Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (2019)

[鬼滅の刃]

Volume 17

Author/Artist: Koyoharu Gotouge
Publisher: Jump Comics

Synopsis:
Shinobu exhausts all of her arts in an attempt to defeat Douma.

Story/Characters:
We open with Shinobu reflecting on how her once happy life was destroyed when her family was wiped out by oni and how she and her sister became Demon Slayers to protect others, following the example of the one who saved them (Himejima). Though physically weak and unable to cut off their heads, Shinobu has managed to kill dozens of oni and if she can take out an Upper Kizuki, hundreds of lives will be saved. Her rage drives her forward and that rage turns to frustration as the last of her strength still isn't enough. Douma scoops her up in his arms and laments how all her efforts are for naught and deems such an unfortunate soul truly worthy of being eaten by him. Shinobu tells him to go to Hell. Kanao arrives on the scene just as Douma crushes Shinobu in his embrace. Kanao attacks him but is easily dodged and Douma asks her not to come at him while he's busy absorbing his prey. (Unlike his other victims that we've seen, rather than simply eating Shinobu, he's absorbing her wholly into his body.) Kanao doesn't rise to the provocation due to hand signal Shinobu gave in her dying moments, something that didn't escape Douma's notice. While holding her ground and keeping her fury on a tight leash, Kanao thinks on how you take for granted that your loved ones are going to be there tomorrow and the day after, even when that's not guaranteed anywhere.

We cut to a grim-faced Zenitsu confronting Kaigaku, the newly minted Upper Six who was once a brother apprentice. The next chapter we pick up with Tanjirou and Tomioka, who nearly get separated once a door opens up under Tanjirou's feet. A crow wearing one of Yushirou's seeing charms reports Shinobu's death. As Tomioka wonders what the charm is (as he's never met Yushirou), we see Ubuyashiki's son Kiriya having taken over for his father. He and his surviving sisters have Yushirou's charms and are using the crows to monitor the situation and act as command-and-control for the operation. Although only eight years old, he displays impressive competence as a commander, a reflection on his strict upbringing. Back to Zenitsu and Kaigaku, Zenitsu demands to know why the heir to Lightning Breathing became an oni. Because this happened, their master was obliged to commit seppuku and he did so without a secondary, without resorting to cutting his throat or stabbing himself in the heart to end his suffering sooner. Kaigaku actually exults in their master's suffering as he felt he never got the respect he deserved and resented their master for making him and Zenitsu joint successors to Lightning Breathing. While Zenitsu only mastered the First Form of Lightning Breathing, the First Form is the only one Kaigaku never did. In their first exchange of blows, Zenitsu demonstrates his superior speed, much to Kaigaku's surprise. We see a flashback of Kaigaku when he was a Slayer bowing before Kokushibou, who shares some of his blood to give him the chance to become an oni. Kaigaku thinks there can be no comparison between his terror facing such power and weakling like Zenitsu, no matter how much he's improved. Zenitsu can tell Kaigaku has already eaten a lot of people to have the power he does and asks him if he's lost all sense of good and evil. Kaigaku replies that that isn't the case at all. To him, all who regard him highly are "good" and all who don't are "evil". He blends his Blood Art with his Lightning Breathing to up its power and gloats all the while. He seems to have the upper hand, and Zenitsu thinks back on how he looked up to Kaigaku, how he was the example to follow, even though Kaigaku always hated Zenitsu. Even so, Zenitsu could sense Kaigaku's persistent discontent, which brought him to his current state. Silently apologizing to his master and to his brother apprentice for always coming up short, Zenitsu unleashes the Seventh Form and takes Kaigaku's head. A furious Kaigaku fumes that this was proof their master was playing favorites, teaching Zenitsu a technique that was never taught to him. Zenitsu assures him that their master wasn't like that at all and that the Seventh Form was a technique he invented himself, all because he wanted to be able to fight alongside Kaigaku one day. Even as his head starts to crumble, Kaigaku refuses to acknowledge his defeat, comforting himself in the thought that a fully spent Zenitsu is sure to die when they hit the ground. Yushirou, garbed as a Slayer, then appears to dress him down, telling him that a person who never gives back will eventually stop being given things, that someone who only wants will eventually be left with nothing. He bids Kaigaku to die alone miserably while he then saves Zenitsu. Zenitsu has a vision of his master standing on the opposite bank of the Sanzu River (the Japanese equivalent to the River Styx, separating the worlds of the living and the dead). He apologizes for failing to reconcile with Kaigaku despite his best efforts, saying that maybe if he was never around, things wouldn't have happened the way they did. He wanted to become a Hashira in his master's lifetime to repay him for all he had done. He asks his master if he hates him for his failures, but instead, his master replies that Zenitsu is his pride.

