How far would you go to save your sister's life? That's the heart-wrenching question that kicks off this lively discussion about the anime series Demon Slayer. Christian, Alex, and Liz dive deep into the show's rich narrative, exploring themes of family, sacrifice, and the relentless pursuit of redemption. With a backdrop of stunning animation and compelling characters, they touch on the series' evolution since its debut and the impact it's had on anime culture. Expect some banter about favorite characters, epic fight scenes, and of course, a sprinkle of humor as they dissect the show's darker elements while keeping the vibe chill and engaging. So, grab your headphones and get ready for a fun ride through the world of Demon Slayer! The latest episode takes listeners on a thrilling journey through the world of Demon Slayer, discussing the series' core themes of family, sacrifice, and the struggle between good and evil. The hosts start with a compelling question that sets the tone for their discussion: how far would one go to save a loved one? They examine Tanjiro's unwavering dedication to saving his sister, Nezuko, after their family is decimated by demons. This exploration of familial bonds is both heartfelt and thought-provoking, prompting listeners to reflect on their own relationships and the lengths they would go to protect their loved ones. As the conversation unfolds, the hosts dive into the rich tapestry of characters that populate the Demon Slayer universe. They discuss the humor brought by characters like Inosuke and Zenitsu, contrasting it with the darker themes of the narrative. The hosts highlight how these characters contribute not only to the comedic relief but also to the emotional depth of the story, illustrating the complexities of human nature. The discussion also touches on the stunning animation and fight scenes that have become a hallmark of the series, emphasizing how these elements enhance the storytelling experience and keep viewers engaged. In a humorous yet insightful segment, the hosts critique the official explanations regarding the elemental nature of the series' breathing techniques, sparking a lively debate among them. They question the logic behind certain artistic choices while appreciating the overall aesthetic appeal of the animation. This playful banter encapsulates the relaxed vibe of the episode, making it an enjoyable listen for both avid fans and newcomers alike. As they wrap up the episode, the hosts encourage listeners to explore the series, not just for its entertainment value but for the deeper messages about resilience, love, and the struggle against darkness that resonate throughout the narrative.

Takeaways:

1. In Demon Slayer, Tanjiro's unwavering quest to save his sister Nezuko showcases the deep bond of family in the face of horror.
2. The podcast crew delves into how the anime's stunning animation elevates emotional moments, particularly during intense battles and character reveals.
3. Listeners learn about the unique blend of historical context and supernatural elements in Demon Slayer's setting, which brings depth to its storytelling.
4. Alex, Liz, and Christian share their favorite characters, highlighting the diverse personalities that resonate with fans, from Tanjiro's compassion to Zenitsu's comedic relief.
5. The discussion emphasizes how the series tackles themes of good versus evil, often making audiences sympathize with even the demons, blurring moral lines.
6. Finally, the hosts reflect on their personal experiences with the series, sparking a debate on character development and narrative pacing that keeps the audience engaged.

.

Be sure to check out our merch, find extra content, and become an official member of Systematic Geekology on our website:

https://systematic-geekology-shop.fourthwall.com/

.

Listen to the rest of our anime episodes:

https://player.captivate.fm/collection/ff4343b3-82e0-4173-a884-1608a49eec5b

.

Check out other episodes with Liz:

https://player.captivate.fm/collection/b4feaf6c-e817-4e86-b6f3-e13c0abc7147

.

Listen to every episode with Christian:

https://player.captivate.fm/collection/ebf4b064-0672-47dd-b5a3-0fff5f11b54c

.

Check out other episodes with Alex:

https://player.captivate.fm/collection/5d67b27d-d8c2-442e-a859-f10cd87c8503

Mentioned in this episode:

Join our Facebook group and Discord Server

Find our Facebook group, "Priests to the Geeks", then join our Discord server with this link to continue on the conversation with us!

Discord

Get Your SG Merch now!

Check out the link to see all of our different t-shirts, backpacks, drinking glasses, pajamas, and more!

SG on Fourthwall

Anazao Podcast Network

Our show is part of the Anazao Podcast Network and you can find other great shows like ours by checking out the whole network with this link!

Anazao Podcast Network

Anazao Ministries Podcasts - AMP Network

Check out other shows like this on our podcast network! https://anazao-ministries.captivate.fm/

Systematic Geekology

Our show focuses around our favorite fandoms that we discuss from a Christian perspective. We do not try to put Jesus into all our favorite stories, but rather we try to ask the questions the IPs are asking, then addressing those questions from our perspective. We are not all ordained, but we are the Priests to the Geeks, in the sense that we try to serve as mediators between the cultures around our favorite fandoms and our faith communities.

Donate to our Show / Check Out Free Extras

Check out our show on Fourthwall to donate to the podcast or get free extra content!

SG on Fourthwall

How far would you go to save your sister's life? This is systematic ecology. We are the priests to the geese. Today, discussing the anime and manga Demon Slayer.

