Demon Slayer: What Happens in the Manga's Extended Finale?

Massive spoilers for Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba'sfinale below! Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba had one of the more surprising endings of recent Shueisha series because it seemingly came out of nowhere during the height of the anime's debut, but even more surprisingly was the final chapter of the series. Rather than focus on Tanjiro Kamado and how the others had lived their lives following the defeat of the demons, the final chapter of the series instead jumped generations into the future and followed the reincarnations of our favorites from the main series.

Unfortunately this meant the finale was a little unsatisfying because of the hard cut to these new characters in the final chapter. It left a lot of questions still needing to be answered, and while there was many implied through the reincarnations, there just wasn't enough of a conclusion for the main crew. With the release of the final volume of the series in Japan, series creator Koyoharu Gotouge extended the final chapter just a bit.

With this extended finale, we actually get to see some loops closed for our favorite characters that were left hanging in the main series. The extension to the finale focuses on adding new material to the final two pages of Chapter 204 of the series. As Tanjiro and Nezuko find their way back home, they actually get to see the spirits of their lost family around them for an extra bit of emotional catharsis.

Tanjiro has a moment of reflection as he thanks all of those who helped them get to their happy ending, and they clean their old home alongside Inosuke and Zenitsu as seen through brief panels in the chapter. But the bigger difference is the finale every other survivor gets. Brief flashes of Giyu Tomioka, Sanemi Shinazugawa, and the Kyojuro family all go about their lives of peace.

Then the final pages of this new finale create more of a bridge between Chapter 204 and the generational time jump in 205. Sumihiko Kamado (the young boy who is the reincarnated version of Tanjiro) dreams about those generations long ago, and through this confirms that Tanjiro and Kanao Tsuyuri did indeed become a couple as implied through their future generations.

Special notes from Gotouge also indeed confirm that Nezuko and Zenitsu became a couple alongside Inosuke and Aoi Kanzaki. With some final parting words from each of the fallen Hashira (who are later reincarnated in this more peaceful time) also put more of a stamp in this extended version of the finale. The final page then sees Tanjiro holding hands with Nezuko, Kanao, Inosuke, and Zenitsu as they look ahead to a brighter future.

So while there's a lot going on in this new version of the ending, its main focus is to provide a better transition to the time skip in the final chapter. It's kind of a complete re-do of that finale as well as it doesn't choose to show much of the reincarnation time but instead focuses on the core crew like many fans had hoped.

This extended chapter has not gotten an official English language release as of this writing, however, so it might be a while before we get to see whether or not this extended finale holds true. But what did you think of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba's original ending? Do you like the sounds of this new version? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or you can even reach out to me directly about all things animated and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!