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alshamswelnahr · 3 months

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Sanemi's downfall is a blend of his selfless and self-harming nature

the distance sanemi creates between himself and genya isn't strictly about protecting genya, and it isn't by far the only way either, he even contemplates a different way in the light novels but settles on violence nonetheless because in his own eyes he's the one with the dirty hands, he is the jerk -despite his evident gentle and caring nature- the rift between the shinazugawa siblings cannot be simply amended by talking it over because it stems from his self hatred, his own belief that he is unworthy of love, care and closeness, which he rationalizes by the fact that even the strongest of the slayers are still at risk of dying which means in genya's case, who can't use a breathing style and is extremely kind, the chances of that happening are even higher.

His fake cruelty towards his brother unknowingly affirmed genya's insecurity (his weakness), meanwhile reinforcing the horrible image he garnered, it's a self-imposed punishment, doubling down on his pain by not allowing himself to enjoy the remnant of the family he assigned himself protector and provider of and failed.

A role which was also imposed on him; living an impoverished life defined by being the eldest brother of many small hungry scared children with no proper father figure, being the child of a man who inflicted verbal and physical violence on them, who was never dependable. Being the child of a hardworking, protective mother who deserved a pillar that she could lean on at least partially, all this creating a child who wished to be the opposite of his own father and a solace to his family, a child who was never allowed to be one.

To top it all, the fateful night happens and he manages to save no one, he fails them, they all die on his watch after the promise he made them. All, except for genya who becomes the symbol of his failure and dreams, he becomes the last part of his true old self and purpose, he is everything, so if genya perishes then his life is meaningless, so for genya's sake he fights, he braves years of pain and loss because if his little brother lives happily then everything he endured becomes bearable, justifiable even.

All of this weight that sanemi assigns to genya's survival, while understandable, is suffocating. He creates this ideal version of the life he desires for him disregarding his brother's wishes, refusing to adjust the plan or reshape it, he single-handedly carries the blame, all the pain and the burden, ignoring the possibility of genya's capability and desire to share it, meanwhile insisting on breaking his brother's heart to keep him as far away, hurting the both of them in a horrible fashion but in the only fashion he knows and insists suits him.

Sanemi's ways are contrasted by his foil tanjiro who chooses openness, softness and, with nezuko constant encouragement, leaning on others despite his own ups and downs and throughout all the hardships.

To summarize, sanemi punishes himself for his self-perceived fault by isolation and carrying it all on his shoulders thinking that by doing so he's sparing his gentle precious sibling, but instead he punishes him as well, thus he is punished by a narrative which constantly advocates for vulnerability and dependency by taking away genya right from his hands as a last proof that no matter what you do, controlling fate is futile so it is better to accept our mortality and be the kindest versions of ourselves while we can and while it's impossible to keep our loved ones out of danger we can still love them.

So, despite himself sanemi lives and genya and masachika's will persist, after the war when there's no longer a need to slay demons, to use violence or sacrifice himself, sanemi is asked to create his own purpose and happiness freed of the duty he took on since he was young and he is given all the opportunities in the world to live for himself like all his loved ones wanted for him.

#sanemi shinazugawa #shinazugawa sanemi #genya shinazugawa #shinazugawa brothers #text #kny #kny meta #demon slayer #kimetsu no yaiba #shinazugawa genya

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wynsnerdyrambles · 10 months

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One of the adaptational changes I liked most in the anime version of Swordsmith Village's finale was showing Tanjiro basically having a panic attack when trying to shield Nezuko from the sun, while also being aware that Hantengu is still rampaging. The way they showcase this is hyperventilation.

In a series where control of breath is equal to control of the situation at hand, showing Tanjiro, a master of Total Concentration Constant hyperventilating is a cue. He has cracked, he has lost control of the situation, and this is what has broken him.

#kamado tanjirō #kimetsu no yaiba #swordsmith village arc #kny meta #kamado tanjiro #It's like I always say #a character isn't a character unless they've been subject to emotional turmoil

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linkspooky · 10 months

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Rengoku vs. Akaza

Hello, I’m back talking about Demon Slayer and what is probably considered to be the most iconic fight in the manga. So iconic, that they made the entire fight into a high budget movie that destroyed box office records. What makes the fight so iconic isn’t just that Rengoku is so likable a character, that his heroic sacrifice is one of the most heartbreaking moments in the manga.

The fight is good because it’s got a strong thematic backbone, it is like many things in the demon slayer manga about death, and the way both Rengoku and Akaza react to the deaths they’ve experienced in their lifes. The parallels between the two become even stronger when we learn about Akaza’s backstory during his second fight.

Weak vs. Strong

Rengoku and Akaza don’t only represent opposite elements (Akaza is ice/water, and Rengoku is fire), they also represent opopsite social ideals. Akaza is a social darwinist who believes in the right of the strong. Whereas, Akaza’s entire character is based around the idea of noblesse oblige. Strong people are obligated to protect weak people because they are more capable.

Akaza pursues strength at the cost of everything else, even begging Rengoku to accept a demon’s blood and become immortal because that will give him even more time to grow stronger. His opening act is to even attack Tanjiro while he’s helpless on the ground and injured, because he wanted to eliminate another weak person so he could talk to Rengoku without being interrupted. While he is a demon Akaza’s worldview that the only option the weak have is to die off and be taken care of by nature.

Akaza however, only defines strength as martial combat ability. Rengoku is able to counteract his argument right away by pointing out that people can be strong in more ways than one, which cuts to a panel of the innocent people on the train who are not demon slayers but have the strength to keep going and crawl their way out of the wreckage of a disaster. In Rengoku’s world it’s difficult just to live because life itself is fleeting, therefore surviving is it’s own strength.

Rengoku’s opinions on weakness go even further in his own spinoff chapters, where you learn that his philosophy on strength vs. weakness doesn’t just come from his mother telling him he’s obligated to help others because he’s born strong, but his father also constantly trying to discourage him from becoming a Hashira by insisting he’s weak. His father’s own mental breakdown into lounging around all day drinking, came from the fact that he felt that flame breathing was inferior to sun breathing therefore it wasn’t worth trying if he could never measure up.

