Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Swordsmith Village Arc – 01 – Less Sizzle, Please

I am often intimidated by double-length episodes because they often contain double the content. Not so with the premiere of this newest season of Demon Slayer. A full fifteen minutes is given over to a Bad Guy Meeting scene that could have easily taken less than five. The overly indulgent soaring shots of the Escher-like Infinity Castle, and the dramatic musical stabs whenever anyone says anything, get old fast. This had no business being a double episode – the content just wasn’t there.

This is overwrought, inessential Demon Slayer at its worst, and while it sucks it occurs at all, things are made worse by the fact it’s what starts an otherwise standard easing-back-in episode. For the first time in 113 years, the Upper Moons have been summoned because one of their own has been saved. Kibutsuji Muzan berates them and tells them to do better. As they (probably) say in Texas, it’s a 3-ounce steak with a whole cow’s worth of sizzle.

Thankfully, what follows is much better. There’s some immediate intrigue as the episode switches gears to someone that looks like an adult Tanjirou with a wife and babe, but it’s more likely this is an ancestor, since he has a different name, Sumiyoshi. This ancestor is hosting a guest wearing the earrings that will be the Kamado heirloom.

Tanjirou wakes up from a two-month coma, and the first person he sees is a surprised and tearful Tsuyuri Kanao, who manages to utter quite a few words to mark the occasion. She’s soon joined by the three tiny stretching girls, a relieved Aoi, the Kakushi who rescued him and his friends (and who gets a brief POV monologue).

Inosuke also appears, though it seems he had been hanging from the ceiling for over a day and no one noticed him until Tanjirou, who is lying face up. He makes his usual enormous ruckus about Tanjiou worrying him, and he and the Kakushi bicker until Tsuyuri yells at them.

When Tanjirou asks the 3 girls if he got his repaired sword back, they present him with Haganezuka’s letters to him while he was out, which grew increasingly disturbing and threatening with time. He must travel to the Swordsmith Village to make amends and get his chipped sword fixed.

The process for traveling to the village is extremely complex due to the intense secrecy of the location, so he’s blindfolded, ear and nose-plugged, and carried on the backs of a sequence of crow-guided Kakushi. Xhibit would surely be proud of the sight of Tanjirou, carrying Nezuko on his back, being carried on someone’s back.

As soon as he arrives in the Swordsmith Village and thanks his last Kakushi, his gesture of gratitude is heard by the keen ears of the Love Hashira, Kanroji Mitsuri (Hanazawa Kana), who is having a nice soak in the village’s healing waters. Mitsuri runs down the steps and flies into his arms in tears, because someone at the hot spring ignored her when she greeted him. He later learns this is his former fellow recruit Genya, who has no desire to speak to him either.

Mitsuri, on the other hand, is a warm and bubbly presence throughout Tanjirou’s first night. After his bath they have a meal together (in her case, a very very big meal), and she and Nezuko hit it off like sisters. Tanjirou learns that she joined the Demon Corps and worked her way up to Hashira for nothing more complicated than wanting to find her future husband, figuring it had to be someone stronger than her.

When someone reports to Mitsuri that her sword repairs are complete, she heads off to attend to another matter, but wishes Tanjirou the best. As both she and the Mist Hashira Tokitou Muichirou are both in the OP with him, I’m sure she’ll be back soon, for which I’m glad. Over-the-top her design may be (like Uzui) but she’s just a fun-as-hell character, and I can’t wait to see her get serious in battle.

Before bidding him good night, Mitsuri tells Tanjirou about a secret weapon that could help Nezuko. The next day, Tanjirou and Nezuko strike out to look for it, and run into what sounds like a heated argument between Tokitou Muichirou, a young swordsmith, and most puzzling of all, the man with the earrings from Tanjirou’s flashbacky dream.

From a frozen forest to a train and through the Entertainment District to here in the Swordsmith Village, Tanjirou’s been through a lot, and he’ll go through a lot more, but with not one but two Hashira by his side, I’m sure it will all work out. And hopefully future episodes will be a tighter 20-odd minutes, with fewer forays into the infinite CGI castle…

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury – 13 (S2 E01) – Estranged Couple

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This week opens with much bombastic action, as Suletta pilots her newly-rebuilt Aerial and proceeds to turn a gauntlet of five scrub challengers into chop suey with ease. Because she’s the Holder, she must accept a duel every two weeks, and the rich houses challenge her every time they can. This seems excessive for a student, but Suletta handles it with aplomb and her usual bright smile, which contrasts to her new, more vicious combat style.

