ポッドキャストの紹介と新しいマイク
Konnichiwa! I am your host Mayu for 2AM OTTACK! In this podcast, we talk all about anime, manga,
movies, music and history through our distinct perspectives as a born and raised Japanese
non-otaku, that's me, and an American anime fan. That's me. How are you doing, Cisco?
I'm doing pretty good. I'm doing better since we got these new microphones.
They make me feel like I'm recording ASMR every time I use them. I don't think it actually sounds
that way to our listeners, but to me it's really like picking up a lot more sound and so I'm kind
of tripping on the sound of my own voice. It's a lot like a sensory activity. Yeah, it kind of is.
Yeah, this is what I asked for Mother's Day,
two microphones for a podcast. This is what I wanted. So thank you so much.
You're welcome. And if you're a listener who's thinking,
wow, that's like so easy to shop for Mayuko for Mother's Day, let me just also add that
you hate getting flowers and other sort of prototypical presents. So only buying you
specifically things that you ask for, it's like the only way to really make you feel
happy on Mother's Day. Is that accurate? Yeah, in a way. Isn't that easier? No.
Well, yeah, I think it is easier that like you usually ask specifically for a thing that you
want. And at least you're not like surprise me and then hate everything. But right. Yeah,
it's a I'm glad that you like such practical presents. Thank you. Thank you so much.
I don't think you have to. Okay, yeah, well, let's move on.
『鬼滅の刃』の概要
Okay. All right. So today we are going to talk about new season of Demon Slayer season.
Four. Definitely four. It's four. Definitely. Yeah, Kimetsu no Yaiba. So it was a new season's
first episode was released on May 12. And first episode was one hour. And we watched we just
watched it yesterday. And we really enjoyed it. I'm going to give some background about
Kimetsu no Yaiba if you don't mind. Oh, yes, please. Kimetsu no Yaiba is a Japanese manga
series written and illustrated by Koyo Haruko Touge. It was serialized in Shueisha's Shonen
Manga Magazine Weekly Shonen Jump from February 2016 to May 2020, with its chapters collected
in 23 tankoubon volumes. It follows teenage Tanjiro Kamado who strives to become a demon
slayer after his family was slaughtered and his younger sister Nezuko is turned into a demon.
There have been several TV seasons. They did a 26 episode anime series. In 2019,
they followed it up with Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba the movie Mugen Train in October 2020,
which despite being released in the middle of the COVID pandemic, became the highest grossing
Japanese film of all time. And the highest grossing anime film to say the least. They
then followed up with a second season of the anime and then a third season and now we're
starting the fourth season. Did you know what movie was the highest gross movie anime in Japan?
Um, I'm pretty sure it was Spirited Away. Is that right? Yes. Okay.
So Demon Slayer beat Spirited Away.
Yeah, I don't know how I feel about that. I think but with I mean, one of the things about like
comparing like, oh, I was gonna say one of the things about comparing movie ticket sales is
population tends to go up over time and inflation means that like,
tickets cost more money, the later you go. So like, obviously new movies are always going to
set new records. But I guess in Japan populations like not really growing anymore. So no, maybe
映画とアニメの比較
people just really wanted to go see a movie in the middle of COVID. And this was their excuse to
do that. If I'm if I'm not wrong, though, I think didn't you know people who saw it like multiple
times? Yes, our friend, our manga artist friend. Yeah, I think. Yeah, a few times. And she does it
for other movies, though. Oh, she's a repeat movie viewer. I think. Yeah. That makes sense.
Because she I remember she saying she went to see Boy in the Harem.
Oh, okay. I mean, I owe Miyazaki and she was like, I have to go back.
Okay, well, then maybe it's just a thing specifically that she does.
Right. Um, but yeah, it was a huge hit in Japan during COVID.
It was a good movie. Like I remember having fairly low expectations of it, especially like
making a film about the middle of a manga seemed like a real gutsy move to me. And then
I was, you know, I think in the manga, like, I didn't feel that emotionally moved by this part
of the story. But the film really kind of got me in the feels, you know, like I was I was like,
emotional towards the end. Yeah, like it was just they really hit like the emotional beats like
very effectively. And it wound up being like kind of a great movie. So I you know,
it like it got me on board despite me having a lot of reservations about it. I mean,
I think it's always better to go into things like low expectations and then be pleasantly surprised
that go in with like huge expectations and just have them like, you know, not lived up to but
yeah, it was it was much better than I expected. So even though part of me is like, how dare you
make more money than spirited away? It was I'll acknowledge that it was a good film.
And then let's talk about the first episode of season four.