You've heard us talk about it before, but we decided to keep going because guess what? More has been released since then. And I'm joined today by two wonderful co hosts.

I, of course, being Christian, Ashley with Elizabeth Pengaling and Clyde, co leader of the rebellion against Joshua and all of his many, many evils. How's it going, Penguin? Hello.

It's going.

It's going. Yeah, I understand that completely. So I'm also joined by someone who was on the last episode when this was discussed. If I'm remembering.

Yes, I am remembering correctly, Alex Matthews. How's it going, Alex?

I'm going.

Good.

How are you doing?

All right. We get to talk about Demon Slayer. Have a fun day. Yeah, let's do this. So, ladies, I'm used to saying gentlemen, and I'm sorry.

That's very sexist of me, I suppose. Ladies, what has everyone been geeking out on recently?

Christian, when is this going to be aired?

Who knows?

Okay, we probably have some time, so I'll. I think it's funny. I just decided to do this in the moment. So Josh is going to have fun editing this.

So I'm pregnant, so I've been geeking out on all the baby stuff and nursery. The nursery is going to be my neighbor, Totoro. So been geeking out on that a little bit. Yes.

Oh, yes. Yeah.

I wish I could see Josh's reaction right now as he's editing this.

Thanks. Shared this with me last time we recorded, so I've had to keep it secret, so. I'm so glad you decided to do that. I'm so.

Because when we recorded, like, it was the day I found out last month, so I was like, hey, it was off air. So now I was like, by the time this airs, I think I'm out the. Pretty out the danger window.

So beat that, Alex.

Definitely can't. But I guess my recent geeking is the Pit and Demon Slayer, because I did see that. Oh, and Wicked for good. I saw this.

Oh, yeah, I saw that, too. You know, good. Sad. I'm not the biggest Wicked fan. You can hate me all you want, Everyone come at me in the comments. But it was still good.

I'm just, you know, I think I'm not, like, a big musical fan and I didn't, like, grow up, you know what I mean? Like, I didn't really know about Wicked before I saw the movie. So I didn't have the nostalgia tied with it. But that's a whole nother episode.

That's fair. Yeah.

Okay. Well, since I also can't be paying and her wonderful news, I suppose I'll go with mine. It's a wonderful thing.

I'm just being a jerk on purpose because I love you. I have been going, decided, you know what, why don't I just start watching every horror movie from when it was actually made?

And so I've been in a silent film era right now, and there's. I mean, I've seen a lot, but there's four I want to focus on real quick. The Student of Prague. The Plague in Florence. He who Gets Slapped.

The man who Laughs. Oh man, they're so great. I had never, I mean, heard of the man who Laughs before at all these. Man. I'm so glad I got into it.

Had a lot of fun watching these movies that a lot of people obviously haven't seen before because of how old they are.

Now, moving on from the geek me out section, we are going to be discussing Demon Slayer, which has been one of the most popular anime to have been released in modern years, has a huge following and they've done where they've released movies that have made box office records in Japan and America, if I'm remembering correctly. So, ladies, how would you like to help me describe what Demon Slayer is?

It's good soup.

Good soup.

No, I'm just kidding. Demon Slayer is an anime about demons and the people who slayed them. Specifically following a. Did you like that? I don't know. I'm goofy right now.

Specifically following a brother, Sister Duro. Pretty much the brother. Tanjiro had his whole family slain by bebag demon.

And one person survived, Nezuko, his sister, but she ended up transforming into a demon. And so the whole purpose of the show is him getting stronger and finding a cure for her.

And so he becomes a Demon Slayer in the process to get closer to the cure and the demons. Not the demons, but you know, the demon core and all that stuff. So fill in the gaps, peeps.

Yeah, that's a great way of setting it up. It's Tantrum and Nezuko are brothers. Sister pair. Starting off, their family is all wiped out as paying is sad and Nezuko turn into a demon.

And by the rules of this world, when you turn into a demon and then you eat someone or like take their flesh or blood or something like that, then you become like irrevocably evil. But everyone assumes that when you just become a demon. That's what happens.

But Tanjiro is willing to fight for his sister long enough to give her a chance to like, live on. And it's basically his quest to figure out who's the demon who killed their family.

But also, how can I heal my sister and make sure that she doesn't become a full demon? Anything you want to add, Alex?

No, I think that's basically it. I feel like along the way too, he's like, also trying to figure out like, diff. Like the diff.

I don't know how to say what I'm trying to say because he's trying to merge like the fire dance with his dad to his.

To the style.

To his style. So I feel like he's also trying to like he's figuring out more things about his family.

Yes.

And like along the. Oh, I don't know how to explain it.

I mean, there's a lot here. I mean it's only 200 some chapters in the manga. And I can't remember. We're in season, what, three or four now.

