The best episodes of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
Ranked by viewer rating, highs first. Lit marks on the season rail place this list across the run. Vote on a placement to back it or contest it.
- 01
Swordsmen in the Demon Slayer Corps known as Hashiras have arrived on Mt. Natagumo. Giyu Tomioka, the Water Hashira, slays the Father Spider Demon with a single strike. Inosuke, thrilled to see such a display of swordsmanship by someone in a totally different league from himself, challenges Giyu to a duel. Meanwhile, Zenitsu lies near death as the poison circulates throughout his body. Just then, the Insect Hashira, Shinobu Kocho appears before him.
- 02
Tanjiro and Uzui have been separated by Gyutaro’s Blood Demon Art. As Tanjiro joins the struggling Zenitsu and Inosuke, they manage to decapitate Daki at last thanks to their coordinated barrage of sword strikes. However, when Inosuke tries to run off with Daki’s head, he gets pierced by Gyutaro’s scythe. Uzui has also collapsed, leaving Tanjiro and the others with their backs to the wall.
- 03
The demon that appeared before Tanjiro and Rengoku after they defeated Enmu was the Upper Three, Akaza. While injured and on the ground, Tanjiro is almost attacked by Akaza and narrowly escapes death when Rengoku quickly strikes back. During the intense battle between Rengoku and Akaza, Akaza suggests to Rengoku that he should also become a demon. Rengoku vehemently refuses Akaza's offer, but his injured body is exhausted and being pushed past its physical limits...
- 04
You Must Master a Single Thing
One of the Twelve Kizuki, a direct subordinate of Muzan Kibutsuji, is here somewhere. When Tanjiro slays the Mother Spider Demon of Mt. Natagumo, he learns that a demon who might hold the key to turning Nezuko back into a human is somewhere in this very forest. With the battered Inosuke in tow, he heads deeper into the forest. Meanwhile, Zenitsu trudges forlornly through the woods only to encounter a spider with a human face.
- 05
Tanjiro, Zenitsu and Inosuke have joined Uzui in battle. While Zenitsu and Inosuke take on Daki, Tanjiro and Uzui deal with Gyutaro; however, they struggle as the demons have the upper hand with their coordinated attacks. But thanks to Hinatsuru's help and some teamwork from Uzui, Tanjiro's blade finds its way towards Gyutaro's neck...
- 06
Tanjiro and Inosuke face off against the Father Spider Demon of Mt. Natagumo. Tanjiro unleashes an attack, only to get hurled away by the demon's overwhelming power. Landing near a river, he comes upon the young demon Rui torturing the Sister Spider Demon. When Rui calls their bond of terror and hatred "a family’s bond," Tanjiro is enraged. So begins the battle between Rui and Tanjiro.
- 07
Nezuko, Zenitsu and Rengoku fight against Enmu to protect the passengers. Meanwhile, Tanjiro and Inosuke discover the location of Enmu's neck. They work in tandem to thwart Enmu's Blood Demon Art and sever Enmu's neck. The Mugen Train writhes in pain and derails. What will be the fate of the 200 or so passengers as well as Tanjiro and his friends?
- 08
During the fierce battle with Daki, Tanjiro continues to unleash the Hinokami Kagura, which causes a huge strain on his body. Meanwhile, Inosuke reaches the Belt Demon’s nest and saves people who have been captured. Makio, Suma, and Zenitsu, who have been freed from the belt, join in on the fight. As the ceiling of the nest is broken, Uzui appears wielding his swords.
- 09
As Tanjiro and the others are devoted to their rehabilitation training, the absolute master of the demons, Muzan Kibutsuji, gathers the Lower Ranks of the Twelve Kizuki. The demons, too, are preparing to make their next move. As training draws to a close, Tanjiro has improved to the point where he can fight on equal terms with Kanao. Just then, he receives word of a new mission from his Kasugai Crow.
- 10
After Nezuko attempts to attack innocent bystanders as her demon form advances, Tanjiro is finally able to make her fall asleep by singing a lullaby. Meanwhile, another demon emerges out of Daki's body after being beheaded by Uzui - Gyutaro, Daki's older brother and the other form of Upper Six. Uzui must now face both demons, Daki and Gyutaro.
- 11
To pass Final Selection, one must survive for seven days on Mt. Fujikasane where demons captured by the Demon Slayers have been imprisoned. So begins the battle for survival between the young swordsmen and the demons. Armed with the breathing techniques and stances he'd learned from Sakonji Urokodaki, Tanjiro slashes demon after demon. His two years of training have not gone to waste. But just then, a morphed demon appears out of nowhere.
- 12
Something More Important Than Life
Every time Kyogai, the master of house, plays his tsuzumi, the room spins and Tanjiro struggles. Debilitated by the fractured bones he sustained in his previous battle, Tanjiro tries to fire himself up as he desperately fights on, but he is overwhelmed by Kyogai's Blood Demon Art. Will he find a way to slice off Kyogai's head?