新シーズンの展望
All right.
Yeah, he started with like fighting amazing fighting scene with like 360 3d animation.
I mean, did I say it right?
That's, yeah, that's what the series is known for, at least in my, in my mind is what I know
the series for is, I think the manga is fine. But the the anime is shockingly good at illustrating
the fight sequences. And this episode in particular, that first sequence is not in the manga.
And so, particularly for, you know, those of us who had read the manga already,
getting to see like a brand new fight scene in the episode was really compelling. I'd like I
think that was a really, really good choice.
Main characters, Tanjiro and Zenitsu and Borgai.
What was his name?
Inosuke?
Literally Borgai. So you were just translating it.
Why didn't I do that? Yeah. I mean, those people came in, in, you know,
appeared in the first episode, but it was mostly focused on Hashira's meeting and stuff.
I mean, I think, you know, I'm, I'm a little bit nervous about this season that it's going to be
like a lot of montages of like still shots of people like suffering through training.
It's not a really long part in the manga. Like it's, and I hope they don't use that as an excuse
to do more filler or just more Zenitsu. Like I would be, I'd be really okay with Zenitsu.
They just accidentally cut out all the parts he was supposed to be in. Like kind of over Zenitsu.
I think there's a lot of concern that this season will try to fill up some of the airtime
by just having like more, you know, SD, super deformed, like comedy bits in it,
which are just like unnecessary and not why people are watching the show.
Hashiraのトレーニングと戦闘シーン
So like if they want to include more, you know, brand new fight sequences involving the Hashiras,
I am there for that. I wouldn't be surprised if this is only like a four episode season
and that all it really does is like set up what I hope is going to be a movie of the last part of
the, the, you know, of the manga. Like I really think they should just make like,
it can be as long as they want. They could make a five hour movie if they had to.
And like that would be a better choice than trying to do like, you know, like an eight
or nine episode season for like the manga's last arc. I really hope this one is like kind
of short and sweet, covers the training, introduces the characters. We don't really
know that much yet. And then like fast forward to like the final battle because that part is great.
But it would kind of suck to watch it in like a TV, you know, down budget, like slow way. I would
much rather they're like, okay, we gave you four episodes now wait like two and a half years.
And then we'll give you the final movie memorable scene in the first episode.
Um, I mean, other than like the fighting, which is always the high point of Kimetsu, like,
uh, I think I'm also trying to remember whether this is in the manga or not, but the very
end of the episode has one of Ubuyashiki's crows visiting Tamayo and asking for her help.
Mm.
And that's like setting up some stuff that's going to happen later. But, um,
I don't really remember whether we got to see that in the manga. I feel like in the manga,
it's like explained in a, in a flashback, like later, as opposed to set up at this moment in
the story, which is where it's happening chronologically. Um, you know, a lot of the
rest of this episode was either Tanjiro being in bed, which is like fine, but not that exciting.
Or like the Hashira being in like a meeting, which is also like, you know, like important to
advance, like the storyline of like, Hey, the battle's coming. Like we've got to train everybody,
but not super compelling to see the actual Hashira training that's taken place in this episode is,
you know, is not that exciting either. It's mostly stills, right. It's like, not actually like
animation. And I feel like in this episode, you could kind of feel the difference between
like the action sequences that were actually animated by UFO table. And like the still shots,
they had to farm out to like other animation studios were like the two characters eyes are
not the same size. Um, so there's, you know, like not so many of those shots that it's like really
depressing, but, um, I don't know, I would rather wait longer and like get a better product than
like have them rush to make stuff by using additional animation studios that aren't going
to do like a really good job with it. Um, but I, you know, recognizing like budget's real and
like, I would much rather they spend the big budget money on the fight sequences
than on the other stuff. But I'd like really rather they just made like a shorter season
with it's all fight sequences and like, doesn't have a lot of like Zenitsu standing around screaming,
you know. I like when the Hashiras were having meeting, um, you could see each Hashira's swords
lined up next to them. And I never paid attention to their swords until this episode. And then at
the, at the end ending, you can see, it doesn't explain whose sword it is, but you can see the
刀のデザインと部位
details of sword. Um, what's the name of the part you hold the sword?
Uh, well, there's a bunch of different parts, but like the, the grip is where your hands go.
And some of that is like decorated differently. Like, um, the Love Hashira's sword has like a
bunch, like a heart design in the grip. Right, I noticed that this time.
Like the very end of the sword, the part at the very bottom of the grip is the pommel.
