Demon Sayer Corps: Kimetsu no Yaiba 24 & 25 – TRAAAAAINING AAAAARRCCCCC

Hello everyone. I know i’m a bit behind on this, but I finally managed to compile the post for Kimetsu no Yaiba episodes 24 and 25. Good heavens, I’ve been loving this show, and this collab as well, so i’m very sad to see it ending. Only one more post after this, which will be on Moya’s blog… at least, until season 2 (maybe) or the movie (maybe).

As always, for clarity’s sake:

I’m talking in blue

Aria’s in the maroon

Moyaya is red

Plyasm would be green… if he were still participating.

---

Episode 24:

What are your general thoughts on this episode?

I swear I’ve read Astral say something to this effect, but…did somebody say TRAINING ARCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC?! (I was right – his exact words, which were from episode 3, were: “Is just one episode considered a… TRAAAAAAINING AAAAAAAARC?”) 

Zenitsu is the literal worst.

The training was more interesting and logical than I expected, so I’m not complaining. And the interaction with Shinobu in the end was sweet.

Discussion:

I said it last episode, too… and considered saying it here as well!!

Well, I beatcha to it. So there. *smug smirk*

*angry fist shaking*

Also Moya, apparently “Tanjiro and Shinobu on the roof” became a meme for its sexual overtones, but I have no proof of this outside a dot point on TV Tropes…that’s why I’m surprised you call it “sweet”.

Wait what? What’s sexual about it??

It looks vaguely sexual if you look at it a certain way.

And this is why my hope in humanity is rapidly fading away…

Did the episode fit your expectations, and in which ways did it differ from it?(If it does)

Welp, there was rehabilitation training for sure. Zenitsu dd kind of exercise his hands in a way, just not when they were tiny, so I was about 75% on the money with my predictions.

Oh, one thing that did surprise me: the fact that Murata is a legitimate character. I laughed when he showed up to say hi to Tanjiro. Like, did a quintessential meat shield side character actually get addressed by name by the protagonist?

Yeah it was pretty much what I was expecting. The butterfly house girls were more adorable than anticipated though…

What do you expect to happen from here on out?(and why)

Tanjiro faces off against Kanao in a game of Extreme Tag. Also, more recuperation for our meme bois. (I say that because of #RedrawGiyuu and #RedrawInosuke.)

I just want it to continue…

Kanao backstory time!

Which scene got the most reaction out of you? (If any at all)

This actually gave me the biggest reaction by giving me incredibly mixed feelings, but Zenitsu’s treatment of girls. He both loves them wholeheartedly (for their bodies) and yet wouldn’t throw tea in their faces…so he’s kind of a gentleman, but definitely not a playboy. I do agree with Zenitsu on how Inosuke hasn’t dealt with girls much, though. 

Which character did you like the most this episode? Have they done anything in particular/changed?

Murata. I didn’t think he’d be back (then again, that must be why he’s a named character), but he’s more of a fun character than I thought he’d have any right to be for a dispensable demon slayer. He’s also unscathed, which is also something I didn’t anticipate.

Definitely Kanao. It was nice to see her kicking our boys’ butts. She doesn’t look it, but she’s definitely put in a lot more training hours than any of the 3, maybe more than all of them combined. She is next in line for Hashira, after all…

The three girls with button eyes. They’re kind of moe.

What’s the high point of the episode for you and why?

When Tanjiro went “Please forgive me,” implicitly referring to Haganezuka. Moya said back in episode 20, “[Tanjiro’s] gonna have a good time once the masked sword-maker guy [Haganezuka] finds out [Tanjiro broke his sword]…” and only now do we see its ramifications. In fact, that’s the only humour that really hit the spot this episode for me. 

When Tanjiro asks Shinobu “are you angry?” out of the blue, and when Shinobu admits she is. It shows just how contradictory her core values are (being friends with demons vs. hating them).

I don’t know why, but I found it rather hilarious watching Inosuke and Zenitsu get all depressed after Kanao wrecks them.