In response to his father’s words, Rengoku instead of insisting that the only people who are strong have value, searches for other values people have and other strength besides physical strength. His brother Senjuro being the example, despite Senjuro being incredibly eager to train he’s not talented enough to become Rengoku’s Tsuguko. In spite of that fact, Senjuro keeps trying without getting discouraged which Rengoku sees as a strength.

In Rengoku’s mind a weak person striving to be strong, even if they don’t accomplish anything, or make progress is a strength, because that ability to put effort in and strive is what matters not the results. Rengoku’s chapter further on goes to praise the rank and file members of thedemon corps who never become Hashira simply because they don’t have the talent to advance and yet risk their lives all the same. In his mind value lies in effort and striving for something not talent or results.

Rengoku’s ideas of strength and weakness comes from his admiration of the people around him and humanity in general he praises their strengths. While we learn in Akaza’s backstory, his social darwinism comes from the actions of people around him poisoning his viewpoints, to the part where he can only see their faults.

The irony of Akaza’s backstory is how different his behavior as Kyojuro is from that of him as a human. Hakuji’s loved ones are two weak people entirely dependent on other people for their care, the kind of person that Akaza claims to despise.

Hakuji’s father dies because of the same social darwinist philosophies that Akaza espouses. His father needed medicine but couldn’t afford it because he was poor. Rather than just give him the medicine, society lets him die off like it was his fault in the first place for being poor, therefore he doesn’t deserve medicine that could heal him. Society punishes Akaza for simply trying to steal money for medicine when he was no other options, rather than just making the medicine cheaper, because the rich are right by the virtue they have more strength in their society.

His second loved one is obviously Koyuki, the girl he nursed after being taken in by his teacher. Koyuki is also someone weak that everyone has written off as dead simply because she needs care from other people and can’t get better on her own. The simple task of taking care of her is apparently so dificult that her mother commits suicide and her father leaves it to somebody else entirely.

However, Koyuki’s recovery proves that this social darwinist philosophy is wrong, because after three years of nursing her Koyuki is fully recovered and finally able to take care of herself simply because someone put the effort in of giving her help when she needed it rather than letting her die. Because, society doesn’t actually function on social darwinist ideals, it’s cooperative. If everyone was out for themselves, people wouldn’t form cities and towns, they wouldn’t have jobs, they wouldn’t even bother taking care of the sick.

Hakuji believes similiar to Rengoku that it’s worth the effort to nurse sick people, and take care of people that can’t take care of themselves, he never once felt like either of them were a burden. They’re even both inspired to help others because of the dying request of a parent. Rengoku’s mother was too sick to continue living and told Rengoku before he died to live his life taking care of others. Hakuji’s father kills himself so Akaza will no longer have to steal to support him, and his last words are a request for Akaza to start his life over again.

They’re also very self-sacrificing in nature, Hakuji said repeatedly he didn’t care at all if he was beaten or marked as a crimminal for his father he would have endured all of it just to help him get better. Rengoku himself even endures his drunken father’s constant abuse with patience because he understands that his father became that way out of grief for their mother, and his dying words to his father are just requesting for his father to take care of himself.

They are both strong people who wish to take care of the weak people in their lives, so what exactly was the branching off point where Hakuji turned into Akaza.

Life vs Death

Demon slayer is a manga about death, and more particularly the difficulty of living in a world where no matter what you do all life ends in death and there’s no controlling when either you or someone you love dies. It’s why the first event in the manga is the senseless slaughter of Tanjiro’s entire family, which Tanjiro was not even around to witness simply because he slept in town for the night because it’d be dangerous to climb up the mountain in the dark.

Akaza turns into Hakuji after the senseless death of his loved ones, something that just like the death of Tanjiro’s family happened when he was not with them. Hakuji only leaves for a day to visit his father’s grave to tell him of his marriage, and he’s back by nightfall on the same day only to discover they’re dead by a poisoned well.

Of course if Akaza had been there, it’s likely there was little he could have done but drink the poisoned water and died alongside them because nobody knew that the well was poisoned. There are two differences in this scenario of course, number one Tanjiro still had one person left in his life to take care of while Akaza was stranded alone. Number two, at that point Akaza gave up on living entirely and only wished to die alongside his family.

After this point Hakuji becomes Akaza, and his views towards life resemble nihilism. In his mind death makes life meaningless, because no matter how much you strive to take care or protect someone it’s always going to end in their death. Of course if he’d been allowed to make a few more happy memories with Koyuki instead of suffering such an early and tragic loss things might have been different, but the sudden loss of her robbed him of all strength to continue believing in any value in life.

This is in contrast to Rengoku who insists that life’s epehemeral nature is what makes it beautiful. What makes it special and unique is that it doesn’t last forever, therefore people need to value the loved ones and the times of happiness they have because they’re not going to have them forever. Rengoku gives worth to what is fleeting, but Akaza suffered too much loss and seeks immortality even if it’s a pointless one.

Hakuji and Rengoku have the same values of protecting the weak, but Rengoku is able to live up to his goal of protecting weak people, even finally giving his life having succesfully protected not only everyone on the train but Tanjiro, Zenitsu and Inosuke. Rengoku succeeded at his duty, and Hakuji failed at his.

Which causes Hakuji out of guilt for his failures to flip his entire identity around. Even in the symbolism of his name. Hakuji has the same character as “Koma” in Komainu, and he lives his life like a Komainu protecting a shrine.

This philosophy of life vs. death even incorporates budhist values. Akaza is the third pillar because he represents the three universal truths held be budhism. Dukha, suffering (the idea that all suffering is inherent to life), Anicca (impermanence, the idea that everything is change) and Anatta (Non-self soulless / lack of self) the third being the way that he’s beaten by Tanjiro.

