After success in the manga space, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba made its anime debut on April 6th, 2019 and took the entire world by storm. It was highly regarded for it's absolutely beautiful animation, engaging story and compelling characters that audiences love to follow. Not to mention, the world is incredibly expansive and interesting.
Throughout its current three-season run (with a fourth coming soon), there have been numerous episodes that were praised highly and stand out above the others. But aside from said episodes, there's still, maybe even more, less talked about episodes that have quality up to par with or even better than the more popular ones. With a series, especially in the anime realm, not every high-quality episode can break the internet or continue to be talked about long after they air. Because of this, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba has a great collection of underrated episodes for fans to look back on.
Demon Slayer
TV-MA
Anime
Action
Adventure
- Release Date
- January 21, 2021
- Cast
- Natsuki Hanae , Zach Aguilar , Abby Trott , Yosh*tsugu Matsuoka
- Main Genre
- Anime
- Seasons
- 4
10 "Deep Sleep"
Season 2, Episode 2
The events of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Movie: Mugen Train were actually turned into the first seven episodes of the show's second season. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Season 2, Episode 2, "Deep Sleep" covers the opening of the theatrical film, in which the main cast meet up with Flame Hashira Rengoku aboard the Mugen Train and are all thrown into a deep sleep by the train's demon, Enmu.
The episodes of Season 2 that covered the events of the Mugen Train were not very well received by fans who had already seen the movie, but the fact that the events of the episode are also part of the film aside, the second episode of the season kicks the story off to a great start. After being introduced to the Hashiras at the end of the first season, getting to see the crew meet and team up with one was a special experience, to say the least, and provides one of the more exciting story arc setups in the series.
9 "Hashira Meeting"
Season 1, Episode 23
Tanjiro and Nezuko have been placed before the Hashira, finally meeting Ubuyashiki, the head of the Hashira. The Wind Hashira draws his own blood in hopes of tempting Nezuko enough to draw out her true demon form and kill her. Tanjiro must stand up for him and his sister, as the Hashira disagree with Ubuyashiki's desire to let Tanjiro and Nezuko join and serve the Demon Slayer Corps.
For an episode with little action, it manages to be incredibly tense on an emotional level. With most of the Hashira seemingly wanting to kill Nezuko, Tanjiro has to fight for her to stay alive and prove her innocence in hopes they don't murder her. The episode also serves as a huge moment for the series, as it opens up the world and makes it bigger on every level. The top players of the Demon Slayer Corps have been revealed and now, the head of the Hashira has finally made his appearance.This episode marked a huge moment for the series as it set the cast on the path towards the rest of the show.
8 "Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui"
Season 2, Episode 8
After the heartbreaking death of Flame Hashira Rengoku in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Movie: Mugen Train, Tanjiro heads to the Rengoku house to deliver Hashira's last message to his family. 4 months later, Tarnjiro, Nezuko, Zenitsu and Inosuke are tasked with a mission to head to the Entertainment District with the Sound Hashira, Tengen Uzui.
While this episode serves as mostly falling action from the last story arc and setup for the next story arc, this episode is packed to the brim with emotion and enhances the events of the Mugen Train even more so. When Tanjiro visits the Rengoku residence, he finds the Flame Hashira's family and is shocked to find Rengoku's father, Shinjuro, insulting his late son. This serves as a total contrast to when Tanjiro informs the younger Rengoku brother, Senjuro, of his brother's death, as he simply dropped to the floor and sobbed. It's a heartbreaking wrap up to the film and is very emotionally compelling.
7 "Mount Natagumo"
Season 1, Episode 15
Tanjiro, Nezuko, Zenitsu and Inosuke head to Mount Natagumo in the northeast, only to find it completely covered in spider webs and spiders. Tanjiro, Nezuko and Inosuke head up the mountain, getting separated from Zenitsu. Things get real when the three heading up the mountain discover two web-controlling demons are behind the mountain infestation.
Despite not getting to any crazy action just yet, this episode stands out as an incredibly creepy one that does a wonderful job setting up the demons the young demon slayers will have to soon face. For arachnophobes, the episode is freaky enough with the mountain's infestation of spiders, but the two demons revealed to be behind it are just as creepy. The use of threading by the demons is threatening and visually unique compared to threats across the rest of the series. This episode also features a great moment that shows off what Inosuke's Beast Breathing is capable of when he uses it to locate where on the mountain the main demon controlling the webbing is.
6 "Tsuguko, Kanao Tsuyuri"
Season 1, Episode 25
As Tanjiro and his friends Zenitsu and Inosuke lie in rehabilitation for their injuries, each of the boys must train through their own personal plight. Primarily, Tanjiro struggles to maintain his Total Concentration Breathing for an entire day in hopes of achieving Total Concentration Constant. Meanwhile, Kanao thinks back on her troubling origins.