Coming up soon, there's another movie being released. And then they're going to do a season based off of the movie. And beyond that, like they did with the last one. There's a lot in here.

It's a lot to cover. Trying to think of what else I was going to say there. Oh yeah. This is also taking place.

Typically, if you were expecting something like this, it'd be like in a feudal era Japan. This is really Japan on the cusp of the Industrial Revolution.

After having been opened up by Admiral Perry In 53, Japan started to modernize a little bit more. They were behind a curve.

So like you start and it's like these almost feudal looking villages, but actually like in Tokyo proper and other places, like they're getting beyond there. So there's this bit of not really technology versus magic in the series, but there's also kind of a contrast between the two there.

So what was our introduction to the show?

I just put it on Netflix one day and watched it.

Easy as can be.

I think a friend of mine put me on. I can't really remember. Yeah, yeah.

Oh, it's been a while.

Just picked it.

Wow.

Yeah. Yeah. One year.

Pre Covid.

As we all have to name things now. As we shuffled through that time, I got into it. A friend of mine, we were meeting up that day to play DND and everyone else was late.

So he's like, I'll just put on the first episode of this. I watched it early. I want you to see it too. And I was clowning on it just primarily to mess with him, but I was like, oh yeah, this is pretty good.

And especially when I learned that those being animated by ufotable.

Ufotable, however the heck you want to say them, they're the people who are behind fate and animating that on the anime spectrum, they've done a great job with it. They're one of the top tier companies for a reason. And they really found a great way to make the animation flow well. The characters move well.

It's a really fun show. I mean it's. When we get to the ratings, are you going to think I hate it? But like no, no, no. Like I trust me, I love this show.

I've just seen way better. So speaking of all that, as I give away and my co hosts look at me in anger and disdain.

Why.

Don'T we get into the show proper? Who's our favorite character in the show?

I would definitely say Inosuke. Excellent choice. Yes. He's just.

What about so funny.

He's funny, he's cool. He's still a mystery to me at this point in. Because I haven't read all the manga yet.

But yes.

I'm caught up with like all the anime and the movies and stuff. And he's still like, he's still a mystery. Like where did you come from? Like how did you create your style of sorcerership? Like, I don't know.

He's really cool.

He's got a very unique breathing technique compared to everyone else. Very self taught from being living out in the wilderness. Yeah. Excellent pick. Pang. What about you?

Mine? Gosh, am I saying his name right? Zenzitsu. Zenzetsu.

Zenitsu.

Zenitsu. I knew. I always. I just say my yellow guy number one because yellow is my favorite color.

And so when I had to choose my Ooty, I was looking at all the different patterns and I chose his because it was yellow. So solely based on his. His robes are my favorite color. And he's funny. He makes me laugh. Okay. Plus, I mean the movie he was. He flipped the switch.

So that was kind of fun.

Oh yeah, that was pretty cool. Yeah.

We'll get to Zenitsu later on. Because he's one of those characters a lot of people have very hard feelings about one way or the other.

I ultimately like him, but I get why someone wouldn't now. I am also with Alex here. Inosuke. Is my guy.

You've got this feral child young man who has adopted a boar's head to put on his head, fights with two swords that are, like, broken and jagged, and doesn't really care about social norms or anything nice. It's like, he's blunt. He's to the point, there's a demon there. I'm going to kill it. What do you mean?

You're telling me I need to think and strategize. Well, that means I need to hit it harder.

And, you know, sometimes it's just nice to have someone like that around who's not, like, the brightest, but they're still, ultimately, when you actually get to know him, pretty kind and loving and generous. Like, he doesn't kill Nezuko after he learns the story. Like, even though he really wanted to to begin with. He's a lot of good fun.

And I'll throw out some Dark horse picks too, for this. Like, I really like Kanau, who is the understudy of Goodness Gracious. I just had her name in my head. One of the main Hashiro Shinobu.

Shinobu?

Yeah. And she's one of those characters who doesn't really stand up for herself at the start.

She has been used and abused over her life, trained by Shinobu and her sister, and raised up to be a Demon Slayer. And yet she makes decisions by flipping a coin.

And there's some really great scenes between her and Tanjiro where he stops her from doing that and gets her to, like, make her decisions on her own. And she has some great moments later on too, like standing up to demons you guys haven't seen yet to, like, talk down to them.

That's something she never would have done before, like meeting Tanjiro. And there's also really nice romance between the two of them. Obviously, this is Shonen, so not too much is shown, but there's enough.

We love romance.

Yeah. And Shinobu and Mitsuri, I love them too. So, moving on from there, do you have a least favorite character?

Who? I don't think I do.

Okay.

Mine would be the. The loud butterfly girl. That's. That helped them with the recovery. She was just really annoying. Oh, you know what I mean?

So Shinobu, not Shinobu.

It was the one that was younger than her.

