Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Episode 14 [Review]

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Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Episode 14 [Review]

Let's talk about Tanjiro's fight with Inosuke, the Boar Guy. It takes up entire the first third of “The House with the Wisteria Family Crest”, and it does exactly what it needed to do, which is give Tanjiro and Inosuke a chance to throw down so ufotable can flex their muscles and remind folks why so many consider them to the producers of some of the best fight scenes in the business. There's not a lot to analyze about the sequence, outside of marveling at all of the little animation cuts that make Tanjiro and Inosuke's movements feel weighty yet effortless, but there's virtually nothing to complain about, either. It's a quick and brutal tussle between two expert fighters, and the simple satisfaction that it provides is exactly what I come looking for in a good Demon Slayer episode. However, if action and drama is your primary hook as an audience member, then this episode of Demon Slayer is likely to disappoint you, because once Tanjiro and Inosuke finally call off their bout, the rest of “The House with the Wisteria Family Crest” is devoted completely to broad, wacky hijinks.

It starts when Tanjiro finally headbutts the boar mask off Inosuke to reveal that, underneath his beastly guise, the monstrous fighter is really pretty. It's a goofy joke, and definitely not the kind of thing I'd spend three whole weeks building up to, but Demon Slayer isn't out to rock anyone's world with its jokes this week. Inosuke is a beautiful but insane brawler, Zenitsu is a screeching oaf, and Tanjiro is the straight-man type that desperately tries to hold all of the insanity together. The rest of the episode has no plot to speak of – Tanjiro's raven simply guides the bickering boys to a local Inn that can help them rest and recover their wounds (all three of them managed to break their ribs over the past few episodes). The script isn't concerned with laying track for future plot threads or crafting deep moments of character development – this is Demon Slayer the Sitcom, through and through, and all you need to get out of this week's story is that these three dysfunctional Demon Slayers are just so much.

I can already predict a lot of viewers dismissing this episode entirely, and I wouldn't entirely blame them. Zenitsu has already proven to be a divisive character, and Inosuke is just a different brand of loud, buffoonish crazy person. Over dinner, Inosuke reveals that the only reason he's a Demon Slayer is because he's a literal Crazy Mountain Man who robbed an actual Demon Slayer of his weapons and fought in the Final Selection just to see what killing demons was like (as you might have guessed, he really likes it). Later, when Zenitsu discovers that the demon Tanjiro has been carrying around all this time is his ridiculously cute little sister, Zenitsu flies off into an uncontrollable rage. There are many choice reaction faces from nearly every character involved and, to absolutely nobody's surprise, a hell of a lot of yelling.

As for me, I actually dug this episode a lot. I think it veers a little too hard into pumping out comedic relief, but Demon Slayer was never going to last with just Tanjiro and Nezuko as our leads, and even though Zenitsu and Inosuke are incredibly obnoxious in their own ways, I like the dynamic they share with our hero. The show has done such a good job handling its mythology and the more serious episodes that I'm willing to indulge its wackier instincts, at least for now. I wouldn't want to watch week after week of Three Teenagers and a Little Demon Lady, but given how gory and morbid Demon Slayer can be, there's no harm in the show embracing its goofier side. Humor is subjective, though, so I won't be surprised if fans decide to fast-forward through episodes like this one so they can get to the actual demon slaying that Demon Slayer does so well.

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JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind - Episode 37 [Review]

Alright, this is it. For all intents and purposes, this is the climax of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind. From the sound of things, there will be a one-hour finale send-off in a few weeks and there remains a tiny bit of the final battle left to show after this week's cliffhanger, but in terms of emotional punch this week's episode feels like a resolution.

For starters, we must finally say goodbye to Bruno, who ascends to heaven like the cherub angel baby that he is. The stylized clouds do a ton of work in conveying the otherworldly sensation that comes with this scene, and the solid gold that force-ghost Bruno radiates makes him pop from the background in a way that's distinct even by JoJo's standards. This scene makes me wish there had been a little bit more bonding between Bruno and Giorno throughout the show. Most of their personal connection happened nonverbally to keep Giorno's mob boss ambitions a secret from the rest of the team. Abbacchio's death had a really clear poetry to it that spoke to his personality and inner-conflict, but each successive death has resonated slightly less with me. They're more tragic inevitabilities that barely scratch the surface of what their respective characters have been through. Bruno's death is very "Thanks, Dad."

With Chariot Requiem defeated by Bruno's final actions (again, I don't really understand the back-of-the-head light thing) the battle refocuses on the golden arrow and getting to see who upgrades their Stand next. Diavolo is rejected by the arrow and Giorno is the one whose hand it ends up in. There's an interesting beat here where Diavolo plans to retreat, but because Trish calls him out for it he decides to stay and finish the fight despite having clearly lost. This gives Diavolo a brief glimpse of hope when it looks like the arrow is rejecting Giorno as well, but in actuality Gold Experience is going through a metamorphosis and becoming Gold Experience Requiem. Giorno's hair grows longer and he can hover off the ground with his new Stand, so he looks like the halfway point between a godlike being and a Super Saiyan. This is a Shonen Jump manga after all.

The arms race of confusing Stand powers has reached its natural conclusion, where the heroes and villains are at the furthest points in their stories and the author likely doesn't have to write serious challenges for them to overcome anymore. What does Gold Experience Requiem do? Whatever it needs to in order to give the middle finger to Diavolo specifically. There's some time rewinding to repair King Crimson's erased time, and Requiem will always stand between Giorno and whatever premonition Diavolo sees. If a character must operate in another dimension of space and time in order to defy conventional logic, then the way to beat him is to operate in the dimension beyond that.

As formless and unyielding as this final conflict has been, it's too visually interesting for me not to concede to it in the end. I'm certainly going to remember Bruno's ascension and Diavolo's panicked demise for years to come, though hopefully that upcoming one-hour finale can offer some balance after everything that's left me scratching my head. JoJo's is a special series in that it has such a clear personality and soul beneath all the weirdness, and it validates my belief that an audience will be rewarded if they open their hearts to all kinds of possibilities within storytelling. The way Golden Wind has balanced the love between its characters and the dark fascinations of its author really put it a step above the rest of the franchise for me, though I think back to how much I loved the end of Diamond is Unbreakable and I've yet to feel anything like that in this final stretch so far. As of right now, Part Five is still ending strong, but the flicker in its eyes is hardly the bonfire I once saw.

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