I can't fucking believe it. They've done it again (sort of).
It's no secret that ufotable have been killing it with their new projects over the last few years. The Heaven's Feel trilogy is stunning, and the two previous seasons of Demon Slayer were superb in the animation department. Episodes like Ep19 of S1 or Ep10 of the Entertainment District Arc are some of the best pieces of animated television in recent memory. This season was (no) different. This season had even more breathtaking scenes with some outstanding animation like in Ep5 or Ep9, you name it. There wasn't a big episode event like I mentioned before, not through Ufotable's fault mind you, but that's not necessarily a bad thing either.
Unfortunately, apart from the animation, the whole thing felt unbalanced and rather boring at times. On the one hand, you had absolutely stellar animation and an incredible soundtrack. On the other hand, you had terrible pacing, no story or basis whatsoever, and boring villains.
To say that Demon Slayer is carried solely by its animation is a half-true, half-false statement, but it's more true this season. At least in previous seasons, it had some sense of setup or basic structure, so that the part about fighting mindless demons actually made sense. Still, the episodes that focused on some of the characters' backstories worked very well, especially Tokito's beautifully directed episode, and were a nice change from the constant fighting.
I don't think anyone watches KnY just for the story, but that's no excuse for not having a story to begin with. And as a manga reader, it's not going to get much better.
I would also like to point out the other elephant in the room: the boring villains. Gyokko was hardly a threat
Still, if you're tired of Demon Slayer after this season, it's probably time to quit, because it doesn't change much. But if you are not like me, then you still have a lot to enjoy!
Despite the (many) downsides of this season, it was still a blast to watch (most of the time) and my highlight of the week. Congratulations to the staff for taking the original work to new heights.) downsides of this season, it was still a blast to watch (most of the time) and my highlight of the week. Congratulations to the staff for taking the original work to new heights.
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