Maybe she had, like, blue butterflies.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, the blue one. But, like, she would, like, she was in the rehab episode, helping them, like, get recovered and stuff like that.

I mean, like, if I had to choose, like, she was kind of annoying.

Maui Maybe.

I don't know. If I didn't like her, I wouldn't have learned her name.

That's so on brand for you. And of course. And of course, even more on brand. You hate a woman at that.

Whatever. It's fine.

Whoa.

Paying is the biggest misogynist we have on the show.

I am. I actually wear it proudly. I know that's why people hate my yellow guy because he just loves love, and people just hate love.

And I get it because they're wrong.

Oh, that's wonderful. Yeah. I am going to pick a controversial one as my least favorite, and I'm actually going to pick Tengen.

And I know people really like him because he's cool and he's got three wives. And that's part of the reason why I'm not big on it. Because it tries to make it think like, oh, this is totally possible.

And everyone's going to be all nice and happy and one man can definitely please all three of them. The three at the same time. And it's just wish fulfillment and nonsense. And yeah, he got. He's got cool techniques and stuff like that.

I'm not getting him there. But, like, his attitude and demeanor, I'm not big on either. It's big. You just do these things because I say them and it's not fun for me.

And I know that's definitely not the most popular opinion, but it's mine, so I'm gonna keep it. And I'm not Joshua, so that means that I'm right.

Alrighty.

Okay. So do we have a favorite arc from the series or favorite set of episodes?

Maybe the train? Well, it's between the training one or the one, like, right before it. Because I really liked it when they went to the sword. The.

The village.

Village, yes. But because if I had to pick a favorite harash because I'm pregnant, so. Everyone, don't laugh. Hashira. Anyway, it's the Ms. Guy, so I love the mist.

I don't know why I keep on trying to say it. So that's why those two are my favorite. Because he's just so funny. He's so, like, deadpan. But then he gets so excited whenever. In those. Not Inosuke.

Whenever Tanjiro comes, he's like, tanjiro. Hi. Like. And I feel like that's me. Because if I don't want to, like, hang out with you, I'm gonna be deadpan.

But the people I like, I'm like, yay, Hey, I love you. Let's hang out. But if I don't want to hang out with you. It will show my face. So he's my fave.

Fair. Fair. Alex.

Yeah, I would definitely say it'll be a tie between entertainment arc and. Or the Swordsmith Village one. Yeah. I don't know. The fight scenes and all those are just really good.

They're pretty great.

And this is one of the best parts of the show is that the fight scenes are animated extremely well, very fluid, which makes something that I'll bring up later on here very disturbing because I'm not a fan of it. But you know what? It's fine. We can ignore what's being said there for that part.

I have a hard time actually, and this is my own question, so I should have been able to just answer this. But I actually really enjoyed. I think it's called. Yeah, the Natagumo Mountain Ark. That's the one with all the spiders.

And as someone who hates spiders, that is like one of those things. It's hard to watch things like that, but it's also very satisfying to see them die and they kill them really well. In this one.

This one, we get introduced to some of the other Hashira at the beginning too. Then the next arc isn't that bad either. When they are recuperating together, we actually get to meet the Hashira for real.

Or if you want to be all English about it, Pillars. It's just nice, once again, just to see a bunch of spiders die.

And yes, I know they serve a purpose, and that's great, but just don't get near me and you can live and it's fine.

Fair.

So now that we've gone from Ark, what are we going to fight? Is there anyone that's like, that's my fight. That's my favorite.

Oh, my favorite fight is Nezuko in the entertainment art. She levels up. Yes, that's a good fight. And then wasn't that also when they kind of gave those upper level demons, like PTSD or something?

Like, gave him flashbacks of like the first time she. Whichever fight that was, that was a good one too.

I think you're right there. And it's such an important moment for her too, because she's like, been on the sidelines for so long.

Oh, yeah.

And part of that for a reason, it's like you don't want her because what they do is they divine a special little muzzle to make sure that she can't bite anyone. But, like, she can still, like, use claws and stuff like that because, like, she is still turning into a demon.

It's just not all the way because she hasn't given in to everything yet.

But she gets a moment after, like, however many episodes, however many chapters to actually get out there and, like, show that she can fight just as well as the boys can. Yeah, that's a great choice.

Yeah.

Bang.

I was gonna say Entertainment or District 2. Just as a whole, it was a good fight scene, but I don't really love fight scenes, so.

Yeah, then we all get into this for different reasons.

Yeah.

And that's fine. I mean, that arc as a whole is really good. I mean, yeah, I'm not big on Tanganuzui and his wife harem being, like.

There's plenty to introduce there of, like, dual demons who can share the same body. We go with Daki and her brother. Zenitsu gets some really good moments in this one, and Osuke gets some good moments. Yeah.

And Tanjiro himself does, too. And it is really funny to see them, like, forced to look like women, and they just look awful. Just like the ugliest women who ever existed. Sorry.

