Demon Slayer is one of the most exciting animes to debut in 2019. After it's impressive debut season, many anime fans have begun to take notice of its qualities. Demon Slayer depicts the story of Tanjiro Kamada on his journey to rescue his younger sister, who was transformed into a demon by Muzan Kibusuji.
Demon Slayer has a fun and lovable cast of characters that are sure to keep any audience engaged throughout its 25 episode run. It combines smooth animation, solid storytelling and themes of hard work and friendship, making for a very well-executed final product. These are the hit anime's 10 best episodes, according to voters on IMDb.
10 AGAINST CORP RULES (8.9)
This episode is evenly divided into two parts. The first part of the episode presents the backstory of the demon, Rui. Rui was a sickly boy who was deeply loved by his family but, when presented with power by Muzan, he jumps at the opportunity. This turned him into a monster and his parents, regretting that they forced their son to seek strength in that way, tries to kill him in an act of mercy. An anxious Rui retaliates, killing them, but, as he lays dying, he begins to lament his decision.
The second half of the episode focuses on the fallout from the Demon Slayers' last mission. Tanjiro, Zenitsu and Inosuke are all incapacitated as Nezuko comes under attack from Shinobu Kocho. Fortunately, she is saved by Giyu, who manages to stall until an order to bring both Tanjiro and Nezuko to the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters was issued.
9 THE SMELL OF ENCHANTING BLOOD (8.9)
After Muzan transforms random civilians into a demon, Tanjiro manages to quickly subdue the man before he can start hurting the innocent civilians. As Tanjiro holds the man down, he gets angrier at the fact that Muzan had no regard for the man's life.
He pleads for help so that he might be able to save Muzan's victim and an unexpected ally swoops in to help. As Tanjiro receives help from Tamayo and Yushiro, Muzan sends some of his demons to put an end to Tanjiro and Nezuko.
8 LETTING SOMEONE ELSE GO FIRST (9.0)
Inosuke uses his beast breathing techniques to pinpoint the location of the enemy and then he and Tanjiro rushes to the demon's location. In the meantime, a lost Zenitsu wonders through the forest in a panic, as he searches for Nezuko.
Through the use of spiderweb-like strings, the enemy fought using the corpses of the fallen Demon Slayers. Tanjiro can't bring himself to harm them and pleads with Inosuke to avoid dealing fatal damage. The episode ends on Tanjiro defeating one of the spider demons.
7 PRETEND FAMILY (9.0)
As it is revealed that his slash failed to finish off the demon, Rui, Tanjiro begins to panick, as his body no longer has enough strength to protect Nezuko. Rui ensnares Tanjiro in his strings and, as he is about to finish him off, Tomioka steps in. Using his exceptional skills, Tomioka quickly dispatches the demon.
Surprisingly, the origins of Rui's pretend family are revealed as the episode continues. Rui assembled a family in order to gain a feeling of protection; one he believes he never received from his parents while he was a human. Due to his immense strength, Rui was never able to find someone who could truly protect him. Instead, he slowly turned into a possessive maniac.
6 FINAL SELECTION (9.0)
After several attempts, Tanjiro finally manages to defeat the ghost disciples of his master, though he did not even realize they were ghosts. This means he's finally ready to take on the Final Selection exam.
In a rather emotional moment, his master, Sakonji, congratulates him for growing strong and wishes him well on the exam. Tanjiro arrives at the Final Selection and, after it begins, he's hunted down by an obsessive demon, who is intent on killing all of Sakonji's pupils. Tanjiro uses all the skills he's built up in this fight and the episode climaxes on him cutting off the demon's head.
5 MUZAN KIBUTSUJI (9.0)
This episode pits Tanjiro and Nezuko against the swamp demon. Through clever use of its abilities, the swamp demon is temporarily able to gain an advantage against the siblings. Eventually, the siblings defeat the demon and Tanjiro begins to question it about Muzan Kibutsuji, but the demon is too afraid to say anything.
Towards the latter stages of the episode, Tanjiro's nose picks up a horrible scent. He tracks it down and it leads him to Muzan Kibutsuji, the first demon.
4 NEW MISSION (9.2)
The season finale of demon hunter does an incredible job at closing out the season. It begins with Muzan eliminating the Lower Moons of the 12 Demon Moons. He believes them to be weak and incapable of aiding in his plan and, as such, he brutally murders all but one. This adds excitement as, with the enemy forces making preparations, the audience can tell that Tanjiro will soon have to be even stronger to defeat them.
As Tanjiro prepares to leave, he says his goodbyes and thank yous, and his time with Kanao was particularly touching. We end the season with Tanjiro, Inosuke, Zenitsu and Nezuko boarding a train with the Hashira Kyojuro, as Enmu lurks nefariously in the background.
3 YOU MUST MASTER A SINGLE THING (9.3)
As Tanjiro stands over the corpse of the spider demon, he laments his inability to save the fallen members of the Demon Slayer Corps. In another area of the forest, Zenitsu is carelessly wondering around and comes across a spider demon. Upon realizing this, he attempts to run away but fails.
The rest of the episode presents Zenitsu's origin story. This was particularly interesting to watch, as the audience gets to see him developing the thunder breathing technique which he eventually uses to defeat the spider demon. The episode also explains Zenitsu's deepest fears to further develop his character.
2 A FORGED BOND (9.3)
After noticing the struggles of his Demon Slayer's, Kagaya sends in the Water and Insect Pillars, Giyu Tomioka and Shinobo Kocho, to lend a hand. In the meantime, Tanjiro and Inosuke are struggling to combat the strength of the father spider demon. At another location in the forest, Zenitsu lays dying after being infected with the spider demons poison, and was eventually discovered afterwards by Shinobu.
Finding himself separated from Inosuke, Tanjiro worries about him, now that he has to fight alone. But he doesn't have much time to think as he's quickly confronted by an enraged Rui. The episode ends on Tomioka heroically saving Inosuke, from certain death.
1 HINOKAMI (9.9)
After moving in for the kill, Tangiro's sword is immediately broken by Rui's reinforced demon thread. As Tanjiro continues to struggle in battle, Rui turns his attention towards Nezuko and manages to ensnare her in his deadly thread. At this time, Zenitsu is receiving expert medical care from Shinobu, who quickly developed an antidote to suppress the poison flowing around in Zenitsu's system.
What follows is one of the most exciting fights in the series, as Tanjiro and Nezuko battle against Rui. In an emotional moment, the siblings draw upon their love for each other and the episode seemingly concludes with their victory. This episode was exceptional, with the siblings' bond helping them to a victory, playing perfectly into Demon Slayer's theme of family bonds.