Kimetsu no Yaiba: Yuukaku-hen Episode 6

This episode was INTENSE. After Tengen’s wild save in the underground “food storage,” we’re back with Tanjiro vs Daki and boy… I did not expect it to go the way that it did. Tanjiro was doing well to hold things down on his front, but when Daki called back the sashes that were separate from her, things turned sour real fast. Especially when she goes and just levels the entire block in a matter of seconds.

When that guy came out yelling at Tanjiro, that was when I knew things were about to get real bloody. However, I didn’t expect things to get THAT bloody. These poor people just ended up being at the wrong place at the wrong time as we know Daki just destroys everything she finds irritating. And just seeing the kind of damage she did just because she got annoyed was terrible. So many lives were lost in that instance and this just demonstrates how indifferent demons are to human life. It’s honestly really sad to see how someone who used to be human came to care so little about people. Probably one of the most tragic things about becoming a demon is they lose their capacity to care about others and focus only on themselves. And it’s quite clear that Daki only cares about herself and couldn’t be bothered to care about how many lives she just uprooted.

Being faced with such cold indifference towards people’s lives is probably what broke Tanjiro. He cares so much for others, that confronting someone who is essentially has the complete opposite view of how valuable human life is sent him off the deep end. This had to be the most angry that we’ve seen Tanjiro. And it’s FRIGHTENING. He got so angry that he popped the blood vessels in his freaking eyes… making him look like he turned into a monster.

I felt conflicted watching his fight with Daki. On one hand, it was an absolute spectacle to see him just tear through her sashes and it was amazing to see him go toe to toe with a high ranked demon. However, I couldn’t get excited and just felt uneasy the entire time. Something was off. This isn’t the way that Tanjiro usually fights. The way Tanjiro looked and acted actually scared me. He wasn’t even blinking and was just staring straight ahead of him as if he had no soul. Even the music playing felt off. It didn’t give off a feeling of overcoming your opponent with uplifting music. It felt… menacing.

And I’m SO GLAD that his youngest sister’s soul came to him to reminded him to breathe. Because looking back at it, he really didn’t seem like he was breathing at all during the fight. If she hadn’t stopped him, he most likely would have lost himself and his life if he had struck down Daki as he was. When he finally realized that he wasn’t breathing, the fatigue caught up with him and he couldn’t even take a decent breath.

Tanjiro is an empathetic soul who cares for everyone around him. Including the human lives that the demons used to be. He never killed out of pure malice or animosity as he nearly did to Daki. That’s what sets him apart from other Demon Slayers that he still saw the humanity in them. Even with Rui, he still reached out a comforting hand towards him despite the pain and suffering he caused Nezuko. In this state of mind, he was just going to off Daki with little to no empathy and I don’t even want to imagine how that would have affected his pure soul.

While Tanjiro desperately tried to catch his breath, thankfully Nezuko came in clutch with another sudden kick to the head. Just like she did back in episode 2 of the first season lol. Nezuko’s reaction was literally the same as Tanjiro’s upon seeing so many innocent people get killed right in front of her. And due to the hypnosis of seeing all humans as her family, this made it even more personal to her in her mind.

But man, I wasn’t expecting a Nezuko power up… Well, I guess that’s a lie since it showed in the opening that SOMETHING was going to happen with her. Though I will admit that the power up feels rather sudden, however, it may be because of Nezuko’s rage of watching all those people die. Which caused her to transform to look more like a monster as well. And while it was good for Nezuko to have a power up, I am feeling worried for her emotional and mental state, similar to how I felt about Tanjiro when he was acting on pure killing intent.

I like how it was brought up by the second oldest son that both Tanjiro and Nezuko get extremely angry on the behalf of others. And it seems that they will lose themselves to that anger with complete disregard for their own safety. Which is what we saw with Tanjiro as he nearly suffocated himself if not for his little sister calling out to him. And it affirms my feelings towards the fight because it feels like Tanjiro would have lost himself in his rage as well if he had ended up killing Daki. Hearing his little brother say that it scares him if they ended up losing something important to them in their rage just hit my heart. It’s as if Tanjiro would have lost his kindness or pure heart if he were to act out of pure animosity and killing intent. I’m so glad that his family is still watching out for him. T^T

I also appreciate the fact that Rengoku’s dad actually apologized to Tanjiro. While it was via letter and not face-to-face, the fact that he still apologized to him is big. And while this doesn’t justify his actions, we learn a bit why he fell apart. It was pretty obvious that his wife’s death was the start of his emotional and mental downward spiral. While we don’t know everything that caused him to act the way he did, I still appreciate the fact that he does seem to be doing better. Even going as far as to acknowledge that he’s been a fool for far too long. And I think it’s absolutely touching that while Rengoku may be gone, his final words were what helped his father finally get back on his feet.

Ugh, Rengoku is just so good. Even tough he’s gone, his influence can still be felt by those who’s lives he touched. It was nice to see a little bit of how Rengoku became the Hashira we knew him as. The guy wasn’t even formerly trained for the most part and depended on self study which is honestly incredible. For him to be such a powerful swordsman from mostly just reading about flame breathing, Rengoku was an absolute genius. But I wish we got this flashback… earlier and not in the middle of a fight… again. Demon Slayer please, stop relying on flashbacks so much and put them in real time. >_<

We also learn that there is probably more to Tanjiro’s head marking and that it could be related to Sun Breathing. While he passes it off as it just being a coincidence that he got that marking, I feel like a scar wouldn’t change so drastically without a good reason. Especially since the original blunt looking scar on his forehead doesn’t even show up underneath this “new scar.”

Also… with this new voice reveal for that figure that Muzan constantly remembers, I do hope that everyone stops believing that this is Tanjiro’s dad lol. The voice actor is completely different so let us put that theory that they are the same person to rest lol.

This episode had it’s ups and downs, but I really did enjoy visiting a different part of Tanjiro’s character and how his care for others can be warped into a hateful rage. Hopefully someone can help Nezuko as her siblings did for Tanjiro since her rage stems from the same rage as his. Especially since this episode laid out why they shouldn’t be fighting out of pure animosity and killing intent. Hopefully Tengen and the other reach them before something “precious” is lost in the fight. The stakes are high and hopefully Tanjiro isn’t completely taken out of the fight.

Shadow’s Note: Berry will be back on Demon Slayer’s coverage starting next week!