Demon Slayer’s newest villain takes the spotlight in episode three, setting an eerie tone moving forward. After having successfully infiltrated the Entertainment District, it’s now up to Tanjior, Zenitsu, and Inosuke to investigate their respective houses. Uzui is completely absent from this episode, but it’s not a problem as the pace briskly moves between each of the main trio.
Once again, the show does a great job of leaning into the eccentricities of each character, between Inosuke’s penchant for violence, Zenitsu’s overwhelming obsession to protect women, and Tanjiro’s almost comically hard work ethic. While they each get the time to shine, the real meat of the episode is spent introducing the series’ newest villain, the upper-rank demon Daki.
The opening of the episode starts out in black and white, portraying the extreme amount of time the demon has plagued the Entertainment District. Through various scenes scattered across the episode, we’re introduced to a bit of Daki’s history, her cruelty, and her undying love for Muzan.
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What I really love about this villain introduction is how unsettling it all feels. The audio design does a ton of heavy lifting to make every scene with Daki feel creepy, even when the visuals don’t necessarily represent that same feeling. Throughout the episode, it feels like we’re building to a crescendo that hits when Zenitsu meets, and interacts, with the villain.
Daki is essentially the same character as in the manga, but tonally her introduction just feels so much more substantial than in the source material. It’s the exact same way I felt about Akaza’s introduction in Mugen Train – the anime just does a phenomenal job of heightening how terrifying these villains really are. It makes me very excited for when the actual fighting gets started.
The other thing I really appreciated about this episode was a lot of the camera angles and framing of shots. Outside of the sheer animation quality, the way the studio frames things is just one of the reasons I think Ufotable’s adaption has worked so well so far. This episode proves that the studio is still putting a lot of thought into how each frame looks, and I appreciate that.
Demon Slayer’s second season is slowly ratcheting up the tension, and so far, it’s working for me.
SCORE: 8/10
As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 8 equates to “Great.” While there are a few minor issues, this score means that the art succeeds at its goal and leaves a memorable impact.
Disclosure: The critic watched the episode on Funimation for ComingSoon’s Demon Slayer Season 2 Episode 3 – What Are You? review.
