Demon Slayer Season 3: What to Know About the Swordsmith Village Arc (2023)

This article contains spoilers from the Demon Slayer manga.

Now that Demon Slayer has slashed its way through two seasons, the trailer for season 3 is giving us a preview of some pretty sick moves and even sicker demons.

Gotoge Koyoharu’s manga, which was adapted by Ufotable, has already leapt off the page and into fantastic swordfighting action that will only level up as more demons are unleashed. The Swordsmith Village arc that will be featured this season isn’t nearly as tame as it sounds. This village is teeming with demons, and not just any demons, but the dreaded Twelve Kizuki that make up the upper ranks of Kibutsuji’s army. If it is anything like the manga, it will also be the season Inosuke shows more of his actual face than ever.

Season 3 premieres on Crunchyroll April 9. Grab your sword and get ready to face off against some terrifying forces of evil.

Will Tanjiro Be the Central Character?

If the manga is any indication, the Swordsmith Village arc does not have a character spotlight. This is a deviation from seasons 1 and 2, though there is no questioning that Tanjiro will always be the protagonist. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the focus will exclusively stay on him—or Zenitsu, Inosuke and Nezuko.

Next to Tanjiro, season 2, the Mugen Train arc, focuses heavily on Kyojuro Rengoku, the Flame Hashira. Rengoku’s lethal battle against the demon Akaza puts out a bright flame, but there will be echoes of his presence in Season 3. Most of the other Hashira still remain shrouded in mystery after the end of the Mugen Train arc. The only others who we meet in seasons 1 and 2 are Giyu Tomioka, the Water Hashira, who trains Tanjiro in Water Breathing and Shinobu Kochu, the Insect Hashira who allows Tanjiro and his friends to recover from battle at the Butterfly Estate. It is almost as if the others are too godlike to touch. This won’t be the case in season 3.

Many new characters will try to ward off demons with Tanjiro in season 3, including several masked swordsmiths along with Muichiro Tokito, the Mist Hashira, and Mitsuri Kanroji, the Love Hashira. These two are not entirely what they seem to be at Tanjiro’s trial. Tokito may still come off as cynical, but his small frame is deceptive when it comes to strength. Mitsuri is also stronger than she appears. Despite her pink hair and schoolgirl skirt, she is not another mahou shoujo stereotype. Both these Hashira display extraordinary power in the manga. You will probably also see a depth of character in them that wasn’t obvious at first glance.

Will Anything from the Red Light District Arc Show Up?

Much of what happens in the Red Light District arc is contained in that arc, so it is understandable why it was cut from the anime series, even though it introduces the Sound Hashira, Tengen Uzui. That doesn’t necessarily mean its most important aspects will not appear in some other way.

The most significant thing about this arc is that Gyutaro, the demon who is finally defeated, is the first of the 12 Kizuki to be killed in a hundred and thirteen years. He was also one of the strongest at the rank of Upper Moon 6. This triggers a gathering of the Upper Moons at the Dimensional Infinity Fortress in the very beginning of the Swordsmith Village arc. Maybe there will be a flashback type of scene that shows exactly how he was taken down. This makes sense because the fight against him is unlike any demon fight that we have seen in the manga or anime so far, since any of the 12 Kizuki, especially Upper Moons, are an entirely different beast from ordinary demons.

Gyutaro is far more difficult to kill for certain supernatural reasons. His death also shakes Kibutsuji’s elite band of demons to their rotten cores, and a flashback of his downfall would explain why they are all so nervous despite their powers.

Speaking of Kibutsuji, something he reveals towards the end of the Red Light District arc has an enormous significance that reaches far beyond the next arc. Maybe the demon king will hiss his secret this season. There is a possibility for that revelation to make its way into the Dimensional Infinity Fortress scene, but it could also be held back during this season since it is mentioned again in the Hashira Training arc that follows. Whether that arc will be featured in its entirety, or at all, in season 4 is still unknown.

There are a few other things that happen in the Swordsmith Village arc which continue to unravel afterward, so it will be interesting to see whether they make it into season 3 or are just teased to build up suspense for season 4.

How Will Tanjiro’s Powers Develop?

Demon slayers tend to use mostly one type of Breathing for their battle moves. Tanjiro starts out learning Water Breathing and is further trained in it by Giyu, but we later find out that fire is in his blood. Though he only vaguely remembers it, he has memories of his father practicing the mysterious Dance of the Fire God, which explains why he combines Fire Breathing with Water Breathing in the Mugen Train arc. Expect to see more fire along with water in season 3. Merging the two creates some intense moves, and seeing Tanjiro off the page and in motion will only up the intensity. The trailer gives a tantalizing glimpse at that.

It is an aftereffect of Water Breathing which actually sends Tanjiro to the Swordsmith Village. A sword is only as strong as the swordsman who wields it and the strength of their techniques. Because of this, the blade can chip and possibly break from weaknesses. Tanjiro’s inborn strength is Fire Breathing. Because he is unaware of his fire powers when he starts his training, he has to work especially hard at Water Breathing, because it doesn’t come as naturally. The weaknesses in his Water Breathing technique cause dents and chips on his blade. While Tanjiro is a formidable enough opponent using Water Breathing, he only strengthens it with Fire Breathing. Whether his shiny new sword will dent the same way remains to be seen.

That Tanjiro will continue to grow stronger is inevitable. Remember that, despite all the ghoulish creatures he has had to fight, this kid is barely sixteen at the beginning of the Swordsmith Village Arc, so he still has much ahead of him. Spoiler alert: there is connection with his birthmark and an increase in strength, and he isn’t the only demon slayer something like this affects.

How Much Worse Will the Demons get?

With Upper Moon 6 dead, and five higher-ranking upper moons left, the enemies Tanjiro and the other demon slayers will have to face in season 3 are going to be absolute monsters. These abominations are far worse than the demon whose face keeps materializing in different places. They are even worse than the entire family of spider demons who thought they could entangle slayers in their web and eat them later.

Some of the demons look exactly like the nightmare fuel you would expect them to be. To think, however vile some of the Upper Moons are, they are not even the most powerful there. What is really ironic is that the strongest demon haunting the village is nothing anyone would expect. He neither looks nor fights like the demonic entity of incredible power he is supposed to be, but he pulls off sorcery that is even more surprising. These aren’t just illusions. They are creations of flesh and blood that lead to battle scenes which are already incredible in the manga, and if the trailer keeps its promises, we’re going to be in for some stunning animation.

Alright, So Who Dies?

Wherever there are demons, there is bloodshed. That is all I’m going to say about that for now.

Demon Slayer season 3 premieres Sunday, April 9 on Crunchyroll.

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Tags: AnimeCrunchyrollDemon Slayer

ElizabethRayne is a she-writer, poet, and aspiring novelist who is owned by a parrot. When not writing, she can most likely be found cosplaying as a…