It’s rare for my opinion on an anime to drastically change. Normally, after watching a few episodes, I can get a decent feel for how much I’m going to like the show overall. I am incredibly happy, however, to say that Demon Slayer is an exception to this. 

Demon Slayer’s first season was… okay. It was basic shounen, nothing more. The season got completely carried by the animation; since there were only a few episodes with fights,  the rest of the season was pretty unremarkable. Afterward, I watched the Mugen Train arc, which was a step up in my eyes. I felt that the pacing was better, and Rengoku was the first character in the series that I genuinely liked. Now, did the Entertainment District arc continue on this positive trajectory? The answer is a resounding YES.

First of all, the new opening slaps. LiSA’s fantastic, but Aimer absolutely killed it on this one. Definitely my favorite opening so far.

As far as the season itself is concerned, it’s simply Demon Slayer but with less filler and more combat. The first few episodes are a bit of a slow burn and mostly serve to set up the episodes later in the season. This setup is worth it though because those later episodes are insane. The second half of the arc is basically non-stop action. Imagine the hype of the Tanjero vs Rui fight from season one but spread across six episodes. There were honestly nights where I would watch a few episodes, go to bed, and not be able to sleep because of how excited I was.

Now, this emphasis on fighting may come as a disappointment to people who were hoping to see a more fleshed-out story or cast of characters this season. In fact, unless you count getting physically stronger as character development, Tanjero, Inouske, and Zenitzu are the exact same in this season as they were in season one. However, in a similar fashion to the Mugen Train arc, the new character(s) somewhat makes up for the genericness of the main three. This season’s Hashira are just as cool as Rengoku, and I also really liked the new villain (the performance of its Japanese VA is amazing). Compared to characters in other anime, these two aren’t nearly as deep or fleshed out, but for an action shounen like Demon Slayer, they’re pretty alright. Furthermore, I don’t think most people are watching Demon Slayer for the complexity of its story and characters. The show’s literally called Demon Slayer, so as long as there are some demons being slayed, I’m happy.

Having half of the season be fights also works because the animation goes HARD. I’ve seen other visually-incredible shows, like Mob Psycho, Attack on Titan, One Punch Man, and Jujutsu Kaisen, but the animation in this arc might be the best animation I’ve seen in an anime. It’s just so… cool. There’s really no other way to describe it. The soundtrack is also super solid, which adds to the spectacle of the more intense scenes. Within the fights themselves, there are definitely cliché “anime” moments, where characters will randomly get stronger and win with the power of friendship, but I don’t even mind these because of how fantastic all of it looks. 

In summary, the Demon Slayer Entertainment District arc plays to the show’s strengths and delivers a condensed yet action-packed experience. I used to consider the show as “just another shounen”, along the lines of shows like My Hero Academia and Black Clover, but after this arc, Demon Slayer secured its spot as a personal top ten (maybe even top five) anime. If you thought that the first season of Demon Slayer was mid, give this new arc a shot. You won’t be disappointed.