Episode 51

Awful Villain (極悪人) is the 51st episode of the Kimetsu no Yaiba TV anime series, and the 7th episode of its third season.

Summary
As Tanjiro was just about to sever the neck of the fifth demon, another demon approaches from behind him. This demon turns out to be Zohakuten, a demon created by combining all four emotion demons into one body, marked with the word "Hatred". Tanjiro makes a narrow escape from the attack and fails to sever the neck of the fifth demon. After hearing Zohakuten calling him and his comrades "awful villains" for trying to sever the neck of the cowering demon, Tanjiro is enraged and decides to face him...

Plot
As Hantengu flees from Tanjiro, the Demon Slayer pursues him into a clearing, ignites his Exploding Blood Sword, and makes contact with the diminutive demon’s neck. Upper Rank Four lets out an awful screech of agony as the blade burns him but Tanjiro is determined to not let up his attempt, with his blade reaching halfway through.

Without warning, something appears from behind and startles him, the new scent unlike that of Urogi, Sekido, Aizetsu, or Karaku. He continues to stand his ground but fails to cut any further into Hantengu’s neck, as Nezuko’s Blood Demon Art has worn off. Genya warns him to move away and takes aim behind Tanjiro but cannot fire at the risk of hitting him. The demon forms a double-bladed dagger with his flesh and beats on a drum attached to him, summoning a powerful shockwave that sends Tanjiro flying back.

From the epicentre, five immense wooden dragons form and take Tanjiro with them high into the sky. As he struggles to hold on, the dragons attempt to crush him in their jaws, forcing him to leap and dodge them whilst riding their necks. He soon loses grip and nearly falls into one's jaws when he is saved by Nezuko catching him in time; she sustains a bite but quickly heals her lost arm and leg. The two lands to the ground and see a new demon before them. He denounces them as brutes who torment the weak, deeming them “awful villains”.

Tanjiro is shocked to see a sixth demon but realizes he does not see or sense the other four demons. Genya becomes confused as he notes that this demon was Sekido not long ago. When Tanjiro slashed into Hantengu’s neck and he fired at the attacking Aizetsu, severing his arm, Genya turned to see Sekido raise both hands, grab Karaku and Urogi and absorb their bodies into himself. He then turned to Aizetsu to take him too, who seemed to object but was absorbed, nonetheless. The demon of anger then knelt down and transformed into a new manifestation: Zohakuten, Hantengu’s hatred.

As he taps a drum and wraps Hantengu inside a wooden burl, Tanjiro yells out to object. Zohakuten furiously stares at him, shocking the Demon Slayer silent with his overwhelming aura and rendering it difficult to breathe. Genya too freezes in sheer terror and trembles uncontrollably at the sight of his power. The demon of hatred asks if he takes issue with his actions. Despite his fear, Tanjiro questions why he calls them the villains, to which Zohakuten answers it is because they torment the weak, citing his example as attempting to behead a demon who fits into their palm.

Hearing his words, Tanjiro angrily asks Zohakuten on how he could even call Hantengu weak, remarking that they reek of the blood of hundreds of victims and demanding they stop playing the victim. Raising his blade and denouncing their actions twisted and unforgivable, the Demon Slayer declares he will sever his head. Bemused, the demon of hatred asks if Tanjiro has finished speaking and wonders if he had devoured his relatives to get him so angry. When he does not concur, Zohakuten believes his actions are justified and the Demon Slayer's is irrelevant. Tanjiro retaliates by saying that helping people does not need a reason, stating that someone like him could not possibly know. The insult strikes a nerve in Zohakuten, causing him to beat his drum and send the dragons after the Demon Slayer. Still trapped inside the water pot, Muichiro sees Gyokko turn his attention to inside the work shed behind him, wondering why it is so important and sinking back into his vase. Muichiro determines that with the remaining oxygen in his lung, he can use one more form. He uses Mist Breathing, First Form: Low Clouds, Distant Haze but the blade does not pierce through the water. Somewhat expecting to be unable to escape with a thrust due to his chipped blade, Muichiro resigns himself to his fate; he begins thinking about Kagaya, telling his leader he will die and hopes he will send at least two Hashiras to assist him.

Unexpectedly, Tanjiro appears and asks why he thinks so, noting that no one can be sure of what the future holds. Muichiro grows confused since Tanjiro had never spoken those words to him and wonders who did say them.