That's because they're guys. That's a good one. Me, I'm going to pick. It's probably an easy one to pick, but I'm going to do it anyways. Rengoku vs Akaza.

I can't remember how you say his name when they're on Mugen Train. It's like, oh, man, what a great dying moment of awesome for him in the midst of all this arc.

Like, he's set up as someone who actually cares about Tanjiro and his friends and even for Nezuko to an extent, to make sure that they're being taken care of.

He's a nice guy compared to some of the other Hashira we meet who are a bit more standoffish or afraid, which naturally, wouldn't you want to be in a situation where every other demon has turned out bad. But he's a great mentor to Tanjiro. And this is like the ultimate showing of, yeah, I'm going to die, but I'm going to do it, doing what I do best.

And yeah, the animation for that movie is phenomenal. Like, other people have said it far better than I, but that fight is definitely up there for me.

Okay, so one thing that happens multiple times over in the show, and pretty much every time, if I'm remembering correctly, is right before, you know, these demons die, you kind of get a moment where Tanjiro gets a sense of who they are. Does that, the whole sniffing thing, and we get a flashback of that demon's life. And it's always this super sad backstory.

It's like, I wasn't respected as a writer or, you know, I was dying and this happened to me. Like, how is this idea handled in the series? And do we think that these demons that they're fighting are worthy of any kind of sympathy?

Yeah, because at least not all of them, I don't think, chose to be a demon. They did not choose that life. Not to give any spoilers of the movie, but with Akaza's backstory, bro, I was bawling in that theater.

I was so sad for him because he literally did not choose that. Like, he didn't want any part of being a demon. He was. That was like, that was forced on him. He didn't even get a choice or a chance to react.

He just, just. It just happened. So, yeah, yeah, I think. I think some of them do deserve some sympathy because they didn't.

They didn't choose that life and their past life. They had it really rough and they just wanted to survive and be better and. But somehow forgot all about their humanity after that. So it.

Understood. Bang.

Yeah, I'm in the same boat.

Because if you look at some of the demons past, like, especially like the brother Sister from the entertainment, like, even in their demoness, they weren't as demonic as some of the humans that treated them that way, if you think about it. And so you should just give grace. I'm a big. I love grace, even though I talk a big. A big talk.

And so of course, I mean, granted, it's unfortunate there's circumstances, but it was shown that some demons rised above and kind of kept what we would call like a level of their humanity still, you know, so definitely have to bring justice and not let him, you know, roam the streets killing and eating people. But also, I like how Tanjiro puts it, kind of trying to give like a proper death or a proper send off. And he pays respect to it.

So I think it's a good balance with how he does it. But then it also shows, like, he actually befriends some demons who want to fight alongside the humans and not want to be monsters.

So, yeah, I'm of two minds about this. I like what you both said a lot.

It's the idea of, so these demons, we'll get to like the big bad and a bit Muzan, like he creates them in this world after he himself was turned into a demon.

And it's through him slaughtering people, seeing kind of those he sees Some promise in and his ultimate goal of no longer being under the threat of dying.

Because demons only operate at night, and they're kind of like vampires in that sense, or some iterations of vampires, and that if they're up while the sun is around, they burst into flame and die. So his whole thing is trying to find a way to not die in the sun and actually be dominant in the night and day so that no one can fight against him.

And Nezuko is a huge reason why. And I can't remember when this is revealed.

I want to say it's in the entertainment arc that he's interested in her because along the way, she gained some resistance, if not outright immunity to it.

And that whole goal of, like, wanting every demon is created for him to control to his ultimate goal of taking over the world or just being in charge of Japan or whatever it is. Sometimes it's kind of hazy. I'm not big on that. But at that same time, these people were people before they became demons, as you both said.

Like, some of them were literally on death's door, and he offered them a way out.

And in a moment of weakness, like, they agreed to become this thing that they normally wouldn't have ever done in their past life, but now they're consumed by this. This hunger and this desire to dominate and to control things like he does. But it gets a little obnoxious when it keeps happening every single time.

And that's where I kind of lose some sympathy, because I go, oh, gosh, I can't wait for this, to moments. They're not really a bad person. They just got changed into one. And when it happens every single time, it loses its luster.

And I'm fine with it happening because, yes, I'm with you paying, too. Like, I want to extend grace to people who don't deserve it, because that's exactly what was done for me.

That's what was done for all of us who accepted him and repented. But that's the key part, though, is that they didn't. I can understand where you come from, but I can still say no, you're still a monster.

Does that make sense at all?

Yeah.

Yeah, that makes plenty sense.

Okay, I'm glad I'm not just crazy.

I mean. Well, you are crazy, but, yeah, that's another story.

Yeah, that's for a different episode to handle. All right, so like we said before, the major part of this series is one of the major reasons is for Tantru to find a way to heal his sister Nezuko.

