Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: Yuukaku-hen (Episode 10) - Never Give Up

Demon Slayer Kimetsu No Yaiba Yuukau hen Title

Tanjiro is the only one left which allows Gyuutarou the chance to get close and personally antagonize him. He even offers him the chance to become a demon, however, Tanjiro was just waiting for his chance.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: Yuukaku-hen (Episode 10) – Never Give Up

What happened?

Tanjiro could barely move. The Entertainment District had been destroyed. Buildings burned around them. He could see no one else, but at least Nezuko was all right. Gyuutarou appeared before him and began to mock him. He called him disgraceful for surviving and for being unable to protect his sister. Then, he leant forward and bent two of Tanjiro’s fingers back, snapping them like twigs.

Tanjiro jumped to his feet, grabbing Nezuko and his sword, he ran. Gyuutaro ran after him and continued to mock him. However, Tanjiro had been waiting for this moment. He lunged forward and headbutted Gyuutarou, but it was just a headbutt. What could that possibly do to a demon? But he couldn’t move. Then, he noticed the wisteria-laced Kunai stabbed into his leg. Tanjiro grabbed his sword and slashed.

Daki was about to help her brother when Zenitsu emerged from the wreckage and attacked. He had to make the most of this chance. However, Tanjiro wasn’t strong enough and Gyuutarou fought back. This time, it was Tengen who blocked his attack and countered. Tanjiro, backing him up was stabbed by Gyuutarou’s poisoned scythe, but that wasn’t going to stop him this time. Inosuke appeared and helped Zenitsu. Could they actually win this one?

Demon Slayer Kimetsu No Yaiba Yuukau hen Episode 10 Daki watching Gyuutarou confront Tanjiro

What did you think?

This was peak flashiness for sure. It was also pretty horrific. I’ve had someone break one of my fingers like that before and every time I see it happen it makes me shudder. The fight was spectacular and I loved how Tanjiro never gave up. None of them did, which has left me feeling a little off about this episode. There’s no denying that it was incredible to watch. This is an animation studio at the top of its game. No doubt about it.

The back-and-forth nature of the fight has been a bit frustrating. For example, how many times did Tanjiro almost cut off Gyuutarou’s head? I feel like he’s almost done it in the last three episodes, each a different time with a slightly different approach, that all ended the same way. He blocked them and then unleashed his Demon Blood Art. Everyone is getting pretty much killed every couple of episodes, but they just bounce back and keep going. It looks great and makes for some spectacular moments, but it feels a little lazy.

Demon Slayer Kimetsu No Yaiba Yuukau hen Episode 10 Tanjiro

Demon Slayer Kimetsu No Yaiba Yuukau hen Episode 10 Zenitsu

What have you learnt?

There was the moment that Tengen came back and almost instantly, Gyuutarou worked out that he had stopped his own heart to stop the poison pumping through his body. How on Earth did he work that out? Then, we had Zenitsu who used his special move that he can only use twice before it drains him to escape, which I was fine with. However, Inosuke reappeared and revealed he survived because he can move his organs and is resistant to poison from growing up in the mountains. This all seems fairly unlikely, especially all at once.

Never mind the fact that Tanjiro has received so many wounds, he shouldn’t even be able to lift his head, let alone wield a sword. I get it, the bigger the injury, the more powerful the triumph, but at some point, people have to start dying. At the end of this episode, Gyuutarou appeared to unleash his Demon Blood Art one last time and it obliterated everything. Tanjiro who was kneeling next to the body, choking on the poison will obviously survive. I just feel like if you’re not prepared to kill some characters, don’t put them in a situation that would have killed them several times over.