Season 4 of Demon Slayer is now underway in the Spring 2024 anime season, albeit slowly. So far, with the double-length debut episode and the regular-length Episode 2, Demon Slayer's fourth season is taking its time with buildup and exposition before the final fight with Muzan Kibutsuji may begin. Fans might call this the calm before the storm, and it may be Demon Slayer's last chance to do some serious worldbuilding and character development before the final fight takes over the narrative.
While the double-length Episode 1 set up the overall Hashira training concept and reminded fans of the demon slayer mark's importance, Episode 2 dives into more personal matters for major cast members like Tanjiro Kamado, Giyu Tomioka, and Shinobu Kocho. Episode 1 was about how these characters train and fight, and Episode 2, "Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka's Pain," is about why they fight, and the results are emotionally impactful. It's a great reminder of how strong Demon Slayer's emotional core is to give meaningful context to all the fighting and suffering.
4 Tamayo Gets Ready to Support the Demon Slayer Corps the Best Way She Knows How
The side character lady Tamayo has finally returned for more screen time here in Season 4 of Demon Slayer, as Episode 1 already showed. Episode 2 generally recaps what Episode 1 already did, with a deep-voiced Kasugai crow from the Ubuyashiki manor inviting Tamayo to visit the demon slayer corps and lend them her aid as a skilled demon doctor. It's highly unusual for the corps to ask any demon for help, friendly or not, but these are dire circumstances. The stakes are at their max, and the surviving slayers are about to face their final and toughest battle of all. They can afford to hold nothing back, hence the Ubuyashiki family's invitation to lady Tamayo.
Tamayo has a brief flashback when hearing this invitation, showing her, Muzan Kibutsuji, and Yoriichi Tsugikuni together. This is a hint about Tamayo's connection to powerful men like them, and Demon Slayer fans may see more of that in future episodes as the mysteries of Tamayo are finally unraveled. It's possible that this final mission will be a personal one for Tamayo, and if so, then that means she can join the club, because several major characters have a personal stake in all this.
Demon Slayer fans probably won't see much of Tamayo's work on-screen, since she cannot contribute much to any combat-oriented training like the remaining members of the Hashira can, but she can still do a lot of good for Shinobu Kocho, the Insect Hashira. Tamayo's job is to help Shinobu make new poisons and look after Nezuko Kamado however she can, and when the time is right, the Demon Slayer anime will show the fruits of Tamayo's work as the final fight unfolds.
3 Giyu Tomioka Caves and Explains His Heart-Wrenching Backstory to Tanjiro
Up until now, Giyu Tomioka has remained a tight-lipped character about his own backstory and experiences, so Demon Slayer fans didn't know much about him until now. At last, Giyu explains his heart-wrenching backstory to Tanjiro Kamado and viewers, though it takes some serious convincing. First, Kagaya Ubuyashiki sends Tanjiro a letter, politely but urgently asking Tanjiro to help soothe Giyu's heart and build a stronger bond with him.
Tanjiro obliges, humorously pestering Giyu nonstop for a few days until even the stoic, stubborn Giyu finally caves. The problem is that Giyu refuses to take part in the new Hashira training regimen, having excused himself from the entire affair in the previous episode. Now Tanjiro learns why Giyu backed out of the training program. Giyu Tomioka does not consider himself a proper Hashira, even though the Ubuyashiki family and the other Hashira clearly recognize him as the Water Hashira.
Giyu suffers from both imposter syndrome and survivor's guilt concerning his entry to the demon slayer corps and his promotion to Hashira after rising in the ranks, meaning he has been carrying a serious emotional burden this entire time. Being a stoic introvert, though, Giyu hid this fact with his kuudere exterior, which was played off for laughs until now. When Giyu took part in the final selection exam as a teenager, he failed to kill a single demon himself, and he needed Sabito, one of Sakonji Urokodaki's students, to bail him out of trouble.