Akaza’s driven to become who he is because of his inability to cope with the first two values, the suffering inherent to life and it’s impermanence. His reaction to Koyuki’s death causes him to veer into nihilism, the belief that his whole life was worthless including his love of Koyuki, his father, and his master (there are three people in his life he decided to protect as well, and when he loses all three he’s no longer able to uphold the values in his life).

In fact, impermanence is a running theme to his character. His relationship with Koyuki is symbolically tied to fireworks, she fell in love with him out of his belief that she’d be able to see the fireworks next year so she didn’t have to apologize for missing them this year. When the two of them officially get engaged there are fireworks exploding in the background. Akaza’s moves are all named after fireworks. Fireworks are, brief and beautiful explosions in the sky that fade quickly.

When he becomes a demon he also violates all three of those values, he becomes immortal instead of impermanent like a human being, he causes suffering to others, and he’s unable to reach the state of “no-self” that Tanjiro climbed to in order to defeat him. However, Akaza prolonging his life only keeps him trapped in the cycle of suffering. This is also inherent to budhism, that as long as people are alive, their human desires will cause them suffering because they’re inherently selfish. In the cycle of reincarnation, people are born again and again until they purify themselves and escape the cycle completely.

When Akaza embraces both his painful memories of the past, he’s finally able to remember the things that were good about his life, the love that he had no matter how brief. It’s through embracing his suffering (finally remembering the people he lost instead of forcing himself to forget), and the impermanence of his life, that Akaza is finally able to die and escape the cycle of suffering.

Rengoku and Akaza are finally the same in that their last and greatest act is to die. Rengoku dies protecting three innocent people and is consoled by his mother for his hard work in life, and Akaza’s redemptive moment is to finally let himself die rather than keep fighting pointlessly and he is similiarly embraced and reunited by Koyuki who makes the decision to go to hell with him. Even though death is tragic for both of them they’re also offered that final comort.

#kyojuro rengoku #akaza #hakuji #koyuki #demon slayer #kny meta #kimetsu no yaiba #demon slayer analysis #demon slayer theory #demon slayer meta #kimetsu no yaiba analysis #kimetsu no yaiba theory #kimetsu no yaiba meta

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sad-drake-lyrics · 10 months

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alright, i’m having a lot of feelings™ about giyushino & i have to talk about it because otherwise i will implode. i’ve liked the idea of them together from s1, like most people who ship them seem to; but then i stopped thinking about them much due to obsession with other ships, and also because after their initial altercation on Mount Natagumo they don’t really get much screentime together, so i just lost interest.

but in my modern day obamitsu AU (you can find my ao3 link on my page!), i’m featuring giyushino as a background ship, & i am starting to catch fucking feelings myself from writing them. (if you head off to read the fic, there’s only two chapters posted so far & Giyuu + Shinobu are not in it yet, but will be very soon.)

so, here we go. gimme a moment to ramble about what inspired these HCs / character analyses before i get to the meat & potatoes.

youtube

street lights by killedmyself is one of my favourite songs despite the fact it being really more of a piece of audio art than a song - it’s mainly a movie dialogue sample mixed with sad boi lo-fi beats, but i play it all the time because it somehow hurts so good. so i was listening to it when thinking of the aforementioned modern AU, & i had an epiphany like “holy fuck, this is exactly how a giyushino relationship would go down, whether in a canon AU or any other story.”

the sample in the song is from No Strings Attached, a typical romantic comedy/drama about two close friends who have a deep understanding of each other and casually have sex, but the guy catches feelings and the girl wants nothing to do with a relationship.

(honestly, most people would probably find this movie boring - it’s a basic white het ship storyline; i only watched it because of the song, & the conversation in the song is literally the best part - otherwise the movie is hella bland & i wouldn't care if i never saw it again LOL so i’m def. not saying “go watch this” here.)

anyway, i’m listening to this song, and i’m like “omg, i can hear Giyuu & Shinobu saying every fucking line.”

basically, in my mind, Giyuu & Shinobu would start hooking up just for the sake of it - probably as a result of a quiet development of closeness born essentially out of convenience (they are always at the Ubuyashiki Estate together or working together), and then one night boning goes down. they’re attracted to each other; they like each other as people; and then the sex is good, so it keeps happening.

& very quickly, sad boi Giyuu, who is typically self-isolated and depressed, starts crushing hard. he’s alone and he’s desperate for human interaction and affection, even though he doesn’t realize it - and Shinobu is beautiful, and he admires her. plus they’re starting to have a lot of sex; & it’s pretty common for that to bloom some sense of love, ranging from base level attachment to infatuation to real feels - and it gets to the point where Giyuu wants to be with her.

but Shinobu doesn’t want the same thing. she cares about him (more than she can admit), but she’s fiercely independent and immensely dedicated to her work (with all her research and crafting of medicines & poisons). she puts this work above absolutely everything else with self-denying devotion - her happiness doesn’t matter; like she tells Tanjirou, she’s angry, and all that matters is success. a relationship for her would be a distraction, & she doesn’t need it - doesn’t want to deal with it; too many emotional ups & downs; too much drama; too much risk; too much intimacy with someone else, which actually terrifies her. so when Giyuu tells her he wants a relationship, she rejects him.

now let’s take the samples that slap me in the face with giyushino feels from street lights, which i can literally hear coming out of their fucking mouths.

Shinobu: You know me, this stuff freaks me out. It's fake. What’s wrong with what we’re doing? It’s working, we don’t have to fight -

Giyuu: Maybe I wanna fight.

Shinobu: Yeah, well I don’t.

Giyuu: What are you gonna do - you’re just never gonna feel anything? How are you gonna do that?

Shinobu: I don’t know. I’ll figure it out.

