Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba – Hashira Training Arc Ep. 2 “Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka’s Pain”: The PTSD Of Giyu [Review]

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Hashira Training Arc Ep. 2 “Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka’s Pain” gives us a very deep look into the aforementioned character’s psyche. Mostly in the form of the massive quantities of PTSD Giyu has suffered. Fortunately, Tanjiro is here to save the day for Giyu. All purely by being the most adorable cinnamon bun in anime existence.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Hashira Training Arc Ep. 2 “Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka’s Pain”: Details

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Hashira Training Arc Ep. 2 “Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka’s Pain” is the second episode (you can read a review of Ep. 1 here) of the fourth season of this dark fantasy adventure and martial arts anime series. Said season comes on the heels of the previous season, which was the Swordsmith Village Arc. Meanwhile, said anime series as a whole is the anime adaptation of the manga of the same name by Koyoharu Gotouge. Ufotable (Fate/Zero, God Eater, Tales of Zestiria the X) is the animation studio behind this anime. Crunchyroll is the company licensing this anime for its NA debut.

Yūji Shimizu is the director and storyboarder behind Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Hashira Training Arc Ep. 2 “Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka’s Pain”. As for the anime as a whole, Haruo Sotozaki is still the director. Ufotable collectively claims credit for the writing. Akifumi Fujio, Masanori Miyake, and Yūma Takahashi are all producing. Yuki Kajiura and Go Shiina composed the music you hear in the anime.

Speaking of music: the opening theme song for this season is “Mugen” (夢幻, lit. ’Dream’) by MY FIRST STORY and HYDE. The same band also performs “Tokoshie” (トコシエ, lit. ’Eternity’) as the ending theme music.

Voice Cast

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Hashira Training Arc Ep. 2 “Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka’s Pain” features the voices of Natsuki Hanae (Zach Aguilar in English dub) as Tanjiro Kamado and Takahiro Sakurai (Johnny Yong Bosch in English dub) as Giyu Tomioka. Other notable voice roles in this episode includes Reina Ueda (Brianna Knickerbocker in English dub) as Kanao Tsuyuri, Saori Hayami (Erika Harlacher in English dub) as Shinobu Kocho, Maaya Sakamoto (Laura Post in English dub) as Tamayo, and Daiki Yamashita (Kyle McCarley in English dub) as Yushiro.

When and Where to Watch

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Hashira Training Arc Ep. 2 “Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka’s Pain” made its airing and streaming (aka. simulcast) debut on May 19, 2024. You can watch this episode only on Crunchyroll at the moment. As for the previous seasons of the anime (including the anime film), you can watch it on Crunchyroll, Hulu, or Netflix.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Hashira Training Arc Ep. 2 “Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka’s Pain”: Synopsis

Alas, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is an ongoing anime series. In fact, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Hashira Training Arc Ep. 2 “Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka’s Pain” only just premiered yesterday as of this writing. Thus, you will all get the official synopsis from Crunchyroll (that they actually have instead of a blank space) instead of a spoiler-filled plot summary. You can check out that synopsis below:

Kagaya’s Kasugai Crow suddenly appears in front of Tamayo and invites her to the Demon Slayer headquarters — even though she is a demon. Meanwhile, Tanjiro, who is recovering at the Butterfly Mansion, receives a letter from Kagaya…

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Hashira Training Arc Ep. 2 “Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka’s Pain”: The Good

The story of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Hashira Training Arc Ep. 2 “Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka’s Pain” is the best part of it, as was the case with the anime in previous seasons. Seriously, Koyoharu Gotouge proves once more that they’re a master storyteller. Both in depicting the trauma Giyu went through, as well as how Tanjiro helps him through that trauma by simply being his usual cinnamon bun self. It’s that kind of heartfelt emotions that’s why this anime continues to be heads and shoulders above not just shonen anime, but a lot of other anime in general.

Adding on top of that wonderful story is the animation. As in previous seasons, Ufotable proves once again that animation quality is pretty high on their budget concerns. The animation is just as gorgeous as it was in the previous episode, as you can see in the screenshots above and below. There’s not only an emphasis on retaining Gotouge’s art style as much as possible but also an emphasis on detailed backgrounds and impressive shadows and lighting. All of it serves as eye candy to complement that story.

Oh, and last but not least, there’s the music. There’s a reason why Yuki Kajiura and Go Shiina are so well-known in the anime industry. Their music is top-notch, especially in this anime. It’s a perfect accompaniment to the heartfelt scenes in this episode.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Hashira Training Arc Ep. 2 “Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka’s Pain”: The Bad

Do you not like depth of emotional drama, or stylish fantasy action? How about watching cinnamon bun finally breach the defenses of an emotionally closed-off person to become their friend? Well, I’m sorry, but this episode is probably not for you if that’s the case. Heck, the entire anime may not be for you. Perhaps a nice, calm, and relaxing slice of life anime like A Galaxy Next Door, Astro Note, or Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF would be more your speed? Just a thought here.

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