Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc (Season 3) released episode 3 on Sunday, and the Demon Slayers have already come into contact with new Upper Moon demons. The episode started with some light-hearted humor, showing Tanjiro reluctant to take the sword they found after destroying Yoriichi Type Zero. However, they end up realizing it’s rusted, and their enthusiasm is completely evaporated. Haganezuka arrives and they mess around before he ultimately goes away to restore the sword, and this felt like some more calm before the sword that was always bound to arrive.
We also saw more of Genya Shinazugawa, the brother of the Wind Hashira. His tooth has somehow healed and he’s mad as hell, but he’s still endearing to the fans, especially those who recognize his voice (Nobuhiko Okamoto, also Bakugo in My Hero Academia, Accelerator, etc.). He refuses to explain anything to Tanjiro and is annoyed with his kind attitude, bringing up his broken arm from season 1. Their encounter ends with Tanjiro literally getting thrown out of the room. Shortly after, we see the Kamado siblings together as Nezuko has her hair braided by her brother, after which the demons arrive. The first one we see is Gyokko, Upper Moon Rank 5, as he devours the unlucky swordsmith that sees his vase.
This was bound to end badly as we already knew that Gyokko is a fan of pots and vases. However, things get worse when we see Hantengu, Upper Moon Rank 4, also appear and face Tanjiro, Nezuko and Tokito. Just moments before, we see Tanjiro’s kind nature surprise the Mist Hashira, but they are interrupted before they can talk more. The demon seems timid, but both of the slayers quickly realize it must be an Upper Moon demon. Everyone gets into action, but beheading seems to not be enough. The demon ends up splitting into multiple clones, one of which blows Tokito far away, with Nezuko managing to keep Tanjiro and herself from joining him.
It’s clear that these clones are no joke when it comes to power, and Tanjiro notes that they seem to be getting beheaded on purpose in order to multiply. He says this after Genya demonstrates his gun and blows away both of the demon’s clones’ heads away with two shots and makes more clones. Each of Hantengu’s clones seems to represent an emotion, and their names are: Sekido (Anger), Karaku (Relaxed), Urogi (Joy) and Aizetsu (Sorrow). Urogi is the one that takes Tanjiro flying and uses some sound attack to almost knock him out, while Sekido is the one that used the staff to do something similar with lightning.
The episode ends with Tokito running back towards the village and seeing Kotetsu fending off a weird demon. His thoughts are that his priority is the chief and that a kid is less important. He’s thinking objectively and we can guess that it’s the way he’s been operating until now, but he remembers Tanjiro’s words about kindness coming back and ends up going to save Kotetsu. He’ll probably have more character development in this arc, and looks like it’s time to get back in the thing Demon Slayer does best – action!
If you enjoyed episode 3 of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc (Season 3), make sure to vote for it in week 4 of Spring 2023!
Images via Crunchyroll
©Koyoharu Gotoge / SHUEISHA / Aniplex / ufotable