^ this exchange already starts murdering me because i feel like once Giyuu realizes he has legitimate feelings for Shinobu, and is wrestling with his own self-denial and inability to accept love from others because of how much he hates himself - he sees that Shinobu does the same thing - she doesn’t want to feel anything too deeply because she’s traumatized from Kanae’s death. she doesn’t want to love anyone else in a way that makes them more important than anything else (though, yes, we have to also acknowledge her love for Kanao here, but i imagine that's it for her - no more), so that she can’t experience loss again. she’s scared; she protects herself by being self-sufficient and dedicating herself to her work.

she's also stubborn asf, and sincerely believes in herself and what she's capable of, and so "I don't know. I'll figure it out." is literally what she would respond to this challenge.

Shinobu: I don’t need you to take care of me. I take care of myself. That’s what I do.

^ destroying me because this is exactly what Shinobu does. this is her MO; her armor.

Shinobu: Why don’t you go find some other girl who’s not gonna hurt you?

Giyuu: Because I love you.

^ help. why are they like this. it’s because Giyuu’s so alone, but when he feels, he feels deeply (seen even in his initially inexplicable sentimentality for Tanjirou & Nezuko from the beginning, all the way to when we finally hear his backstory with Sabito). he’s smart and intuitive, he can see right through Shinobu - right through everything she does to protect herself. he also doesn’t give up on people he cares about, and his sad boi meter is off the charts - he probably thinks he deserves rejection. plus we have Shinobu pushing everyone away so hard because she can’t handle it.

also going off the HC here that they’re casually hooking up throughout this: oh boy is this a mess of confusing emotions for both of them, both struggling to keep it bottled up, and Giyuu is clearly the weaker link. he just would be. he’s too sensitive.

Giyuu: It’s obvious, I completely love you - there. You’re such a wimp.

Shinobu: I am not!

Giyuu: Well then be with me.

^ why is this dialogue like, canon. it’s their personalities to a T - the way they push at each other in a way of making fun of each other; the way Giyuu is honest despite his problems with feelings; the way strong, independent Shinobu would be so offended at him calling her a wimp (which he totally would fucking say) - calling her out on how she blocks out feelings for others to stay focused on her mission so she can protect them, but so she also can’t get heartbroken, because she can’t go through that again.

*cough*

anyway. there’s my roughly 1k word count essay on how i envision a romantic giyushino dynamic. i’ll be trying to work this into my modern AU - but considering Giyuu and Shinobu are secondary characters, i don’t know how much i can explore this; still, i don’t have the full fic planned out, so nothing’s off the table.

but seriously, this shit hits me in my gut so hard i could probably write an entire fic about them just on this premise lol.

anyway, yeah. woke up at 7:30, made a cup of coffee, sat down on the computer and just wrote this essay out of nowhere in an hour because suddenly giyushino is also ruining my life.

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kimetsu-no-yabai · 10 months

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I'm usually on the camp of "Nezuko's mental age regression is a bad writing decision because it takes agency away from the sole female main character" - but after Tamayo's explanation that Nezuko traded consciousness for changing her biological makeup to co-exist peaceably with humans, I am forced to admit that as usual any writing decision in KnY I initially hate ends up lining up unexpectedly with the themes of the centrality of love.

The reason Nezuko is such a special demon is because Tanjirou's protection and guidance allowed her to become one.

Most demons focused on the day-to-day of feeding themselves, finding somewhere to rest, and fending off humans who wanted them dead. Nezuko is a rare demon who had the protection of someone else, so she could afford to sleep most of the time and change her biology. Only Nezuko could afford to trade so much of her consciousness away and to become so childlike, airheaded and defenceless because Tanjirou took care of the day-to-day for her. Unlike the other demons, she didn't have to always be on guard and live with an everyone-for-themselves mentality.

Nezuko was also able to not taste a single drop of blood because Tanjirou carried her away from their family's bodies (while trying to get her to a doctor) and was strong enough to hold her off until she got a grip. And only she lived past being discovered by a demon slayer, because Tanjirou defended her and she defended him. And when she did feel the urge to eat (Red Light District arc), Tanjirou was there to stop her.

Also very importantly, Nezuko's love for Tanjirou provided her a very strong motivation to stay in this sub-human state of consciousness for the long period necessary.

Most demons did not have a very strong reason to force themselves not to eat. Either they had no respect for humanity to begin with (Gyokko, Muzan, Spider Demon Ryu), or everyone they loved had died and they were subsequently in too much despair to put up a fight (Tamayo, a certain spoiler demon who was so suicidal that forgetting his loved ones ironically helped him live longer).

Meanwhile Nezuko really needed to return to being human, because her brother will not stop fighting demons otherwise. Regaining consciousness and convincing him to quit isn't an option for her because the demon slayers wouldn't let her live, and Tanjirou won't let her die. (And if he did, he would never recover from her death.) Like I don't know how much Nezuko thought this through, but Tanjirou's plan to shake information out of demons while trying to kill them is frankly terrible, while Nezuko's course of action to just change her biology was wildly successful lol. She had the better idea. Just as Tanjirou walked this long road for Nezuko, Nezuko did for Tanjirou.

Man, this is why I really love KnY. When the narrative said that nothing could break the bond between Tanjirou and Nezuko, when it said that love lets people exceed any reasonable expectation and achieve the impossible, they weren't just saying it. Everything has always been there, lying out in the open and waiting for us to realize it. Like, which other demon could spend so much time sleeping away so that they can change their biology. Only the little sister whose big bro is still alive and willing to take care of everything for her, and who herself loves him enough to achieve the impossible, of course.

#demon slayer #kny meta #kimestu no yaiba #my posts #kamado nezuko #demon slayer meta #the thing abt demon slayer is that everything is rly obvious but also do you ever really truly connect the dots?