Initially, after the crazy events of episodes prior, episodes 23-25 were considered slow. But the slower pacing actually works in favor of this episode as it is completely necessary for the story. The slower pacing both makes Tanjiro's journey feel more earned and like, well, an actual journey. It also supplements Kanao's origin flashback by letting the audience really sit on the heavy topics within her backstory. Subjects like abuse and mental health are not to be glossed over and, thankfully, this episode's pacing allows the audience to really understand and process what they're seeing.
5 "Swordsman Accompanying A Demon"
Season 1, Episode 6
After finishing the first story arc of the first season, Tanjiro is officially a uniform-clad member of the Demon Slayer Corps and is sent out on his first assignment to a village where girls have been disappearing every night. He and Nezuko come across a Swamp Demon who has been kidnapping girls by turning the ground into swamp water.
What makes this episode so special is that it serves as Tanjiro's first real outing as a Demon Slayer Corps member, giving him the chance to finally use his new skills out in the world. Audiences get to finally see Tanjiro's Water Breathing forms at work out in the wild, and it results in a thrilling action sequence in which Nezuko herself uses her demon strength to intervene in a battle for the first time. There are a lot of firsts in this episode, and they're executed in an excellent manner.
4 "My Own Steel"
Season 1, Episode 5
Tanjiro faces and defeats the Hand Demon that had killed most of the applicants for the Demon Slayer Corps and upon making it to the seventh day, Tanjiro realizes that there are only three other swordsmen left besides him. After being issued a Demon Slayer Corps uniform, Tanjiro receives his blade, which mysteriously turns black.
This episode serves as the grand finale to the first big story arc of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba and that's no exaggeration. Tanjiro's battle with the Hand Demon is thrilling and not only helps prove to the characters having to do with the Final Selection that Tanjiro has what it takes to be a Demon Slayer, but to the audience as well. Had a viewer held any doubt that Tanjiro could not perform up to snuff with the rest of the Demon Slayers, they wouldn't hold that doubt after seeing his well executed and beautifully animated fight.
3 "The Boar Bares Its Fangs, Zenitsu Sleeps"
Season 1, Episode 12
As Tanjiro and Zenitsu get separated inside the mysterious mansion, they discover that its rooms have the ability to rotate. When Zenitsu is left with the responsibility of protecting a young boy named Shoichi, he becomes overwhelmed with fear of being on his own.
It's quite surprising how little this episode as a whole is talked about, given that the climax of the episode features what is known as one of the greatest scenes in the entire series. When Zenitsu becomes so overcome with fear that he is put to sleep, only for Shoichi to realize that when Zenitsu sleeps, he fights like a master swordsman, revealing his Thunder Breathing. While the moment is highly discussed, the episode that leads up to it is not. Many see this episode as more of a filler one, but this episode is pretty essential for the character growth of Zenitsu, who many believed would be the downfall of the series upon his introduction. It finally showed the audience that when it comes down to the wire, Zenitsu can fend for himself quite well.
2 "Thank You, Tokito"
Season 3, Episode 4
After making the choice to turn around and protect Kotetsu, Muichiro finally kills the Goldfish Demon... only to find the Goldfish Demon multiplying. Alone, Tanjiro continues to battle with the merciless Joy Demon. Because the episode following this one, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Season 3, Episode 5, "Bright Red Sword", is one of the most critically acclaimed episodes of the entire series, this episode got quickly swept under the rug the week after its release.
But regardless of this lack of attention, the episode is absolutely incredible on so many levels. Mist Hashira Muichiro finally gets his time to shine and kick butt as he faces off against the Goldfish Demon and the breathtaking visuals that come with his breathing form make this fight not just exciting, but downright beautiful as well.
1 "Awful Villain"
Season 3, Episode 7
Just when he thinks he's going to be able to finally kill the Fifth Demon, Tanjiro is sidelined when a new demon named Zohakuten, a combination of all four Emotion Demons into one, attacks him. After he calls Tanjiro and his comrades "awful villains" for attempting to kill the Fifth Demon, Tanjiro decides to face Zohakuten, filled with rage.
There are so many good things to write home about in Season 3 of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, making it difficult to give proper recognition to every stellar episode. This episode is a huge one for the season, bringing the big bad demon to the peak of his power. The fight that follows, features a crazy appearance of five wooden dragons summoned by Zohakuten that Tanjiro must face to get to the demon. As if things couldn't get more engaging, Muichiro's battle with Gyokko continues to deliver great spectacle.
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