Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba - To The Swordsmith Village Ending Explained

Since 2019, when the first season dropped, "Demon Slayer" has emerged as one of the biggest anime around. Notably, the series was voted the best anime of the decade after releasing only a single season, and its first movie, "Demon Slayer: Mugen Train," took the top spot for highest-grossing Japanese film from the beloved Studio Ghibli fantasy tale, "Spirited Away."

If that weren't enough already, the Entertainment District Arc raised the stakes considerably, setting up our four main characters, along with Tengen Uzui (Katsuyuki Konishi/Ray Chase) and his three wives, in an all-out battle against Upper Moon Six, who turned out to be two siblings bonded inexorably together by their shared dark past. 

Now, with the first episode of "Demon Slayer" Season 3 premiering in theaters along with the final two episodes of Season 2, the next story in this epic dark fantasy saga is finally ready to begin. Has everyone recovered from the battle? What adventures await our heroes in The Swordsmith Village? And what will Muzan (Toshihiko Seki/Greg Chun) do when he finds out that one of his upper ranks has bitten the dust? 

These are some of the many questions we'll be slicing through as we explore the ending of "Demon Slayer: To the Swordsmith Village." Of course, being that the beginning of this new adventure comes packaged with two episodes from the previous arc, it's also worth diving into the lingering questions that fans were left with at the end of Season 2.

Now, naturally, before we get into the stunning new revelations of the Season 3 premiere of "Demon Slayer," there's an hour of revisited material that we need to go over. Obviously, anyone who watched the Entertainment District Arc will recall the blistering battle against Daki (Miyuki Sawashiro/Erica Lindbeck) and Gyutaro (Ryota Osaka/Brandon McInnis) that left an entire city district in smoldering ashes.

However, there are still some questions we're left with from the end of the arc. The most notable is Nezuko's (Akari Kito/Abby Trott) new purification power. While it could easily be misconstrued as a healing power, it's worth noting that her intervention with Tanjiro (Natsuki Hanae/Zach Aguilar), Inosuke (Yoshitsugu Matsuoka/Bryce Papenbrook), and Tengen didn't actually heal their wounds. This only purified their bodies of the demonic poison that would have absolutely killed them otherwise, in spite of their victory. 

How and why Nezuko manifested this new ability in "Demon Slayer" is one of the biggest mysteries that we got in the climax of the Entertainment District Arc, and it almost certainly has something to do with the strange dreams that Tanjiro is having about Nezuko. In his dreams, she's able to speak to him again, and she offers some supportive words before suddenly manifesting this power in the real world. 

What this suggests is that Tanjiro and Nezuko's bond is able to traverse between the waking world and their slumbering minds, suggesting that the two will be able to better understand one another in the future. Furthermore, this revelation also suggests that Tanjiro's dreams may have a special significance and might even be somewhat prophetic as the series continues.

With Nezuko out of the way, there are still a few other "Demon Slayer" mysteries that Season 2 left us with, and one of them is something we've been wondering about for a very long time. Chiefly, it comes down to Zenitsu's (Hiro Shimono/Aleks Le) sleeping power and how it takes over control of his body from time to time.

As anyone who watches "Demon Slayer" will know, Zenitsu is your classic cowardly character, a well-known staple of the shonen genre. However, what makes Zenitsu different is that there's a calm, almost otherworldly force that takes over his body occasionally, and this presence protects him any time things get too dire for him.

While we're unlikely to get any concrete answers on this during the next arc, as Zenitsu is off on his own, reluctantly leading a mission, this is still one of the biggest lingering questions that "Demon Slayer" fans will no doubt be wondering about. Still, there is one final mystery that Season 2 left us with, and that's The Hashira Master's (Toshiyuki Morikawa/Matthew Mercer) history with Muzan.