To Giyu's horror, Sabito got himself killed fighting the hand demon. Then Giyu was accepted into the demon slayer corps despite his failure in the exam. Giyu trained hard to rise in the ranks and become a Hashira, but in his mind, he's a total fake. No matter his skills and recognition, he believes he doesn't deserve his rank and says he's not even the real Water Hashira. Instead, Giyu hopes that Tanjiro will become the Water Hashira. Giyu isn't sure how to overcome his guilt and feelings of inadequacy, hence his refusal to take part in the Hasira training program.
Also, in a similar thematic vein, Giyu suffered survivor's guilt one other time, when his older sister Tsutako sacrificed her life to save Giyu from a demon attack, meaning Giyu's guilt runs deep. He even designed his two-sided jacket to honor both Sabito and Tsutako, one half for each. And while Tanjiro Kamado is devastated to hear all this, he won't accept Giyu's defeatist attitude, since he can relate to all this but has a different solution in mind than just wallowing in guilt.
2 Giyu and Tanjiro Have a Strong Connection Through Sabito and Kyojuro Rengoku
Being the emotionally sensitive boy he is, Tanjiro Kamado is brought to tears when he hears Giyu's backstory, but unlike Giyu, Tanjiro doesn't see any of this grief and guilt as an excuse to abandon one's own duty or trivialize one's own accomplishments. Giyu thinks he's a fraud and lets these negative feelings consume and control him, hence his apathetic and defeatist ways, while Tanjiro Kamado draws strength from emotional trauma.
Tanjiro knows that grief and loss can leave lasting scars on a person, and even the strongest people may suffer and have a hard time with those feelings. In that way, pound for pound, the Demon Slayer anime explores the topic of loss more deeply than its shonen peers like My Hero Academia and Jujutsu Kaisen. Loss isn't just a reason to seek revenge — it's a reason why someone might fall apart. People like Giyu are only human, after all.
That said, a defeatest attitude like Giyu's should not last too long, and a demon slayer like Giyu Tomioka must eventually find the strength and conviction to carry on. To that point, Tanjiro empathizes with Giyu, having lost his family when Muzan attacked, and having also lost his role model Kyojuro Rengoku in the Mugen Train arc. Sabito is to Giyu what Kyojuro is to Tanjiro, so Tanjiro understands Giyu's position — and uses that sympathy as a way to get Giyu back on track as a hero. Fortunately, that works, and Tanjiro convinces Giyu to take part in Hashira training to some extent and keep his head in the game as the final battle against Muzan draws nearer. Tanjiro is determined to live up to Kyojuro's high hopes for him, and Giyu can do the same for Sabito.
1 Shinobu Kocho Gets Kanao Tsuyuri Ready For the Ultimate Revenge Battle
Episode 2 of the new Demon Slayer anime continues to make this final fight a personal one for the main cast, since the final scene involves Shinobu Kocho and Kanao Tsuyuri, who have a blood feud with the Upper Moons. It's both amusing and saddening to see Shinobu Kocho practice her polite faces while struggling to hide her perpetual rage, seeing how she lost her beloved sister, Kanae Kocho, to a powerful demon.
Then, the quiet Kanao Tsuyuri arrives, and the two girls have a quick talk. In particular, Shinobu prepares to tell Kanao all about the demon who killed Kanae, a minor cliffhanger, for the next episode. This promises to fill in some essential gaps in Shinobu's backstory and that of her sister Kanae, and most likely, this will be a defining factor of Shinobu's final battle against Muzan Kibutsuji the demon king and the remaining Upper Moons.
Shinobu doesn't exactly tell Kanao "go kill that demon" in Episode 2, but given Kanao's skills as a slayer and the general context, it's easy to infer that Shinobu wants Kanao to help her fight and kill the demon who slew Kanae Kocho years ago. If so, then Demon Slayer fans will finally see the petite Kanao in a real battle, and they will see her Flower Breathing fighting style in action, the same fighting style that Kanae once used.
This may help expand the anime's combat system while also empowering Kanao with some excellent combat sequences where she can take an active role in avenging Kanae, the woman who saved her from slavery. This helps Season 2 of Demon Slayer launch on a suitably emotional way, with each Hashira having a personal stake in this fight and emotional issues to resolve at long last, from guilt to vengeance.
