WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Season 2, Episode 17, "Never Give Up," now streaming on Funimation, Hulu and Crunchyroll.
If Gyutaro is Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba's weakest Upper-Rank demon, the Demon Slayer Corps is in serious trouble. Considering Gyutaro laid waste to an entire city before a Hashira and three prodigious Demon Slayers could bring him down, the latest episode, "Never Give Up," is hardly a victory worth celebrating. After all, Gyutaro would have won if his arrogance hadn’t gotten the better of him as Tanjiro, Tengen, Zenitsu and Inosuke clung to their lives in the rubble of the Entertainment District.
The final battle against Gyutaro and his sister Daki was backlit by flames that seemingly engulfed the entire town. The destruction wrought by Gyutaro and Daki is far beyond anything previously seen on the series, as Yoshiwara was leveled by the battle. Tengen doesn't need to stress about how another Hashira would have handled the situation any longer, as it’s a remarkable accomplishment that he helped to defeat an Upper-Rank. Of course, whether he'll survive Gyutaro's final attack -- or his poison -- is another question.
If there's one thing the "Entertainment District" arc and Gyutaro's performance made clear, it's that Akaza was not trying in his battle against Kyojuro Rengoku in the "Mugen Train" arc. Although Gyutaro is three spots lower than Akaza, he caused much more destruction and chaos than Upper Three did. If Gyutaro is weak by Upper-Rank standards, and what's been shown of Akaza is nowhere near his full power, then the strongest members of Muzan's most elite group of demons might just be unbeatable.
After Tengen Uzui perfected his Musical Score Technique, which allows him to predict his opponent's moves, Gyutaro nevertheless stabbed the Sound Hashira in the gut and slice one of his eyes. Gyutaro also quickly rebounded from Wisteria poisoning, which is no small feat, considering that enough of the substance can kill demons. Overcoming Tanjiro's sneak attack and overpowering Tengen's new ability, Gyutaro is a menace when he's giving it his all, and although he was outfought and killed, it's his own fault for allowing any of them to live for as long as he did.
However, even in death, Gyutaro showed that the power of an Upper-Rank is devastating beyond comprehension. After he was decapitated, his body let off a massive explosion of Flying Blood Sickles that obliterated what was left of the battered city. Even Tengen was panicked by Gyutaro's incoming burst of power, and its unknown who, if anyone, survived this final strike from Gyutaro's corpse. If the Upper Six demon had that much raw power coursing through his body, the Upper Ranks One through Five must be even more horrifyingly powerful.
Although Tanjiro, Zenitsu and Inosuke are only about halfway up the Demon Slayer Corps ranking system, and Tengen considers himself one of the weakest Hashira, it doesn't bode well that it was this difficult to defeat the weakest of the Upper-Ranks. Zenitsu surely has broken legs, Inosuke was skewered like an actual boar, Tengen is missing several body parts and Tanjiro is choking on Gyutaro's poison. A win is a win, but these heroic Demon Slayers are hardly unscathed. Tanjiro and the others are going to have to recover in a hurry -- Muzan Kibutsuji probably won't be happy that one of his Upper-Ranks was just killed.
