Hol’ up…
Since when could Tanjiro talk to birds?
Hooooly crap, Zenitsu. Zenitsu, Zenitsu, Zenitsu…I already knew he would be a cowardly character just from the tiny bit we saw of him before, but this is on a whole other level.
This boy must have tremendous luck somehow surviving Final Selection, or he probably has actual abilities. Well, no, we know he does because the OP shows us his lightning attacks. But oh my god my ears. Apparently Zenitsu is really popular, so I’m guessing he gets some good character development in the manga much later. But as of right now, in this moment, he’s awful. He has a terrible time with girls and wouldn’t stop harassing the nice girl that helped him, and I’m so glad she repeatedly slapped him because he deserved it. But…he didn’t learn his lesson at all. Ick. Thankfully Tanjiro was there to intervene but that disgusted face of his was hilarious. I didn’t find any of Zenitsu’s “comedy” bits to be funny at all, they were just plain annoying. He’s way too over the top and his type of character gets old really fast, and it made the episode very…off. I felt like the seriousness and the comedy wasn’t all too balanced this time around going from a man falling to his death, to then the comedy with Zenitsu not long after. It was very weird and I just wasn’t a fan of this episode or Zenitsu at all. The only times I laughed were when the little boy murdered Zenitsu with harsh (but very true!) words, and Tanjiro’s disgusted reactions.
Zenitsu is a huge coward and extremely pathetic, but I don’t really think he’s a bad person. I mean, that little scene of him sharing half of the riceball with Tanjiro showed that, and he can be cute when he wants to be. But…I don’t know how I’m going to fare with the show if Zenitsu is going to continue being like this because it’s going to drive me crazy quick. And I’m enjoying this show a lot so that would be upsetting.
Also that poor sparrow, though I don’t blame Zenitsu to not listening to it. I mean, it’s not a speaking sparrow like the crows…
So Zenitsu’s story is that he has a large debt on him, wanted to kill himself in the Final Selection, but he somehow managed to survive. He also has very good ears, like Tanjiro has a very good nose. Now he’s a demon slayer. Wow. Tanjiro’s crow takes them to where they have to be, which is a mansion. Outside they see two very shaken children but Tanjiro talks to them sweetly before getting their story. Turns out a demon randomly walked by them and kidnapped their brother and only him and they followed them to the mansion. Once they share their story, we hear the loud echoing sound of a tsuzumi and a man falls out from the balcony of the mansion. He violently crashes in front of them and Tanjiro heads over to him, but he dies shortly after.
Tanjiro is ready to head in and Zenitsu tags along, though scared shitless. Tanjiro leaves Nezuko outside with the kids and the boys go in. Zenitsu has another one of his “I’m going to die!” moments when he finds out that Tanjiro is still healing from broken bones (how is he even walking?), and they find that the kids followed them in because they heard scratching from inside the box. Zenitsu freaks out, accidentally pushes the little girl into a room with his butt, and Tanjiro heads in after her before the room completely changes along with the tsuzumi sound. In an incredibly well done 360 rotated scene, the room continues to change into other ones with each tsuzumi sound until it finally stops. The demon walks in front of them, angry at his prey getting away. Tanjiro is ready to fight it but finds himself standing on the wall of the same room. The demon’s Demon Art ability looks like something that would be the gimmick to a dungeon in a video game to be honest, and it’s really cool. The fight with the demon should get even more exciting as the boar head guy from the OP finally showed up, and he has awesome swords.
Also, that poor kid having to deal with Zenitsu. This episode was a strange one, not my favorite even though it’s setting up for a really cool fight. I’m worried Zenitsu’s shenanigans are going to ruin the show for me, but I hope he gets his growth very soon. He’s not a character type I necessarily like, but maybe I’ll find more entertainment with boar head because he had quite the entrance.
Yeah, Zenitsu is a riot but there’s actually a reason why he’s so antsy all the time and it’s actually explained later on in this arc. Though, the cause of it is briefly shown in this episode.
