kanrojiโ a 4/5
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