WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Episode 17 of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, "You Must Master a Single Thing," available now on Hulu, Crunchyroll and other anime streaming services.
The latest episode of Kimetsu no Yaiba focuses heavily on Zenitsu Agatsuma, the cowardly swordsman who makes use of his Breath of Lightning skills to take down demons in a flash. "You Must Master a Single Thing" opens with Zenitsu searching for his fellow demon slayers, Tanjiro Kamado and Inosuke Hashibira, as well as the former's sister, Nezuko, who was turned into a demon during the first episode. They left him behind toward the start of the arc in order to pursue the family of demons living on Natagumo Mountain. Along the way, Zenitsu encounters a spider with the head of a baby, which startles the notoriously cowardly character. He continues on his journey, eventually stumbling upon the Older Brother Spider demon.
Zenitsu attempts to run at first, but Older Brother Spider reveals the demon slayer was bit by one a poisonous spider. The demon then tells Zenitsu he'll turn into a spider within the next half an hour, becoming enslaved in the process. The demon outlines the various stages of the transformation, which include a tingling sensation that progresses into nausea and "intense pain" before inevitably resulting in the victim blacking out.
As Zenitsu struggles to process his fate and fend off the spider demons attempting to bite him more so as to speed up the process, his troubled backstory is revealed through a series of flashbacks. Due to financial troubles, Kuwajima "Gramps" Jigoro takes him in and teaches him Thunder Breathing. During the training process, Zenitsu climbs a tree in an attempt to avoid training, receiving his iconic golden hair when he's struck by lightning. Over the course of his training, Zenitsu is only able to master one of the forms, leading his teacher to explain to him that he only needs to master one of them perfectly in order to succeed.
The relationship between Gramps and Zenitsu is complex and, at times, brutal, but the young swordsman makes clear he understands his master cares about him and wants him to believe in himself. Gramps doesn't abandon Zenitsu, like so many others, leaving the golden-haired demon slayer hoping to make the old man proud while also helping people.
After Zenitsu passes out, he enters the state in which he's able to competently fight. This leads him to unleash his Thunder Breathing, First Form on his spider enemies. As the poison works its way through his body, Zenitsu then uses Thunderclap and Flash Sixfold, which immediately does away with Older Brother Spider's minions. The lightning-fast Zenitsu then kills the demon with a well-placed swing of his blade.
The episode's penultimate scene sees Zenitsu laying on the roof of the demon's house, fighting for life as the poison overtakes his body. Zenitsu expresses regret that he'll soon die. He then apologizes to Chuntaro, his bird companion, who flies away, potentially to get help of some sort. As he lays dying, Zenitsu resolves to push himself to survive, though whether or not he succeeds at that goal is unclear. Regardless of if he makes it out alive, Zenitsu has proven, once and for all, that he has what it takes to be a hero.
New subtitled episodes of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba air Sundays on Hulu, Crunchyroll and other anime streaming services.
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