The following contains spoilers for Demon Slayer Season 3, Episode 5, "Bright Red Sword", now streaming on Crunchyroll.
With the series fully established at this point, the third season of Demon Slayer charges ahead with more breathtaking action sequences and stunning animation! Feeling content that everyone watching is comfortable with the concept, the series has largely finished the world-building and has delivered one breathtaking adrenalin rush after another. With this episode, we get one of the most stunning battles in the series to date, as well as a true sense that there is no respite in sight for the slayers.
What’s more, this episode finally gives Nezuko something of true substance to do. Her character has not been a great one. While the series has hinged on Tanjiro’s desire to cure his sister of the demon curse that hovers above her, Nezuko herself is usually stuck in a box, coming out occasionally to help our heroes in small ways. In the previous season we see what happens if pushed to her limit, and this episode explores that aspect even more.
Newfound Purpose
The previous episode ended with multiple demon slayers battling a fish demon. The episode ended with the demon’s head severed (something that has been key to permanently killing demons thus far) but are in for a shock when the demon not only doesn’t die but actually regenerates. This is when Tokito notices that the demon has a vase strapped to its back, and realizes that through this the demon is performing a blood demon art. If they are to defeat the demon they are going to have to destroy the vase.
The battle ends with the demon escaping, yet Kotestu is grateful to Tokito for saving his life. Still, he needs more help and begs the two to help Kanroji and Haganezuka. Tokito isn’t particularly interested in helping, however he is reminded of the vows and values of the corps, and eventually agrees to help them…after he gets a little rest for himself after the difficult battle he just managed to barely survive. During his rest he has visions of the corps and their purpose in life, causing him to wake up with newfound purpose.
Two Heads Are Worse Than One
Meanwhile, Tanjiro’s fight with the winged demon Urogi continues. When Urogi charges at Tanjiro with his claws out, Tanjiro dodges and manages to cut the demon in two. This becomes a problem though, as instead of dying Urogi grows two heads. Though Tanjiro is at first fearful that he made a mistake, he realizes that while Urogi’s power dismisses every time he splits himself in half. So while he may have to deal with two Urogi’s now, they are at half the power, which should (in theory) make the battle a little easier.
What could complicate the fight is the fact that Nezuko and Genya are still in trouble, which causes Tanjiro to flee the battle. Briefly stunned but undeterred, both halves of Urogi give chase. This leads to an exhilarating fight with Tanjiro and the two halves of Urogi. While Tanjiro battles Urogi, Nezuko is using her demon powers to battle Genya the Gunman. While Nezuko can hold her own against Genya, the longer she battles, the more at risk she is of completely being consumed by her demon form. With this factor taken into account, it becomes a fight against the clock as Tanjiro needs to defeat Urogi and help Nezuko, before it is too late for her.
This latest episode of Demon Slayer continues the epic battle from the previous episode and ranks the danger up a few more knots. It’s always a mixed blessing to see Nezuko participate in battles. On one hand, her demon powers gives her moves and attacks that the Slayers themselves do not have, and thus it is exciting to watch. On the other hand, when she uses her power there is the possibility of her turning completely into a demon, thus losing the ability to ever become human again. Of course, it’s unlikely the creators would bring her to this point before the series is over. They’ll likely want to keep that tension going until the final episode (whenever that is).
That being said, they are doing a great job of keeping that tension high while delivering the great action sequences that were sorely missed at the beginning of the season. Chances are next week’s episode will feature a bit of a breather for our characters (too much action can also be a bad thing), but at least for the previous two episodes the blood was pumping and there were several scenes that would make even the calmest Demon Slayer fan jump out of their seats and cheer!