Episode 48

Thank You, Tokito (時透君ありがとう) is the 48th episode of the Kimetsu no Yaiba TV anime series, and the 4th episode of its third season.

Summary
Muichiro, realizing that the fish demon that attacked Kotetsu is a Blood Demon Art, makes his decision to not help Tanjiro and instead protect the smiths Kozo Kanamori and Hotaru Haganezuka. The manifestations of Hantengu's anger, pleasure, joy, and sorrow converge on the Demon Slayers, who struggle to fight back against their abilities and the demons working as one. As more fish demons arrive and endanger the Swordsmith Village, the Love Hashira is called to save them, eager to give her all.

Plot
Severing the fish demon's arm to save Kotetsu, Muichiro orders him to run away to avoid impeding his fighting. The demon heals and lunges at him but the Hashira dashes forward and beheads it. To his surprise, it continues to move around and eventually regrows its head completely. He notices the vase on its back and slices through it, finally killing the demon and confirming his suspicions that it was made with a Blood Demon Art.

Looking to his rescuer, Kotetsu holds onto Muichiro tightly, thanking him for saving his life and apologizing for insulting him, which the Hashira does not know what he is talking about. As the smith takes back his hatred of him, Muichiro tries to move on and walks away, but Kotetsu begs him to save Kozo, currently under attack. He also explains that Hotaru has been polishing a blade day by day continuously alone and begs him to save them. Muichiro initially attempts to ignore him but suddenly remembers something that Kagaya Ubuyashiki had said to him: "You will definitely get yourself back, Muichiro".

He remembers when he was visited by the Corps leader and his wife as he lay in recovery from a demon attack. Kagaya, noticing the boy’s confusion, tells him to only think about surviving, and that as he stays alive, his lost memories will come back to him in time. The leader informs Muichiro to not miss the opportunity, as even insignificant events can trigger it to eventually clear his mind. Taking Kagaya's words in, Muichiro hoists Kotetsu on his shoulder and speeds through the forest, much to the young swordsmith's fright. As he runs, he wonders if he is making the right decision, since moving to save Kozo and Hotaru will jeopardize the village’s protection. Nonetheless, he reaffirms that he can succeed, as Kagaya has recognized him as the Mist Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps. As the winged demon’s head attempts to summon another sonic shriek, Tanjiro slices it in half to stop the attack. The halves instead form new mouths and fire at Tanjiro who is stunned by the attack but realizes that it had weakened, indicating that the four demons share a certain amount of power. He notices that etched onto each demons’ tongue is an emotion; the demon he is facing is the manifestation of joy. He stabs through the halves of flesh but the winged demon appears again and launches the sonic attack, though the Demon Slayer dodges in time, before he then sees that the demon flesh on his sword has vanished. The demon circles back to swoop down and slash the Demon Slayer’s left shoulder. He flies down again and cuts his right shoulder, before attacking again and kicking him against a tree. Tanjiro is soon slashed on the forearm, shoulder, thigh, and chest as the demon continues his rapid assault. The demon swoops once more and cuts his back, but Tanjiro is able to cut through his head simultaneously. It slows down and heals as Tanjiro sprints at him, forcing the demon to prepare another sonic strike. Tanjiro succeeds in cutting through its head to stop it and the winged demon falls to the ground, though it regrows its lost half and takes flight once again.

Realizing he is unable to help them at the moment, Tanjiro begs Nezuko and Genya to stay alive. As Nezuko wrestles with Karaku, Genya struggles to move with a yari in his chest. Sekido angrily orders the demon of pleasure to quickly rip her limbs off, but Karaku intends to enjoy his scuffles and instead tells the demon of anger to help Aizetsu. The demon of sorrow complies to kill Nezuko but cannot pull his yari out, giving Genya the chance to shoot him, blowing back his head. Sekido is angered at Aizetsu’s slow thinking as the headless demon pulls his yari out of Genya, before quickly healing his head and neck. Despite Aizetsu believing his wounds would kill him, Genya unexpectedly begins to recite the Amida Sutra, leading Sekido to demand the Demon Slayer's head split in half. Aizetsu begrudgingly complies and swings his yari down, but to his shock, he misses completely. Genya suddenly appears behind him and tries to slice his neck, only to be shocked by Sekido's lightning. Struggling to pull the trigger of his shotgun, he musters the strength to aim at Sekido and fires, severing the demon's right hand. The demon of anger refuses to believe Genya is still alive despite his wounds from Aizetsu, who then swings his yari and slams the shaft into Genya's chest, sending him through a room. Wanting to fight Genya instead, Karaku drives his foot into Nezuko and kicks through her torso, before telling Sekido to impale her with his khakkhara once he has ripped her limbs and repeatedly shock her till she is immobilized, to which the enraged demons responds that the idea was his original intentions. As he tries to rip off her hand, Nezuko kicks Karaku in the jaw and partially severs his neck, before ripping her hand away. The demon of pleasure heals his neck but is sprayed in her blood, allowing her to use Exploding Blood and set him ablaze.