Sulettta remaining the Holder, and student at Asticassia, are really the only positive things happening in her life right now. Her bride Miorine remains by her alive but comatose father’s side, hoping and praying for him to wake up while also dealing with the trauma of seeing Suletta splat someone right in front of her. GUND-Arm Inc. operations are suspended, so Earth House is in a holding pattern.

While public record is that the Plant Quetta incident was an “accident”, the Benerit Group is very much aware of what went down. They aren’t going to take the death of Vim Jeturk and attempted assassination of their president sitting down, and send forces to Earth to deal with those responsible. Shaddiq’s playing of both sides remains a secret, but he too is sidelined, forbidden from duels or family business.

Finally, we have Nika, essentially a third protagonist after Suletta and Miorine, still struggling with the guilt of aiding Shaddiq and almost getting her whole house (not to mention Miorine, her father, and Suletta) killed. I’m certain Suletta would forgive her if she explains herself properly, but even when given opportunities throughout the episode, she stays mum about her role in the Quetta affair.

That brings us to the big news at Asticassia: an Open Campus, allowing outside students to visit, tour, and participate in courses and activities. Among them are Earthian “Witches” and secret Dawn members Sophie Pulone and Norea du Noc. The moment Sophie finds Suletta she latches onto her and adopts her as a “big sister”, but this isn’t all glowing admiration; it’s at least partly an act.

We know that because obviously Sophie and Norea aren’t just here as transfer students (something “New Elan” notes is quite unusual). Nika knows this too, and tells Norea that she and her friends and comrades are done with this whole business. Norea pulls a knife on Nika, mocks her for playing the victim, thanks her for her service thus far, and asks politely for her cooperation in achieving both of their goals. It’s the last time Norea is polite, and her only warning to Nika.

I’d curse Norea for being such a jerk, but unfortunately she’s right; maybe Dawn would have found another mole, but their mole was Nika; she made her bed and now has to sleep in it. As for Sophie, she’s an agent of pure chaos at the Open Campus festival, dragging her “big sis” along and enjoying all there is to enjoy. One positive side-effect of this is that she snatches Suletta away from another attempt by Elan to ask her out on a date. Elan deciding to try a new tack next time filled me with dread.

When no one’s looking (because apparently there’s no security in the hangers during Open Campus???) Norea and Sophie crack into Pharact and try to hack the Gund Format, to no avail. When Nika arrives to force them to stop or she’ll blab, Norea activates the MS and prepares to crush Nika underfoot. She may not be as outwardly unhinged as Sophie, but Norea’s just as if not more volatile and dangerous if angered.

Fortunately for Nika, Suletta slides in with her scooter just in time to grab her and save her life. She tells everyone to stop fighting, but Norea takes Nika’s threat to expose them seriously. To protect the secrecy of their mission and roles, she’s ready to stomp both of them. Suletta stops her by challenging her to a duel. If she wins, Norea and Sophie won’t be able to lay a finger on Nika. If Norea wins, well…[runs finger across throat].

Suletta urges them, as students, to follow school rules, even though she’s talking to two literal terrorists who could give two shits about anyone’s rules or laws. But they agree, probably because Norea knows an “unfortunate accident” is more plausible in a duel than right there in the hanger, likely before she wanted to make any noise.

As for Miorine, she’s not alone where she’s currently being confined and questioned as her father recovers. Lady Prospera is there too. She admits Suletta went too far, but Miorine can’t deny that she and her dad would probably be dead without her actions, so Prospera urges her to remain friends. Miorine seems open to that, even if it will be hard to even face Suletta again.

Prospera also has a favor to ask of Miorine: that she take over the work of her father’s most secretive, and possibly most important, project: Quiet Zero. Apparently, the project has something to do with using the GUND Format’s network to “rewrite the world” into one without war. Suffice it to say, no good can come of Suletta and Miorine being apart. This first episode back was jam-packed with material, and upped the political and personal drama to the max. I’m all here for it.