Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Season 1 Episode 17 Recap – You Must Master a Single Thing

Real Twelve Moons

Tanjiro remembers that the Twelve Moons have a larger concentration of Kibutsuji’s blood. He finds the determination to take a sample so he can help cure Nezuko.

He goes back to Inosuke. Tanjiro remembers the fear and suffering the enemy felt in her last moment while he struggles to put a bandage on Inosuke’s wounds. They’ll have to fight together.

Meanwhile, Zenitsu feels an insect sting. He’s now pissed at Tanjiro and the others. Spiders are circling him and he smells something strange. Behind him is a demon head with spider legs, he can’t believe it.

He screams and runs in fear, thinking this is all a dream and he’ll wake up on Nezuko’s lap. He contemplates being a farmer instead.

Then he reaches a clearing with a small hut and several dangling humans on top of threads. He smells a strong stench that makes his eyes sting and his throat itch.

Spider Poison

Inside the hut, a demon emerges. It looks like a spider with a humanoid head. Zenitsu yells at it and runs away. The demon laughs, telling him he can’t escape. Something bad is going to happen. He tells Zenitsu to look at his hand. There’s a huge boil and some purple coloration.

The demon tells him he’s poisoned and will soon turn into a spider. He dangles a clock before him and tells him how long his condition will worsen. It won’t take much at all before he’s paralyzed and turned into a spider.

Zenitsu screams in panic as several other spider heads approach him. He runs on top of a tree as the spider teases him. The demon asks him if he wants another dose.

We flashback to Zenitsu’s youth, where his teacher scolds him for being a scared idiot. The teacher saved Zenitsu from a scandal, but he can’t live up to his expectations even as he trains all night.

As he cowers on top of a tree, he is struck by lightning. His hair changes from black to yellow. All his life he wanted to improve and be useful but even as he tries his best he feels like a loser.

One Technique

Back in the fight, he sees his hair falling out from the poison and soon passes out. The spider demon can’t believe it. Why is there a demon slayer who’s a coward?

Zenitsu is about to fall on his head when his body breathes a form. It’s the First Form of Lightning. The spider retaliates but Zenitsu evades midair and goes into his stance. The minions interrupt him but he keeps his stance strong.

The spider realizes he only knows one move. Zenitsu remembers his master telling him that it’s okay to only have one technique. Only he must work on it beyond perfection.

Breath of Thunder has six forms but he only knows one. His master reminds him that a knife is hammered multiple times to make it stronger.

His hand trembles but the words of his master ring inside him and his practice comes in. He remembers his senpai who hates and berates him which doesn’t help his self-esteem.

Never Give Up

Nobody believed in him except for the master who kept him going despite him wanting to give up. Zenitsu gets swarmed by the enemy, but his technique moves at lightning speed. He flies through the air and slashes the spider demon’s head before it could even notice.

Zenitsu wakes up, but the poison is now running through him. His sparrow arrives and calls for help.

In the distance, Tanjiro hears thunder. Suddenly another demon appears before them. She runs away and calls for her dad. A large brute appears before them with a spider head and attacks.

Our Thoughts

We finally have some lore on the sleeping techniques of Zenitsu. Awake he’s a wimp but asleep he’s the embodiment of the rule of cool. Impressive fight animations as always. I rate this 4.5/5