Demon Salyer Season 3 has given Tanjiro a mysterious new sword – one that will hopefully better prepare him for the fights against the Upper Rank demons that are now gunning for him and the rest of the Demon Slayers. Well, Demon Slayer‘s “Swordsmith Village Arc” lived up to its title; while staying with the famed swordsmiths of the Demon Slayers, Tanjiro got to learn of their talents firsthand, by getting his own new sword!
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(WARNING: SPOILERS FOLLOW!)
Demon Slayer Season 3 Episode 3 “Yoriichi Type Zero” answers the mystery of the Season 3 premiere’s cliffhanger ending, by explaining why, exactly, the Mist Hashira Muichiro is in the company of a strange creature that looks just like Yoriichi, the greatest Demon Slayer and creator of the breathing styles. Turns out, the “creature” is actually an advanced animatronic training doll, used to help the Demon Slayers hone their sword skills. During the course of the episode, Tanjiro is challenged to fight with the doll (Yoriichi Type Zero) in order to supersede Muichiro. However, the doll proves to be a bit too close to the original Yoriich in skill with its six arms and speedy movements – so much so that Tanjiro can’t even land a hit on it.
Young swordsmith Kotetsu puts Tanjiro through the wringer, training with no food and water until he collapses. In that unconscious state, Tanjiro has another vision – one that unlocks his senses and allows him to focus on a new way to detect the scent of his opponent’s weaknesses and movements that is faster than his Opening Thread method. The leveling-up in power allows Tanjiro to hold his own against the Yoriichi Type Zero; when Tanjiro worries about actually breaking the doll, Kotetsu pushes him to demonstrate his real power. Tanjiro goes in for a powerful blow and ends up shattering the doll’s head, as well as his training sword. While Tanjiro is embarrassed about ruining such a sacred antique, he and Kotetsu discover that Yoriichi Type Zero has been literally housing the secret of a mystery katana inside its shell of a body.
Demon Slayer Season 3: What Is Tanjiro’s New Sword?
Obviously, Demon Slayer Swordsmith Village Episode 3 will fill us in on what the mystery of this new sword is all about – but then again, the episode title “A Sword from Over 300 Years Ago” is a really big clue to drop.
Episode 2 of Swordsmith Village filled in the backstory that Yoriichi was alive and active in the Demon Slayers 300 years ago – so obviously a sword was hidden in a mechanical doll fashioned after Yoriichi has some connection to the famed warrior.
If nothing else, it’s a known trope to have a shonen manga/anime “chosen one” hero get a special weapon or artifact passed down from a previous hero. Just how relevant this sword will be to Tanjiro and his fight against more powerful forms of demons remains to be seen.
Demon Slayer Season 3: Swordsmith Village Arc is streaming on Crunchyroll.
