In Demon Slayer Season 2 Episode 15, “Gathering,” we learn a little about Tengen’s childhood and Zenitsu, Tanjiro, and Inosuke join the battle. The demonic siblings, Gyutaro and Daki, share more than just the title of Upper Rank Six. When Gyutaro said he and his sister share bodies he wasn’t kidding. Gyutaro and Daki may have two different physical bodies but they can exchange body parts. Gyutaro gives Daki one of his eyes. This increases her power and allows them to coordinate their attacks. Daki and Gyutaro are able to fight Tengen, Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Zenitsu together despite being in two different places.
This episode was mostly a well animated high action packed one but we did get a short deviation to Tengen’s backstory and the larger Demon Slayer world. Gyutaro compliments Tengen on his fighting abilities claiming that “none of the Hashira he has killed are like him,” and Tengen was “born special.” Tengen states that he wasn’t “anyone special.” While demon slayers like Muichiro became Hashira only after two months, Tengen argues that he’s not “chosen like them.” It’s not made explicit whether the current generation of Hashira are stronger than previous ones, the fact that Gyutaro killed 15 and Daki killed 7 suggests this generation might be.
If someone like me gives that impression, you really are living a blessed life. – Tengen Uzui
We also learned that the shinobi were “wiped out” in the Edo era. Tengen was born one of nine siblings, with seven being killed by the time he was 15. His father, afraid of their clans extinction, increased training. Tengen’s younger brother resembled his fathers worldview more closely, “viewing his wives as expendable.” In order to become a Demon Slayer, Tengen and his wives had to reject shinobi ideology. I hope we’ll get more information on the past world in Demon Slayer. In the present, Tengen separates Daki and Gyutaro by kicking Daki into the air. At this point it seems Daki is comically weak. Demon Slayer went through all this effort to present her as a powerhouse only to quickly show her as a weakling.
It’s a odd choice. I’m all for running gags (her head getting cut off) but she’s been minimized into hindrance. Her power seems to mostly due to her brother. I’m sure there’s a typical brother protects sister narrative between Gyutaro and Daki, but the shift in how I perceived Daki (strength wise) is dramatic and it’s clearly deliberate. Anyway, Tengen is joined by Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Zenitsu. I have remarked many times how surprised I am that Demon Slayer is willing to sideline it’s main character (Tanjiro) and it seems that will remain true this arc. Tanjiro is simply not stronger than Tengen. In most anime he would be or the stronger characters wouldn’t be present for some reason.
I also noticed that this season has more fights in the presence of civilians. In the first season most of battles to place in distant areas away from people but this season is different. I was surprised that Demon Slayer bothered to show Tengen’s wives evacuate the town, normally the civilians would have been ignored. Tanjiro and Tengen have teamed up against Gyutaro, while Inosuke and the sleeping Zenitsu fight Daki. Zenitsu seems to be able to fight and talk while completely asleep. I wonder if he’ll be sleep for the entire fight or wake up in the middle. I realized that neither Zenitsu or Inosuke have been able to show their full power yet. Hopefully, they will get a chance now that Tanjiro isn’t at the center. Demon Slayer Season 2 Episode 15 is full of action. Tengen and Gyutaro fighting while Daki rains down her Obi was a marvelous sight.
