This third season takes place at a swordsmith village, believe it or not, and focuses on the two main characters, Tanjiro and Nezuko, as well as two Hashira, Kanroji Mitsuri and Tokito Muichiro. Unlike the last two seasons, Inosuke and Zenitsu have no significant role in this season.
Moving onto the actual review portion, I give this season a solid 7 out of 10. It's a fairly good and competently made show and shouldn't be a waste of anyone's time, granted that they are already invested in the show from the last two seasons.
Pros:
- As is expected from Demon Slayer and UFOTable, the art and animation are second to none here compared to the competition. Comparing it to the last season however, I will say it lacks the visual spectacle and jaw-dropping final fight scenes of the second season. Fights and attacks look as stunning and spectacular as ever but lack the scene choreography to really sell the action.
- The sound design and music continues to be at the top of its game and remains just as good as it's always been. The detail of the folly is incredible and highly immersive and the soundtrack catapults you to the stratosphere.
- The characterization of Muichiro and Genya really bring them to life. Their backstories, albeit somewhat derivative, are tragically dark and really serve to endear the audience to their character when they've come across as unlikeable or underdeveloped before.
Cons:
- The story in Demon Slayer has never been anything to write home about and such is the case with this third season. The story just really isn't anything special and merely serves as a good enough foundation for cool action scenes to take place in.
- The pacing throughout the entirety of this season was particularly slow. Certain scenes dragged on for much longer than they needed and it sometimes felt like the only thing the characters were killing was time with the way they'd converse in the middle of a battle.
Overall, Demon Slayer: Swordsmith Village Arc is a pretty decent anime season, and still stands above average compared to most anime, but ultimately fails to live up to the expectations set up by the previous season. I think Demon Slayer is going to have a tick-tock content cycle where one season will be UFOTable conserving money and resources for the next season so that they're able to go all in just like in the Entertainment District Arc.
