Episode 54

Love Hashira Mitsuri Kanroji (恋柱・甘露寺蜜璃) is the 54th episode of the Kimetsu no Yaiba TV anime series, and the 10th episode of its third season.

Summary
As Mitsuri faces the demon of hatred to save Tanjiro, Nezuko, and Genya, she delves into her past and realizes that her unique difference from others can still by accepted by some. She unknowingly awakens a hidden strength and cuts down the dragon, forcing the demon to focus on her. At the same time, the trio attempts to finding Hantengu as he hides and flees from the battlefield, determined to kill him once and for all.

Synopsis
As Mitsuri leaps into battle and unsheathes her blade, noticed by the demon of hatred, she races along a dragon’s neck and slices it to pieces to rescue Tanjiro, before making her way to save Nezuko and Genya as well. She confronts the demon and demands he relinquishes Nezuko and Genya, only for the demon to be provoked and order the “shameless tramp” to silence herself, claiming only one person can order him. The Love Hashira is aghast at his insult, believing him to be the same age and size as her younger brother, whilst owning a foul mouth; she then wonders if demons look younger than their age, but pushes the question aside. The demon unleashes Crazed Cry of Thunder Death, summoning his dragons to attack Mitsuri with a combined blast of Sekido’s lightning and Urogi’s sonic scream. She quickly leaps high into the air and uses Love Breathing, Third Form: Catlove Shower, slicing into the attack and dissipating it, as she declares she will no longer hold back, irrespective of his child-like appearance. While the demon is surprised to see her slash through his attack, Tanjiro is stunned by her sheer power, noting her whip-like blade’s incredible flexibility and her own impressive skill to wield it. Using Karaku’s winds, the demon summons consecutive gusts to crush Mitsuri, but she easily evades them and moves to attack. A dragon charges at her, leading the Love Hashira to use Love Breathing, Second Form: Love Pangs to slice it to pieces. Another head fires Aizetsu’s spear projections at Mitsuri and she uses Sixth Form: Catlegged Winds of Love to destroy them. The demon, seeing she can keep up with his individual attacks, decides he will overwhelm her instead, using Blood Demon Art: Countless Striking Trees and creating even more wooden dragons. As Mitsuri becomes unnerved to see such a wide attack, Tanjiro notices the wooden burl containing Hantengu discretely leaving the battlefield; he tries to follow it but has his path blocked. Initially unsure if she can defeat them all, Mitsuri flips back and uses Love Breathing: Fifth Form: Swaying Love Wildclaw; she blitzes forward and cuts through all of the dragons in a powerful flurry of slashes. She spots the demon of hatred's head and wraps her blade around his neck, determined to behead him. The demon’s mouth opens and glows brightly as Tanjiro tries to warn the Hashira that beheading him won’t kill him. Using Compressed Sound Waves, the demon blasts Mitsuri with an even more powerful sonic shriek, knocking her unconscious. As Tanjiro attempts to reach her, Nezuko resorts to ripping her arm to free herself, while Genya continues to struggle to free himself from being trapped in the dragon's coils. Seeing the Love Hashira fall to her knees, the demon is stunned to see her body intact despite taking the brunt of his attack up close, surmising she had tensed her muscles to save herself, though he notes it still shouldn’t have survived. Seeing that her physical strength belies her body, he realizes her abnormal constitution will suffice as good nourishment to gain power, deciding to devour her instead and moving to break her skull open first with a punch.

A younger and ornately dressed Mitsuri appears on a bridge with someone, who insults her and states that only a bear, a boar, or a bull would be willing to marry someone like her, deriding her unusual hair color and claiming that passing it to his children would unsettle him. The man asks that she forget about their engagement and himself before leaving, as Mitsuri speaks of her canceled marriage at the age of 17. At another time, as a very Mitsuri plays with her father and attempts to flex her arm like him, disappointed by her lack of visible muscles, she reminisces on a story her mother had told about how she lifted a four kan stone at just 14 months old, shocking and horrifying her, despite Mitsuri only wanting to help in the kitchen. Her mother, who was noted for her unflappable demeanor, was stunned for the first time.

On another occasion, inside a soba shop, Mitsuri finishes a very large bowl of soba as she recalls having a large appetite even as a child. The shop owner is bemused and asks his sumo wrestling customers about how they feel being beaten by a little girl, even though they too are unable to comprehend how it was possible. After finishing a large serving of sakura mochi, she then presents her arm as her father asks one of the sumo wrestlers to engage in an arm wrestle with her, where she quickly displays her belying strength by swiftly defeating him. As they leave, her proud father notes that her arms, despite their thin appearance, have incredible muscle density.

