Kimetsu no Yaiba, or Demon Slayer, is famous for demons that are infamously cruel and swordsmen who are unflinchingly brave in the toughest times. The third season of Demon Slayer dropped its fifth episode on Netflix, and the Swordsmith Village arc is at a very exciting point right now. Two Upper Moon demons, Gyokko and Hantengu, have attacked the village, and it’s up to two Hashiras and three young kids to fight the monsters off. Right off the bat, the episode’s fighting animation deserves a special mention because of how stunning it looks, and Ufotable deserves all the validation for this creation. Here’s what happens in the fifth episode of Demon Slayer.
Spoilers Ahead
Tokito’s Sacrifice
The fifth episode of Demon Slayer begins with Mist Hashira Muichiro Tokito running with young Kotestu on his back on his way to save the swordsmith Kanamori. Tokito slices the fish demon that was attacking Kanamori with ease, and the grateful swordsmith swears he’ll give the Hashira the new sword Kanamori has forged for Tokito. They spot the hut where Kanamori had left the sword, but Tokito stops the other two from progressing any further because he spots the presence of a demon, and soon enough, a vase rolls out. From the ceramic pot, Gyokko sprouts and demonstrates how it has tortured its victims, calling it his “creation.” From another vase, Gyokko reveals the mangled bodies of five smiths who’ve been wrapped together with a sword running through their bodies. As the monstrous demon twists a blade, the unified cries of agony of the smiths make young Kotestu break down in tears. Angered at the demon’s cruelty, Tokito rushes to slice its head, but it quickly teleports to a different vase.
Gyokko once again sprouts from the new vase and is about to start explaining his abilities when Tokito slices the vase, but the demon has teleported to another within a fraction of a second. Irritated, it unleashes another blood demon art of two fish spitting poisoned needles, and although Tokito dodges the first volley, he throws himself before Kotetsu and Kanamori to protect them from the second and is struck by several needles in the process. Just then, Tokito remembers an entity who’d called his life worthless, and he’s reminded of being young and being in a room where the front door was open. It was severely hot that night, and he could hear the cicadas. Tokito is brought back to reality and attempts to cut Gyokko’s head off, but it whips out another vase to release its second blood demon art: a water prison pot where Tokito is trapped inside a cage of water. Gyokko celebrates because the Hashira will suffocate and die inside the water while failing to use his breathing techniques inside. Tokito realizes he’s trapped as the demon continues cackling, and Mist Hashira’s fate remains unknown for the rest of the episode.
The Love Hashira Arrives
Meanwhile, the fish demons unleashed by Gyokko are wreaking havoc inside the village, and the smiths are quickly falling under the demons’ blade-like claws. When all hope seems lost, Love Hashira, Mitsuri Kanroji sprints into action and makes quick work of all the demons before moving on to the village chief’s quarters. At Chief Tecchin’s quarters, all the demon slayers assigned by the corps have been killed by a monstrous fish demon which has four vases on its back instead of one. It’s holding Tecchin in one arm and another smith in the other while fighting an underling of the chief, but the latter is no match for this monstrosity. Just as the demon is about to close in on the terrified victim, Kanroji arrives between the two and goes to work. With graceful movement and spinning sword moves, Kanroji dispatches the demon with the first breathing form of her Love Breathing Technique. With Tecchin saved, the village has hopes for its survival yet, as the underling marvels at Kanroji’s special whip-like sword.
Hinokami Kagura
Tanjiro is awakened by a putrid smell and finds himself being carried away by his sister Nezuko as the three clones of the Hantengu demon—Sekido, Karaku, and Urogi—try to chase them down. Sekido uses his Khakkhara to send lightning bolts, one of which ends up paralyzing Nezuko and Tanjiro, although the brother is able to get up. He starts fleeing with his sister on his back as fan demon Karaku starts waving his fan at the two. While running down a long corridor, Karaku’s fan attack sends the siblings flying through the building, but Nezuko grabs her brother’s sword while being thrown. Nezuko is trapped under the building debris, but she won’t let go of Tanjiro’s blade, despite repeated pleas from her brother, as the three demons look for the siblings. As Nezuko’s hands start bleeding profusely from the blade, Tanjiro notices the blade turning red because of Nezuko’s blood demon art, the Exploding Blood Blade.
Tanjiro sees the inherited memory of the samurai he’d seen with red hair and wearing hanafuda earrings, and Tanjiro’s ancestor notices that the swordsman’s blade would also turn red when he fought. With his improved weapon, Tanjiro remembers all the sacrifices others have made so that Tanjiro may keep living, and he’s reminded of Rengoku, Giyuu, Urokodaki, and his friends Inosuke and Zenitsu. As they join hands to help him, Tanjiro stands before the three clones, does the Hinokami Kagura breathing, and snakes through the three demons, slicing off each of their heads in one go. As the three demons are simultaneously beheaded, Tanjiro thinks back to how he’d performed the same maneuver to behead Gyuutaro under severe conditions.
What Happens When Tanjiro Meets Genya?
Tanjiro knows that he needs to slice the demons’ heads off, all four at once, if he’s to have any hopes of eliminating them all. While looking for the fourth demon, Aizetsu, he notices Genya has impaled the demon to a tree and removed its head, with its jaw missing. Tanjiro is happy to see the demon taken down and is about to congratulate Genya when he notices his eyes turning black and the boy foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog.
The signs that Tanjiro sees on Genya are of demonification, or when a human undergoes the process of becoming a demon. But only the Upper Moons and Kibutsuji Muzan have the power to turn a human into a demon, so did Aizetsu change Genya? For those who’ve read the manga, it’s clear what has happened to the younger Shinazugawa, but it can be said for certain that Genya is behaving like a demon at this moment. How this happened and what becomes of Genya will be revealed the following week as Demon Slayer returns for its sixth episode.