- 13
Enraged by Daki's contempt for human life, Tanjiro attacks her with more intensity and gradually corners the demon. But he's already gone past his physical limit. As Tanjiro collapses and all seems lost again, Nezuko appears. A vicious battle ensues and Nezuko starts transforming into a more demon-like form...
- 14
A Connected Bond: Daybreak and First Light
Tanjiro continues the fight against Hantengu. Amidst all his injuries and the Superior Four's skill, will he be able to defeat him? As the battle draws to a close, the Demon Slayer Squad must race against time to end the fight before dawn.
- 15
The Demon Slayer Corps... An organization that's been hunting down demons since ancient times. Sakonji Urokodaki starts training Tanjiro for Final Selection, the test for joining the unit. Navigating a mountain riddled with booby traps, dry sword swings, waterfall immersion and breathing techniques... A year later, Urokodaki informs Tanjiro that he has nothing more to teach him, and gives him one last hurdle to overcome in front of a giant boulder.
- 16
It was two demons named Tamayo and Yushiro who came to Tanjiro’s rescue. Using the “Eyeblind” spell, Tamayo guides Tanjiro and Nezuko to her house. There, through his conversation with Tamayo, Tanjiro learns that there is a way to return demons to human form. Just then, two demons in pursuit of Tanjiro locate the house and unleash a furious assault...
- 17
Tanjiro’s crisis continues. He uses multiple forms of the Water Breathing technique to hold out against Yahaba’s final Blood Demon Art, the "Kouketsu Arrow." Meanwhile, Nezuko and Susamaru are still battling it out. Worried about the outcome, Tamayo unleashes her own Blood Demon Art.
- 18
Tanjiro and Inosuke battle the Demon Slayers trapped by spider webs. After slashing the threads and destroying the webs, they head deeper into the mountain. The farther they advance through the forest, the thicker the threads become, and those under their control start moving in ways impossible for a human being. Stopping the Demon Slayers without hurting them isn't going to be easy, but then Tanjiro makes a certain move...
- 19
When Rui assaults him with his Blood Demon Art, Tanjiro braces himself for certain death. As his life flashes before his eyes, he suddenly remembers his father's dance, the kagura, and unleashes a new, non-Water Breathing attack. Hinokami Kagura Dance. Knowing that he’ll be receiving a simultaneous blow from the demon, he uses his new move to slice off Rui’s head. As Tanjiro crawls towards Nezuko, who lies on the ground, riddled with wounds, someone appears before him.
- 20
Seeing Tanjiro try to protect Nezuko even as he collapses triggers memories of Rui’s own past. Once a sickly boy, he became a demon after meeting Muzan Kibutsuji who gave him a share of his blood. But after he turns into a demon, his own parents try to kill him. Ever since then, he has been searching for a family. Seeking a bond that he can never hope to acquire...
- 21
After waking up from his dream by cutting his own neck, Tanjiro battles Enmu, who is the source of all the turmoil on the train. Enmu appears to be getting pleasure from inflicting pain on the passengers, which only infuriates Tanjiro even more. Tanjiro succeeds in severing Enmu's head, only to discover that Enmu's body is fused with the Mugen Train itself. Tanjiro is backed into a corner, but a freshly-awakened Inosuke comes to assist him and...
- 22
It is the Taisho Period (i.e. 1912-1926). Tanjiro Kamado is living a modest but blissful life in the mountains with his family. One day, when he returns from selling charcoal in town, he finds the remains of his slaughtered family in pools of blood after a demon attack. Tanjiro rushes down the snowy mountain with the sole survivor, his sister Nezuko, on his back. But on the way, Nezuko suddenly snarls, turning on Tanjiro.
- 23
Swordsman Accompanying a Demon
Tanjiro is now clad in the uniform of the Demon Slayer Corps. His Nichirin Sword on his hip, and Nezuko, now awake, in a special box made by Urokodaki on his back, he heads out for his first assignment. A town to the northwest where girls have been vanishing nightly. There, Tanjiro meets Kazumi, haggard with worry after his girlfriend's been abducted. Though he does catch the scent of a demon nearby, there's just no demon in sight. Tanjiro is sure that a demon is behind this sinister incident...
- 24
Now split into three, the demons have driven Tanjiro into a corner. It is then that Nezuko attacks. Now that she’s become a demon herself, she’s no longer so weak that she needs protection. His mind made up, Tanjiro follows one of the demons into the swamp now spreading across the ground. Waiting for him there is...
- 25
Their next destination is to the north-northwest. Tanjiro and Nezuko head towards Mount Natagumo with Zenitsu and Inosuke. This mountain is covered with spider webs and is swarming with innumerable spiders. Leaving the cowering Zenitsu behind, Tanjiro and Inosuke head up the mountain where they run into fellow Demon Slayers entangled in spider webs.