So it's usually like a little metal piece. And then I'm blanking on the, what the name of the
piece is that's that goes on top of where your hand, I know there's a name in Japanese that I,
I think at one point I actually knew, or if somebody said it, I'd be like, Oh yeah,
I know what that means. But it's the Tsuba? Uh, I think that Tsuba is the thing at the end. No?
I am not sure. Okay, so I just lied because I clearly don't know what it is. But there's like
a hand guard that goes at the top. And each of those are like very detailed and kind of
indicate who is who. And I agree with you that the ending theme song of this episode was really
cool to be able to be like, Oh, look at all these different swords. Can I guess which
sword matches with which Hashira? Tanjiro explains that in the first episode, because he,
he was getting a new sword from, took over from Fire Hashira. Nengoku, yeah, he gets his
hand guard or again, whatever that thing is called. Yeah, he gets it affixed to his sword.
So it's not Nengoku's sword, but it is the part of Nengoku's sword. Because you can take all those
different parts of the sword apart and like recombine them in different ways. Right. Didn't
you used to have a sword? Do you still have a sword? Um, but not in our house now. No. But
as a otaku teenager, not only did I practice iaido and therefore have like any iaido practice sword,
that's, you know, like just an unsharpened katana, basically. But I'm, I guess I'm admitting to this.
Some point, one of my early trips to Japan, I was, I was probably in like a really tourist area,
I figure I probably bought this like in Asakusa, in like the really kitschy row of tourist attractions
on the way to the temple there. And I did purchase for some, you know, in retrospect,
like way too much money. And a, is it a model? Is it an actual Sakabato? Like the type of sword
that Rurouni Kenshin uses, which is blunt on the front and sharp on the back. The version I bought
wasn't actually sharp on either side, but one side was thick and blunt. And in trying to actually use
it, like it, it feels really different than a regular katana and like not better. Like it's
very, very hard to use effectively. I was extremely proud of it at the time when I was, you know,
whatever, 18. But the only time I probably showed it to anyone outside of like my immediate friends
and family, I did at some point go to an anime convention as like a teenager with this thing,
and then was required to like zip tie it closed so that no one could see it. And so I'm like
trying to convince people, no, no, no, it's like a real Sakabato. No one can confirm that because
I'm not allowed to like open it or bring it out. And you know, some of the, I think some of the
funny part of that is like the whole point of the sword is that it's not a lethal weapon, but
obviously you can't be walking around with like a sword regardless of how sharp it is at an anime
キャラクターと食文化の探求
convention. So yeah, Viva the Renaissance Fair, where you can totally walk around with swords and
nobody says anything. Right. Asakusa is the place where Tanjiro meets Kibutsuji for the first
time, right? I think so. Yeah, I think they're in that neighborhood when they encounter each other
like in the street. Right, right. Interesting. How much did you pay for the sword?
I really don't remember. I'm sure it was, I feel pretty sure it was under $200,
but probably also more than $80. So somewhere in that range. God, maybe it was more than $200. I
don't think so, because I don't remember bringing that much money to Japan ever.
And you know, I was at an age where like, it wasn't even my money. I'm sure it was like,
I like used up some of the money my parents had given me to use for like food or transportation
or something and like saved it so that I could buy this fake sword at the end. It was in
retrospect like an extremely white American teenager otaku thing to do.
Yeah, it's the right place for right, like target to sell those kind of stuff.
Yes, it is. Watching episode one from America, as a Japanese person, I was getting hungry.
Just me. You did make a lot of comments about the food. I don't know, I'm not like a huge fan of
like mochi, dango, or and like onigiri to me are like, good, but they're like a basic food, not
like, Oh God, I couldn't wait to like eat one of those. But, but I think, you know, I mean, don't
like, please say your own feelings about this. But I feel like for you, like, a lot of that stuff is
kind of comfort food, right? Oh, yeah, taste of home, like things that you look forward to eating
because they taste different in Japan. But yeah, you made a lot of comments about the food as we
were watching it too. I mean, they look so good. Like, I don't know why like all the animation
food looks so good. Like this time, Tanjiro was eating a lot of onigiri and green tea.
Right? And then he was he kept eating dango and some different like a manju or something with
Yeah, yeah. Green tea. It's so vegetarian. They're nice.
That's true. I didn't, I didn't even clock it being vegetarian. But it's true that like,
if it were like a Western thing, he would have been eating like, you know, a chicken leg and like
turkey, some other like meat. Yeah, he would have been eating meat. And instead he's eating just
like, yeah, like kind of traditional Japanese like food and sweets. Yeah, that's that's an
interesting point, actually. Yeah, I don't know. Like, maybe I wouldn't think anything special if
I still lived in Japan. Right? It's the same as like what they wear and what, how they talk to
each other, like when they were having the meeting. Everybody was so proper. Yeah, a lot of keigo in
that scene. And the way they talk is super polite. And then wow, I was like, this is Japan. Like,
this is real Japan. I can't do this. Yes, you can. You can totally do that. If you had to, I would
I can't do this. Yes, you can. You can totally do that. If you had to, I would hate it. Do it.
