Demon Slayer's biggest missed opportunity has nothing to do with Tanjiro (or Muzan)

Demon Slayer's Mugen Train arc delivers emotional depth through intense action and character development, yet it misses a crucial storytelling opportunity. While Rengoku's sacrifice and Tanjiro's dream of family resonate, Enmu's dream manipulation could have explored Zenitsu and Inosuke's mysterious pasts.

Instead, their dreams remain surface-level—Zenitsu pining for Nezuko and Inosuke battling a train monster with friends. This creative choice, while entertaining, forgoes deeper character exploration.

Given the arc's emotional weight, this stands as its most significant missed opportunity to add meaningful layers to Zenitsu and Inosuke, enhancing their growth within the anime's richly developed narrative.

Disclaimer: This article reflects the opinions of the writer.

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Missed Potential: How Demon Slayer Mugen Train’s dream sequences could have deepened Zenitsu and Inosuke’s characters

The dream sequences served as ideal portals to understand the characters' innermost wishes and worries. Tanjiro's desire to rejoin his murdered family provided a powerful emotional scene that demonstrated his main driving force. The dream sequence shows Rengoku's deep connections with his father and brother, which adds depth to his character before his impending demise.

The dream sequences reveal deep insights into their inner selves instead of serving just as narrative devices. The storyline displayed a surprisingly shallow depiction of Zenitsu and Inosuke. Zenitsu dreamed of being romantically involved with Nezuko, and Inosuke fought a train monster in his dream, both scenarios illustrating their current situation instead of their early life experiences.

Zenitsu and Nezuko as seen in the anime (Image via Ufotable)

Excluding deeper character history in these dreams feels baffling, given later revelations. Zenitsu's abandonment issues and complex bond with Jigoro could have made for impactful dream content. A narrative showing his fear of abandonment or struggle to meet Jigoro's expectations would have added depth.

Glimpses into his training could have revealed how his lightning technique developed alongside its emotional toll. These scenes would have provided crucial insight into Zenitsu's mix of cowardice and brilliance, enriching his character development.

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Unexplored depth: How Demon Slayer Mugen Train missed the chance to reveal Zenitsu and Inosuke’s true origins

Similarly, Inosuke's mysterious upbringing by boars after losing his mother to Doma could have been explored in powerful ways. A dream about his adoptive boar family or fleeting memories of his biological mother would have added emotional weight to his character beyond his wild, battle-hungry persona.

These glimpses could have shown viewers how he developed his unique beast breathing style or highlighted the loneliness that shaped his competitive nature. The contrast between animal instinct and human emotion within Inosuke represents one of the series' most interesting character dichotomies, yet remained unexplored during this perfect opportunity.

Inosuke as seen in the anime (Image via Ufotable)

Limiting Zenitsu and Inosuke's dreams to surface-level content creates a narrative imbalance, making them seem like mere support characters reliant on Tanjiro. This approach reduces their depth, portraying them more as comic relief than fully realized individuals.

Their dreams could have served as powerful foreshadowing, adding emotional weight when their pasts were later revealed. Instead, their true origins and motivations emerged only in later arcs, missing a key opportunity for earlier, more impactful character development.

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Conclusion

The Mugen Train arc is a remarkable example of anime storytelling, even though it missed an opportunity. The show's combination of intense action sequences with emotional depth and thematic richness maintains its appeal to global audiences.

The dream sequences could have created a deeper viewing experience if Zenitsu and Inosuke had experienced character exploration equivalent to what Tanjiro and Rengoku received. The simplistic dream sequences highlight how exceptional storytelling can still miss opportunities to develop characters more fully.

Demon Slayer's storyline includes a subtle yet essential "what could have been" moment stemming from this particular narrative choice while remaining an outstanding work overall.

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