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teamfreewill56-blog · 2 years

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Nezuko’s Hypnosis

Nezuko being hypnotized, even though the hypnotic suggestion wasn’t physically harmful to her--always creeped me out a bit. I fully understand the mechanic for it, and the why its useful and all that, but I’ve never been a fan of it and I wasn’t when it first got introduced. I remember I was so relieved that Tanjiro wasn’t blindly okay with it, and he only accepted it when he was able to see that Nezuko still had a will of her own. And even then, he isn’t a huge fan of it because he still looked out for Nezuko afterwards and didn’t just always assume “oh she sees them as our family it’s fine”. But I noticed something here recently, Nezuko’s “hypnosis” is actually very short-lived, when Sanemi baits her with his blood, she stops seeing humans as her blood family members when she looks at them. She hears Urokodaki’s suggestion again, but what she says after is “humans are to be protected and saved”.She says Humans not “my family”. She moved from a literal sense of the word family to a philosophical one. She still considers humans family, but she was not seeing a sibling when she was looking at Sanemi. She was seeing Sanemi and remembering her family. That’s why it was showing all of them, and not Sanemi merging into an image of one of her brothers. And after that, she continues to follow that philosophy of “all humans are family” and acts as such. On the Mugen Train she was defending at least 20+ people at a time, Nezuko only has seven family members and she is aware of this fact. She is usually shown remembering the younger siblings and her mother Kie, so if Nezuko was still seeing humans as her actual family then she would have seen a lot of repeats of her family while running back and forth slicing up Enmu. Even if we assume her mental age in demon form is toddler-ish, she still would have been very confused once she started protecting passengers and seeing 4 Kies, 3 Takeos, 8 Rokutas etc. And even if she only sees them when she’s directly looking at someone, she was running all around the cars, at one point she would see a sleeping Rokuta on one end of the train and then suddenly see him again in a totally different spot. Nezuko may not know what its called, but as a demon she’s still aware of object permanence. This would make her assume another demon’s at play and then there runs a risk of her actually hurting the passengers thinking they’re a Blood Demon Art. But because she now is able to see people as they actually are, she didn’t run into a problem, and was able to just defend people. We see it also with her interactions with Mitsuri:

Mitsuri is an older sibling, and she treats Nezuko like a younger sibling, she tickles her and Nezuko initiates wanting hugs with her instead of just giving Mitsuri hugs. Nezuko is the second oldest, so she wouldn’t have experienced the kind of play and tickling Mitsuri is giving her, and while she does cling and hold onto Mitsuri she also very willingly waves goodbye to her with Tanjiro when Mitsuri leaves. Also the Taisho Secret notes:

Which means Nezuko was able to see Mitsuri as Mitsuri herself, liked her braids and wanted to have her hair braided the same. I do wish that the story had made it a little clearer that Nezuko made this transition, but I’m grateful to see that the hypnosis thing truly was a short-lived mechanic and a stepping stone and not a constant mechanic in the story.

#Urokodaki's hypnosis #suggestion #kny meta #kny analysis #analysis #demon slayer #mitsuri kanroji #kanroji mitsuri #hypnotic suggestion #nezuko kamado #kamado nezuko #agency #mugen train

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avocodas · 2 years

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Please Stop

#demon slayer #kimetsu no yaiba #akaza #shitpost #hakuji #kny meta

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knyplotrewrite · 2 years

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my thoughts on canon Zenitsu

(Disclaimer: This is a big analysis thingy on canon Zenitsu where I will be pointing out both positive and negative parts of his arc and characterization. If you do not want to see the criticism or simply wish to avoid manga spoilers, press “J” for desktop or just scroll really fast to avoid it. Thanks!)

Alright, so Zenitsu.

He’s definitely another of those characters that I find fans either loving to bits or completely despising, and then some that simply don’t care for him at all. For me? I personally do not like canon Zenitsu overall, but it’s purely because of the way Gotouge wrote him that really makes me wish it wasn’t so evident what they were trying to accomplish.

It is super clear they struggled with balancing comedic relief and the emotional depth of Zenitsu. There are very few exceptions, but he’s not really allowed to be taken seriously by the narrative. They somehow have to take what little heartfelt moments and impact he made and turn it into a stupid joke. He’s not treated as a character but something to laugh at, which really feels off in a story that’s supposed to be dramatic and mindful of its characters’ humanity.

So if you’ve ever felt like his development goes all over the damn place throughout the story, this is why. His role as one of the primary forms of comedic relief screwed him over big time.

However, there are those exceptions I hinted at before, and that’s namely his relationship with Kuwajima and his fight with Kaigaku. I felt those were handled extremely well and given the space to emotionally develop and connect with the readers/viewers in the respective places they appeared in (Natagumo, Infinity Fortress).

But like... that’s it, you know? Despite being considered a big part of the KMBK trio, he doesn’t actively connect with Tanjirou or Inosuke in meaningful ways. Not in the way he does with Kuwajima and Kaigaku. Neither Tanjirou nor Inosuke really drive him to become a better person like the Thunder family does, which is pretty odd.

Then there’s Zenitsu with Nezuko. I absolutely despise this relationship in basically every way. Not only is it morally questionable due to Nezuko’s implied age regression, but pretty much every damn scene those two interact in actively makes Zenitsu an obsessive, creepy bitch when it really did not have to be.

Which leads me to my next point: his attachment/abandonment issues. These are not handled well at all, I’m sorry. I’ve really only complained about this to a select group of friends, but I find the fact that he was essentially abused by all seven of his fiancees weird. Like, he never met one normal girl? Why is Gotouge insisting that all these girls were cruel to him? Did they not consider that relationships couldn’t last in other ways? And also why do they never bother bringing this up again? Since he’s an ADHD-coded character, I could totally see the connection between him having so many failed relationships to him being so obsessed with finding a spouse later on, but its not given the depth it deserves. Once again, the fact that he’s treated almost purely as comedic relief took that potential away from us.

It’s a really big shame too since Nezuko would have been the perfect way for Zenitsu to really work through his issues regarding his relationships, and his complicated feelings when it comes to love.