Well, I mean, I think like, a lot of the Hachira aren't particularly proper people,
right? Like, that's true. But they were not like a lot of them are kind of rude and low class. Like,
they're, you know, I mean, yeah, I feel like they're, they're not supposed to be like hugely
proper people for the most part, like maybe the main, you know, the monk, he seems kind of proper.
キャラクターの礼儀と尊重
But like, the other ones like, you know, what's that? The stone stone Hachira. And like, I think
Tokyo, the mist Hachira is also like capable of being proper, even though he doesn't seem to have
any like actual emotions about it. Like a lot of them are like, kind of don't strike me as like,
traditionally polite people. And it's really a shine, a sign of their respect for the, you know,
the Ubyoshiki family that they're able to be so polite or willing to be that polite.
And so, you know, it really shows like how strongly they feel about working for the family
and the sort of mutual respect and trust that's going back between them. Often, I feel like
Keigo and like, you know, formal language in Japan,
sort of signifies a distance or lack of actual human connection. And in that scene, one of the
things that was really noticeable to me was that because the characters are usually so rude and
kind of like boorish with each other, that the fact that they all are able to kind of turn on
the proper social rules, instead communicates like an honest feeling or like a real true feeling
of respect and care on their parts in a way that was, you know, not like very emotional, but like
sort of moving nonetheless to be like, oh, even they sort of understand the risk and sacrifice
that's being undertaken by the family. So that was cool. Wow. Okay. That was great speech.
マンガとアニメの体験
Sorry. Also, I noticed about what they wear. Not that I didn't notice before. I read the whole
manga in English, which I don't know if it was easier to understand, or maybe if I read it in
Japanese, I would understand better. But I think so. Yeah, with my own mother tongue.
I read manga in Japanese when we're in Japan, but I often am not sure I'm getting some of the
nuances that I would get from reading them in English. And so and I mean, to say nothing of
how much faster I can read things in English. So I think having to read manga in a foreign
language, like can be a really important good learning experience. And it can be sort of more
authentic if you're reading in Japanese. But in the same way that I am unsure, I would like
get all of the stuff if I were reading in Japanese, I think, had you read it in Japanese,
it would have been easier to read more enjoyable and probably had some nuance that you would have
picked up on from reading it that way. Right, right. And then when I read the series, it was,
of course, almost all black and white. And when the anime came out, I didn't really, you know,
pay attention to the colors, or I didn't really imagine in my head. But Kanroji's hair is very
unique. Oh, very much so. It's not the same color. It's like a pink and then like a yomogi color.
Yeah, I feel like you're really revealing that you did not watch the last season before this one
where she was in like every episode. I freaking did. You're commenting on that now. Yes, she has
very interestingly colored hair. Yeah. And I like her character is very different from other characters
for sure. Yeah, especially clothing. Especially clothing. Yes. Or how she talks. Yeah, that's true.
She's like a typical girl-like character. Kojo is not. I guess that's true. I think
Kanroji is more identifiably an anime character than Kojo. But I think she's sort of unique in
just a different way in terms of her overall character development. I was going to say that
キャラクターの衣装とデザイン
the pattern or colors that really stand out to me are always Tomioka's clothing, Giyu's clothing.
Because his coat is just cut in half basically. And I think it's really just because we have not
seen that character in like several seasons at this point that I forgot that he had that
weirdly divided coat. And I've been trying to think about what that signifies visually about
him as a character. And I'm not sure. But I know that the next episode is about him. So
hopefully that'll help me remember what his backstory is from the manga.
Yeah. What do you think about Kimetsu-tai's uniform? The black uniform?
I mean, it makes a lot of sense for the setting of the show because it's set in the
what 1910s or 1920s or something. And it's got like that. They sort of remind me of like
middle schoolers, like Japanese middle schoolers. And they're like all black with the buttons.
