Demon Slayer Episode 26

Demon Slayer Episode 26

New Mission

Are you aware of how big One Piece chapter 957 was this week? Because Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba episode 26 is essentially the same thing for this series. I wasn’t expecting the final episode of the season to be anything crazy, so it’s safe to say I was pleasantly surprised by all the new information we got.

So I hope you’re ready for a long article today. We have a lot to cover, including the demon ranks, upgraded blood demon arts, Kibutsuji’s abilities, Kanao being Kanao, and information on the next arc of the series. I think it’s safe to say this was the biggest episode of the season.

That’s right, I’m saying this episode is bigger than when Nezuko awakened her blood demon art and Tanjirou used the Fire Breathing Technique. Sure, that was cool, but we still know very little about both of those things and haven’t seen them again since.

This episode further explains the world of Demon Slayer and shakes things up for the future of the series.

Demon Ranks Explained

Up until this point the demon ranks weren’t explained all that well. We knew Kibutsuji is at the top, the Twelve Demon Moons came next, the Lower Five were part of this group, then Six Lower Moons came after the Twelve Demon Moons, and finally came everyone else.

We now know that the “Lower Five” Rui was a member of is actually referring to the Six Lower Moons. Each one is numbered one through six, with one most likely being the strongest. Rui was the fifth Lower Moon, so his title was Lower Five.

So now that it’s been confirmed that the Six Lower Moons are in fact members of the Twelve Demon Moons, we also know more about the other members. If there’s are six Lower ranks, there are also six Upper ranks, and this is confirmed by Kibutsuji himself.

Lower One Demon from the anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
Lower One Demon

However, although the Six Lower Moons were finally explained, they no longer exist. We learn about them via a flashback which takes us back six months, to right after Rui was defeated. Kibutsuji calls together the remaining five members of the Six Lower Moons to inform them he’s dismantling their group.

He then kills four of them for insulting him in various ways and Lower One is the last member standing. Kibutsuji then grants Lower One a hearty dose of his own blood and tells her that if she survives it her new mission will to be to prove herself by killing Tanjirou and the Hashira.

I should also point out that it’s unclear exactly what Lower One’s title is at this point. She still has “Lower One” written on her eye though.

Why Did Kibutsuji Dismantle the Lower Six Moons?

Let’s be honest, the Six Lower Moons are strong demons. Sure, they’re no match for high ranking demon slayers like the Hashira, but they’ve killed quite a few regular demon slayers. You would think that this would be enough to prove they’re worth keeping around, but Kibutsuji doesn’t agree.

To him, since the Six Lower Moons can’t even kill one measly Hashira, they’re useless. And this is an interesting development because what does that say about all the other demons? Kibutsuji is essentially saying there are only six demons he thinks deserve to live, the Six Upper Moons.

If this is the case, why even create all those other demons who are running around unorganized? You could say he was attempting to create strong demons and kept failing, but they still have a purpose, don’t they?

Demons without blood demon arts may even be on Kibutsuji’s radar, but from what we learned when we met our very first demon with a blood demon art, he was directly connected to Kibutsuji. He claimed that Kibutsuji was always watching which implies Kibutsuji has some sort of use for the random demons.

Basically what I’m getting at is that things here don’t quite add up. Kibutsuji sees the random, rankless demons as useful pawns, but not the Six Lower Moons who are stronger? I could understand dismantling their rank and taking away their privileged but his plan was to eradicate all of them.

Maybe this will all make more sense once we finally learn what exactly Kibutsuji’s end goal is.

Upgraded Blood Demon Arts

Fun fact, just this morning I was planning out some new post ideas focused around chakra natures in Naruto. One of those posts was on the topic of “upgraded” chakra natures. And then guess what happens. We potentially see an upgraded blood demon art in today’s episode of Demon Slayer.

Coincidence? Let me know in the comments.

But anyway, what exactly do I mean by upgraded blood demon arts? I mean multiple demons who have what amounts to the same blood demon art, but one significantly stronger than the other. You can think of it like different levels within the same blood demon art.

Remember our old friend the Taiko Demon who was a former member of the Six Lower Moons? When he played his instrument the rooms within his home would shift around. Well, this episode introduces us to a demon with a very similar ability.

This time around we have a demon playing a biwa instead of taiko drums. However, the real difference in their abilities isn’t the instrument they each play, but rather the scale of their power. The Taiko Demon could alter his home, but the Biwa Demon can alter a seemingly endless expanse of space.

I think the Biwa Demon also doesn’t just alter a vast space around her. If my assumption is correct, she actually creates the space she’s altering as well. That makes her blood demon art proficiency much greater than that of the Taiko Demon’s.

Also, it’s implied she’s not a member of the Twelve Demon Moons despite having this immense power.