@keniaku since you asked for this lol

#but yeah rewrite readers will know that ive definitely taken a much more mature approach with zenitsus character #hes still humorous #he cracks jokes and acts dryly sarcastic when hes clearly not in the mood to deal with shenanigans #but its in character #and hes able to feel the full scope of his emotions #then grow from them #and he even meets one of his exes lmao #anyways thanks for reading this dump of thoughts #kny meta #kimetsu no yaiba #demon slayer #kny manga spoilers #zenitsu #zenitsu agatsuma #keniaku

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francforever · 1 year

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I don’t know if I will able to get the wording of this post right, but i will try anyway. With the release of season 3, I wanted to take a moment to talk about Mitsuri

I see a lot of complaints about her character. Mainly, her motivation for joining the demon slayer corps and the fact that her backstory isn’t as sad as that of the other hashira (she didn’t lose any loved ones). But I personally don’t take any issues with either of those things

When you water down Mitsuri’s goal to “oh she just wants a husband”, it really takes away so much from her character. It’s much more than that. Mitsuri was constantly judged for being herself. She had extreme physical strength, she had a big appetite, she had weird hair. She tried to change those parts of herself, only to realize that she wasn’t happy at all.

She may have initially joined the corps to find a partner (which is a totally valid motivation btw! Women are allowed to want a partner but I digress), but the reason she stayed is so much deeper than that. With the corps, Mitsuri was able to find acceptance. She found people who loved her for who she is. She learned to love herself.

Mitsuri doesn’t need to have an extremely tragic backstory where she loses loved ones to demons, we have enough of those. There’s nothing wrong with adding a strong female character who’s motivation and backstory is more “shallow”. Mitsuri means soo much to a lot of viewers of the show (including me), and I think that’s what matters

#just a little meta because I see a lot of people complain about her #now I do think demon slayers does have some issues with how it treats those characters at the end #it’s all very rushed #but I love Mitsuri especially in this arc and I will die on this hill #Mitsuri kanroji #kny #kny meta

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maigo-san · 1 year

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I wrote this short stuff on a whim because I've been listening to Sufjan Stevens' album, Carrie & Lowell.

The album talks about Sufjan's own journey to understanding his grief towards his late mother, Carrie, who died from cancer. The first song, Death with Dignity, is actually about Sufjan finally accepting her loss and I like to wonder how Ruka's death affected Kyoujurou in a similar way.

Spirit of my silence, I can hear you

But I’m afraid to be near you

And I don’t know where to begin

This very strong and diligent boy can't even cry and doesn't have time to settle for a bit. Silence is a time of reflection and I feel Kyoujurou must have a lot of struggle with it. He is constantly trying to be better and is continually perfecting his Flame Breathing techniques, he has no time to mull or ruminate despite being so wise for his age. He was so wise even Tanjirou carried his words and actions when he started to doubt himself.

"...you may feel like digging your heels in, but the flow of time waits for no one. It won't patiently stand by as you grieve."

At the same time, demon activity doesn't stop waiting for him to grieve either. He has also been reminded of the times he lost a comrade while demon slaying.

"Death comes after the friends you shared a laugh with."

Somewhere in the desert, there’s a forest

And an acre before us

This verse reminded me of Kyoujurou's spiritual realm. A barren wasteland filled with nothing but heat and smoke. But during his last time, the smile he gave when seeing his mother reflected the hidden acre or forest filled with peacefulness. Despite everything he experienced in his life including his mother's death, there's still a silver lining to it and he's forever a grateful and accepting guy.

Well, I suppose a friend is a friend

And we all know how this will end

Unlike Sufjan, we don't know how Ruka died, just that she had been very weak. But cancer was known to be an Old man's friend and it reminded me of how Ruka had accepted her death long before she passed. It hurts her just as much to leave but neither of them could do anything about it and they both knew how it would end.

What is that song you sing for the dead?

I see the signal searchlight strike me in the window of my room

Well, I got nothing to prove

Kyoujurou's lack of "change" towards Ruka's death was him knowing that whatever song he would sing to the dead, wouldn't bring his mother back.

In my fic, I wrote about how Kyoujurou was slowly becoming very ambitious toward his goal, esp since despite everything it is still difficult to reach the top and it made him slightly agitated.

After all, that was also his mother's legacy. But as he calmed and came back to his senses he realized that it was fine to become a Hashira at his own pace. It was because his mom already believed in and he truly didn't have anything to "prove".

I forgive you, mother, I can hear you (I can hear you)

And I long to be near you (And I long to be near you)

But every road leads to an end

Yes, every road leads to an end

Sufjan had only seen his mother three summers in Oregon. After that, he barely interacted with her until she passed due to cancer. There are other songs in the album that referenced this, like in Should Have Known Better, he said

I should have wrote a letter

And grieve what I happen to grieve

That he regretted not telling his mom who was always away from him, how he truly feel. I can see how it relates to Kyoujurou who also barely had time to interact with Ruka as she died when he and Senjurou were at a very young age.

Your apparition passes through me in the willows

My fic told about how he still longed to be with her. The flower corner that I referred to, the sweet-smelling altar, was his mother's last trace and I actually used the word "apparition" in the fic because of that song and personify the flower corner to give that ghostlike image.

ap·pa·ri·tion (noun) a ghost or ghostlike image of a person

There are also other songs in the album that can apply to the Rengokus' in general. This family is just riddled with grief.

We're all gonna die

was the verse that kept being repeated in the song Fourth of July and really emphasize the despair and anguish.

The evil it spread like a fever ahead

It was night when you died, my firefly

What could I have said to raise you from the dead?

Oh could I be the sky on the Fourth of July?

The song Fourth of July feels like a back-and-forth conversation between Shinjurou to Ruka, Ruka to Kyoujurou, and Shinjurou or Senjurou to Kyoujurou. Both Ruka and Kyoujurou fought their own battles and died in the end. But at the same time from this next part, we could see how these deaths matter to the family.

Did you get enough love, my little dove

Why do you cry?

And I'm sorry I left, but it was for the best

Though it never felt right

My little Versailles

This part also feels like what Ruka would say to her boys but at the same time, it could be said by Kyoujurou to Senjurou and Shinjurou who finally sober up after Kyoujurou died, and the fact that it became a catalyst to Tanjirou's personal development.

