Kimetsu no Yaiba Episode 8: The Smell of Enchanting Blood

This was another great set-up episode before some action begins next episode. We got to get a little taste of Muzan’s power and personality (and other things?), while also getting introduced to two new characters that’ll assist in the “Turn Nezuko back into a human!” plot.

We still don’t really know anything about Muzan, but we got some things to think about. He purposely turned the random man into a demon just to get away from Tanjiro, and while he walks away, Tanjiro holds the man down while yelling at Muzan that he’ll follow and find him until he dies. It’s concerning for Muzan, but Tanjiro’s earrings remind him of a certain someone we saw in a flashback that has the same earrings and type of hair as Tanjiro. An ancestor?

I’m not sure if Muzan is mentally stable. The drunkard that made fun of his pale appearance angered him like crazy, promptly killing him with a simple smack, while also easily killing the brother with a kick. He seems to be obsessed with attaining a perfect body and even a little insult to his appearance can send him over the edge with a crazed look on his face, not fitting the cool image he had before. The way he killed the woman was probably the most brutal and disgusting death we’ve had on this show, even though there’s been a lot. Injecting copious amounts of his own blood through her head, he described human cells not being able to handle the transformation, making the cells die. The visual horror of this scene made me cringe as the woman’s body changed color, convulsed uncontrollably, and then turned into a blob before disintegrating completely. It’s amazing how horrific and dark this anime can be, while it can suddenly have the comedy typical to shounen later on.

I’m not really a fan of Yushiro right now, but I do quite like Tamayo already. She’s also a demon but she’s a doctor who appeared before Tanjiro in the beginning with her gorgeous flower ability. Probably my favorite ability we’ve seen so far but it’s terrifying that she has to scratch herself to bleed it out. Thankfully she can heal it immediately.

It turns out that Tamayo is a doctor and she can also turn humans into demons as well. However, she only does it to those who are close to death or terminally ill and first asks if that’s what they want to do. However, it took her over 200 hundred years to turn Yushiro into one, so being able to do it took her a very long time. It makes me wonder how Muzan was able to do it, and how long. Tamayo and Yushiro are like any demon in that they need human blood, and they order blood in the guise of transfusions for themselves. Again makes me wonder why Nezuko is the way she is, but Tamayo mentions this. She does believe that Nezuko is quite unique in that she sleeps to heal and regain strength. And she also believes there is a way to turn demons back into humans, and to make that elixir, she needs to study Nezuko’s blood as well as blood from other demons. The problem is that she needs blood from demons on the same level of strength as Muzan and asks Tanjiro to procure them for her. Obviously it’s a very daunting mission, but if it’s to get his sister back, he agrees. And he’s kind of lucky(?) because the two lackeys that Muzan sent just arrived to kill him, so he has two samples already once he kills them. Well, if he kills them.

Very interesting stuff this time around. Seeing Muzan in action for a bit was enough to show how powerful and terrifying he is. I’m very curious about his family too. Is this a woman he really did fall in love with and started a family with? Or did he use hypnotism to make them think he’s their husband/father so he could continue the ruse of appearing normal like everyone else? Though he did seem to show care for his wife and daughter, so that’s something to think about. Also, that flashback of the man that looks like Tanjiro of course is very relevant but I doubt we’ll get answers soon, though it seems obvious.

I’m glad we’re making strides in the plot with Nezuko. At least Tanjiro has some new allies that can help him out. And no, screw you, Yushiro. I don’t know what you’re talking about, Nezuko is not ugly. >:|