Impossible Not to Chime In!? What Moved Giyū, Tormented by His Past in "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba," Was a Sudden "Zaru Soba Speed-Eating Challenge"

Tanjirō Kamado (voiced by Natsuki Hanae), where on earth did you come up with that idea…!? In Episode 2 of the "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Hashira Training Arc" anime, Tanjirō suddenly challenges the ever-calm Water Hashira, Giyū Tomioka (voiced by Takahiro Sakurai), to a "zaru soba speed-eating contest," leaving Giyū bewildered and asking, "Why?"

Having realized that Giyū has been suffering from past events, Tanjirō, though hesitant, asks him a certain question. That exchange seemed to change Giyū’s outlook. However, when Giyū then fell silent, Tanjirō started to worry, wondering, "What should I do? Did I say something awful?"

Growing anxious, Tanjirō suddenly bursts out, "Ah, how about we have a speed-eating contest? Like, ‘If I win, will you cheer up and do some training with me?’ or something," struck by a spur-of-the-moment idea. He abruptly proposes to Giyū, "Giyū, would you do a zaru soba speed-eating contest with me?" which leaves Giyū perplexed, repeating, "Why?"

On the internet, fans were in stitches over Tanjirō’s offbeat "brilliant idea," with comments like, "I have no idea what’s going on, but it’s hilarious," "Why a zaru soba speed-eating contest there? LOL," and "It’s even more gut-busting when you see it animated." Afterwards, both characters are shown sitting side by side eating soba, so it appears the contest really did happen.