Let's Talk About The Demon Slayer Season 2 Finale
The Entertainment District Arc has come to a close.
The final episode entitled “No Matter How Many Lives” concludes the Entertainment District Arc and animates the last chapters of Volume 11.
This season has followed Tengen Uzui, the sound Hashira and self-proclaimed god of flashiness, in the hunt for demons in the Entertainment District.
Ume and Gyutaro’s Backstory
A lot of villains are shown as having tragic backstories, but Demon Slayer takes it to the next level.
Gyutaro’s mother repeatedly tried to kill him. He was so poor he had to hunt rats and insects to eat. The citizens of the Entertainment District, who measure a person’s worth by their beauty, abused and mocked him constantly. It was not until Ume’s birth that Gyutaro felt a sense of worth and purpose. Ume was beautiful and therefore desired and sought after by many. He could use his intimidation and ugliness to produce fear in anyone who would dare have bad intentions when it came to Ume. The moment that changed his life forever started with finding Ume’s body burned and breathless. Upper-rank demon Doma pitied them and turned them into demons to allow them to continue living together.
These siblings share the same background yet the circumstances changed one for the worse and hardened his heart. Demon Slayer constantly makes readers sympathetic to the antagonist characters because their backstories are incredibly moving.
“No matter how many lives I had, I’d always choose to be a demon”
(Chapter 96, Volume 11).
The anime is always spot-on accurate and in line with the manga. However, I think the stunning after-death scene lends itself better to the visual nature of the anime because it emphasizes the contrast between the light in Ume and the dark in Gyutaro.
There is something so heartwrenching about the fact Ume was returned to her human form whereas Gyutaro is forced to remain in his demon form because that is who he truly is now.
Parallels
Gyutaro and Ume are essentially Tanjiro and Nezuko if their fate took a different turn. There is little doubt Tanjiro would act similarly to Gyutaro if he had also been transformed into a demon because at the end of the day he is simply a protective older brother. There is mention of this explicitly in the anime/manga and it has been incredible to watch it on screen. Fans are left imagining an alternate reality of how things could have easily gone down a different darker path for the Kamado siblings.
Tengen’s wives are parallel characters to Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke and this dynamic has been fascinating to watch develop throughout the season.
Hinatsuru & Tanjiro: Both calm and collected. The mature ones out of the group.
Suma & Zenitsu: Scaredy cats and crybabies but tough when they need to be.
Makio & Inosuke: Everything but level-headed. Quick to get a temper and start throwing punches.
Foreshadowing
Tanjiro’s rise to becoming a Hashira: Tengen tells Obanai Iguro (the Serpent Hashira) that the younger demon slayers are showing great potential and specifically Tanjiro is on his way to becoming a Hashira in no time.
Familial ties between Kagaya Ubuyashiki — the leader of the demon slayer corps — and Muzan Kibutsuji — the first demon and leader of the Twelve Kizuki. While this is not out of the ordinary and relatively predictable, this dynamic still amazes me. It is an epic battle of good and evil and there’s nothing to not love about that.
Looking Towards Season 3 — The Swordsmith Village Arc
A meeting with the upper-rank demons and reveal of the demons yet to be animated.
Powershift in both the Hashira and Kizuki:
Rengoku’s death in the Mugen Train arc created a void in the demon slayer corp ranks — and one in our hearts as well.
Tengen ends the episode announcing his official retirement to live an ideal relaxed life with his three wives. I still want to be Tengen’s fourth wife but that is irrelevant. His retirement creates yet another empty spot.
Now, that one of the upper-rank demons has died, change has come after hundreds of years of stability.
Spotlight on new Hashira
Crunchyroll teased season 3 with images of Mitsuri Kanroji (Love Hashira) and Muichiro Tokito (Mist Hashira)
What a way to tie the season together yet make fans hungry for more.
Now we are forced to wait until some unofficial time next year for season 3 (very unflashy if you ask me). In the meantime, consider reading the manga and finishing the amazing story written by Koyoharu Gotouge.
Alexa