We cut to see Yushirou tending to Zenitsu's wounds, fussing with Murata as his bedside manner hasn't improved any from when we last saw him. He notes that Zenitsu was lucky to have fought Kaigaku now when he had yet to fully master his powers and that even with just another year, the outcome would've likely been different. We learn that Tamayo directed him to infiltrate the Corps to support them, much to his dissatisfaction. He's able to conceal his appearance and presence enough to fool Slayers of Murata's level, but he finds travelling with them to be exhausting. Back to Tanjirou and Tomioka, Tanjirou is starting to get impatient because they haven't encountered an Upper Kizuki yet, and like a charm, who should bust in on the scene but Akaza? Both Akaza and Tanjirou are spoiling for a rematch, but before we can get to that, we cut to this big fleshy cocoon deep within the castle. Tamayo is there and she figures Muzan has retreated into the cocoon to focus on breaking down the cure she administered to him. She knows she will be absorbed soon and hopes someone can get there before it's too late.

Back at the command post, one of the sisters is starting to break down mourning the loss of the rest of their family, but Kiriya is firm with her, as their work is a critical part of the success of the operation. We then see that Uzui and Rengoku's dad are there providing security. Two former Hashira are no longer suited for frontline duty, but they're at least some defense for the young lord. Meanwhile, Urokodaki is watching over Nezuko, who is in throes of pain as Tamayo's cure does its work on her, though it's uncertain if it'll actually succeed or not. Urokodaki is overwhelmed at the thought that the Corps' long battle might finally end this night and is amazed how two small gears like Tanjirou and Nezuko proved to be the very component that put the grand machine of Fate in motion. As he urges the two Kamado siblings not to lose, we cut back to Tanjirou against Akaza. In their first exchange, Tanjirou tries to cut Akaza's arm, realizing that if he can't cut off one of Akaza's limbs, he won't stand a chance at cutting off Akaza's head. He succeeds and Tomioka is amazed at how much Tanjirou has grown, arguably now at the level of a Hashira himself. Akaza recalls what Rengoku told him about Tanjirou not being weak and acknowledges the truth of these words. This, of course, means that he now feels free to go all-out. Tomioka joins in and Akaza is pleased to have two strong opponents and notes that when Tomioka uses the Eleventh Form against him, the last Water Hashira he killed didn't use that technique. Tomioka and Tanjirou work well in conjunction with each other, but Akaza heals almost instantly from any damage he takes. A glancing blow is enough to temporarily take Tanjirou out of the fight, so Akaza focuses on Tomioka, wanting to learn his name (fixating on him much as he did with Rengoku). Tomioka refuses to tell his name, but Akaza learns it anyway when Tanjirou calls out to him. Akaza praises Tanjirou for having gotten so much stronger since they last met and supposes that it was just as well that Rengoku died as his attachment to his humanity would've probably prevented him from becoming any stronger. Tanjirou takes offense at the insult, but Akaza corrects him, insisting that he only despises the weak, that they're an offense to the natural order. Tanjirou argues against him, insisting that everyone—even him—started out as a helpless baby that needed protection, that the natural order is for the strong to protect the weak so that the weak can become stronger and protect those weaker than themselves. Akaza rankles at this not just because it's a rejection his personal philosophy but because it stirs up the ghosts of his past. We see a man rest his hand on Akaza's shoulder, encouraging him to help others. Akaza swings to shake off the man, only no one's there. Akaza intensifies his assault on Tanjirou, all while Tanjirou is trying to analyze his fighting style to find some weakness. He actually succeeds in cutting Akaza's neck even as he dodged the attack. We cut to Senjurou praying for the safety of Tanjirou and his father, wondering if Tanjirou got his letter about the conversation between one of the former Flame Hashira and the Sun Breathing wielder who fought Muzan to a standstill. However, the narration informs us that the battle began before Tanjirou could read the letter.