Kibutsuji Muzan’s Abilities

The strongest demon around is undoubtedly Kibutsuji Muzan. We don’t actually know if he’s the original demon, but it’s fair to say that he’s been around for a very long time. He even mentions that the same six demons have made up the Six Upper Moons for the last century, implying he’s been around far longer.

And we can assume that over the centuries, or even millennia, Kibutsuji has acquired more and more power for himself. But up until this episode we haven’t actually seen him do much other than turn random people into demons with his blood. That alone doesn’t explain why he’s so feared by demon slayers and demons alike.

Kibutsuji Muzan's new appearance from the anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
Kibutsuji Muzan’s new appearance

So the first “new” ability Kibutsuji is revealed to have is shapeshifting (and body morphing which we’ve seen other demons use). Last time we saw him he looked like a man, but now he’s taken on the appearance of a woman. He likely did so because Tanjirou figured out who he was and lived to tell the tale.

It’s probable that the reason the demon slayers haven’t been able to track down Kibutsuji is simply because he can change his appearance at will. They can’t figure out what he really looks like, and most of them can’t sniff him out like Tanjirou can.

Along with shapeshifting, Kibutsuji can alter his “aura.” This means even the demons employed under him can’t recognize him. This also probably means Inosuke’s Beast Breathing radar ability wouldn’t work to pick him out from a crowd either.

And finally, he has some sort of teleportation or time-altering ability. We don’t know how this works, but he used it to capture and kill the Six Lower Moons member who attempted to flee.

Kanao Tsuyuri’s Heart

Alright, now I know Kanao isn’t as interesting as all the information we learned about the demons in this episode, but I still want to discuss her briefly. Obviously the big news here is that Kanao spoke to Tanjirou, but I actually remembered that this isn’t the first time she’s spoken.

Because she hasn’t said a word the entire time we’ve been in this recovery arc — and even in her flashback — I assumed she never spoke. But she actually did speak back when she captured Nezuko. She asked, “Are you Nezuko?”

Kanao also didn’t speak at the end of the Final Selection, so that’s the only other time she’s spoken until now.

As for why she spoke, it was decided for her by the coin she flips. Remember, Kanao doesn’t really have a will of her own — she’s basically a robot. She does as she’s ordered, and if she isn’t given orders, she flips her coin to determine what she should do.

But that’s all about to change. As any good shounen battle series protagonist would, Tanjirou doesn’t accept the fact that Kanao doesn’t have a will of her own. He takes her coin and flips it saying that if it lands on heads she has to stop relying on the coin and instead follow her heart.

Of course, even if it landed on tails he was just going to keep flipping it until it landed on heads.

Anyway, maybe Kanao will get some good character development going forward in the series. Though, I’m fairly certain that she won’t be playing a role in the next arc due to what we know about it. But who knows, maybe she’ll show up near the end.

Mugen Train Arc

I feel like I’m forgetting something pretty major that I wanted to discuss before this, but whatever, let’s move on to the next arc of the series. It’s revealed that the next arc is the Mugen Train Arc, and it’s already giving me some serious Rail Zeppelin (review coming eventually) vibes.

Also, it was revealed that this next arc won’t actually be a second season of the series, but instead a movie. And no, we don’t have a release date just yet. It was only mentioned that the movie has been greenlit.

But we do know a small amount about the contents of the movie (from the anime — I’m sure manga readers know it all). We know that Rengoku is going to be a major character and that Lower One seems to be the main antagonist.

Flame Hashira Kyoujurou Rengoku from the anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
Flame Hashira Kyoujurou Rengoku

I figured Rengoku was going to die before Tanjirou could ask him about the Fire Breathing Technique, but this seems to point to that not being the case. I figured he would die off-screen while on his mission, but since we’re going to be seeing this mission, now I’m not so sure.

He could still die during the course of this mission, but I find that to be less likely now. After all, Lower One isn’t a member of the Upper Six (obviously), and Rengoku will have Tanjirou, Zenitsu, and Inosuke as backup.

But there is one thing about this next arc I’m actually not looking forward to, and that’s the fact that it’s a movie. This isn’t always the case, but I often feel like anime series that transition into a movie for the next arc are never fully adapted.

Conclusion

What did you think of this final episode of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba? Did you like all the new information we got about the demons? Do you think Kibutsuji has the stand The World like DIO? And are you looking forward to the movie? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button ❤ down below and follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama. I’m not sure which series I’ll be doing weekly reviews of next season just yet, but you’ll find out over on Twitter. Also, come join us on Discord to discuss Demon Slayer and other anime.

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If you’re interested in a brief review of the series as a whole, it’s available here. And my review of the Mugen Train Arc is available now as well.

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