Season 3 of Demon Slayer, which adapted the Swordsmith Village Arc, finished airing in June 2023. From launch, Crunchyroll simulcast the season and began streaming an English dub. The anime’s Swordsmith Village Arc adapted volumes 12 to 15 (chapters 98–127) of the manga, which finished after 205 chapters in May 2020. Following on from the Entertainment District Arc, the third season sees Tanjiro, Zenitsu, Inosuke, and the Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui wounded within an inch of their lives.
They return to the Butterfly Mansion, where their wounds are tended to by Kanao, Aoi, and the three apprentices — Sumi, Kiyo, and Naho. Meanwhile, the Upper Rank demons meet in the Infinity Castle on Muzan’s command to formulate an attack against the surviving Demon Slayers, and thus our main conflict arises. That same feud spans 11 episodes, eventually coming to a head in Demon Slayer‘s emotional finale.
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Spoiler Alert: How does Demon Slayer season 3 end?
In the finale, titled “A Connected Bond: Daybreak and First Light,” Hantengu flees from an overpowering Tanjiro. However, Tanjiro manages to reach him by combining his Hinokami Kagura with the Thunder Breathing technique he’d learned from Zenitsu. Although Tanjiro announces his victory prematurely by severing Hantengu’s neck, the demon grows into a larger, more violent clone of himself — one of seven total forms. Meanwhile, Genya and Nezuko fight Upper Moon Hantengu’s manifestation of resentment, known as Urami. Hantengu’s many forms are loosely representative of the seven deadly sins.
Nezuko and Genya manage to knock Urami off a cliff, but the demon sustains no injury and continues his search for humans to devour. Tanjiro intervenes, once again combining his Hinokami Kagura with the Thunder Breathing technique, and decapitates Urami. With dawn swiftly approaching, Tanjiro rushes back to Nezuko in order to shield her from the sunlight. However, Urami appears to have survived the beheading, much to Tanjiro’s surprise. This is because Tanjiro decapitated one of Hantengu’s clones, not the main vessel. As dawn breaks, Nezuko begins to burn alive.
Tanjiro is then faced with the most difficult decision of his entire life: leave Nezuko to die and save the Swordsmith Village from Hantengu’s wrath or choose Nezuko and allow the Upper Moon demon to devour countless humans. Nezuko takes matters into her own hands and makes the decision for him, kicking Tanjiro towards Hantengu as encouragement. Using his acute sense of smell, Tanjiro locates Hantengu hiding inside Urami’s heart and slices it open, exposing him to sunlight.
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As Hantengu burns, Tanjiro beheads him, slowly turning him to ash. Hantengu relives his criminal human life, which flashes before his eyes as he dies. As Hantengu is defeated, it marks the end for his clone, Zohakuten, which saves Mitsuri from exhaustion. Tanjrio grieves for his fallen sister, only to turn and discover Nezuko alive and well.
Muzan replays Hantengu’s memories, coming to the realization that since Nezuko proved to be more durable and resilient than most other demons by design, his goal to conquer the sun can be achieved by devouring her. We learn that Muzan was once a sickly young man from the Heian period whose rage stems from his frustrations with his illness. Muzan murders the doctor treating him, but receives enhanced physical abilities from the treatment that saved his life, albeit rendering him unable to walk in sunlight. Since then, he has resorted to creating demons in the hopes of conquering the sun.
In the aftermath of Hantengu’s — and by extension Muzan’s — apparent defeat, Muichiro thanks Tanjiro for helping him rediscover who he is, and Mitsuri embraces them for all warmly. As Tanjiro leaves the village, the inhabitants celebrate him as a savior.
The Demon Slayer anime up through season 3 is streaming on Crunchyroll. The manga and other accompanying books are handled by Viz Media in North America.
Related: The Best Anime for ‘Demon Slayer’ Fans on The Mary Sue
Published: Aug 9, 2023 02:15 pm