What can be improved in this episode and why? (a.k.a low point)

I was trying to figure out who Aoi was, since the exact intro for her was “You’ll be up against myself, Aoi and Kanao there.” In order for me to understand the girl who was speaking was called Aoi, you’d need to insert an extra comma after “Aoi” in that sentence, since I thought Aoi was offscreen or something…(maybe I just interpret commas funny, since I’m not particularly bothered with Oxford commas myself.)

Zenitsu. And why does Tanjiro become so screamy as well in this episode?

Zenitsu x2

Pick a situation from this episode. If you were put in this situation, how would you have handled it?

If I were Tanjiro, I would not have had the guts to point out Shinobu’s anger even if I perceived it, so props to him.
Is that bravery, or just stupidity…

Most beautiful scene?(screenshot)

Inosuke is in the perfect pose to be photoshopped on to a 4-legged animal, while Tanjiro’s face is far too cute for this show (not in a “husbando” way, but a “childish innocence” way). Plus being Zenitsu is suffering, as you can see here.

Timing this screenshot was difficult.

This is basically my reaction whenever Zenitsu is on screen…

Discussion:

Is that screenshot meant to be creepy, Moya…?

Is it?

I always thought negative images (like the dark section of Shinobu in the screenshot above) were creepy…just a bit, but still.

 

In 10 words, summarise what you want to say about this episode. (A good joke question?) 

Rehab training arc:

Tanjiro strengthens breathing

Blowing into gourds.

Tanjiro breathes, Zenitsu screams, and Inosuke suffers an existential crisis.

New on trending: #cancelzenitsu

Discussion:

I think the “blowing into gourds” concept…it makes sense but out of context, it sounds kinda dirty…LOL.

Sheesh, my mind didn’t even go there when I read that, Aria (lol). 

And here I thought I was supposed to be the one making dirty jokes…

---

Episode 25:

What are your general thoughts on this episode?

Another transition episode…but this one has a peek at the eventual Murder Train movie, so it’s better than the last ones. I wonder if this movie will be Murder on the Orient Express, but Demon Slayer style.

I don’t have much to say. 

A pretty slow, yet somewhat comfortable episode.

Did the episode fit your expectations, and in which ways did it differ from it?(If it does)

Well, we actually got Haganezuka back to exact some sword revenge, so there you go, Moya. Aside from that…yup on the extreme tag, but no on Kanao’s backstory. (I guess I should’ve seen it coming though, since it’s called “Tsuguko, Kanao Tsuyuri”.)

I expected more of the episode to be about Kanao and the Kochous, but what we got was enough to tell the story. That train murder preview was a bit of a shocker though!

I’m just getting more and more depressed as this cour comes to a close… I want more!!!

Discussion:

Tsuguko is written 継子…the second character you might be familiar with as the one for “child”, but the first one is less common. Its most relevant meaning to the Demon Slayer term is “to follow in someone else’s footsteps”, but somehow this kanji combo…also means “stepchild” when read as keishi/mamako???

I thought of “stepchild” when I saw the kanji too, and I do think the implication is there.

It fits well enough, anyways.

What do you expect to happen from here on out?(and why)

Well, we’re probably not getting any good stuff until the Murder Train Movie comes out Soon (™), so I suspect we’re just going to get Inosuke/Zenitsu finishing up their training and they set out on another mission, or maybe a minor mission to lead into the movie.

I heard the next episode is called “The House of Escher.” There better be some clever Edgar Allan Poe reference.

Well, since apparently they’re making the Infinity Train arc into a movie, I guess I should have high hopes for that arc to be as awesome as it rightly deserves to be. 

Discussion:

I think the next episode is called “New Mission”. Irina and Crow were just trying to be clever with you.

Which scene got the most reaction out of you? (If any at all)

Nezuko, Inosuke and Zenitsu doing the next-ep preview together. It was interesting that they didn’t have Tanjiro there…until he showed up and did his usual stuff…

Tanjiro tapping Kanao with the teacup.

