Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc (Season 3) released episode 4 on Sunday, and the fight continued following the demons’ arrival last week. The first part of the episode saw Tokito make quick work of the fish demon. After beheading it and realizing it wasn’t disintegrating, the Mist Hashira immediately guessed that the pot on its back must be the weak spot and destroyed it. I appreciated the way this wasn’t overly explained and just showed just how deserving of the Hashira title the boy is despite his young age.
What followed was some more character development for Tokito, or rather the beginning of it. Just like with Tanjiro’s words before, Kotetsu’s plead to save Haganezuka and Kamanori triggers a memory of some past trauma. He was injured when Kagaya told him that he’d regain his memories eventually, and that it would probably start with something that would seem insignificant. The explanation for his past trauma will probably come in one of the following episodes, but we already saw him run to save the swordsmiths, with Kotetsu now begging him to go a bit slower. Tokito is still wondering if he made a mistake, but we can already guess that it will end up being the right decision.
Meanwhile, Tanjiro is fighting Urogi, and he realizes that the demons can’t split up into the Upper Rank level demons infinitely. It seems like 4 is their limit, and their power drops off with further multiplication. The young demon slayer again shows his quick thinking and we also get to see him taunt the demon and hold his ground. Eventually he comes up with a plan to use the demon to carry him back the Nezuko and Genya, which goes perfectly and he rejoins the two.
Genya shows some superhuman resilience and surprises the demons, especially Aizetsu who gets his head blown away. Of course, it’s not enough, but it does anger Sekido even more as he lashes out on the fellow demon. All 4 of Hantengu’s clones live up to the emotion they represent, and the voice actors are also delivering. The one representing relaxation, Karaku, is the one torturing Nezuko, though he also gets some nice retaliation. After Nezuko uses her Blood Demon Art, Sekido has to intervene, and the spear through Nezuko’s neck was difficult to watch. Tanjiro arrives to save her and demonstrates his skill to Sekido, though they end up unconscious by the end of the episode.
Genya still hasn’t really shown, and Mitsuri is finally headed to the scene, so we can expect the real fights to begin soon. If you enjoyed episode 4 of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc (Season 3), make sure to vote for it in week 5 of Spring 2023!
Images via Crunchyroll
©Koyoharu Gotoge / SHUEISHA / Aniplex / ufotable