Of this demonic virus, as it were, to make her fully human again. But he didn't know this was possible. This is based on him being a little naive. Him being.

Wanting to be a loving younger to me, older brother to the only sibling he has left. So, like, based on the information presented to you at the time, right before, you know, Nezuko gets saved by him and. Was it Giyu? Yeah.

Would you have saved Nezuko after she turned into a demon?

Well, you have to think too. At this point, he only knew rumors. He didn't think demons existed. So I feel like his shock has to be playing into a factor.

Because if I didn't know what was happening and I was ignorant of demons. So it makes sense why he has hope. Because if she transform into one, it makes logical sense. She could transform back.

But like, knowing if I was already like a knew about them and knew they were running a muckus. Nah, I'm killing. It's like, I'll cry. I'll be sad. But I mean, Imma fight you and kill you.

Alex.

I. I would. If I. If I believe, like, there's still a chance. If there's a chance to save her, then I would take that chance and try my best to achieve it.

Because I would like to quit. So I would definitely save her. Yeah.

This was one of the things when I first saw the first episode. I was like, why? Why would you do that? But then I understand. Because that's who Tonjiro is. He wants to save his sister. She's all that he has left.

He's already lost his dad. And then they lose their entire family together. Like she's his one connection to family. But me, I love my siblings. You're on the chopping board now.

Like, game over. I'll set the fire myself. This means that no one else has to die.

Based on the information I have presented to me, I don't know if it's even possible to save you from any of this madness. So, I mean, you can call me heartless as much as you want. Like a game set match, you're gone. And I will mourn you. And I guess I'm a demon hunter now.

A Hashira. What Not I become a Hashira. If you're one of the Bane guys. Sorry. Got ahead of myself. That's how important I think I am. I start off as a Hashira.

Nice.

And it's. This is something that's been debated for a while, like in the fandom. And it makes sense too.

Like, you have people, proponents on One side or the other. And I think they both make good arguments.

I'd argue the Tanjiro side is a little more naive, but this naivete, that's a huge part of who he is as he grows, that actually helps them out in the long. At the end of everything, because Nezuko is super important to the plot as time goes on, because he decided to be merciful.

So I can't say that I'm right, because that's what happens in the series.

Yeah.

All right, so these are all, as mentioned before, taken under the machinations of our main villain, evil demon Michael Jackson. I know that's tautology, but Muzan, I'm not going to bother saying his last name is our main villain here.

How effective is he as a villain for you guys?

I just love that he looks like Michael Jackson. I think it's hilarious.

He's the coolest villain that I've ever seen. So. Yeah, the fact that he's, like, modeled after Michael Jackson too, that's just. That's just really cool.

Was he modeled like that on purpose? Because there's no way it's a cool.

I think so. I was. I was told that it was on purpose.

I've never looked into it, but I wouldn't be surprised.

Yeah, it's quite fun. I mean, I think he's a great villain.

I think it's diabolical that he home dude has a freaking wife and kid as a cover and he's just like, we'll let him die in an instant. I'm like, I can't think of anything more villainous than that.

Like, that just shows absolutely no humanity or like, whenever he was pretending to be like a little kid. So, like, absolutely villain. Top tier.

Yeah, he's cool and he's really creepy. Like, he. He's just evil. Just straight evil. Like, he does not care. And he. He's willing to go to any length to achieve what he wants.

And that's clearly what he's been doing. So. Yeah.

Yeah. I think what ultimately makes him like. Makes me like him is that he is an irredeemable villain by the end of the story.

Yeah, there is a backstory and so on and so forth, but, like, the. The narrative doesn't treat it like this is something you should be. Oh, no, I'm. Now I'm sad for him. It's like, no, no, no.

He turned out this way anyways. And he's done all these terrible things over however many years he's been a demon. Yeah, he's got to Go.

And he's not like a top tier villain in my eyes. But for what we have here in the show, he's perfectly fine. He's got the menace. I mean, that scene when Tanjiro kind of sees him with the.

The wife and kid and he randomly, like, kills one guy in the crowd super fast. No one else can see it except for Tanjiro to turn him into a demon so that he doesn't have to worry about being fought by, you know, a demon slayer.

Diabolical. That man's life literally meant nothing to him. I think it was.

Yeah.

And that's a great way of setting up your villain.

Yeah.

You could argue all day, he probably should have just killed Tanjiro there. But, you know, the story has to go on. But to show that he doesn't care about human life, he'll do whatever it takes.

If he has to mask himself as human for a little bit just to get what he wants, he'll do that. He has to murder a human. And like a split second decision, he'll do that.

And as time goes on, you see like this drive for him to gain that immunity to the sun because he just can't imagine a world where he can't have dominion over everything 24 hours a day. And all the links that he's gone to take that just so part of this is that so he can get to this flower.