The hospital asked should the body be cast

Before I say goodbye, my star in the sky

Such a funny thought to wrap you up in cloth

Do you find it all right, my dragonfly?

This is Shinjurou to Ruka or Kyoujurou. I feel so bad for Shinjurou because even before Ruka's death he had been feeling inadequate about his own ability as a Flame Hashira. His comrades die during battle and this battle that went on for centuries seemed to be never-ending. I feel even if he did get Ruka's warning that she was about to die, he would never be ready. He could never say goodbye until it was too late.

Shall we look at the moon, my little loon

Why do you cry?

Make the most of your life, while it is rife

While it is light

This reminded me of Kyoujurou's last message to Shinjurou and Senjurou,

"Please take care of your body."

It is such a simple message but knowing their story, it holds so much weight. Shinjurou has been struggling with alcoholism and despite what he said, "He's only going to blame me for it!" Kyoujurou still only wished for his father's health.

You could also see the resemblance between the characters' traits. All the animals mentioned were of flight. They symbolize freedom and soaring dreams. The Rengokus had passed down the legacy of being the only Flame Hashira and it is such a huge responsibility. At the same time, there's the privilege of being in a wealthy and prodigy family, thus the flying references.

It is very fitting for Ruka to call Kyoujurou her little Versailles as he has an abundance of potential and knowledge and he's in a way a living embodiment of the Rengoku Family history.

A littl bonus:

The verse, "Shall we look at the moon, my little loon?" is so intriguing to me as aside from keeping the rhyme and bird/flight animal motif, a loon can also mean a crazy person.

Which reminded me of the story of Icarus. I don't think Sufjan was making an ironic nudge to that story. Despite the whole sun vs moon thing (Icarus flew too close to the sun and died) and the flying reference.

(Imagine telling Icarus to look at the moon as it will not melt his wings like the sun did looool)

The story of Icarus is known to be about hubris or "excessive pride" but at the same time, I feel it's kinda bleak. You can't really blame Icarus for wanting to escape such a hellish place, and it cost him his death as he heeds no warning from his father.

In a way, Shinjurou's discouragement serves as a warning for Kyoujurou to stop demon slaying. But at the same time, he gave no good reason for Kyoujurou to do so. Though I don't think Kyoujurou fears being his father if he ever stops demon slaying. He also never once pushes Senjurou to do better and lets him decide his future for himself instead of demanding that Senjurou become his tsuguko. But I do think that Kyoujurou knew deep down he was their last resort.

In fact, Kyoujurou was adamant that the only way to bring his father back to life was for him to become a Hashira. Yet it cost him his life.

But is it foolish to be confident that you can fly high enough you can still survive without melting your wings? Is it lunatic to think that you're your family's last hope?

Kyoujurou's death is a butterfly effect.

Sooo yeah, I recommend listening to these songs or the album, and happy Purgatory Countdown.

#kmtvillage #Spotify #the Rengoku Family #kny meta #Rengoku Kyoujurou #tw death #tw grief #Suifjan Stevens #rntnvillage #if you squint #Purgatory countdown

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wynsnerdyrambles · 11 months

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what is your opinion in mitsuri?

For the short answer, she's wonderful and I wish her all the happiness in the world!

For the long answer, I think Mitsuri's likability comes down to her relatability. Among the Hashira, I feel like her backstory is the most grounded. No tragic deaths, no evil demons, just someone who wants to find a place where they'll be accepted as they are. I think that's something that a lot of people, myself included, can really relate to. Also she has a whip-sword that reminds me of ribbon dancing, and that's like +5,000,000,000 points to her cool factor.

#kimetsu no yaiba #kny #kny meta #kanjori mitsuri #mitsuri kanroji #swordsmith village arc

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linkspooky · 2 years

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Rengoku and Uzui

The enertainment district arc follows immediately after the Mugen Train arc, with the introduction of another Hashira to mentor Tanjiro and friends immediately after the tragic death of Rengoku. Uzui is presented at first as the complete opposite of noble, selfless to a fault big brother Rengoku as he’s presented as being much more individualistic and obsessed with flashy things. However, if you compare and contrast them they have much more common than it might seem at first, and Uzui turns out to be just what Tanjiro needs after the loss at the end of the Infinity Arc. More underneath the cut.

1. Two Different Kinds of Mentors

The first comparison drawn between the two of them is that their introductions to the sense squad (Tanjiro, Nezuko, Inosuke, and Zenitsu otherwise known as THE SENSE SQUAD because that’s what I like to call them) are complete opposites of one another. Rengoku is immediately a model Hashira, not only is he incredibly helpful to them and is introduced defeating a demon easily on the train, he’s also totally willing to take in Tanjiro and the rest as a mentor.

Tengen on the other hand, is introduced literally trying to kidnap the girls at the butterfly estate for a mission. The contrast is immediatelyapparent, Uzui is presented to us as willful and arrogant. Even their chosen disciplines are opposites, Rengoku is a swordsman, and Uzui is a ninja. Rengoku faces his opponents head on, Uzui sneaks around and uses deception. Uzui is also, totally uninterested in Tanjiro and the others at first.

Unlike Rengoku who immediately steps into the role of mentor, Uzui isn’t really interested in mentoring anyone, he’s not even looking to be accomodating of the fact that Kanao might have different needs and require a more tender hand than Tengen’s forceful one. Rengoku’s number one priority is protecting the people around him, while Uzui seems too focused on the mission.

Uzui at the beginning almost chafes at the idea of trying to work with these kids. If Rengoku is selfilessness taken to an extreme, on first brush Uzui seems to be made up of nothing but selfishness and egotism. Which shows in his complete lack of cooeprativeness with Tanjiro and the others, his controlling nature, oh and also the fact that he declares himself a god. You know, like they do.

