Episode 31

Move Forward! (前へ！) is the 31st episode of the Kimetsu no Yaiba TV anime series, and the 5th episode of its second season.

Synopsis
With Enmu’s body now fused with the Mugen Train, the over two hundred passengers have become hostages. As Enmu’s tentacles try to attack the passengers, Tanjiro recognizes the limits of his ability to protect everyone. In addition to a freshly-awakened Inosuke, Nezuko, Zenitsu, and Rengoku join Tanjiro in an all-out fight to protect the lives of the passengers.

Plot
After failing to kill Enmu, Tanjiro is left to save the 200 passengers at his mercy. Inosuke awakens and joins the battle. Enmu's flesh begins to infest the Mugen train's carriages and tentacles form to kill the passengers. Inosuke springs to action and cuts them all with his Beast Breathing, Fifth Fang: Crazy Cutting. Outside, more ingrowths form and attack Tanjiro, forcing him to retreat inside and see the extent of Enmu's assimilation with the train. He tries to use the Water Breathing, First Form: Water Surface Slash to cut them down but the tentacles continue to grow. Enmu becomes pleased that Tanjiro is exerting himself to cut something he can always heal and hopes his depleted stamina will make them all easy prey. Nezuko grows in size and battles the tentacles to save the sleeping passengers. Using her claws and legs, she fends them off until the sheer number of them overwhelms and restrains her. Suddenly, Zenitsu appears and saves her, using his Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash, Sixfold and cutting all the tentacles in the carriage instantly. Tanjiro hears the attack and surmises Zenitsu has awaken, though he is still dealing with the regenerating tentacles. Kyojuro, now awake, witnesses the demonic appearance of the train and grows ashamed as a Hashira, before attacking with intense force, startling Enmu. Tanjiro sees Kyojuro, who had slashed the train and damaged it enough to force Enmu to take time and heal.

Kyojuro informs him of the plan; he himself will guard the five rear-most cars while Zenitsu and Nezuko will protect the front three, whereas he and Inosuke will look for the demon's head, telling him no matter what form he takes, Enmu's head is somewhere. With that, Kyojuro rushes out and goes to the back. Tanjiro praises him for his quick-thinking before telling Inosuke the plan. Inosuke informs him he already knows, adding his annoyance that Kyojuro had ordered him and considering him awesome still. He also tells Tanjiro the head is located near the front, prompting him to leap onto the roof and join him.

Inosuke cuts away the locomotive's roof and lands; he sees the Train engineer but ignores him to look around for the head. Multiple tentacles sprout and grab him until Tanjiro appears and cuts them all with Water Breathing, Sixth Form: Whirlpool. Attacking nearing his head causes Enmu to shriek and shake the entire train. Inosuke slices the floor with Beast Breathing, Second Fang: Slice, revealing Enmu's neck bone.

Tanjiro attempts to cut it with his Water Breathing, Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin but flesh grows, protecting it from the slash. It forms many new tentacles and spreads out, forcing Tanjiro to take the train engineer and retreat to the second train car. The flesh grows rapidly and forms a ring around the front car while protecting the neck bone. Tanjiro tells Inosuke to coordinate their breathing together but eyes appear in front of them. Enmu's new Blood Demon Art, Eyes of Forced Unconscious Sleep, activates and hits them both, causing Tanjiro to slash his neck again in his dream. Though he awakens, the eyes open and hit him again. Cursing himself for falling under again, he kills himself again and leaps towards the neck bone. The eyes open again, forcing him to commit suicide again. Tanjiro continues to get hit and kill himself until he positions the blade near his neck despite the eyes being closed. Before he can kill himself for real, Inosuke stops him and tells Tanjiro not to die a lame death.

Inosuke, unaffected due to his mask, starts slashing the eyes; Tanjiro realized the mask prevents Enmu from gauging his line of sight. The train engineer suddenly appears, armed with a bone awl. Before he can stab Inosuke, Tanjiro jumps in and takes the blow to his stomach. He knocks the train engineer unconscious but Inosuke angrily tells him to leave him to die. Tanjiro refuses to do so but more tentacles grab both of Inosuke's blades. Realizing they will not survive without decapitating the demon, they begin to move forward with the plan. Larger tentacles form and sprout many arms to grab the two Demon Slayers, though they dodge and slash them away. The tentacles slam down onto the train, forcing Tanjiro and Inosuke to leap into the air to safety. Working in tandem, the two slice the tentacles down to the bottom to slow their fall but the eyes appears once more. Before the Blood Demon Art can activate, Inosuke slashes them and leaps down to the neck bone, preventing Enmu for seeing his line of sight. Using his Beast Breathing, Fourth Fang: Slice 'n' Dice, he cuts away the surrounding flesh and exposes the bone. Tanjiro plummets down and prays that his father protect him, as his breathing begins to ignite in fire. Using the Hinokami Kagura: Clear Blue Sky, he successfully severs Enmu's neck bone, decapitating him.

Enmu becomes terrified at his impending death and tries to grab the passengers with his arms to kill them. Kyojuro thwarts his attempt and cuts his flesh away with his Flame Breathing. Enmu's flesh detaches from the train but the impact forces the train to derail at high speed.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Enmu
 * Tanjiro Kamado
 * Inosuke Hashibira
 * Nezuko Kamado
 * Zenitsu Agatsuma
 * Kyojuro Rengoku
 * Train engineer

Anime Notes

 * There is an extended sequence in the fight between Tanjiro, Inosuke and Enmu in the anime, involving the two Demon Slayers avoiding the arms, being thrown up high into the air and Inosuke slashing Enmu's eyes to prevent the two of them from being put to sleep. Additionally, both are falling as they prepare to unleash their final attacks on Enmu, while in the manga, they are standing on the train the entire time.
 * Realizing he has been decapitated, Enmu tries one last attempt to devour the passengers, only to be stopped by Kyojuro. This does not appear in the manga.

Navigation
Эпизод 31