And I think the art style portrays a lot of people as kind of short or like their clothes
as being too big for them or something. Like they look kind of funky, especially in this
particular episode. Like Zenitsu's proportions seem just out of whack. But yeah, I know that that
uniform is based on, I think, the Prussian military. And so it's intentionally, I think,
a combination of Western-style military uniforms and traditional Japanese clothing. And you see
that especially with the non-combatants in the Kimetsu-tai, the assistants who wear the masks
and stuff. They're really patterned on puppeteers from Japan. Design of the helpers is clearly from
that. And the design of the combatants seems to be more sort of Western. And it's sort of
interesting that none of the, I guess not none, the Shinazugawa's younger brother, who was a
major character in the previous season, does use guns. But he's the only person to use firearms in
the show. And that's sort of surprising given the time period in which the show is set,
that there's not more guns. And yeah, I mean, I think it's a lot of the interesting
choices around the characters' clothing come from that Taisho era kind of blend of East and West.
And it's notable that the Hashira don't seem to have any unified uniform. And I'm sure that's
intentional so that it helps you distinguish which character is which, right? Oh, that one's
the Monk Hashira. Oh, that one's the guy who's just never wearing a shirt. Oh, this one's the
really traditional Japanese clothing one. And oh, Kandouji can't button her blouse. Good thing we
can tell her apart from Kochou now, right? So some of that is character design. But it also feels
like an intentional choice to have picked the period to draw both Japanese style clothing and
日本文化における鬼の意味
Western style clothing. We should do word of the day. Do you have any suggestion?
Well, I think actually, maybe enough people know this word, and it's not a good word of the day.
But I would pick oni because it's got so many different connotations. And oni are
depicted in so many different ways. And in this particular show, they're almost always just
monsters. They do have the characteristic horns on their head that are how you know someone is an
oni in Japanese culture. But some of them just seem fully monstrous and not humanoid at all.
And others seem kind of in between human and monster. And there are some other oni traits
that aren't really depicted in the oni of the show, like the wearing of loincloths or the
carrying of like the giant metal clubs, like not that many of them are fighting with that.
But the use of oni to also sort of describe someone who's just sort of superhuman,
but isn't necessarily an actual ogre. And I think it's the other thing is like, you know,
this is translated as demon slayer, but oni doesn't usually get translated as demon. It's
usually translated as ogre instead. And so, and I think ogre better captures a lot of the traits
that Westerners think of when they think, you know, like, like when you say ogre to a Westerner,
you get a clearer picture of like something closer to what Japanese oni usually are meant
to look like, especially in a story like Momotaro or something. Then you do with demon. Demon is
like could be kind of anything. So there are a lot of oni in Demon Slayer who don't really look
like ogres and have lots of different shapes and sizes and everything else, which is maybe why
they chose demon for this particular thing. And it might've also been the author's request. Sometimes
Japanese authors will say, I want my English, the English title of my manga to be this instead.
But I think, I think oni is a good word because it's so important to this particular manga and
it's got kind of some different meanings and some different connotations. That's a good one.
Yes. What's your word of the day? Oh, no, nothing. Just oni is great.
We're talking about this before the next episode.
Well, I thought about Yaiba, but in Japan, we don't call Yaiba often. We call it katana instead.
Right. It's the same meaning, but different way to read it with the same kanji.
Yeah. Why is it Yaiba? Yaiba sounds poetic and cooler than katana, I think.
Okay. To me, Yaiba sounds really sharp for some reason.
Sharper than a katana? To me, just an impression. It's really,
really sharp. You can slash anything. I think of Yaiba as meaning blade instead
of fully the sword. It's only the part of the sword that does the cutting, not the whole handle
and pommel and whatever, hand guard or whatever that thing is called that I forgot about.
To me, katana has all of those parts and a Yaiba is just a blade. But I guess that's not true,
right? That's just me misunderstanding it. No, I'm just impressed. I've never thought
about this before in my whole life. I didn't pay attention as a Japanese person,
but if you actually pay attention... I could be fully wrong about that, though. I'm really good
at making things up and then sounding really confident about them, but being just wrong.
I don't know that it means blade and not sword, but that's the impression that I get from it being
called Yaiba, is that it's not like Demon Slayer, ogre destroying sword. It's blade of killing
demons or whatever. I think it goes along with what you're saying about Yaiba sounding somehow
sharper than katana. A katana is just a sword, but a Yaiba is like the blade part,
the really important for cutting part. There will be more of Demon Slayer every Sunday, I guess,
番組のエンディングと今後の展望
so we're going to keep watching. I don't know how many episodes they're going to have,
but yeah, I'm excited for it. Yeah, me too. Thank you so much for listening to this week's
episode. Don't forget to subscribe and follow 2amOTAK and 3amOTAK on Spotify, Apple Podcasts,
Amazon Music, and on YouTube. It means so much to us, and we will keep making fun episodes.
See you next time for more 2amOTAK.
