Demon Slayer Star Explains Inosuke's Reaction to Rengoku's Death

By Megan Peters - July 24, 2022 03:31 pm EDT

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba made fans fall in love with Rengoku some time ago, and netizens have not let go of the attachment. Not even the anime's first movie could cut them from Rengoku even though the character was faced with death. In the wake of such loss, fans found themselves relating to Tanjiro and Zenitsu as they mourned, but some questioned how Inosuke dealt with the whole thing. So now, the actor behind the wild boy is speaking out about the whole debate.

The conversation was held recently at Anime Expo during the event's sold-out Demon Slayer panel. It was there Tanjiro's Japanese actor appeared before fans, and a slew of exclusive videos was filmed by the anime's other stars. One of them featured Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as the actor voices Inosuke, and they addressed the character's reaction to Rengoku's death.

According to the actor, Inosuke's outburst did not come from anger as many assumed. The character flew off the handle after learning about Rengoku's death and urged his allies to train and rage while Tanjiro sobbed. Matsuoka says his performance of Inosuke came from a place of misguided grief as Inosuke had never before experienced this kind of loss while being old enough to know what death entailed.

The Demon Slayer actor says the grief was compounded as Inosuke saw how strong Rengoku was firsthand during his battle with Akaza. That strength impressed him and pushed Inosuke to learn more. To the boy, Rengoku was a true pillar of strength, so his death was jarring in the work way. Grieving is difficult even for those with practice, but Inosuke has never needed to process anything so intense before. That's why Inosuke's emotions overtook him in the wake of Rengoku's passing. In a last-ditch effort to cope, the slayer channeled his emotions into anger as he's familiar with the feeling, and that gave fans the outburst they witnessed firsthand.

Now, Matsuoka feels Rengoku's death has become a reminder to Inosuke of what he's working towards. The goal is to be stronger than the former Flame Hashira and all the other pillars to boot. So once Demon Slayer season three goes live, fans will get to see how that goal is treating Inosuke.

What did you think about Inosuke's reaction to Rengoku dying in the anime? Did the Demon Slayer cast nail the emotional arc? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.

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