With Tanjiro completing the Hashira Training as of last episode, episode 7 of Demon Slayer’s Hashira Training Arc begins to wrap up the season and sets up the last arc of the series. Here’s what else happens in this episode, “Stone Hashira Gyomei Himejima.”
What Happened In Demon Slayer Season 4 Episode 7?
This extended episode picks up immediately after the events of last episode with Tanjiro finally able to move the boulder 400 feet. Inosuke and Zenitsu watch from a distance and while this only serves to motivate Inosuke further, Zentisu instead, shock of all shocks, complains that he hasn’t moved his boulder yet. His whining is interrupted by his sparrow, who delivers a letter to him. While we don’t see what the letter is about, he disappears from the training for a few days to the point where Tanjiro begins to worry about him.
When Tanjiro approaches him later, Zentisu is stoic and serious, thanking Tanjiro for his compassion and that while he appreciates the kindness, Zentisu has to handle this problem, whatever it may be, alone. It’s rare to see Zentisu serious, but it’s better than seeing him like he normally is.
Anyway, with Tanjiro now done with his training, Gyomei approaches him and commends him not only for successfully completing the training, but for his actions in the Swordsmith Village last season protecting the villagers from Hantengu. Tanjiro thanks Gyomei for this, but he declines Gyomei’s approval since it was Nezuko who made him do it and he was only acting because of her. Gyomei remarks that Tanjiro’s purity and honesty make him a true swordsman and Gyomei then tells Tanjiro his past.
While this is a standard tragic backstory like most of the Hashira, there are a few elements here that make it stand out. Years ago, Gyomei was the head of an orphanage looking after eight children. He considered himself sickly and weak, but he took pleasure in looking after the kids. When one of the kids was attacked by a demon, he led the demon to the orphanage in an attempt to have the demon spare his life. Because of this, seven of the children Gyomei looked after were killed and in an effort to protect the last one, a four-year-old girl, he brutally beats the demon for hours until the sun comes up, killing it. The girl, traumatized by this, calls Gyomei a monster and he killed them all, resulting in Gyomei being arrested for murder until Ubuyashiki conscribed him to join the Demon Slayers.
It’s an interesting angle for Demon Slayer to take, if only because it reminds us of the world outside the Demon Slayer Corps. Because the demons disappear at dawn, of course someone as frighteningly strong as Gyomei would be accused of murder if he’s going to be surrounded by a bunch of dead kids. It also helps to explain Gyomei’s distant personality since the people that he took care of and trusted inevitably doomed him. Of course, Tanjiro cries over this and Gyomei sends Tanjiro off to train with Giyu, but not before Tanjiro has a brief bonding moment with Inosuke and Genya.
When Tanjiro reaches Giyu, he sees Giyu and Sanemi fighting each other with bamboo swords, using all of their techniques to try and defeat each other. Tanjiro jumps in to stop the fighting, but then he’s told that mock fights are how the Hashira train with each other. Sanemi, still pissed off about Tanjiro’s antics during his training, yells at Tanjiro for violating the restraining order, but then Tanjiro suggests that Sanemi is angry because he doesn’t have any red bean paste. Tanjiro then explains to Giyu that Sanemi probably likes red bean paste because he always smelled it on Sanemi during training, but this only serves to piss Sanemi off to the point where he punches Tanjiro and storms off.
It’s a weird bit of forced comic relief, but it did help to show just how weird of a person Giyu is, since afterwards he matter-of-factly says that he’s going to hide red bean paste on him so that he can give it to Sanemi whenever they pass each other so that Sanemi can become his friend. It’s weird, but it humanizes Giyu and makes him into a bit more of a doofus than the aloof badass we’ve perceived him as.
After storming off, Sanemi then grumbles about Tanjiro’s incessantly positive attitude and groans that none of the Hashira are around to train with. Suddenly, Sanemi grabs an object that quickly passes by him in midair and discovers that the object he grabbed was an eyeball. Specifically, it was Nakime’s eyeball. As was established earlier, her eyeballs were sent out with the express goal of finding Ubuyashiki Manor, with Sanemi now drawing one inevitable conclusion – the Demon Slayer Headquarters have been invaded.
And with that, “Stone Hashira Gyomei Himejima” grinds to an absolute halt for the last five minutes as we watch Muzan slowly enter Ubuyashiki Manor and walk to the ailing Ubuyashiki. This sequence is full of dramatic edits and flourishes and is the sole reason that this episode is an extended one. There is no earthly reason for us to spend that long watching him walk slowly across the compound, doing absolutely nothing. No attacks, no remarks, just a silent walk with the show’s ending theme playing. It’s grossly bloated and when people criticize Demon Slayer for it’s laborious pacing, this is a perfect example of it.
I know that Tokito’s paper airplanes were dull, but at least it served a purpose. At the very least, Muzan is ready to enact his plan and the final episode of the season should at the very least be an action packed spectacle, something that’s been sorely missed given the Hashira Training Arc’s notable lack of battles.
And that’s what happened in Demon Slayer Season 4, Episode 8! Come back next week for the season finale!
Demon Slayer is now streaming on Crunchyroll.