I’m with Moya here. That was super cute.

Which character did you like the most this episode? Have they done anything in particular/changed?

Kanao. Not necessarily because of her backstory, but because I realised she was Naruto running during the tag game. In short, she wants to see them aliens-er, demons…?

Kanao. I find her relationship with the coin interesting. Her bitter backstory revolves around money, and the coin has the kanji for “internal” and “external” inscribed on either side. On a more personal note, I totally relate to her indecisiveness?

Kanao (x3). I really love her character, she’s so cool and beautiful yet also so sad and sorrowful all in a single package. She makes you want to protect her even though she could probably beat you up just as easily.

Discussion:

You can see one side of the coin clearly at one point. It says 表 (front) on it and then a few seconds later you can see what appears to be 裏 (back) on the back…but while I don’t 100% agree with how you translated those kanji, Moya, I do agree about the indecisiveness.

What’s the high point of the episode for you and why? 

Continuing with the theme of kanji, when there was a distinguishing between Flame and Fire Breathing. If you know how some kanji work, fire (火) is one character while flame (炎) is two of that character. The reason why I list it here is because I remember being annoying about that exact technicality a few years back when Boueibu was starting out (since Ryuu’s power is listed as “flame”, but it makes more sense in context to call it “fire”) and that brings back memories… 

Train murder. Brings back not only Agatha Christie, but Baccano flashbacks.

Honestly… just watching the antics of our 3 bois. They’re pretty hilarious when they’re all together, after all.

Discussion:

The high point of an episode is the distinction between two similar kanji. Aria, are you a linguist??

No, I’m not. I’m just a person who gets annoyingly picky about things sometimes and who’s a few years off from being a bona fide Japanese translator. (Come to think of it, I once had to read something on Indonesian linguistics and it bored me half to death…which just goes to show how much passion I have for something I don’t feel a personal connection to.)

I feel woefully unintelligent here, as someone who can’t read kanji at all ;-;

What can be improved in this episode and why? (a.k.a low point)

Why the heck do we hear Nezuko’s voice all of a sudden? It’s such a non-sequitur.

It takes falling in love with a boy for Kanao to…what? Find herself? Make her own decisions?

Discussion:

I agree, Nezuko suddenly “speaking” was a bit random. I thought about how that scene might have been depicted in the manga when I got to that part, but came up with no good conclusion. Maybe a speech bubble that isn’t attached to anything?

(Yoohoo…Astral, we need your assistance here…)

Hmmm… I can’t remember exactly. Hold on a bit… *page flipping noises*

Nezuko talking actually seems to be a scene unique to the Anime. I can’t seem to find that scene in the Manga, anyways.

Pick a situation from this episode. If you were put in this situation, how would you have handled it?

I’m bad at being motivated for things, especially physical exercise… I might have just given up on being a Demon Slayer after seeing the required regimen to learn continuous concentration breathing…

Most beautiful scene?(screenshot)

Full moon.

Young shinobu was so grumpy!!

In 10 words, summarise what you want to say about this episode. (A good joke question?) 

While the boys heal up,

Kanao thinks about her

Coin and backstory.

Training Arc Pt. 2: assessment and evaluation.

(I’ll oneup Moya here) Training Arc 2: Backstory Boogaloo

---

I… I don’t have anything for an aniblogger secrets section. Yeah, I know, I’m boring and lame. But I seriously couldn’t come up with anything…

I am rather depressed at this show’s run coming to a close. It’s been one of my favorites of the year, especially the stunning visuals, and lovely OST. I’m a huge fan of the series as a whole, but I guess i’ll get tided over by the movie…

As always, thank you all for reading. I hope you’re enjoying the series… Let me know what you think of it down in the comments!! Make sure to visit the blogs of the others in the collab for some more excellent content. Again, thanks so much for reading, and I’ll see you all in the next post!