Episode 50

Aren't You Going to be a Hashira? (柱になるんじゃないのか?) is the 50th episode of the Kimetsu no Yaiba TV anime series, and the 6th episode of its third season.

Summary
Despite beheading all four of Hantengu's strongest emotions, the demons does not die, forcing Tanjiro, Nezuko, and a demonized Genya to look for a hidden fifth demon as they evade and engage the invincible clones. In a moment of vulnerability, Genya reminisces on his past, how he came to be who he is and hoping to apologize for a moment in his past. Elsewhere, Muichiro remains trapped in Gyokko's Blood Demon Art, unable to break free as he suffocates to death.

Plot
Shocked to see Genya’s demonic appearance, Tanjiro becomes hesitant to approach him. Karaku yells out in agony over his opponent’s latest attack and his inability to seemingly heal, although Sekido becomes angered at the demon of pleasure’s loud cries, remarking that they are still healing, only slower. Notices that Aizetsu had been beheaded as well, Tanjiro sees that decapitating even all four manifestations will not kill them, making it pointless to attack them. He frees Nezuko with his blade from being pinned by debris and the siblings embrace in relief. Even after knowing the scent of all four demons, Tanjiro remarks of his unsettling discovery of a fifth scent, knowing he must find it hidden in the battlefield. Genya suddenly grabs him by the throat and angrily yells for him not to get cocky, stating he will kill the Upper Rank. He states that him having assistance with Upper Six is why he is not a Hashira, which he acknowledges; as Tanjiro tells him he is drooling and asks to ease his grip, Genya tightens his hold and declares that he will become a Hashira first. Instead of being hurt, Tanjiro happily states that he and Nezuko shall support him on his journey and tells him that a fifth demon is hidden somewhere. Genya initially refuses to believe him and thinks that Tanjiro is getting him to lower his alertness, only to see his bright shining eyes and realize he is being honest. He suddenly pushes Genya aside as lightning begins to strike around them, as Sekido, Karaku, and Urogi have now fully regenerated. Tanjiro asks him to go with Nezuko and engage the clones as he heads away from them and attempts to search for the fifth demon. Genya fires at Urogi while Nezuko battles Karaku, who unleashes a wind gust that nearly hits Tanjiro.

Thanks to the wind attack, Tanjiro’s nose clears of the smell of the village hot springs, enabling him to utilise his sense of smell once again. Concentrating on the fifth demon’s scent, he triangulates it to be somewhere in the bushes nearby, where a tearful and frightened Hantengu is hiding, quietly reassuring himself that his emotion manifestations will kill the Demon Slayers. Tanjiro calls to Genya and heads to the forests to find the demon; Sekido sees him on the move and orders Urogi to intercept the Demon Slayer. Now fighting the demon of joy, Tanjiro yells at Genya to head northeast instead, where the demon is hiding low.

Sekido then summons lightning around the two, causing them to stop in their tracks. As Genya runs to the forest, Tanjiro calls to Nezuko to assist him by attacking the demon of anger to stop his lightning. Urogi then flies upwards as Karaku appears behind Tanjiro, summoning a gust of wind and sending him flying; he grabs onto a tree stump and stabs the ground to anchor himself from being blown away. The demon of anger prepares to summon his lightning but Nezuko rushes at him to attack, but she is suddenly impaled by Aizetsu’s yari.

Gyokko asks the trapped Mist Hashira if he feels pain, as Muichiro futilely tries to stab through the water pot. Seeing the boy’s life ending as he struggles to find an escape, Upper Rank Five becomes excited and remarks that his creativity is rising at the sight of Muichiro's attempts at trying to maintain his cool. The demon of sorrow pins Nezuko to a tree and demands that she do not struggle; he calls to Sekido to incapacitate her but the demon of anger suddenly has his hand severed by Tanjiro using his bright red blade. Sekido notes that Tanjiro is not only faster than before but stronger than the demon reports describing him, watching as he slices Urogi’s right wing and mouth with ease. Nezuko grabs Aizetsu’s head and pulls herself through his yari’s shaft, before tackling him and setting the demon of sorrow ablaze. As Tanjiro tries to slash Karaku, the demon of pleasure pins him down with a gust of wind. He moves his attention to Genya in the forest but finds his arm severed unexpectedly by Tanjiro, who calls to Genya to head right, as it is moving south. Genya sprints through the forests but struggles to locate the demon, wondering whether it is hidden with a Blood Demon Art. Karaku kicks Tanjiro in the stomach but he twists himself upright and yells at Genya to move to the right, with the demon on the ground. He looks down and sees the fifth demon hiding in the vegetation; Hantengu has shrunken down to now be as small as a mouse. Shocked and in disbelief that the little demon controls the clones, Genya pursues him as he angrily notes that the entire battle had been a hunt just to find him hiding whilst battling the four powerful manifestations. Now understand how it had killed so much people, he swings his blade into Hantengu’s neck but watches as the blade snaps in two despite his thin neck.

