Probably the weakest season of Demon Slayer so far, though I have been noticing a steady decline in quality all the way from Season 1 until now. I think the root of my issues stem from predictability and a formulaic approach to the show's writing. Each arc begins and ends in basically the same way, introducing a new upper rank demon at the beginning, only for our heroes to prevail and slay them in the finale. There's nothing wrong with this format, per se, but more of what that means for what is placed in between, because it seems to be stifling how the plot could develop.

What makes this season absolutely boring is that all of the possible character development is crammed into the final 3 episodes, as is par for the course with the series so far. This means that for the entire season, I don't feel any emotional connection whatsoever to the 2 main Hashira, and that makes it a slog to get through when the demons themselves don't have much development either. And the way the show's writers do it is so predictable and trite. They always place the character (whether that be Genya, Muichiro, or Mitsuri) in a life threatening situation where there seems to be no discernible escape, and then cue in a slow motion sequence where the character narrates their entire life story for the next 10 minutes. And then when they're back in reality and about to die, someone miraculously comes out of nowhere to save them. Every. Single. Time.

There's no variation with this, and it's almost like crying wolf, because now I know never to trust the show when it seems like someone is about to die, and that sense of certainty makes it uninteresting. I would rather the show introduce little nuggets of information about the new characters as the season progresses, either through conversation or flashback, then by the time that character gets a chance to shine toward the end of the season, it would carry more weight and emotional investment, knowing that this character I have come to know more about is faced with this tribulation. It would be more of a callback to, and not a direct exposition dump of, the details about the character's life that have come to shape them. It would also improve the watchability of the show overall.

For the first season, the show's premise was a fresh concept to me, and it was mainly the first time I was seeing all of these tropes as I am mostly new to anime, so they didn't stick out to me much. But now, after 55 episodes, it becomes clear when they fall into a pattern. And it's gotten to a point where I'm not really invested in the story anymore. I just want to see the finale of what we have so far. But alas, there's one more season and 3 movies to go.

All of that being said, the season did have its moments, and that final episode really was amazing. Without any spoilers, a character is forced to make a very difficult decision, and the choice will define them going forward due to its emphasis on morality. What I really enjoyed during this sequence was that you could clearly see the weight of this decision and the turmoil it took on them to make it. There would be very real consequences depending on what they chose, not just for them, but for people around them. It was the first time in the season that I truly felt like the show writers had built up to something with this arc, and though I do have my qualms with how the resolution of this was handled, I think that the immediate emotional payoff and segue into further backstory was worth it.