Even the presentation of the characters is in reverse of one another. Rengoku is seemingly perfect, the model Hashira, he devotes himself entirely to slaying demons and protecting others. His flaws are hidden underneath the surface. Uzui is so obviously flawed. If the kidnapping attempt didn’t clue you in on that. Rengoku doesn’t think too highly of himself despite all of his talent. Uzui looks down on other people as the god of flashiness. Rengoku works with the kids, and Uzui bosses them all around, and the fact that he was willing to kidnap Aoi and force her into the mission leaves a bad impression on his qualities as a mentor.

2. Ninjas are masters of Deception

The first clue that Rengoku is more than he seems however, is when we learn why Uzui is in such a hurry to complete the mission in the enertainment district. His three wives are already undercover and he’s completely lost contact with them. Though he doesn’t show it in front of the kids necessarily or voice his worries, his actions of completely strongarming and bulldozing everyone begins to make sense.

He also exrpresses genuine concern for Zenitsu when he disappears, and regret for bringing them along on the mission and putting them directly into danger. Uzui isn’t harsh to the sense squad because he’s cruel and uncaring, but because he understands the danger of the mission and is trying to bring them up to his standards.

Underneath his loud and flashy behavior on the outside, Uzui is thoughtful and self aware of the dangers present in their lives, and also the consequences for his actions. He starts the arc in a rush, and selfish, but he has a genuine moment of self reflection where he acknowledges his selfishness when he realizes how it’s hurt others. He even tries to take responsiblity for using the Sense Squad the way he has by shouldering everything by himself from now on. Tanjiro believes it’s because he doesn’t trust them but it’s actually the opposite, it’s Uzui showing his selflessness in his own way.

Uzui is still a prideful and self-centered peron, but those flaws aren’t all he is as a person, and there’s also a positive side to his attitude, he has something positive to teach Tanjiro.

There’s no shame in this, to survive means victory. Remember what Tanjiro has immediately been through. Not only did he put Rengoku on a pedestal for his selflessness and willingness to help others, he also has survivor’s guilt for the fact that Rengoku sacrificed himself to take down a demon, and not only did it not work,b ut Tanrjio was able to do nothing other than survive at that moment.

Rengoku even tries to verbalize to Tanjiro that his death isn’t Tanjiro’s fault,t hat the leaders and older members are supposed to protect the younger ones. However that’s not what Tanjiro internalizes. Remember, Tanjiro not only has survivor’s guilt he has a double dose of it, not only wasn’t he able to stop the death of Rengoku, he also wasn’t even there when the rest of his family was picked off by demons, and Nezuko was turned. Tanjiro’s survivor’s guilt tells him these things are his fault, and invites him to feel he should have died alongside him. Tanjiro continually struggles on his own feelings of helplessness, that these situations are somehow his fault, and if he were stronger they wouldn’t happen.

Tanjiro even assumes afterwards in this scene that Uzui wanting to continue the mission alone from now on must be Uzui looking down on them or thinking of them as useless, not, genuine concern for their safety. However, Uzui ultiamtely believes the same thing that Rengoku does. There’s no shame in Tanjiro’s survival. Tanjiro living another day is a win in it’s own right.

If Tanjiro internalized the wrong lesson at the end of the Rengoku arc, it’s Uzui’s mentorship that allows Tanjiro to realize that there’s value in his survival to continue to struggle along another day.

Uzui is a character who stresses over and over again that there’s value in everyone else around him living, that they should prioritize their life voer the mission. This even reflects on his background, he started out as a shinobi in a shinobi family, completely unafraid to die to complete an objective, watching all of the rest of his siblings die for the mission as well.

We have an arc of self-sacrfice, and the immediate follow up emphasizes again and again, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to live and continue living. Rengoku’s flaw is that he burnt out too fast. He was too selfless. The result of his selfless sacrifice is yes, he proected the kids who were under his responsbility, but he also died right in front of them and they suffered from his death. That’s always the dark side to self-sacrifice, it’s never a completely positive actions, especially to the people you leave behind.

Uzui is selfish, and he tries to encourage others to be selfish because he wants them to take care of themselves. It’s the positive aspect of selfishness. You can still help others, while prioritizing yourself and taking care of yourself. Uzui is basically telling Tanjiro’s survival guilt as loudly as possible to shut up.

Most of all, Uzui emphasizes you don’t have to be perfect, or even completely selfless to keep on living. Uzui’s background is as a ruthless ninja. He’s not someone bold and kind like Rengoku. He even thinks that he can never be like Rengoku.

Yet, Uzui is also someone who survived all of that. He lived on carrying all his sins he committed being born into a ninja family, and is carrying them every day of his life. It’s because Uzui lived and survive for so long that Uzui was able to also grow into a more selfless individual, who is no longer taking others lives, but protecting them. Uzui is like Tanjiro in a way, a survivor who is struggling with his inner weakness.

By the end of thearc Tanjiro has learned something important from him, that no matter how much he feels he should have died alongside his family, he should have died alongside Rengoku, that both times he should hafe done more, there’s no value to him dying at those moments. This is a lesson he carries with him for the rest of the series, and because of that he’s even able to give helpful cousnel to Giyuu who struggles with the same survivor’s guilt. The same Giyuu who at the beginning of the series lectured Tanjiro that it’s his fault Nezuko was taken by demons, that if he continues to be weak then what happens to him from now on it was also his fault.

He’s able to counsel Giyuu, because it wasn’t wrong of him to live while Sabito died. Sabito sacrificed his life for Giyuu because he cared for him. He shouldn’t have to feel shame that he continued on living, because not only was that life a gift, Sabito wanted Giyu to survive.

If there’s worth is sacrificing yourself, and fighting selflessly for the sake of others. There is also worth in protecting yourself, and living on fight another day. The compare and contrast between Uzui and Rengoku is something that shows us this nuance, that selflessness isn’t always a good thing, that selfishness isn’t always a bad thing. People are selfish, people are selfless, but most of all they are just struggling along trying to live in this world.

#kny meta #kimetsu no yaiba meta #kimetsu no yaiba theory #enertainment district arc #mugen train #infinity train #uzui tengen #tanjiro kamado #rengoku senjuro

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