As Mitsuri got older, she realized just how different she was from other girls. Unable to sleep one night and sitting upright in bed, she asks her mother if she could ever be someone’s bride, speaking about her unusual strength, appetite, and hair color. Her father proposes that she lived with them but a conflicted Mitsuri believes that women are meant to be married wives. After her marriage was called off, she resorted to dyeing her hair black, pretending to be weak, and eating less to appear normal, much to her family’s worry. When she eventually met someone who wanted to marry her, she questioned and became troubled about how she could live a life where she wasn’t true to who she was, wondering if there was a place where she could truly be herself and help others.

Mitsuri awakens to the cry of Tanjiro, Nezuko, and Genya pushing her out of the path of the demon's fist, as Tanjiro realizes they need to protect her now more than ever, having the most potential and their only chance to beat Upper Rank Four. She tears up as they carry her to safety, while the demon of hatred, bemused by their desperate measures, summons up a powerful blast of lightning and brings it down onto the Demon Slayers, devastating the area. As he wonders if he had hit his mark, his eyes widen at the sound of Mitsuri's passionate thanking of her comrades.

She tearfully apologizes as a Hashira for her mistake and declares the Demon Slayer Corps is the home that she will protect, much to Genya's annoyance, Nezuko's awe, and Tanjiro's amazement, who realizes she had dissipated the lightning with her blade. Declaring she will never lose to evil people, she demands the demon brace himself as she prepares to go all out.

During a meeting with Kagaya Ubuyashiki, the head of the Corps speaks to Mitsuri about how the gods must a special love to give the young woman her traits. He asks that she take pride in her strength, deeming those who speak ill of her simply fear her strength. Hearing his acceptance causes Mitsuri to break down in tears and bow in thankfulness, as she thanks her parents for making her strong from birth. She recalls how the Demon Slayer Corps has wholeheartedly accepted who she is, reminiscing on when the Kakushi had congratulated her on becoming a Hashira, Demon Slayers were in awe of her strength and skill, and how the people she saved expressed gratitude with tears in falling down their faces.

She remembers when Obanai Iguro had given her the signature socks she wears. Despite her gratefulness and excitement, the Serpent Hashira does not believe them enough to be treasured. Somewhat surprised and saddened by his indifference towards his gift, he clarifies that on the occasion that the socks are torn apart, he can give her new ones, much to the Love Hashira's contentment.

Remembering when she questioned how people who think when they see her strength and feared they wouldn't consider her human, she notes that she had been holding back her power. Recalling that Tanjiro only a moment ago had deemed her "our ray of hope", she grips her blade in anticipation, causing the demon of hatred to send his dragons at the Love Hashira. Asking Tanjiro, Nezuko, and Genya to "just leave it to me", Mitsuri promises to protect them and slashes the dragons with her sword. The demon forms even more heads in retaliation but Mitsuri cuts through them and pushes them back, ordering the Demon Slayers to find the main body as she deals with the wooden dragons.

As they leave her, Mitsuri charges at the demon and sees that she must speed up her heart rate to increase her speed and strength even further. As the dragons fall to to the Love Hashira, the demon of hatred only summons more, before noticing the trio attempting to find Hantengu; he sends a dragon to kill them but it is quickly cut down by Mitsuri, determined to keep the dragons away from them. Tanjiro, using his sense of smell, locates the burl containing Hantengu and directs Genya and Nezuko to follow him. Watching as the dragons are destroyed one by one, the demon questions how the Hashira seems to be faster than before.

He then notices a mark on her chest that is similar to that of demons. Even after utilizing his lightning bolt, he still fails to strike the evading Mitsuri as she continues to cut down the dragons. Enraged that he is unable to send his dragons to kill the Demon Slayers, he nonetheless notes that even with her abilities, her stamina will be depleted in the end. Despite this, Mitsuri reiterates her promise to keep them at bay.