Stunned, Genya fires his shotgun at the demon and hits him square in the back, only to see the demon is unscathed despite taking the full impact of his gunshot. In disbelief at Hantengu's durability, Genya senses something behind as Sekido suddenly appears, preparing to stab him with his khakkhara. Freezing in the moment, he realizes he cannot dodge the incoming blow and is unable to regenerate his head. Seemingly in his last moments, Genya thinks of his older brother Sanemi; he had wanted to become a Hashira to be acknowledged by him, so that he could apologize for a moment in their pasts.

Genya recalls his childhood: his mother was a petite woman who worked tirelessly from day to night. Her husband and Genya's father was much bigger, with an abusive personality as great as his size. He was loathed so much, he was killed in a stabbing. Genya's father often hit him, his siblings, and his mother, using his size to torment them. Despite her much smaller frame, Genya's mother never failed to protect them. One night, as he and his siblings laid in bed to sleep, Genya remained awake and noted that she was late to come home. Sanemi, also unable to sleep, decided to look for her, whilst he stayed behind to watch his younger siblings. Thought Genya wanted to tag along, Sanemi reminds him of his promise. As he left, their siblings all then woke up.

His siblings too became worried as their mother had never been so late, dawn would be nearby. Genya asks them to go back to sleep, hoping to ease their concerns. Without warning, a loud thud rings from the front door and Genya's siblings quickly ran to greet their mother. But seeing a strange figure behind the window, he warned them against opening the door as it might not be their mother. The door then breaks open and the figure speeds into the house, killing four of his siblings instantly. It then slashes Genya's face and leaps to the ceiling, shattering the ceiling lamp and rendering him unable to see the assailant. Thinking it is a wolf, the figure lands down lunges at him, only to be tackled by Sanemi out of the house.

Genya begs his siblings to hold down their wounds till he can summon help and runs out of the house to find Sanemi. As the sun rises, he reaches the end of the street and catches sight of a bloodied and dazed Sanemi staring at their mother's disintegrating body. In his grief, Genya embraces her corpse and demands that Sanemi answer why he had killed her, angrily labelling a murderer, as Sanemi stare blankly in shock. Recalling that moment, Genya apologizes to his brother for such a harsh accusation while remembering that his siblings' unresponsive bodies became cold that day. What he thought was a wolf turned out to be their mother transformed into a demon.

He thinks of what Sanemi must have endured that night, to fight and kill the mother they so loved and to be branded so unfairly by the lone brother he protected, even after their promise to protect the family. One day, as Sanemi and Genya walked down a street with supplies, Sanemi noted that they must be the one to protect the family. Though he is relieved now that their father had died, he states that everyone else will be lonely without a father figure, and from that day and onwards, they must protect their mother and siblings. Genya remarked that now didn't matter since they have always done so, causing Sanemi to smile.

Thinking he will die without apologizing, Genya asks why his brother's smiling face is the last thing he will see as his life flashes before him. Denouncing himself as untalented, he notes that being unable to use a breathing technique means he could never be a Hashira, and despite his efforts, it had all been futile. Thinking back to when Sanemi had insulted him as never possibly being his sibling and ordering him to quit the Demon Slayer Corps, he tearfully begs far an answer as to why he is pushing him aside. Tanjiro suddenly yells Genya's name and demands him to not give up yet, rushing forward to slice off Sekido's hand and saving the Demon Slayer from impalement. Reassuring him, Tanjiro tells Genya to try again and never give up, reminding him of his desire to become a Hashira. Suddenly, Aizetsu appears behind them and uses Weeping Spears, thrusting his yari to fire projections of his weapon at them. Caught directly in the attack, Tanjiro sees that he is not harmed, turning his head to see Genya standing before him with numerous puncture wounds.

Conceding that he cannot behead the demon, Genya asks for Tanjiro to do it instead. Aizetsu lunges at him and Genya fires his shotgun at the demon. Sprinting through the forest, Tanjiro pinpoints the fifth demon's scent and catches sight of the fleeing Hantengu. As Upper Rank Four runs away, Tanjiro spots a clearing in the forest and gives chase. As the demon enters the clearing, now free from cover, the Demon Slayer swings his bright red blade at the Upper Rank.

Anime Notes

 * Tanjiro freeing Nezuko trapped beneath a piece of debris is not shown in the manga.
 * In the anime, Nezuko and Genya are shown engaging Karaku and Urogi in battle while Tanjiro concentrates on the scent of the fifth demon. This is insinuated but not seen in the manga.
 * In the manga, when Tanjiro senses Hantengu hiding in the bushes, he signals for Genya to go after while he takes the brunt of the clones' attacks. In the anime, Tanjiro initially sets out to find Hantengu himself but has his path blocked by Urogi and Sekido's lightning, leading him to call out to Genya to be the one to do so instead.
 * There is an additional scene of Gyokko taunting Muichiro for acting stoic whilst he is still trapped in his Blood Demon Art.
 * In the anime, during Genya's reminiscence of that fateful night, there is an additional scene of Sanemi going out to look for their mother, while reminding Genya of their promise, as well as their siblings initially asleep but waking up after he leaves.
 * In the manga, the sibling asleep in Genya's arms is Shuya, but in the anime, it is Koto.