Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (2018)

[鬼滅の刃]

Volume 10

Author/Artist: Koyoharu Gotouge
Publisher: Jump Comics

Synopsis:
Tengen arrives at Daki's underground nest to rescue his wives.

Story/Characters:
We open with Makio reflecting on how she used to not be afraid of dying, part of her kunoichi training, but Tengen put the highest priority on their lives, which in turn prompted his wives to think of themselves as more than just expendable pawns. The reunion of husband and wives is interrupted when Inosuke tells Tengen that Daki's obi has escaped, so he rallies the troops and sets out in pursuit. Meanwhile, the obi merges with Daki, giving her a power boost and when a passerby complaining about the ruckus annoys her, she unleashes an attack that tears into the buildings down the lane, killing and maiming several people. This triggers Tanjirou's anger. We get a brief aside of a letter from Rengoku's dad, apologizing for his earlier behavior and sharing what he knows about Sun Breathing. One of the key elements is the mark Tanjirou has on his forehead, but it's not a birthmark as the elder Rengoku assumes. You'll recall that it was originally a burn scar that was further marred during the Final Selection. However, even if he isn't born with special aptitude for Sun Breathing, Tanjirou vows to master the power to punish unrepentant killers like Daki. He goes at Daki with renewed vigor, surprising her and triggering memories inherited via Muzan's blood of a similarly marked swordsman. She unleashes her obi, attacking from multiple angles, but Tanjirou easily cuts through it with the Hinokami Kagura. He closes the distance and nearly takes Daki's head, but she transforms her neck into obi form to resist cutting. The two exchange blows until Tanjirou manages to pin down the obi and make another go for her head when the specter of his sister Hanako urges him to breathe. You see, he was so consumed by his offensive that he stopped breathing and once he does, the toll on his body hits him all at once. Daki, who had been genuinely frightened, is more than happy to turn the tables, but before she gets the top half of her head punted off by our girl Nezuko. Because Daki is an Upper Kizuki, the higher concentration of Muzan's blood has triggered Nezuko's memories of the attack on her family and so she's on the warpath.

We cut to a flashback of Muzan warning Daki about Nezuko, and so now Daki is eager to defeat her and offer her up. At first, the fight doesn't seem to be going too well for Nezuko. She gets chopped up a fair bit, but just when Daki goes down to gloat, Nezuko not only pulls herself back together but actually powers up. Her body grows to what we can imagine she would look like if her growth hadn't been arrested since she became an oni, maybe even a little older, and there are other changes such as her growing a horn and this vine pattern appearing on her skin. She then proceeds to start stomping Daki into submission. Daki tries using her obi to chop up Nezuko's body again, but now getting splashed by Nezuko's blood sets her on fire. After stomping Daki a bit more, Nezuko kicks her into a nearby building, but a wounded civilian spurs her blood thirst. (I should've noted that her bamboo gag fell off before she transformed.) Thankfully, before she can attack the civvie and cause a big seppuku party, Tanjirou is able to get to her first and restrain her. By this point, Nezuko has gone berserk and a mere human (and a badly wounded one at that) doesn't stand much chance of stopping her. If that wasn't enough, Daki is recovering and thirsty to avenge herself. (The burns are not only very painful but even an Upper Kizuki's healing factor takes a long time to fix the damage.) Things are looking bad, but then Tengen shows up, surprisingly unconcerned about the current situation, and even goes so far as to tell Daki that she's too weak to be an Upper Kizuki. The moment Daki objects, her head falls off (the good ol' time-delayed decapitation). While a stunned Daki is left holding her head, Tengen tells Tanjirou to get Nezuko under control, sing a lullaby or something. Tanjirou actually tries this and the words of the song spark memories of their mother, which is enough to finally bring Nezuko down from her rage.

