Moments - 03 - Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie, Mugen Train - (Tanjiro Kamado)

Tanjiro is a character that up until this point in the narrative displayed an immense amount of empathy, not only towards those that are close to him, but also towards the demons that try to kill him. At no point in the story so far has it ever been emphasized greater than in The Mugen Train arc of Kimetsu no Yaiba.

To set the scene, everyone that is aboard the train including the four slayers have been put to sleep by a demon. One that has been feeding on the humans on this train for a while now. While asleep, all aboard the train dream the perfect version of their lives that they wish they could have, or return to if they had lost it. Through a desire to experience the bliss that those that are under the spell experience, certain humans side themselves with the demon that hunts on the train and helps him kill the slayers. The reasons why they want to do this are many, some are dying of disease, others want to reunite with loved ones that have long been taken away, and the rest to forego the hardships of life so that they are able to enact a fantasy.

Within each human is the core, the desire to live, and if this core is destroyed, no matter who it is, any human would lose the will to live. As such binding themselves to their victims those on the side of the demon invades the dreams of the slayers. Each character's dream is unique to their desires, and the area in which the core can be found is just as unique. For example, Rengoku’s core area is incredibly stable, and filled with fire with the desire to protect, as evident from his own behavior. Meanwhile, Tanjiro’s core area is incredibly warm and welcoming to anyone, even an enemy.

Through the show/ manga we have seen how empathetic he is from his actions, now we are shown how empathetic he is through metaphor. We are shown the lengths that his personality would go for the purpose of helping someone in need, going as far as to lead the human that is willing to kill him, right to the object that he is looking for to kill him. This moment reinforces the type of character Tanjiro is, solidifying his personality further. In fact, the warmth that is inside him, despite the horrors that he has had to go through in his life is shocking to the invader. Shocking enough that he breaks down, unable to go through with taking Tanjiro’s life.

From a narrative point of view it is great because, in these few minutes in the film, we have gotten a character arc from the invader that is rooted in the writing. A human that is desperate, jaded by the world that they have had to endure, experiences something so welcoming, reigniting the desire to endure the world and life for as long as possible. Bitterness turns to hope as he too chooses to fight.

This moment stood out as a result of the fact that in a film that is quite grim in many aspects, in a situation that seems hopeless, it is the core of who Tanjiro is that helps save them from certain death. Drawing others to him by way of his actions rather than what he says. Even the enemy, as we have seen on multiple points in the narrative so far. At a time when much of the media that we have been getting is so cynical, the brash optimism, and the radiant empathy is something that I found most welcome indeed.