Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (Episode 13) – Something More Important Than Life
Tanjiro’s fight against the Tsuzumi Demon is just getting started. With the room spinning and turning, how can Tanjiro even get close enough to the hurt Demon?
What did you watch?
This is the third episode in the Tsuzumi Demon arc and it shows no signs of slowing down. Episode 13 of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba continues to develop the world and the characters while maintaining the same stunning animation and uptempo action. I’m still having a lot of fun with this series and I can’t for it to air each week. If it was available, I would have watched the whole series in a couple of days, but it’s not, so let’s talk about this episode. There will be spoilers beyond this point.
What happened?
Tanjiro and Tsuzumi Demon continued their fight. The demon seems to be frustrated that everyone was in his house and stopping him from drinking the special blood that he needed to get stronger and rejoin the twelve demon moons. It also turned out that he was number six of the lower moons, so basically the weakest of them, which makes sense since he was removed. That, of course, means he was strong enough to be one at one point…
Tanjiro struggles to overcome the spinning room and slashing attacks that seem to fly through the air. Given his injuries, it’s amazing that he’s still going, although I did just dig up a garden with a badly sprained ankle which is pretty much the same thing, so it’s entirely possible. Tanjiro manages to buy himself a moment to think by asking the demon its name. This catches it off guard and brings up some memories from its past. This looks like the time to counter…
What did you think?
I loved it. I was a little surprised that Tanjiro took on the demon alone as I was expecting it to be too powerful. That said, I had no problem with the way he did it. Once more, Tanjiro shows that compassion and understanding are a couple of his greatest strengths. Even when faced with the incredible power of the Tsuzumi Demon he managed to reach it and gain its respect by his actions. Whether he knew what he was doing or not, it was the care and consideration that goes into Tanjiro’s thought process that gave him the win.
What was your favourite moment?
You would think it would be the thrilling conclusion to the battle with the Tsuzumi Demon, but that was more like the starter. It was an excellent starter. No doubt, but we are about to have one hell of a main course. It started when Zenitsu was forcefully ejected from the house. He managed to protect the boy and then found the Boar Mask Demon Slayer ready to cut down Tanjiro’s box with Nezuko inside. Zenitsu stepped between them and would not budge, even when facing death.
What was your least favourite moment?
It wasn’t a huge thing, but they showed us the Tsuzumi Demon’s past twice. First in the long-form and then a second time with the key moments pushed together. It feels like they don’t trust the viewers to remember what just happened and it’s kind of annoying. I get that not everyone is like me where they remember every little thing that happens for the rest of their lives, but most people do not forget something that happened a couple of minutes ago…
Who was your favourite character?
So, let’s start by saying that they really didn’t do Zenitsu any favours over the last couple of episodes. They could have easily got the message across about his scared nature without overpowering everything else. If anything it made a lot of viewers dislike Zenitsu. Had they toned it down, I don’t think it would have been as polarising.
In this episode, we finally got to see him as he should be. Sure, he’s still scared and still makes outrageous faces, but not as often and we finally got to see why he is like this and the respect he feels for Tanjiro. Imagine hearing everything from blood vessels to people talking while you sleep. The guy must be on edge all the time. So, to stand up to the boar masked Demon Slayer to protect a demon was pretty heroic, especially as he has no idea how strong he really is.
Who was your least favourite character?
That’s a fairly easy one this time and it’s the boar masked Demon Slayer. We learnt that he was the fifth survivor of the Final Trials, although it’s probably more accurate to call his the first survivor as he made it to the top of the mountain and back down, unprepared to wait around as he had demons to kill. He’s rash and impatient, but he is undeniably strong. It’s going to be interesting to see how Tanjiro deals with him given his obsession with killing Nezuko. I wonder if she’ll come out of the box and bewitch him with her looks and all-around cuteness!
Would you like some more?
One of the big surprises for me with this series has been the way that Tanjiro treats the slain demons. It’s really refreshing to see his compassion and understanding of what they must have gone through as he hopes that they find peace in the next life. I think it makes him a very interesting character and shows the humanity of not only him, but the demons as they die. They didn’t ask for this and are victims as much as the next person. Damn you, Muzan Kibutsuji!
Other reviews in the series
- Anime
- Season One
- Episode 1 – Cruelty
- Episode 2 – Trainer Sakonji Urokodaki
- Episode 3 – Sabito and Makomo
- Episode 4 – Final Selection
- Episode 5 – My Own Steel
- Episode 6 – Swordsman Accompanying a Demon
- Episode 7 – Muzan Kibutsuji
- Episode 8 – The Smell of Enchanting Blood
- Episode 9 – Temari Demon and Arrow Demon
- Episode 10 – Together Forever
- Episode 11 – Tsuzumi Mansion
- Episode 12 – The Boar Bares Its Fangs, Zenitsu Sleeps
- Episode 13 – Something More Important Than Life
- Episode 14 – The House with the Wisteria Family Crest
- Episode 15 – Mount Natagumo
- Episode 16 – Letting Someone Else Go First
- Episode 17 – You Must Master a Single Thing
- Episode 18 – A Forged Bond
- Episode 19 – Hinokami
- Episode 20 – Pretend Family
- Episode 21 – Against Corps Rules
- Episode 22 – Master of the Mansion
- Episode 23 – Hashira Meeting
- Episode 24 – Rehabilitation Training
- Episode 25 – Tsuguko, Kanao Tsuyuri
- Episode 26 – New Mission
- Movie
- Season Two – Yuukaku-hen
- Episode 1 – Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui
- Episode 2 – Infiltrating the Entertainment District
- Episode 3 – What Are You?
- Episode 4 – Tonight
- Episode 5 – Things Are Gonna Get Real Flashy!
- Episode 6 – Layered Memories
- Episode 7 – Transformation
- Episode 8 – Gathering
- Episode 9 – Defeating an Upper Rank Demon
- Episode 10 – Never Give Up
- Episode 11 – No Matter How Many Lives
- Season Three – Katanakaji no Sato-hen
- Season One
- Analysis
- Bonus Posts
- Manga
- Volume 1 – Cruelty
- Volume 2 – It Was You!
- Volume 3 – Believe in Yourself
You might also like…
Demon Slayer has had a few of those moments where it is almost like they don’t trust the viewers to remember things or pick up key points. It is about the only consistent issue I have with this anime is that it sometimes feels like it is being really obvious (like every time they mention Tanjiro’s sense of smell) or sometimes quite repetitive. However, everything else this episode was great and overall I enjoyed it a lot.
Yes, it’s frustrating that it would be such an easy thing to fix, but yeah, otherwise it’s been great. I think it’s another shounen thing. I remember a couple episodes of One Piece where the crew was standing on the top of a tower ready to fight. They were there for four episodes as we saw flashback after flashback. Then to top it off, they did a flashback of the events leading up to that point. I love these shows but stuff like that really gets to me.
Naruto.
Naruto (and Bleach) made me immune to repetition! I mean, I remember seeing the same fight between Naruto and Sasuke on way more than one occasion!
So it really isn’t bothering me (all that much) in this series! Most of the time!
There’s definitely an efficiency element to it that annoys me. Either show us more stuff or reduce the number of episodes. Admittedly, it’s not been as bad with Demon Slayer compared to One Piece, where I think if someone actually cut out all the repitition the series would be about 60% as long as it is.
Acknowledging the humanity in demons is really powerful and I love these scenes. Tanjiro might be the only demon slayer who does that and it’s very thoughtful and kind of him.
Yeah, it’s definitely a very interesting angle to play and it’s making him more than just your average cookie cutter shounen hero.