This review contains minor spoilers for season 2 of Demon slayer.
There have been many standouts within anime over the years, and Demon Slayer is absolutely above the cut. Based on the manga that shares the name released in 2016, Demon Slayer is a staple within the Shonen genre. Following the journey of Tanjiro Kamado, a boy whose destiny is changed when his family is slaughtered and his sister is turned into a demon. Having no choice but to search for a cure, he joins the demon slayer corps with the intention of ending the demon scourge and finding his family's murderer.
As the first season went on, we saw Tanjiro slay numerous demons, encounter 2 fellow slayers who joined him in combat, and we watched him learn to master his 2 forms of breathing. As season 1 ended we were left with nothing more than a mission, a cliffhanger and an extremely positive hot-headed Hashira. The question is, did season 2 live up to the expectations set within season 1?
The first arc ‘Mugan Train’, is a direct follow up from the series 1 finale and also reflects the First demon slayer movie of the same name. Here we follow the fire Hashira ‘Kyojuro Rengoku’ as he investigates a string of killings on a popular Japanese train. Alongside Tanjiro and his friends, they aim to free the passengers of the Mugan train and destroy one of the powerful demons that oppose the slayer corps.
We learn about Rengoku’s past, family and his goal as a high-ranking member of the demon slayer corps. The familiar and beloved main characters are truly given their moment to shine in this arc in both humour, emotion and combat prowess. The visual style, that the series is famous for, is used beautifully and the finale is truly the peak of this story. We end on a high-level showdown between slayer and demon leading to an epic and emotional battle and conclusion.
Although we leave the first half of season 2 both emotional and in awe, we have a whole second half to enjoy and this arc is flashy. The ‘Entertainment district’ arc introduces a new Hashira ‘Tengen Uzui’, a master of sound breathing and by far the most powerful slayer we have seen up until this point. Uzui is an ex-shinobi turned slayer, wielding Nichirin blades (twin cleaver like blades) and trading in his years of residing in the shadows for a flashy loud lifestyle. The mission set by this powerful shinobi is to rescue a group of women from the entertainment district of Tokyo.
What ensues is a humorous stakeout by Tanjiro and his friends, each showing their best personality traits and allowing us to see use their heads. This however as we’ve established is demon slayer…and we want them to use their swords as soon as possible. When or hero’s do eventually uncover the identity of the demon whose been kidnapping women a chaotic battle ensues. Here we see all the battles and training pay off for our boys, as they battle against an upper rank demon. The elemental effects of the breathing forms are consistently fantastic, and due to their training the boys can perform these moves far more often. This gives us a feast for the eyes, whilst also highlighting the improved strength of the main characters leading to a truly fantastic showcase.
There are many twists in the final episodes of this season, and as always these moments are epic, emotional and truly spectacular. Demon slayers writing style leads to a sympathetic tone even for the evil within this world, and this truly shines through in this season. Overall season 2 has been a roller coaster of amazing spectacles, emotional moments and truly powerful writing. If you need a new anime fix this should absolutely be on your list, and if you haven’t started this masterpiece, I highly recommend you do!
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