Demon Slayer Season 4 Ep. 4 "Smile" Review: Why (Not) So Serious? (2024)

Posted in: Anime, Crunchyroll, Review, TV | Tagged: anime, Crunchyroll, demon slayer, Review, season 4

REVIEW: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Hashira Training Arc S04E04: "To Bring a Smile to One's Face" wasn't nearly serious enough.

Crunchyroll's Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Hashira Training Arc S04E04: "To Bring a Smile to One's Face" really does bring a smile seeing the mist Hashira in a better place. We see Tanjiro inspire yet another set of students and clear another hurdle. It was an okay episode with more preparation that should have occurred before these slayers h had gone out in the first place, but what do I know? I have never trained Demon slayers myself; maybe the battlefield is the real training, after all.

That said, while it might have worked as a fool, I am not really much of a fan of how slow and "fan-servicy" it all feels. While the fangirl in me still enjoys it, it feels like all of this is occurring at the wrong time. We saw Tanjiro training for a lifetime to now see and then go through Training all over again. Just like an excuse to get to know the Hashiras a little better this time. I think my biggest issue comes down to this: did they draw out the scenes while breaking it into episodes? I feel like this Arc might indeed work better as a movie than episodic. Even after Muichiro's speech of no do-overs to his trainees, I was thinking, "Damn, and y'all waited until now to train your peeps? Like, what have you been doing all along? Where is the urgency?" I wish Demon Slayer had grown more serious along with its story. And I love silly moments in between, but there is something lacking.

Anyway, I got sidetracked. Tanjiro has arrived at the next training with Muichiro, who has no cool and is destroying all the students. And I wonder, did any of them train before? How did they even make it through fights or even the test? Not much really happens, just a few days of hard training in which all of their spirits keep plunging since they cannot win over Muichiro. But of course, once again, Tanjiro is there to inspire, and his optimism is contagious. Even though they are still not ready, they are now ready to take on Muichiro and thrive after Tanjiro's words, and after seeing him do so well against Mui, who informs Tanjiro, he is ready for the next step.

In between, we see Sanemi and Obanai are joined by Muichiro in their training, and while it is great to see them in action, all I can wonder about is: why is no one feeling the Demon eye watching them closely? Where is Tanjiro's sense of smell? I am not sure yet what is lacking for me this season— I love the characters in the story, and I am finally thrilled to see Sanemi and Obanai this season. But it feels off – like this should've happened before things got so bad, which everyone seems to have set to the side. The Hashiras seem to be looking forward to being Tanjiro, but they sure do not seem as welcoming as Kyojuro, Tengen, and Mitsuri. Believe it or not, I am still looking forward to the rest of the season and seeing how things play out. I cannot wait to see Tanjiro meet Sanemi and Obanai, but knowing how things have gone so far, we can assume the rest of the road will not be as smooth.