Demon Slayer Season 2 (2021)
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Demon Slayer Season 2 Review
The second season of Demon Slayer was released in 2021. It adapted two arcs from the manga and it was mostly a success.
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“The bond between Nezuko and me cannot be severed by anyone“
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The first half of this season adapted the Mugen Train Arc. This was basically just a rehash of the movie itself that was repackaged into television episodes, so I am not going to comment upon this arc in this review as I have already reviewed it extensively for the film review. It’s an amazing story that remains the best one in the anime so far.
As for the second half of this season, it dealt with Entertainment District Arc, and overall it was very strong. Admittedly, it started off with a couple of episodes that were too slow paced and overly comedic. The momentum from the movie did grind to a halt at this moment. Yes, the trio disguising themselves as girls was certainly hilarious and the mystery elements were solid, but even more could have been done with its intriguing setting and cast of characters.
But the second half of this arc was so thrilling that it made up for that slower start. The final fight was in a way even better than the one in the movie, though it didn’t resonate emotionally as much as that one did. The show still has a problem making us acquainted with all these different attacks and exactly how demons are created and how they function, but at least the fights are so epic and beautifully executed in visuals, sound and score.
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The animation continues to be the absolute highlight of this entire series. Not only is it colorful and fluid, but also very artistic at times as the costumes, period details and different attacks are all gorgeously conveyed. The animation is so fantastic that it made the show feel lived-in, which was very important. The sound effects and voice acting are altogether superb as well while the score is also effective at accompanying those epic action sequences.
Nezuko got more to do this time around as she significantly powered up, which led to some terrific action scenes for her. Tanjiro continues to improve, but very gradually, which I admired as usually anime heroes get to power up way too quickly. Inosuke and Zenitsu are once again hilarious sidekicks that steal the show in terms of humor, but still prove to be competent fighters in their own right.
As for the new additions here, Tengen is a different Hashira than others as he is more arrogant and “flashy” as he would often call himself. He was an instantly hilarious creation as this flamboyant guy who has three wives, but he is also very good as a fighter and his scenes are very memorable.
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As for the demons, Daki and Gytaro are both formidable villains who posed a genuine threat to our heroes. The final fight was so exhilarating as the two just refused to die, which resulted in so much bloodshed, torture and mayhem. I could have gone without that final episode that humanized these monstrous killers, but it was still solidly done.
Overall, the second season of Demon Slayer was quite strong. Entertainment District Arc ended problematically and it started off too slowly, but the characters are well developed and their arcs are uniformly strong while the animation continues to be phenomenal and the action scenes are truly exhilarating and hugely entertaining. The season ended with a bang while still making me excited for the future.
Worst Episodes: Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui and Infiltrating the Entertainment District.
Best Episodes: Defeating an Upper Rank Demon and Never Give Up.
