DEMON SLAYER: Episode 2 of Demon Slayer Season 4 Review: Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka’s Suffering

Intimate tales of suffering are told in Demon Slayer’s Hashira Training Arc, as Tanjiro helps Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka find his fighting spirit again.

“Don’t bother with me. You’re just wasting your time.”

Despite its action-packed focus, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba has always been a very sentimental anime. The heroes are under the influence of inner demons just as much as actual ones who pose a threat to their life. The “Hashira Training Arc” season of Demon Slayer centers on full-scale Hashira and Demon combat. Thus, the Demon Slayer Corps. require any assistance possible, including collaboration from their most submissive members, such as Giyu Tomioka.

The theme of “Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka’s Pain” is learning to move past one’s past trauma, accept remorse and loss, and channel that pain into constructive energy. Tanjiro has had to learn this lesson many times, most recently with Kyojuro Rengoku’s passing. However, Giyu Tomioka, Water Hashira, finds it to be a far more difficult and emotional process.In order to obtain their Hashira markings and withstand Muzan Kibutsuji’s attack, individuals must devote a significant portion of Demon Slayer’s Hashira Training Arc to honing their physical prowess, sword abilities, and breathing methods. But as “Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka’s Pain” demonstrates with its focus on unadulterated grief, Tanjiro can be a valuable teacher in addition to being a devoted pupil. After all, “only immatures can’t control their emotions,” as Lady Tamayo puts it.

A Hashira must face his past and reclaim his ability to wield a sword, thus while “Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka’s Pain” may appear to be a subdued introduction with minor stakes, nothing could be more significant than this struggle. If Tanjiro hadn’t figured out how to take his suffering and turn it into power, he wouldn’t even be a member of the Demon Slayer Corps. now.

It’s a wise approach to begin the season following a very exposition-heavy, setup-focused opener that seemed more concerned with establishing the scene than it was with actually taking the initiative. Tanjiro is receiving much-needed attention after spending the majority of the season premiere, “To Defeat Muzan Kibutsuji,” recuperating. Having said that, his goal in this episode is more to assist a fellow Demon Slayer in rediscovering their groove and their murderous instinct than it is to advance his Hashira talents.

Despite Giyu Tomioka’s tendency for solitude, the Hashira must unite at this moment to act as a single, lethal weapon. “Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka’s Pain” dissects the notion of providing love and support to someone who desires solitude. Tanjiro is found to be the best candidate for this challenging assignment, but he treats it with the utmost care and caution.

It’s obvious that Tanjiro thinks highly of Giyu and doesn’t want him to fall back or inadvertently drive him to a worse position. Tanjiro and Giyu’s opposing personalities are well-utilized in “Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka’s Pain,” even down to the straightforward and humorous expression Tanjiro wears throughout the whole of the first act of the episode as he badgers Giyu. In otherwise a very dark and gloomy Demon Slayer episode, there’s a humorous visual gag.

The difference between these two personalities is accentuated toward the end of the episode when Giyu and Tanjiro both have the same blissful expression. Together, they happily savor soba as friends, and their oneness becomes even more meaningful in light of how far apart they were at the start of the episode. Not only does Giyu feel less alone now, but he also makes a true friend who aids in his recovery.

The way Tanjiro’s invasive actions make Giyu feel like he’s being haunted by a ghost is also a welcome symmetry, especially before the audience finds out that Tanjiro is actually burdened by a dark history that he will never quite let go of. Giyu’s unwelcome attention from Tanjiro is a reflection of his unpleasant memories of Sabito.

Because of the circumstances surrounding its Demons, Demon Slayer enjoys telling melancholic backstories, and this has become it one of the anime’s most recognizable features. Even though it’s gotten pretty close to this stage, Demon Slayer has worked hard to ensure that these unanticipated emotional avalanches don’t start to seem like a caricature of themselves. These kinds of stories have a certain balance, and when they are consumed so frequently, they may start to lose their power. Demon Slayer raises the stakes for these traumatic backstories even further by having them relate to a prominent character and having permanently altered their course.

