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Fun fact: If you look up the definition of redundant, The Hashira Training Arc will be cited as a synonym. If not, it might as well be in a few years.

The entire time the anime was rolling, I was left under the impression they could've summed it up in a short film instead of stretching a short manga Arc across 8 episodes, 2 of which surpass the mark of 30 minutes. In episode 3, Tanjiro is placed under an intensive training exercise alongside his collegues. He remains motivated, learns more about Tengen by the hashira himself and throught a third party, succeeds at every step ... of the training routine while every other demon slayer fails and everyone stays behind while Tanjiro advances to the next training area.

Episode 3 is boring and carried by some very bland dialogue about how "Life is hard", "You're so great for assisting in the defeat of 3 upper moons", "The hashira training you had a tragic past", "We (incompetent ds corps) will keep trying until we reach your level", etc. They took a bad written episode and made it the foundation for the rest of the season, save for the finale. Episodes 3 to 7 are the same episode, repacked with few changes, but following the same narrative structure.

It's the worst filler possible. There are some cool fight sequences and amusing moments that put a smile on my face, making a huge difference between a 4/10 instead and a 2/10 rating. Just read this review, watch the first episode and skip to end. You won't be missing much anyway.

Rikako is a petty arrogant child who treats both Taku with very little consideration, yet the viewers are supposed to believe there's a love going on and the moments they spend together were happy, despite Rikako's gaslighting, insults, manipulation and obvious contempt. It bothers me how our two protagonists hate each other, but the movie tries to trick you into believing the opposite, but to no avail.

89% on Rotten Tomatoes and 73 critic score on metacritic. WHY?!
Any romantic anime recommendations are appreciated. I need something to wash away the bad taste Umi ga Kikoeru left in my mouth.

While I believe it's a perfectly watchable anime from beginning to the end, I recognize that it fails to live up to its full creative potential at every turn. You hear mention of characters from the Tekken game series, but you never get to see them fight or play any role beyond catalysts to drive Jin Kazama's story forward. It also doesn't help that the action sequences are fine, but lack originality.

Jin's character development and the stunning 3D animation are enough to recommend, but don't expect much from anything else about the anime. Good enough to pass the time, bad enough to make me forget ... about it as soon as it's over.

It's a profoundly insightful metaphor for depression:
The Medicine Seller is a therapist, the evil spirits tied to negative human emotions - AKA Mononokes - are consequences of the depression and the Sword of Exorcism is a form of treatment - which can only be used/prescribed if you understand the truth, form and reason of the problem. In similar fashion to reality is how a negative emotion can feel like a collective that affects multiple people and becomes contagious if not dealt with in time, almost like a disease.

Alongside the message, the story arcs are carried out by a mysterious and intriguing protagonist, stunning ... psychedelic visuals, great dialogues, relatable characters, great fight sequences and satisfying conclusions to (almost) every arc.

I only have one major complain: The last story arc. The 5th time Mononokes had to be re-explained felt monotonous and the actions from the Mononoke in the final arc felt a bit inconsequential by the end. But I strongly recommend it regardless.