As the fight continues, Akaza manages to catch Tanjirou's blade and he tries every trick in the book to get him to let go before it breaks. Thankfully, Tomioka makes it back from being knocked away earlier to cut off Akaza's arms in the nick of time. Tomioka manifests the Mark and things heat up. Tanjirou is eager to get back in the fight, but he forces himself to calm down and seek out the best opportunity. Tanjirou starts thinking about the concept of fighting spirit, as it's one of the few abstract concepts he can't identify by smell. He remembers Inosuke explaining to him that his skin is sensitive to attention directed at him, especially the intent to kill, and one of the reasons the old lady at the Wisteria House unnerved him so much was that he couldn't detect her presence when she showed up behind him, as she didn't have any intention to harm him. Tanjirou wonders if it's possible to approach an oni without the intent to kill, but Inosuke doubts it, as you need to focus your energies into your attack. Tanjirou tests out his theory with an attack Akaza easily intercepts, but Tanjirou is able to predict the counterattack and minimizes the damage he suffers. He then remembers something about his father. He once asked his father how he could bear doing the Hinokami Kagura for as long as he did and his father tells him that it's actually easier than when he first started, even though he was younger and stronger then. He does it by clearing his mind. It starts with an acute awareness of every muscle, every blood vessel and slowly the movements become natural and fade. This connects to an episode not long before Tanjirou's father died of his illness. There was a maneating bear loose on the mountain and his father not only detected it before it tripped the warning bells set up around the house, but was able to easily cut through a neck thicker than a man's torso with nothing but a simple axe. All the while, Tanjirou's acute sense of smell didn't detect the slightest change come over his father. When Tanjirou dodged the attack earlier, and before that when he was able to sense Hantengu hiding in the heart of Zouhakuten, he had touched on perceiving the transparent world his father spoke of, and now he has his answer. He has to master this technique while Tomioka is keeping Akaza busy in order to defeat the oni.

Art:
The new hardcore Zenitsu impresses in battle with Kaigaku and we get some rather elaborate fight choreography for the battle with Tanjirou and Tomioka vs. Akaza, as you would expect when going up against more of a technical fighter. I also have to give props to Papa Kamado for his epic bearslaying.

Other:
We get an illustration of a crying Kanae, some information about the late Jigorou Kuwajima (Zenitsu's master), some information on Kaigaku (specifically how he was the one orphan who betrayed the others at Himejima's temple), some information on Murata (and a helpful explanation that Water Breathing is one of the easiest techniques for beginners and therefore the most commonly practiced), a reminder that the black-haired girl from the Final Selection was actually Kiriya (who you may recall was raised as a girl until he took his father's place as head of the household), an illustration of a happy Nezuko getting attention from Urokodaki before the cure was administered, Tanjirou and Tomioka's crows trying to find their masters (or, in the case of Tanjirou's crow, his "apprentice"), Inosuke eating Tanjirou's food in the hospital, and lastly, Kimetsu Academy profiles for Kanae, Kanao, Gyokko and Hantengu (the latter two treated as ghost stories).

Conclusion:
Shinobu's finale and Zenitsu avenging his master are both good bits of storytelling, but the main event is Tanjirou's rematch with Akaza, which not only features good synergy between Tanjirou and Tomioka but also ties a lot of earlier elements together to bring Tanjirou to the verge of his next big breakthrough. If you like your action, you'll get it in spades here and there's no doubt that fans of the series will want to have this one in their collection.

Rating:
Own It