Tanjiro, Nezuko, and Genya catch up to Hantengu's crawling burl, leading Genya to slash it with his broken blade. Despite not leaving a mark, Hantengu's fear causes the burl to attack; it bends down to hit them and forces the three to hold on to avoid getting struck down, before twisting high into the air to kill them in a fall. As they desperately cling onto the wood, Genya, unable to swing his blade, resorts to biting into the wooded stalk. Tanjiro, shocked by his actions, questions if he will be alright. As Genya notes that he can gain temporary demonic traits by eating their flesh, eating Upper Four's flesh gives him the strength to break apart the stalk and leave the burl vulnerable. Tanjiro tries to attack but it quickly forms numerous whip-like branches to fend him off. Nezuko then drips her blood onto the wood and uses Exploding Blood, setting the burl on fire and simultaneously empowering Tanjiro's blade. Using Hinokami Kagura: Flame Dance, Tanjiro slices the burl twice, before Genya and Nezuko pull it apart. Tanjiro, determined to behead the demon, is shocked to discover the burl now empty. He then senses something behind him and sees Hantengu discretely attempting to flee, who is frightened at his discovery and runs away.

Now entirely enraged, Tanjiro yells at the demon to stop running away and face his responsibilities, declaring he will make him pay for all of his deeds. The words suddenly strike into Hantengu and he begins to remember when someone demanded that he take responsibility for his actions, denouncing him as a two-faced, shameless liar. Hantengu mutters that he had never lied once since his birth and he is simply a "virtuous weakling", and that despite his "pitiful" nature, no one has shown him sympathy.

As he sees the demon fleeing, Tanjiro orders Nezuko and Genya to assist him with Hantengu. Genya, enraged and tired of Upper Four's continual avoidance and attempts to escape, grabs hold of a tree and uproots it completely. Angrily declaring that enough is enough, he hurls it at Hantengu with great force, but the demon remains unharmed and continues to run away. Nezuko sees her chance and leaps into the air to attack the escaping demon.

Anime Notes

 * In the manga, Mitsuri's sword is described in detail; due to its extremely thin and flexible design, it allows for incredibly fast techniques, said to surpass even that of Tengen Uzui's. Such speed is only possible due to its design and the flexibility of her body, though this in turn also renders it difficult to use. Thus, it is specifically crafted for Mitsuri's unique use. In the anime, this information is largely omitted and is changed to Tanjiro admiring the sword's design and Mitsuri's skill in wielding it through an inner monologue.
 * The scene of Tanjiro noticing the wooden burl containing Hantengu leaving is only in the anime.
 * In the manga, Mitsuri's body constitution, said to be eight times the density of normal human muscle, is explained through narration. In the anime, additional scenes are used, including one where she wins an arm wrestle against a sumo wrestler at a restaurant.
 * In the manga, Mitsuri's father only makes a brief appearance in one panel, while the anime expands his role with additional scenes of him playing with Mitsuri and cheerfully flexing his muscles, encouraging and complimenting her for her strength, and attempting to ease her uncertainty and becoming visibly concerned when she hides her true nature.
 * In the manga, Mitsuri's realization of the need to hide her true self is conveyed through narration. In the anime, an extended additional scene depicts Mitsuri asking her mother if she can become someone's bride because of her strange hair color and body composition, to which her mother and father assure her that she can always stay at their home. Mitsuri is then shown dyeing her hair black, causing concern for her parents.
 * Mitsuri's recollection of being accepted amongst the Demon Slayer Corps is extended in the anime, showing Mitsuri thanking the Kakushi for their encouragement with sakura mochi, Demon Slayers struggling to kill a demon in awe of her strength, and the people she saves giving their thanks. Additionally, in the manga, Obanai only briefly appears in a single panel, showing him give her the socks she now wears. In the anime, this moment is expanded into a longer scene where Mitsuri is portrayed reacting happily to Obanai's gift and his reassurance to her that he will provide new pairs if they ever tear.
 * In the anime, there is an additional scene of Mitsuri stopping a dragon head with her bare hands and telling Tanjiro, Genya, and Nezuko to locate the main body. In the manga, the three decide to search for the main body on their own initiative, while Mitsuri engages in battle with the dragons.
 * In the anime, Tanjiro utilizes his sense of smell to locate Hantengu's main body in the forest. In the manga, he simply informs Genya that he knows the direction in which the body is located. Additionally, the manga only depicts them suddenly forced to hang onto the burl, while in the anime, Genya's attempt to attack scares Hantengu into retaliation.
 * In the manga, a narration reveals the reason for Genya's need to eat demon flesh; due to his lesser physical abilities and being unable to use a breathing technique, he finally resorted to eating demons in order to become a Hashira. It is stated to be a rare talent only possible due to his jaw strength and special digestive organs, being the only one in the Demon Slayer Corps who can do it. In the anime, this information is omitted.
 * In the manga, Genya throws three trees at Hantengu. In the anime, he only throws one.

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