Demon Slayer fans celebrate “perfect” transformation’s fifth anniversary

Anthony McGlynn
Rui in Demon Slayer

It’s hard to believe Demon Slayer only came to our screens five years ago, and recently fans celebrated the anniversary of one of the first season’s biggest highlights.

Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle is set to finish the anime show in the near future. One of the best anime of the current generation, Demon Slayer has come a long way from kicking off in 2019.

The first season remains the longest, giving us some awesome fights and encounters. The extended battle against the Spider Family on Mount Natagumo is what gets the most attention, since Tanjiro, Zenitsu and Inosuke are all tested to their limits.

Zenitsu is the one who’s got the spotlight recently, with viewers reminiscing over the fifth anniversary of his amazing transformation at the hands of the Spider Demon Son.

In the show, Zenitsu gets trapped by the Son in a huge spider’s web. Increasingly agitated and anxious, he doesn’t handle the fight well, until he passes out and his subconscious takes over.

His fugue state channels his Demon Slayer Corps training, demonstrating amazing agility, and in this instance, use of his thunder breathing. He unlocks the first form through a flashback to his days under Jigoro Kuwajima, and promptly rips through the Son in awesome fashion.

Ufotable truly cooked with the scene, arguably the peak in a parade of spine-tingling sequences during that arc. Fans are in disbelief that it’s been so long, but they remain adamant about how good it was.

“This scene is perfection, the backstory, the animation, the VA, the message, and, of course, the scoring,” says one response on X/Twitter. “My favorite transformation,” another replies.

“By far my fave character in the series! Can’t wait for his fight in the infinity castle arc!” a third adds.

Without spoiling anything, Zenitsu has a couple of moments still to come that cement him as far more than the coward he’s frequently portrayed as. Even the most fearful are capable of amazing things!

We’re still waiting to hear about when we’ll see Infinity Castle. In the meantime, why not have a look at our guide to Demon Slayer in order to brush up on what happened and when?