Now that Nezuko is safely asleep, Daki fumes at Tengen for cutting off her head and belittling her power. Her pride breaks down completely and she just starts bawling like a little kid, throwing a tantrum and calling for her big brother. Big brother? Yes, you heard right. Something emerges from Daki's body and Tengen's attempt to strike first and ask questions later isn't quick enough. We see another oni setting Daki's head back on her shoulders and telling her to stop crying. Tengen tries attacking again, but he ends up being on the worse end of it. This is Gyuutarou, whose name comes from the nickname for the barkers of the Yoshiwara brothels. Part of his deal is his extreme envy of those better off than him, which is just about everyone. Tengen stokes the fires a bit by boasting of having three wives in addition to all the other qualities Gyuutarou has said he was jealous of. I'm sure the intent was to provoke him into slipping up, but Gyuutarou is much better at what he does than that. While trying to protect the civilians in the building, Tengen is trying to figure out how taking Daki's head didn't kill her and concludes that he will probably have to take both her and Gyuutarou's head at the same time. While this is going on, Inosuke and Zenitsu have arrived on the scene and Tanjirou asks them to hold out while he returns Nezuko to her box.

We get an interesting bit when Gyuutarou is doing his usual ranting about how special Tengen must be and in a surprising display of humility from such a big showoff, Tengen shoots down the idea, as he considers himself to be inferior both to his original shinobi village and to his current Hashira comrades. Tengen reflects a little bit on it was being a shinobi and how he rejected that lifestyle and mindset. This is accompanied by a flashback to when Ubuyashiki encouraged him to follow his own path, rife with challenges and contradictions though it is. While all this is going on, Gyuutarou overcomes his earlier confusion about Tengen being unaffected by the poison of his weapon. Between Tengen's shinobi training and sheer ability to bluff, he's been holding out rather well, but now Gyuutarou renews his assault with Daki coming in for the assist (and losing her head again). Inosuke and Zenitsu show up on the scene with Tanjirou close behind. Tanjirou does a good job of assessing the situation and Tengen pumps up his young counterparts, passing them off as his tsuguko (a bluff, of course). They split up, with Inosuke and Zenitsu taking on Daki while Tengen and Tanjirou take on Gyuutarou. The unconscious Zenitsu demands Daki apologize to the girl she hurt and, as you'd imagine, Daki doesn't take kindly to being lectured to. Her voice then starts to change and she sports a third eye, a sign that she's being controlled by Gyuutarou. Basically, he takes control of her to make up for her sub-par fighting ability (at least compared to him). A brief exchange is all it takes for Gyuutarou to see through the lie that the younger trio are tsuguko and that's our cliffhanger.

Art:
We're given a feast for the eyes this volume with some excellent action scenes. Tanjirou stepping up with the Hinokami Kagura and Nezuko's transformation stand out in particular. It's partially story and partially visuals, but when Daki finally breaks down crying, it dramatically changed my regard for her. Big brother instinct and all that, you know. Speaking of big brothers, Gyuutarou makes a strong visual contrast with his sister, all ill-favored skin and bones. I do really like the shot of Daki piggybacking on him. I'm a sucker for brother-sister teams, what can I say?

Other:
We get a little mini comic that was originally run in the 2017 edition of Kids JC!! and a bonus chapter about Inosuke as a baby (which explains how a feral child like him is at least able to speak). For our chapter-end material, we see the crows scrambling to get a handle on the situation, Senjurou enjoying a letter from Tanjirou (with commentary from Gotouge), spectral illustrations of Hanako and Takeo, Inosuke and Zenitsu rushing onto the scene and then waiting for the right timing to make their appearance, a Taishou Secret about Tengen's crow, and some little illustrations that appeared in cover collages for three different volumes of Shounen Jump.

Conclusion:
This is a grand action blowout with the particular highlight of Nezuko's transformation and positively brutal beatdown of Daki. As we'll see over the course of this arc, the addition of Gyuutarou will have some major thematic significance, but at this point, he serves to kick an already high-stakes fight up several notches. This is an excellent entry in the series and easily a must-have, so be sure to get it.

Rating:
Own It