I’m really looking forward to that! I’m sure there’s a really good reason, but his outbursts are a bit much. There is a reason why he’s so popular and I do want to give him a fair chance.
“But as of right now, in this moment, he’s awful. ”
I really wish I could disagree, but when you’re right, you’re right!
” mean, that little scene of him sharing half of the riceball with Tanjiro showed that, and he can be cute when he wants to be.”
I think that scene was critical. At least, it kept me from completely disliking the character. Maybe Tanjiro will be a good role model for him!
Yeah! That little calm moment was huge considering he was screaming pretty much the rest of the episode. He doesn’t seem like a bad person, just…pathetic. I’m sure being around Tanjiro will give him a little boost.
Most manga reader hate Zenitsu in this chapter too. But i think he one of the prime example of Never judge a character by first impression. Seriously, he probably the most well-written character in the series. Even now, when watching these scene after reading the manga, it showed some of Zenitsu trait not just in his freak out scene but also from smaller scene and from context. He could just quit and find another job if he too scare, or he can let Tanjirou go in the house alone, but he did none of those.Also i don’t his sensei would just send him to the the Final Selection if he didn’t have faith in him
“Never judge a character from their first impression” I feel is something I’m getting used to. I don’t know if you’re watching it, but this season’s Kono Oto Tomare! is like this where new characters come in with a pretty bad first impression where I didn’t really like them, or even hated them. But Eva mentioned not judging them just yet (since she’s read the manga) and sure enough the characters get their moments and I’ve come to like them compared to when they were introduced.
That’s why I’m saying RIGHT NOW I’m not into Zenitsu, but I’m withholding my judgement right now and waiting for his chance to shine before I can say for sure whether I like him or not. Manga readers seem to like him a lot so I’ll look forward to when he gets his moments.
I don’t know if I’d say I like Zenitsu but I can stand him because I can sympathize with him. Basically I think I’d be similar to him in the same situation so if I said I can’t stand him I’d be attacking myself.
I mean this is anime so character traits are dialled up to 11 but the basic premise of constantly being terrified that you are going to be eaten by a demon is pretty relatable.
It sounds like he was pretty much conscripted/pressed into being a Demon Slayer and didn’t have any real choice in the matter.
I actually think it’s unfair to pass judgment on characters like Zenitsu because how many of us really know how we’d be in that situation?
Most of us don’t have to face that kind of terror on a daily on-going basis. Heck a lot of people get severe PTSD from a single traumatic experience.
Oh definitely. If I were in his place, I would be freaking out as well. These demons are no joke from what we’ve seen, and it’s a very dark and brutal world the demon slayers are in. Zenitsu being forced into being a demon slayer is probably what’s happened, though we don’t have clarification on that. Someone like him I don’t think would want to do all this, so if he was forced into all this…yeah, I feel for him.
I understand his fear, I just don’t like that his fears and outbursts are extremely over the top which is my main problem. I get it’s supposed to be funny but not when he’s screaming at the top of his lungs almost all the time. >_>
Hmm. I wonder if that’s a problem with translating something from manga to anime. You wouldn’t have to deal with the sound of the screaming in the manga so maybe it was less annoying to manga readers?
Since I haven’t read the manga I couldn’t say myself.
I’m used to emotional outbursts in manga and anime – particularly shonen – being wildly over the top by now. For me it’s part of the charm. It took me a few years to realise but anime is actually quite melodramatic.
I’ve just been binge-watching Fairy Tail over the last couple of weeks. I’d never seen it before and took a gamble and bought a box-set of all 277 episodes. I’m actually really enjoying it and Erza is a boss but it is full of melodrama. I’m up to episode 187 and after all these high stakes battles I’m pretty sure no-one has actually died.
Yeah that’s a huge thing. If I were just reading the chapters, I’d still be annoyed by him but the screaming is what really gets me the most. It makes sense.
Haha yeah anime is definitely dramatic that’s for sure!