The Demon Slayer Season 2 Episode 8 Scene That Fans Agree Went Too Far
The 8th episode of the 2nd season of "Demon Slayer" was officially released yesterday, heralding the end of the Mugen Train arc and setting the foundation for the upcoming Entertainment District arc, which will see the trio of Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Zenitsu leaving the lush countryside to fight demons under the bright lights of the city.
The extended 47-minute episode, titled "Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui," acted as the de facto Season 3 premiere, as the previous eight episodes were pretty much a retelling of the "Mugen Train" movie. As such, it was one of the most highly anticipated episodes the anime has ever released, though unfortunately, the fan response has been less than stellar. It is currently the lowest-ranked episode the anime has ever released, and many viewers have been quick to point out a plethora of issues from the episode (via IMDb).
Many fans actually took to Reddit to discuss one specific scene from the episode, which some users claim is solely to blame for the low ratings it received.
Yeah, maybe just leave the spanking out next time
Near the end of the episode, the titular Sound Hashira, Tengen Uzui, kidnaps a young girl named Aoi and plans to take her into the Entertainment District, where he will "use" her for his mission. Specifically, he meant to use her to infiltrate the city's sex workers. Tanjiro and his friends attempt to save Aoi by offering to go with him instead, which Uzui agrees to. Then, in a bizarre moment of intimidation, Uzui spanks Aoi over his shoulder. The moment was immediately controversial amongst fans, with many pointing out just how creepy and unnecessary the whole scene was.
"I mean, why would you add that? What purpose did it serve? You could've cut a few frames and made it not weird!" wrote u/mayonnaiser_13. Others clarified that the spanking was just the cherry on top of what was already an extremely gross scene. "The funny thing is that the butt slap was the least of it." noted u/naughtysalamander. "Uzui was planning to use literal children (Aoi) to act as prostitutes and he only didn't because Tanjiro stepped up." Another user, u/Jurgepoo, expressed that they were "worried for future scenes and episodes" as a result of the divisive moment.
It may have only been a short scene, but it still made an impact on how people view the episode as a whole, and it certainly made Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui one of the less popular heroes the series has to offer.