Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Season 2 Episode 1 Recap – Flame Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku

Man of Fire

Flame Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku is enjoying his meal inside a soba shop when another Demon Corps member comes in to join him. He congratulates Flame Hashira for his great job last night, but the enemy is still at large.

The shop owner tells them that business hasn’t been quite good because of a killer on the loose. There was an attack on a train conductor nights ago with some suspicious incidents on a train. Kyojuro goes to the station to investigate. He asks the station’s bento sellers if a demon incident recently occurred.

The shopkeeper denies it, but they’ve heard of a Ripper murdering at night. Kyojuro buys all of their bento boxes and assures them he’ll take care of the Ripper. He gives the extra boxes to his junior and prepares to board the train.

The shopkeepers close up and head home, sensing danger in the air.

A conductor finds Kyojuro alone on the train. He tells him they’re headed for the garage. Kyojuro wants to go there to find the Mugen Train, but the conductor tells him it was moved for maintenance.

Kyojuro then jumps from the train to the maintenance facility. He tells the maintenance workers that he’s there to deliver bento from the railway administrators. He learns that the train was forced to retire due to its haunted reputation, but it should go back into service after maintenance.

The Ripper

Kyojuro is alarmed. He suddenly hears one of the workers shout from within, so he finds a demon holding a young worker hostage. Kyojuro challenges the Ripper, who insults the food he’s brought.

The demon launches an attack, blitzing through the facility while carrying his hostage. He claims to be the fastest of them all and admits to killing a woman the night before.

Kyojuro tells him they rescued the woman, and she is recuperating. The demon smirks, saying the woman should be traumatized even if she recovers. Kyojuro refutes him, saying they’ll also heal her heart.

The demon then threatens the bento sellers, which pressures Flame Hashira. The Ripper digs his claws into the hostage, prompting Kyojuro to cut off his arms with a quick strike. Seeing the opportunity, the demon rushes away through the train tracks.

Kyojuro applies first aid to the hostage and waits for reinforcements to arrive. He leaves the victim to his juniors and follows the trail of the Ripper.

Hostage

Meanwhile, the bento shopkeepers return to the station for the work day. The demon traces their scent from Kyojuro’s bento and threatens them, placing the blame on the demon hunter.

One of the shopkeepers tries to escape to the tracks, but the Ripper catches up to her and chokes her. Kyojuro arrives just in time and cuts the demon’s ankle. The Ripper then returns to the station to threaten the old lady, but Kyojuro blocks him yet again.

The demon gives him a wager that he’ll kill the old woman first before he could strike, but Kyojuro won’t even consider it. With Flame Breathing, First Form: Unknowing Fire, he severs the demon’s head in a flash.

The old woman recalls his very moves from long ago, when a demon slayer of similar appearance saved her from a demon. She tells him this is the second time she’s been saved, the first was from twenty years ago.

Kyojuro tells her it was probably his father, adding that it’s an honor for him to help them just like his father once did.

He still suspects there’s a stronger demon inside the Mugen Train, so he plans to board on its next trip.

Our Thoughts

This filler episode showcases the Flame Hashira but not enough in my opinion. 3/5.