It's like the blue spider lily or something like that that gets more. More about this is revealed as time goes on. That's an interesting motivation and all that. I'm fine with him there.

I would argue at the end of the series. I don't know why, but this just feels like it was rushed. I mean, there's still great moments that happen. Some pretty great fight scenes there too.

But it could have easily gone on for another hundred chapters, in my opinion. And I don't know if I think this was a writer's decision to do so pick is kind of annoying. I know. I switched from Muzan to that.

So sorry I went ahead of myself. Anything else we'd add about him?

No. I mean, I. I also felt like it was a little rushed, but I don't mind because love one piece. But golly, can we find the one piece? You know, I'm like.

I was like, rush it if we get an ending within my lifetime.

Yeah. I don't see this, this particular series going on for as long as that. But I think another 100 would have helped round out things a bit better.

You know what that's fine.

So brought up earlier, we get our good boy Zenitsu, and on the western side of things, he is hated way more in Japan for the ideas of him being a coward and ability to be competent unless he's asleep. And Japan, it's a little more seen more favorably because they're. They're okay with certain aspects of that.

Like, what are our thoughts on him as a character? Peng, you say he was your favorite. I want hear more from you.

Okay, well, number one, he's my favorite because yellow. And so if I'm gonna dress up as someone, I'm gonna choose the yellow character. All right?

Number two, I think I like him because I know everyone hates him, so there's that. Number three, he's funny, and he just loves love. Like, as long as you keep your hands to yourself, you can crush on people all day long.

I mean, shoot your shot. You miss 100 of the shots you don't take. You know what I mean? As long as, like, once she says no, back off. Respectfully.

But I ain't gonna fault you for putting your, you know, your name in.

The game yourself out there. Yeah, right, Right.

But, yeah, no, he's funny. Like, if I feel like if I had to be a demon slayer, I would 100%, like, cry.

And, like, I'll do what I have to do because I have to do it, but, like, I'm not gonna want to do it. Yeah. And then his, like, little, like, fall asleep. I mean, he was traumatized. He didn't really have a choice.

I mean, that's why he becomes a whole, like, bad booty when he falls asleep, because, I don't know, he. Something unlocks within them. But I liked how they flashed back to his training.

And, I mean, he was the same little coward, but he does it scared, so you got to give him props for doing it scared.

Yes.

Oh, yes.

Yes. Yeah.

Literally the same thing. Like, I think he's great. He's funny. He gives comedic relief, I think, in a lot of really serious moments. And, like.

Like, pig said, like, he does everything scared. So is he really a coward? If you think about it, if anything, he's probably the bravest one out of the bunch, because he's still going to get it done.

And then I think it's, you know, let's see.

When I was first introduced to him, I did think he was kind of weird, but then when he fell asleep and cleaned up all the spiders, I was like, oh, he's one of those. Cool. Yeah. But then in the movie, he Just locks in. Not to spoil anything, but he walks in during the movie and that was even cooler to see.

So he, like, he has what it takes. He just needed a wake up call. But yeah, he's really cool. I don't see.

I. I think it sucks that he's hated by a bunch of people because I think he's amazing.

I think the major reason why is because of people's first impressions are coloring how they see a character. And this happens all over the place. Because their first reaction to him is my first reaction to him. It's like, this guy is insufferable. Oh my gosh.

Give up. Shut up. Quit crying. Do your job. But that's the first reaction. As time goes on, I see a little more of himself come out. Like he doesn't.

As time goes on, he doesn't need to go to sleep to get things done. Like he becomes a little braver. He gets a little more open. He's not as. So I'm looking for here.

He's not as girl crazy, but like he's still like looking for someone. And there's a really cute moment between Nezuko and him.

I'm pretty sure it hasn't been animated yet where he's like, hey, you know, back off from my wife. And she's like, this is she just like kind of cutely says wife.

And it's like the moments to the two of them, like, I really appreciate that because there is something there to be shipped and appreciated with between the two of them because he has grown as a person just like she's grown. So yeah, I understand why people start off hating Zenitsu. I don't understand why they continue to do so as vehemently as they do.

You cannot like him as a character. That's. That's one thing, but like to just hate them. I'm not really there with you.

Yeah.

Okay. So here's the part why I break everyone.

Because according to the official, you know, rulings and beliefs of the original creative team here, the wondrously beautifully animated breathing techniques that we see for this series don't actually have any elemental or physical characteristics and are just drawn that way to look cool. It's just people fighting with swords. What do we think about that idea? I don't like it. See, we all can.

I don't like it.

This. This is one the of the dumbest things I've ever heard in my life.

Stupid. Wait, so the.

The.

The.

That's officially said?

Officially said?

Nope. I refuse.

Why you draw it? Why you waste everyone. That's what I'm saying.

Like, why is it called water breathing?

I could have just been swinging myself.