Hashira Master Kagaya Ubuyashiki says at the end of the Entertainment District Arc that the tide is turning and that he hopes that this will help to expunge the stain on his family's honor that Muzan has left. His emotional speech and triumphant joy suggest that he has a long-standing connection to Muzan and that Muzan may even be a family member. Alas, the answer to that mystery will also have to wait until Season 3 or beyond to reveal its answer to viewers.

Naturally, one of the biggest moments we get in "Demon Slayer: To the Swordsmith Village" is the meeting between the five remaining Upper Moons and Muzan in the Infinity Castle. This is also the moment that features Muzan's infamous speech about his hatred of change. While we've already met Muzan and Upper Three, Akaza (Akira Ishida/Lucien Dodge), this is our first look at the other Upper Moons who will be challenging the Demon Slayer Corps over the remainder of the series.

First up is the serpent-like Upper Five, Gyokku (Kosuke Toriumi/Brent Mukai). Confined to a pot and with teeth for eyes, he's probably the most disturbing looking of the Upper Moons. Next is the cowering, subservient Upper Four, Hantengu (Toshio Furukawa/Christopher Corey Smith), who certainly doesn't appear to be very menacing as of yet.

Next, we meet Upper Two, Doma (Mamoru Miyano/Stephen Fu). A strangely jolly fellow, his disposition suggests that he might be the most dangerous of the bunch until we meet the stoic and shadowy Upper One, Kokushibo (Ryotaro Okiayu/Jonah Scott) Finally, the crew is rounded out by a mysterious musician and Muzan's personal servant, Nakime (Marina Inoue/Amber Lee Connors).

Of course, the one that fans will be wondering about the most is Kokushibo. Being that he bears a strong resemblance to Tanjiro, his presence might be leaning into one of the oldest tropes in storytelling — a father vs. son battle — but it could also lead to the unraveling of a long-standing "Demon Slayer" mystery.

Though, according to the official story, Tanjiro's father is dead before the events of "Demon Slayer," the fact that Kokushibo also has many of the same distinct characteristics as our shonen protagonist absolutely, unequivocally cannot be a simple coincidence.

Not only does Kokushibo have Tanjiro's same dark red hair color; he even has a similarly colorful birthmark that covers part of his face, just like Tanjiro's. As if this weren't enough, he also wields a katana and is even seen wearing a similar kimono to Tanjiro's and, at one point, has the same type of earrings as well.

To be fair, "Demon Slayer: To the Swordsmith Village" isn't exactly subtle about this as they had the two seemingly meet in another of Tanjiro's strangely prophetic dreams. However, what is mysterious about this is that in the dream, they seem to already know each other and call one another by different names.

Naturally, with the shocking ending seeming to suggest that Kokushibo is hiding in the very village that Tanjiro is going to be staying in during this arc, the connection between the two will definitely be a central plot point that is going to be explored throughout the Swordsmith Village Arc. Furthermore, it's likely we'll finally get the full backstory of Tanjiro's father and how he died. This information could also help to explain why Tanjiro's family was attacked in the first place at the start of the series.

We'd be remiss, however, if we didn't explore the presence of the Hashira that are also in the vicinity of the Swordsmith Village in "Demon Slayer." From the heavy focus of the new opening title sequence, it looks like Mitsuri Kanroji (Kana Hanazawa/Kira Buckland), The Love Hashira, and Muichiro Tokito (Kengo Kawanishi/Griffin Burns), The Mist Hashira, are going to be backing up Tanjiro and Nezuko primarily for this arc.

While the Mist Hashira seems to be somewhat cold and uncaring, The Love Hashira, fitting to her title, is the polar opposite. She even admits to Tanjiro that she fought her way to becoming a top Hashira in hopes that she might find someone worthy of her love, and her focus seems to be on Tanjiro.

Not only is she incredibly flirty when she meets up with Tanjiro, but she also tells him a valuable secret: there's an unfathomably powerful weapon hidden somewhere in the village, and if Tanjiro can find it, it might change him forever. Immediately, Tanjiro and Nezuko set out to find it while they await the repair or reforging of Tanjiro's chipped sword.