Twisting his hand off, Nezuko uses the uchiwa on the distracted Karaku and blasts him away with a gust of his own wind. She attempts to repeat the move with Sekido but the demon swats the uchiwa away with his khakkahara and stabs her in the neck, before summoning his lightning and shocking her in place. Still unable to fend away the winged demon, Tanjiro sustains a cut to his cheek. Notices the building with Genya and Nezuko is close by, he thinks of a plan but dissuades himself against it, yet he cannot find an alternative. As the demon swoops down, Tanjiro slashes at his feet but misses, before ducking down to avoid the claws. He begs Nezuko and Genya once more to stay alive, hoping to assist them. Elsewhere, Aizetsu approaches the seemingly unconscious Genya but sees him continuing to repeat his sutra. Asking just who he is, the Demon Slayer replies that the name of the man who will kill him is Shinazugawa Genya. Intending to use the demon's momentum to help him reach Nezuko and Genya, Tanjiro runs towards the building and lures the demon of joy in. As he swoops down to slash him with his claws, the Demon Slayer ducks down and lunges at the demon as it slows, piercing his leg and mouth with his sword. Despite the demon clawing at his back, Tanjiro fights the pain and sees that the demon's body is light in order to fly.

Using his blade to steer, he guides himself back to the building and punches through the wall with the demon's body, where he sees Nezuko being shocked by Sekido, who is surprised to see both Karaku and the demon of joy, Urogi, defeated. The demon of anger grows a new khakkahara and attempts to stab Tanjiro, who dodges the blow and stop the weapon with Urogi's severed foot. To Sekido's surprise, Tanjiro is unaffected by his electricity, due to the cells on the foot being the same as Sekido, preventing conduction. He slashes the demon's tongue and moves to Nezuko, as he realizes that injuring their tongues causes them to heal slightly slower. He uses the foot to pull the khakkahara out of his sister's neck. Sekido heals and attempt to stab Tanjiro in the neck instead, only for Nezuko to save him by stopping the weapon, before using her blood to burn the demon, angering him with her unusual Blood Demon Art. Suddenly, Karaku returns and leaps high above the building, before casting a powerful downburst that pins the siblings to the floor, unable to move. The floor gives way and the Demon Slayers fall to the bottom unconscious, as Sekido, Karaku, and Urogi watch from above, intent on continuing the fight. In the Swordsmith Village, a warning of incoming enemy attacks is announced as numerous fish demons appear and attack. Despite makeshift weapons, the swordsmiths cannot fight back and struggle to defend themselves and the village. A flying Kasugai Crow then calls for someone to hurry to the village due to the attack and Mitsuri hurriedly makes her way, eager to save the villagers.

Anime Notes

 * When Muichiro slashes the vase on the fish demon's back, he immediately does so after initially beheading it in the manga, whereas in the anime, he watches the demon move about and heal before attacking again.
 * When Urogi swoops down to attack Tanjiro, he slashes the Demon Slayer once in the manga before his head is split open, while in the anime, Tanjiro is sliced six separate times before he retaliates.
 * In the manga, upon seeing Karaku enjoying his fight with Nezuko, Aizetsu decides that he will quickly kill Genya only to get shot. In the anime, Aizetsu complies with Sekido's order to kill her instead when he cannot pull out his weapon. Additionally, Genya taunts him by claiming that he alone will be his opponent.
 * When Nezuko attempts to use Karaku's uchiwa on Sekido, he immediately stabs her in the neck to shock her in the manga. In the anime, he swats away the weapon first before impaling her.
 * In his attempt to use Urogi to reach the building with Nezuko and Genya, Tanjiro stabs him as he swoops down in the manga, while in the anime, Urogi is attempting to slash him again when Tanjiro ducks out of the way to stab him with his guard down.
 * When Sekido attempts to stab Tanjiro with his khakkhara and Nezuko rescues him, the tip still manages to pierce into his neck slightly in the manga, while it does not in the anime.
 * In the manga, only one giant fish demon is seen rampaging in the Swordsmith Village as the warning is called out. In the anime, there were several.