Rengoku

Rengoku-san is my favorite character in the Demon Slayer. I still can’t explain why I’m so moved by him. However, I’d like to try to construct my thoughts here.

First of all, there are so many amazing quotes created by him. “I’ll fulfill my duties. I won’t let anyone here die” “Growing old and dying is what gives meaning and beauty to the fleeting span of a human life”. These two are always at the top of my list. I guarantee if you watch the movie, you are going to be sobbing with the vibrant visual images and the terrific sounds. These are all about sacrificing your own life for generations to come as well as preserving the ancestors’ legacies and keeping those alive.

Second, there was a climax scene at the end of the movie. After the desperate battle, he is slowly dying. In the last moment, he asks his mother, actually the mother on the screen is not her, instead it is the image that his memory is making, because she has already passed away due to a disease. Anyway, he says “ Did I do well? Did I use my gifts wisely?” And then, the mother replies “ You did splendidly “ with a smile. As somebody like me ,who was born and raise in Japan, this is a sort of epitome of our culture. When people grow up here, parents have so many expectations from us from young age. As a result, we often end up struggling in order to conform to others’ expectations. Because, we take it serious to make especially parents proud.

There are probably other reasons on this topic. But, unfortunately, I don’t have time to expand on this further. I’ m going to stop here.

Peace