As previously established in “To Defeat Muzan Kibutsuji,” Giyu Tomioka believes he is not deserving of the Water Hashira title and that he is hiding a dreadful truth. While this is an excellent starting point for an episode, it also means that Demon Slayer needs to come off the landing and provide a tragedy worthy of the pedestal it has been set upon. Though not necessarily earth-shattering, Tomioka’s revelations are nonetheless deserving of tears because they represent truly tragic character development.

During his trial for the Hashira Final Selection, Tanjiro had his own encounter with Sabito. But, at the tender age of 13, Sabito and Giyu had their own Final Selection test, during which they suffered severe combat wounds that now ache as constant memories of the past. Against the vile Hand Demon, Sabito valiantly rescued Giyu and displayed remarkable Water Breathing skill, but by the end of the exercise, he was dead. Considering that he didn’t slay a single Demon throughout the test and that he is a phony who has wrongfully claimed Sabito’s title, Giyu feels bad for having made it to the Final Selection.

Giyu experiences a severe case of imposter syndrome since he believes that he is leading the life that is intended for Sabito. With each strike of his blade, Giyu is filled with regret and guilt, but Tanjiro teaches him that as long as he can have a fulfilling life, Sabito need never actually be gone. Through Giyu, his legacy and purpose will endure. Although this seems like a quite simple and straightforward approach, one must assume that Giyu isn’t the most contemplative or self-aware person. He doesn’t understand this philosophy as well as the audience does.

In “Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka’s Pain,” the question of whether Tanjiro should continue on the path he has been blazing since the beginning of the series or replace Giyu as the Water Hashira is briefly explored. In addition, the latter lets Giyu gloriously regain his destiny rather than fading into obscurity. Given that each Hashira in the series is still evolving, it’s interesting to see Demon Slayer present Hashira titles as being in flux and with elements that could alter throughout.

This idea has a lot of potential, and if Hashira uses different breathing techniques, the final battles of Demon Slayer might get even more interesting and unpredictable. Nevertheless, rather than being something Tanjiro will constantly battle, Giyu’s interest in Tanjiro assuming the Water Hashira title seems fleeting and closely tied to his own indecisiveness.

The main focus of “Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka’s Pain” is Giyu’s anguish. The episode is, nonetheless, bookended by interesting content that hints to the season’s larger plot. Fearfully, Lady Tamayo, a talented Demon doctor, consents to go into the beast’s belly and start working at the Demon Slayer HQ. Although Tamayo is feared for her ferocious personality, her extraordinary intelligence is what will be needed to reverse-engineer Nezuko’s illness, develop a sun cure, and ascertain the real cause of this.

Even if it appears like Demon Slayer will take its time bringing about these developments, the fact that there is some movement in this direction as the Hashira bolster themselves is nevertheless encouraging. This episode’s recurring themes also apply to Shinobu Kocho’s festering trauma over the Demon that killed her sister, Kanae. It serves as a useful reminder that, despite their deep scars and lack of visibility compared to Giyu, even the most capable and carefree Hashira nevertheless carry pain and scars. Peace, forgiving others, and healing are lifelong endeavors. Hopefully, Giyu will eventually get to the point where he can pull off an impression of ease similar to Shinobu’s.

The fact that the episodes of the most recent season of Demon Slayer feature time spent with both new characters and Hashira, the strongest woman in the world, adds to the show’s enjoyment. By working with Giyu Tomioka, Demon Slayer’s Hashira Training Arc sets a solid precedence in this regard. While not every episode can adhere to this pattern, it’s intriguing to think about what can happen when Demon Slayer starts to reveal more information about the other tough characters, particularly those that have been even more mysteriously revealed, like Gyomei Himejima.

Despite the looming Hashira conflict that lies ahead, “Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka’s Pain” is a leisurely and methodical episode that maintains the more relaxed tone of the season opener. The intense cutting and slashing action that has come to define Demon Slayer may be missed by certain fans. You won’t be let down, though, if you value how well the anime creates flawed, realistic individuals. It is imperative that the remaining episodes of the season include episodes such as “Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka’s Pain.”

Heads can still roll for a long while.