Welcome back to the Demon Slayer Planet podcast! I am your host BrianofEarth16 of the Daily Planet and in the second episode of this podcast I am going to be doing a review of Demon Slayer Season Three Episode Four – “Thank you, Tokito” We delve into Muichiro Tokito’s epiphany as he starts to remember fragments of his past and the battle between Tanjiro, Nezuko, Genya, and the clones of the Upper Four demon while the Swordsmith Village is under attack by demons.
The episode starts at the scene where the Mist Hashira, Muichiro Tokito, makes the choice to save Kotetsu. This occurs after he remembers what Tanjiro Komado told him: “Whatever you do for others comes around to help you, as well, in the end.”
Kotetsu thanks the Hashira and warns him that the demons have attacked Mr Kanamori and Mr. Hagenuzeka. The young swordsmith voices his concern for Mr. Hagenuzeka’s safety since the swordsmith is forging the Sengoku sword. He adds that Hagenuzeka may not finish the sword.
As Tokito questions Kotetsu’s pleas, he thinks back to when he was being nursed back to health by the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps, Kagaya Ubuyashiki and his wife. In the flashback, Tokito appears to be injured for some unknown reason. Kagaya mentions that the young Hashira would regain his memories and that it will clear away like “the mist in his head.”
Meanwhile, Tanjiro, Nezuko, and Genya are battling Upper Four’s clones. Tanjiro discovers that the clones weaken when they are cut continuously. He also discover that each of the four clones represents an emotion: Anger, Joy, Pleasure, and Sadness. However, the clones prove to be too powerful for the Demon Slayers to defeat and eventually mortally wound Genya and neutralize the Komado siblings.
As the Swordsmith Village is overrun with demons, the Love Hashira, Misturi Kanroji, comes to the rescue and is ready to fight.
The Good
Muichiro Tokito’s backstory
We get a glimpse of Muichiro’s past before the events of “Demon Slayer.” It seemed that for some reason he was wounded. As I saw this scene, at lot of questions were evoked in my mind” How did Tokito get injured? Does the “mist” that Kagaya is referring to mean that Tokito might have amnesia? And what is this second chance?
I feel that there is so much more to Tokito. He is considered a prodigy since he attained the rank of Hashira at a very young age. He is seen as a pragmatist and a bit arrogant. And in that particular scene with Kotetsu, he is seen struggling with his pragmatism and what is right; he questions if he should either safeguard the village or save the two other swordsmith like he did Kotetsu.
Tanjiro, Nezuko, Genya vs the Upper Four Clones
During his battle against one of the clones of Upper Four, Tanjiro learns that each demon represents an emotion: Joy, Anger, Sadness, and Pleasure. He also learns that when Upper Four’s clones are separated, they become weaker.
I thought it was awesome how each clone not only represented an emotion but they also had names. The Joy Clone fighting Tanjiro was name Urogi, the Pleasure Clone fighting Nezuko was named Karaku, the Sorrow Clone fighting Genya was name Aizetu, and the Anger Clone ordering the other clones around was named Sekido.
I have to say that the MVP of this fight was Nezuko. She’s obviously very strong but this fight really showcased it. Since her battle in the previous Entertainment District Arc, Nezuko has become stronger and formidable with her blood demon art. She was able to hold her own against an upper rank demon, or a copy of him.
Genya’s “never say die attitude” was another thing that I enjoyed about the episode. As Aizetu tried killing the hot-headed Demon Slayer, Genya still put up a fight not only against him but also against Sekdio by using his Nichirin gun.
I also love how Kotetsu and Tokito are taking on the comedic relief roles that are usually filled by my favorite Demon Slayer Zenitsu Agatsuma and Inosue Hashabira. Kotetsu seems to share many similarities with Zenitsu as they are both anxiety prone and are over-the-top. Tokito and Inosuke are both always ready to get in on the acton and are arrogant.
The Issues I had with the episode
This episode should have focused heavily on Tokito. I would have liked to see Tokito have an internal dialogue with himself for almost the entire episode. It wouldn’t necessarily show the entire backstory of the Mist Hashira but it would drop hints of who he might have been before he became a Demon Slayer. This, I feel, would show that the as a Demon Slayer, Tokito is fighting his own internal demons just as much as he is fighting the real ones. I feel that the Upper Four battle could have been seen briefly and then featured prominently into the next episode.
The overall verdict
I’m giving this episode an 8.5 out 10. It was great seeing a flashback of Tokito’s life before the events of the “Swordsmith Village Arc.” The flashback makes the view raise questions about who he is and what happened to him. This episode made the viewer realize that there is more to Muchio Tokito. I also felt that it showcase his character development which I know if going to slowly unravel in the next coming episodes. As I have said before, Tokito has become one of my favorite characters so there it is.
“Demon Slayer” is now streaming on Crunchyroll.