That's. That's just how it's done. You move little, like water. You don't actually conjure water or anything. That'd be ridiculous.

What?

Yeah, because demons are so ridiculous and it's so out there.

This is so stupid.

That doesn't make any sense.

Right? It'd be like saying that the Jedi don't actually use lightsabers. They don't actually cut through things. It just looks like it does. It's dumb.

And I don't know, maybe they just wanted some realism there. But you really shot yourselves in the foot multiple times over in your hands too.

Because you, like, you said, drew it like it was being done that way. And of course, when it got into animated form, it looks 10,000 times better. So don't you tell me it's not happening.

I think they did that just to make us mad. So we would, like, look, read it, or watch it again.

No, because.

No, because there are plenty of times too, in the anime where they do make comments on, like, the specific.

Oh, yeah, like, what is he doing?

Yeah, like, when. What's his face? Oh, Tanjiro uses the f. The fire dragon dance thing. Whatever. On.

Yeah, one of the demons that he, like, has different clones of himself. Whatever. He, like, cut one of their heads off, and the guy was like, why is it burning? Like he's saying it's burns. Like, I don't know.

Yeah, he's commenting on how it burns his neck. And then when Zeta Zoo was doing the thing with the lightning, even Tanjiro's like, that sounds like lightning just struck the train. Like, sorry.

Looks pretty real to me. Yeah.

Yeah.

It's so annoying. I don't really understand why. Because it makes something that really is really cool into something that's less cool and kind of.

I mean, this is a shonen manga. It's like the definition of Rule of Cool. Why would you undermine that in any way, shape, or form? I have nothing to add to that.

When I first read about that a couple years ago, I was like, there's no way that's true. It's like, oh, no, it is. Okay. And on that tender note, that happy note, we're going to be moving towards the wrap up here today.

Also, we're going to be doing a special bonus question for you guys. And that question is going to be, what would be the hash. What would we be the hashira of if we were there? In the story.

So we've got things, we've got fire, we've got water, we've got, you know, insects, poisons, so on and so forth. Love as a concept, like, so ladies have time to think there. Is there anything else you want to add before we do actually wrap things up?

Go watch this if you haven't already. It's a pretty good one.

Watch and read it. Yes.

I'm not going to read it, but what you said.

Yeah, Peng doesn't have time to read right now for.

All right, for the bonus question. Can I make up one?

Obviously.

Perfect.

Yeah. I mean, I'm making up one. So, rating and reviewing out of 10, what are you thinking?

I always like when I rate, I always think of, do I want to watch this again? Because very rarely I want to watch something again.

And I would watch this again from, like the beginning all the way to the movies and stuff like that. Like, probably whenever the new movie will come, I'll probably rewatch the whole series as background just for funsies.

So because of that, I will give it an eight.

Okay, Alex?

I'll give it a ten. This is my favorite.

All right, well, here's why I bring it down again. This is a seven for me, and I would say anything above a five means I enjoy it. Five is like middle of the road.

I couldn't care less if this exists or not. Anything below that, there's something about it I actively hate.

7 for me means that I've seen way better over multiple years of anime watching and manga reading and. No, this series is good. I enjoy this series. I look forward to it releasing every week in manga form and anime form when it does.

So I get to see these cool fights and characters I care about. But there's just way better series out there. So that's where I stand with 7, 8, and 10. Excellent ratings, ladies.

Do you have a recommendation for the audience to check out?

What have I been watching? You know what? It's crazy.

I haven't really been watching anime, but I've been re watching the West Wing and if you guys enjoy any kind of politics but like, yeah, watch that. It's pretty good.

Alex.

What do I recommend? Stranger things. My family, we were talking about it earlier.

I recommend four episodes start new episodes releasing. Christmas and then New Year's Day, if I remember correctly.

Wow. Yeah.

Yeah, a good choice. Yeah, I'm gonna recommend. I was just flipping through it the other day because I had a question in my mind about one of the planets there.

But the Star wars, the Essential Atlas. As someone who loves visualizing things and it's like, oh, I can place that planet there in the galaxy. It's perfect. Perfect for me.

Because you learn a lot about the lords of different planets, the world building they do there. Yeah, it's not canon anymore because Disney. But you know what? I don't care. It's a wonderful thing. Star wars the Essential Atlas. Check that out.

So guys, thank you all for what you do. Please get a chance. Leave a five star review in your podcasting platform of choice.

If you want to give us a little money our way, help us support us that way, you can go down to the link down below and you can join us there in fourth wall.

If you have any questions to send to us about concerns or an episode topic idea you want us to do, go to systematic ecology gmail.com I have to shout out some supporters and if you want to hear your own name here, feel free to send $3 or more and we'll say your name. Including these fine people. Ethan Overcash, Austin Nance, Amber Riley and Jonathan Augustine. You guys are the best.

But remember, we all are chosen people. A geekdom of priests.

Sam.