At the shed, Kozo stands in front of Gyokko with a knife and attempts to prevent him from entering further. Upper Five laughs at his futile attempt to stop him and jokingly asks if he believes he could fight. The demon forms a vase in his hand and attacks the smith with powerful streams of water, shattering his knife and slashing him. Gyokko asks why he is so protective of the shed since it doesn't hold the village chief, before looking past him and seeing Hotaru polishing Tanjiro's blade. As the smith marvels at the steel's quality, Gyokko looks at him and determines he is not the chief due to his age.

He calls out to Hotaru to get his attention, but he continues his work with the blade, wondering who the swordsmith was who made it. The potted demon becomes annoyed at his concentration and remarks feeling defeated as an artist. He aims his pot and sends stream of water, leaving Hotaru with several slashes on his body, yet he continues to polish without noticing the attack, much to Kozo's concern. Stunned, Gyokko attacks again and causes even more wounds, even shattering his mask, yet the swordsmith diligently maintains his composure and continues polishing the blade.

While Gyokko is aghast at his willpower, Hotaru remarks that to have such an exceptional blade means its maker possessed incredible determination, engraving it with only one letter since it only has one purpose. As Kozo calls to him again, Gyokko becomes angered at Hotaru's lack of acknowledgement of him. Believing that killing the smith is too simple, he decides he will made him let go of the sword instead and break his concentration.

As Muichiro's vision begins to fade, he realizes he will soon die, but Tanjiro tells him he is not the one to decide when his life ends. The Hashira notes again that he had not spoken those words to him. As Tanjiro tells him to never give up and that someone will come to help him, Muichiro remarks that leaving something in the hands of others is pointless, only to be told that since a single person can only do so much, being helped by others makes it easier. Muichiro states that no one can help him since they are all weaker than him and instead, he should have done better, only to make a fatal mistake by overestimating his strength as a Hashira. Tanjiro concurs with his statement but also tells him it will turn out okay.

Closing his eyes as he succumbs to suffocation, he hears something jabbing into the water pot; Kotetsu desperately attempts to stab the pot with a knife and states he will not let him die, though he fails to cut through. Watching his attempts, Muichiro comments that the young smith won't be able to help him if even he couldn't slice it, claiming that Kotetsu should instead prioritize things other than him, such as the village chief and gathering swords to flee from the village. Suddenly, he sees behind Kotetsu is a bladed fish demon. He begins to bang on the pot to get his attention but the demon attacks, slashing Kotetsu's arms and shoulder.

Muichiro begins to panic and tries to tell him to flee but the demon stabs Kotetsu in the solar plexus. Believing he will die, he is surprised when the smith begins to walk towards him, attempting to dissuade Kotetsu from helping him and to hold down his wound. Instead, Kotetsu touches the water pot and blows bubbles into it, which reaches Muichiro and allows him to gain a breath. Tanjiro suddenly appears again, stating once more that helping others will eventually help him, before he vanishes in mist.

A new individual then appears, telling Muichiro that humans are creatures capable of unbelievable strength when helping each other; the mist clears and reveals the individual has red eyes. Now with the oxygen to unleash one more attack, the Hashira uses Mist Breathing, Second Form: Eight-Layered Mist and successfully cuts through Gyokko's Blood Demon Art. Now free, Muichiro remarks that he finally understands why Tanjiro seems pivotal to him; he possesses the same red eyes

Anime Notes

 * The initial attack by the demon of hatred differs slightly: in the manga, he beats on his drum to summon the dragons and they emerge from out of the ground, whilst in the anime, a shockwave shakes the area shortly before they emerge.
 * In the anime, during Genya's recollection of Sekido absorbing his fellow manifestations, Aizetsu is seen being shot twice, severing his arm and punching a hole in his body just before Sekido absorbs him. This is not shown in the manga.
 * Sekido's transformation is more clearly shown in the anime; he is seen kneeling on all fours and shedding his old clothes to reveal his new body.
 * In the manga, a narration reveals the source of Hantengu's power: as a demon, whenever he faced an opponent, his Blood Demon Art would manifest an aspect of his emotions as a way to protect him. Repeatedly pressing him into a corner only led to his Blood Demon Art being developed further, making him stronger the more times he had felt scared. This was not shown in the anime.
 * In Tanjiro's confrontation of the demon's statement regarding Hantengu being weak, there is an additional scene where the demon asks if he had eaten members of his family to get him so enraged, before sending his dragons at the Demon Slayer.
 * In the manga, when Gyokko enters Kozo's work shed, he immediately attacks the swordsmith to gain entry. In the anime, the demon confronts him at the door for believing he could stop try and stop him.
 * In the manga, a bladed fish demon is seen inside the shed, which was not reflected in the anime.

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Episodi 51