Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Season 1 Episode 12 Recap – The Boar Bares Its Fangs, Zenitsu Sleeps

Boar Man

The boar charges at the demon with his two swords, but a drumbeat spins them sideways and off-balance.

Tanjiro coaches the boar-man on how the drums work, but he merely laughs. The demon taps a note every time he attacks and spins him away.

They clash with Tanjiro as the boar steps on the girl mid-fight. He lashes at him, but the demon plays a drumbeat that slashes the ground between them.

The demon has a lot of different drums–placed in his shoulders, hips, and belly. As he plays one, he reorients the room then follows it up with a slashing beat.

Tanjiro gets transferred to another room. Here, he notices there are other demons in the house. He asks the girl to stay behind him as he investigates further. He sees some leftover corpses at the house and tracks another scent. There he finds a different boy with a drum in his hand.

Sleeping Thunder

Meanwhile, Zenitsu is leading the other kid to find the exit. Every little sound seems to make the yellow-haired boy panic, and he does nothing but sweat and trembles, and the boy he’s with feels affected too.

Zenitsu pleads for them to be quiet, but a demon approaches from the floor. They run away while Zenitsu yells and complains the whole way. They fall during the chase as his knees feel weak. The boy urges him to do something, or they’ll die. Zenitsu resolves to defend the boy, but he passes out and sleeps at the sight of the demon.

The demon laughs as it crawls towards them, ready to feed. His tongue lashes out for an attack. The boy cries for Zenitsu’s help, and with a quick flash, the tongue is severed.

Suddenly Zenitsu stands and winds up his body for a breath. He uses Breath of Thunder First Form for a forward slash, cutting the demon’s head.

Zenitsu wakes up and panics as he sees the dead demon. The boy, Shoichi, can’t believe it, and Zenitsu thinks the boy saved him, and he thanks him.

Rare Blood

The boar-man is running, annoyed that he’s been doing so for the last three days. He finds a different demon in the room and a huge one with a big appetite. Using his serrated twin blades, the boar-man uses Beast Breath to slice and dice it apart.

The drum demon is pacing along the halls, still complaining about his keep. He’s after rare blood to regain his position under the Twelve Moons.

We flash back to an earlier time. Muzan stripped him of his number position because he’s reached his limit. The demon can’t catch up to any of the members despite all the people he’s devoured.

The girl reunites with his brother, holding the drum, and Tanjiro tells him he’ll be fine. The elder brother cries, and Tanjiro gives him some cream to heal his wounds.

The boy explains what happened inside. Three demons were fighting each other for his blood. A drum fell off the back of the demon, which he took and used to escape them.

The boy is prized for his rare blood, making demons stronger.

Tanjiro promises them he’ll take care of it. He charges towards the drum demon, following its scent. He observes and learns what each drum does and tries to react accordingly. He’s not sure if he can beat it with his injuries still healing.

He remembers Urokodaki’s words. Water can change forms–so he tries to weave his movements to the changing gravity. He gets a renewed determination and challenges the demon.

Our Thoughts

We’re slowly seeing more things that Tanjiro has learned during his training. Just as I thought, Zenitsu is a competent swordsman–he needs to pass out from fear. The Boar-man, however, is fairly straightforward. If these are our two main supporting characters, then we’re in for a fun ride! I rate this 4/5.