After the insane movie and the fantastic second season, Demon Slayer was on it´s way to become an absolute shounen powerhouse, standing next to the big works of Hunter x Hunter, Naruto or Fullmetal Alchemist. Watching Demon Slayer is always a treat, because you know how consistent and flawless Ufotable is with all of their IP´s. But can this season hold a candle against the groundbreaking previous ones? Let´s get into it.
Story – 6/10
Well to be completely fair, Demon Slayer has never been known to have the greatest story in shounen, but it is blatantly obvious that this season made the narrative even thinner than the previous ones. There is almost no real plot-progression throughout the entire series. At least the other ones had a cool concept or a mystery to solve before the actual big fight starts, but this one was just a bit to straightforward. The writing has also taken a big hit, this time more than ever. I mean, if I watch a shounen I don´t expect it to change my life, but all the long drawn out monologues about dying, confidence and strength have gotten to a level where it is just boring and repetitive. The show is titled swordsmith village arc, but most of the series takes place in a random forest. Also, the pacing was pretty bad. This arc somehow felt much slower than the entertainment district arc. Some characters fights just go on and on. Some episodes feel almost like you can skip them.
While this season doesn´t do anything awful, it merely serves the bare bones shounen formula that we are all familiar with, nothing more. If this was the first season, i´d be completely fine with that, but 4 seasons in, this feels like a step back for the franchise.
Art – 9/10
I mean, this is of course the obvious one. Ufotable would never dare to miss in this department and continue to push the medium to new heights. I think this is the season where you can truly start to see the improvement over the first one back in 2019, not in the fights, but in the still moments. Character designs have become even more detailed, the expressions are more pronounced and the camerawork is outstanding.
However the reason I cannot give the full score here, is because like I said, this is an improvement in everything they did since season one, not a reinvention. What I mean with that, is that there wasn´t a moment in the season that hit me quite the same as some of the big finales in the previous ones. I honestly think the source material just did not lend itself to a big climactic ending like the ones before, which is a shame, but not the studios fault, because in this season you truly for the first time felt the source material pulling the studio down which is crazy, because normally if you look at shows like Attack on Titan or One Punch Man, it is the complete opposite.
Sound – 9/10
The soundtrack is fantastic like always. I truly believe that every Demon Slayer Opening we got so far exceeded the one before it, which is a massive compliment because the first opening was already really good. Man on A Mission never disappoints with their crazy energy. The soundtrack itself was very high quality. Orchestral music, great intersections and insane sound designs. You feel every swing with the sword, every breath and every drop of blood.
Characters – 8/10
Okay, so this season kicks Inousuke and Zenitsu out of the story for a while, which is of course a little drawback, but I actually think they wouldn´t have fit in here as well as before. This season introduces two new big characters, the mist hashira Tokito and the love hashira Mitsuri. It´s funny, because everything I liked about Tokito is the opposite I liked about Mitsuri. Tokito had a pretty good backstory as well as a round character arc throughout this season, starting out as kind of an asshole in the beginning, he changes for the better which pays of really well in the finale. But I also think when you look at his fighting style and abilities, he is probably the most boring hashira so far by a mile. Mitsuri is the opposite. She doesn´t really have much of an arc or a long backstory, but the way she moves and fights is an absolute joy to watch. Every fight scene with her was beautiful and unique.
The other new character, that I heard many disliked, was Genya. I actually though he was really interesting. This arc kinda put more questions out about him than answers so I hope we get to see more about him in future seasons.
We also get the backstory of another highly important character that I really enjoyed, but going into that would lead me in the spoiler category.
Enjoyment – 8/10
This is Demon Slayer, so of course it is enjoyable, but like I said before I think this season is a step down in multiple categories. The next season has already been announced, so lets hope Demon Slayer can retake it´s place as the best modern shounen before Jujutsu Kaisen comes and snatches it away this summer season.
- Marco_Yooo
FINAL SCORE - 8/10
