At the end of Demon Slayer’s latest TV story arc, Tanjiro and his allies had just finished slaying a pair of demon siblings who collectively ranked as the 6th most powerful demon in existence. That’s good news for Tanjiro, since he needed the blood of one such demon so that a researcher could study it and potentially cure Tanjiro’s sister, Nezuko, of her own demon nature.
But what’s not good news is that slaying any of the six most-powerful demons (collectively called the Upper Rank Six) tends to draw the attention of the other top-ranked demons. After all, no one’s managed to kill one of them in more than a century. So now they’re really annoyed, and they’re heading out to put their diabolical response into motion.
Tanjiro, of course, knows nothing about this. How could he? He’s been in a coma for the last two months, ever since his injuries from his fight overcame his adrenaline. But now he’s up, and he’s ready to continue in his demon slaying.
The issue, however, is that he’s chipped his demon-slaying sword, and now he needs a new one. But swords with the power to slay demons don’t exactly grow on trees. And Tanjiro’s already broken one before, so his swordsmith isn’t willing to send him a new one. This time, he’ll need to visit the secret swordsmith village if he wants it.
When Tanjiro gets there, however, the swordsmith isn’t there, and he’ll need to wait for him to return. It’s just enough time for Tanjiro to begin looking for a “secret weapon” said to lie somewhere near the village.
As we stated in our last review on the series, fighting demons isn’t for the faint of heart. Those who go up against these powerful supernatural beings are sure to be fighting for their lives. But instead of running away, these Demon Slayers seek out those battles, looking to rid the world of these evil creatures to protect everyone else. At the very least, we’re certainly not going to call slaying demons a negative thing (and more on the spiritual side of those demonic forces below).
In the original anime, Tanjiro’s quest begins when he finds his entire family slaughtered by demons and his younger sister turned into one. His goal is to find a way to turn her back. And ultimately, To the Swordsmith Village tells a tale of family. Not only do Tanjiro and Nezuko protect one another, but even two siblings-turned-demons are encouraged to look out for each other, because family is just that important.
But here’s the thing: the demons in Demon Slayer aren’t what you might read about in the Bible. Sure, there are some superficial similarities: They’re evil and rejoice in suffering, for instance. But these beings also carry some traits that aren’t necessarily biblically accurate. For instance, people can become demons (and not just be possessed by them). Demons can also be killed via decapitation by some very special swords. And these beings each have a special power called a “Blood Demon Art,” supernatural abilities that revolve around blood magic.
Demons cause a lot of strife and pain in the world, and it causes characters to cry out in anger towards the gods they believe in. One character laments, “The gods are so cruel.” Another tells a god how she’ll “never pray to you again” if that deity allows someone to die. A boy yells to the gods that he’ll kill all of them … and Buddha. We also see Chachamaru, a spirit cat that acts as a messenger and transport mechanism.
One demon says that he “doesn’t regret becoming a demon” and would choose it every time. After his death, he arrives in a mist-filled landscape, wondering if he’s in hell. He walks into some nearby flames and vanishes. Other demons convene in an alternate dimension to discuss the slaying of another powerful demonic being.
Someone says, “No matter how many times I’m reborn, I’m going to be your little sister.” Someone’s magical attack turns into an elemental dragon. Nezuko uses her demonic fire-like ability to burn poison out of someone’s body.
Previous installments of the overarching TV and movie Demon Slayer story have mostly avoided unnecessary sexual content throughout the series thus far. However, this latest addition will disappoint those hoping that this story maintains that status quo.
A woman is shown bathing in a hot spring. She rises from the water, and we see her rear. Her breasts are seen, only barely covered by her hair. Later, when she comes running down a hill, the camera intentionally focuses on her bouncing chest. Tanjiro panics, yelling for her to cover up before her breasts spill out.
We later see Tanjiro jump naked into the hot spring; his private parts strategically hidden from view by a passing crow. Elsewhere, when a woman whispers into Tanjiro’s ear, he gets a nosebleed—a popular anime trope that’s shorthand for a character’s excitement about seeing or hearing something sexual.
Additionally, one female demon’s shirt exposes quite a bit of that character’s breasts. One man has three wives.
There’s quite a lot of slaying in Demon Slayer. Characters lose blood by the bucketful. Someone gets stabbed through the chest. Another combatant gets stabbed through his throat with a blade, which is visible in his mouth. Someone has his fingers brutally broken by a demon, and he’s further kicked and punched around. A couple of hands get cut off. A man and woman are both stabbed in the head with a scythe. A demon holds severed limbs and a head in its hands, and one of the limbs has a nasty bite out of it. A man coughs up blood.
Demons also get injured, too. Some are decapitated. But demons can only be permanently dispatched when they’re decapitated by specific swords. So when, at other times, they have their heads or hands ripped apart or split, the wounded body parts reconsolidate after a couple moments. One demon’s head is ripped from his body, but his head grows arms and legs and walks away on all fours.
Children in the story aren’t immune from the violence either. We see the bodies of Tanjiro’s dead siblings. We also glimpse the body of a girl who was burned to death at the age of 13. She was burned to death because she refused to have sex with a samurai (as the 13-year-old girl was hired to work as a prostitute), stabbing him in the eye instead. A woman beats a child, and the same child is hit with rocks by passersby. The boy is sliced in his back with a katana.
We hear many uses of “d–n” and “crap.” There are two uses of “p-ss,” and people are additionally called a variety of rude names, such as “idiot” and “scumbag.” “H—” is used three times. God’s name is abused once.
None.
None.
If you expected another epic installment a la Mugen Train, you’ll likely be sorely disappointed with this story.
That’s because Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba – To the Swordsmith Village isn’t really a movie—it’s both a recap and an early access preview. The whole thing takes us through episodes 10 and 11 of Demon Slayer’s already-released second season before we get to watch the first, rather uneventful episode of Season 3. So for die-hard fans of the show, that’s a cash-grab that’s probably not worth your money.
The aforementioned full-length episodes 10 and 11 show us the bloody and violent battle that concludes the season, one that’s rife with supernatural elements and some intense scenes. The subsequent first episode of Season 4, then, may feel like a nice breather. But its strange injection of a busty woman whose breasts take up more screen time than her face will certainly make viewers feel uncomfortable all the same.
Ultimately, the Demon Slayer franchise offers some redemptive messages and consistently emphasizes the importance of family. But these certainly won’t make any of Swordsmith Village’s issues any easier to swallow.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