Another interesting revelation is that Mitsuri can understand Nezuko. Being that she's the first character who we've seen have an open conversation with Nezuko in the real world, this could prove to be pivotal, especially if she does become a love interest for Tanjiro. This would also fill in a key gap in the story, as Tanjiro has yet to have any serious love interests thus far.

Still, there are other key characters we've been introduced to here. Genya Shinazugawa (Nobuhiko Okamoto/Zeno Robinson) is a member of the Demon Slayer Corps and happens to be the younger brother of the Wind Hashira, Sanemi Shinazugawa (Tomokazu Seki/Kaiji Tang). His presence in "Demon Slayer: To the Swordsmith Village" suggests that he will be pivotal during this arc as well.

Then there's the inexplicably missing Hotaru Haganezuka (Daisuke Namikawa/Robbie Daymond), the very swordsmith that Tanjiro was seeking out. Though Tanjiro was expecting to be met with the fickle swordsmith's wrath for damaging yet another of his blades, the character seems to have vanished altogether.

While Kotetsu (Ayumu Murase/Jeannie Tirado), the similarly wrathful village leader, seems to suggest that Hotaru has run away to avoid being punished for creating a faulty blade, it's possible that he's been kidnapped or has even been murdered, given the presence of Kokushibo in the village. These are plausible situations that could explain his absence.

In addition, it's worth noting that there's been a two-month time jump between the Entertainment District Arc and the Swordsmith Village Arc. This means that we could see other Upper Moons arriving at the village, as they all left the Infinity Castle for undisclosed locations following the deaths of Gyutaro and Daki and their subsequent meeting with Muzan.

This is still leaving out one of the primary protagonists of "Demon Slayer," however. Inosuke, who is compared to the notoriously meme-worthy and hilariously vicious honey badger by several characters in the first episode of Season 3, has been a pivotal character since the middle of Season 1. However, it's not exactly clear what's next for the beastly warrior as his destination is currently unknown.

The fiery Inosuke is last seen charging off after asking which direction "they went." While it's unclear who he's talking about, it's quite possible he's referring to Zenitsu and the members of the Demon Slayer Corps, who have gone off to a snowy locale to take on an undisclosed threat.

The constant clashing between Zenitsu and Inosuke, whether it be over Nezuko's affections or between their very different personality types, is a common source of humor for the series, and it seems unlikely that they'd abandon it now in favor of building up a third central plot.

At the moment, it's still unclear how much Inosuke and Zenitsu will figure into Season 3, though, as the series tends to follow Tanjiro primarily. With this in mind, it looks like things could go one of two ways: either Tanjiro and Nezuko will catch up with the duo at a later time, or the story will weave back and forth between the two separate missions, keeping all four central characters in the limelight.

Still, there are other key developments that were emphasized throughout "Demon Slayer: To the Swordsmith Village," like the upper-rank demon blood that Tanjiro collected from Gyutaro and sent off to Tamaya (Maaya Sakamoto/Laura Post) and what she might discover about the demons from being able to study such a powerful sample.

All of these matters and more will be slowly unfurled when the series begins airing Season 3 officially on Crunchyroll starting on April 9. Of course, the episode that will premiere on that date is the same one that viewers of "Demon Slayer: To the Swordsmith Village" have already seen as part of the special theatrical event.

All the same, manga readers expect the latest season of "Demon Slayer" to feature as many episodes as the previous arc, being that the number of chapters covered in the manga is roughly the same length as the Entertainment District Arc. Taking that into consideration, we're probably looking at 10 to 12 episodes for the Swordsmith Village Arc, a timeline that would see Season 3 wrapped up in mid to late June.

Finally, manga readers have been building up an insane amount of hype for the latest batch of episodes. Hopefully, this means "Demon Slayer" fans can strap in for a third season that will live up to the lofty expectations that were leveled by the insanely high benchmark of the battles and the high quality of the animation from the previous arc.