Episode 25

Tsuguko, Kanao Tsuyuri (継子・栗花落カナヲ) is the 25th episode of the Kimetsu no Yaiba TV anime series.

Synopsis
Tanjiro, who has been going through rehabilitation training at the Butterfly Mansion, works hard to keep up his Total Concentration Breathing all day long. Though at first, he's helpless against Kanao, a swordswoman in his class who’s training him, he slowly but surely begins to make some headway.

Seeing Tanjiro devote himself to training every single day, Zenitsu and Inosuke finally resume training as well, but…

Plot
To help him maintain Total Concentration, Tanjiro enlists the help of the mansion’s three helpers; Naho, Kiyo, and Sumi. He gives the girls carpet beaters and instructs them to hit him if he ever stops his breathing technique whilst he is asleep. The girls agree to help him. Later that night, they watch Tanjiro in his bed and see he is still maintaining Total Concentration. Soon, he begins to snore, leading the girls to enthusiastically beat him awake, startling him. Admonishing himself for stopping, he asks them to try again, which they agree to.

While being watched by Zenitsu, Tanjiro tries again to maintain Total Concentration; at first, he succeeds again in doing so whilst asleep, only to end up snoring again, to which the girls beat him awake again as told, causing him to ask for another attempt. In the morning, Aoi is dismayed to see Tanjiro as the only one training; he apologizes and claims he asked his friends to come but his concern is brushed aside by her.

He continues to train and feels himself getting used to doing it while maintaining Total Concentration. Even though he cannot sustain it unless he pushes himself, Tanjiro is nonetheless able to do it longer due to his boost in stamina. The next day, in a full-body training exercise and facing Kanao, he is able to keep up with her, much to the Tsuguko's surprise. Despite this, his attempt to grab her hand fails when she dodges in the nick of time, though she is stunned to see him now able to challenge her.

At the end of the day, Tanjiro thanks Aoi but she suddenly glances away in discontent; Zenitsu and Inosuke peer behind the doorway at them but walk away to refuse training again when he calls out to them, with Aoi speaking of her refusal to get involved. Training with the small gourd and cheered on by Naho, Sumi, and Kiyo, Tanjiro successfully breaks it open with his breath, to their amazement. With only the large gourd left, he celebrates with the girls and thanks them for helping him; Zenitsu and Inosuke watch him unseen, with Zenitsu shocked to see his friend’s increased strength. The next morning, Zenitsu sees Tanjiro has already left his bed to train, and Inosuke is still asleep. He mutters to himself about persevering isn’t who he is and how it’s draining to do it daily. Chuntaro appears next to him; Zenitsu speaks to him about how despite the feeling of being left behind panics him, he is unable to learn what Tanjiro is doing despite being shown. He claims he and Inosuke are a lost cause; Chuntaro chirps in agreement, annoying Zenitsu. He asks the sparrow if it would kill him to be nice and Chuntaro tells him to work harder. Realizing there is no way around it, Zenitsu takes the first step to improve and takes his medication, albeit still grossed out. Inosuke suddenly awakens beside him and only mutters, “Come on, Monitsu”.

The two consult Shinobu and she says what Tanjiro is training to do is a skill called Total Concentration, Constant, and that by maintaining it throughout the whole day, their stamina can skyrocket. She asks them to give it an initial try, only for the two to suddenly collapse in physical exhaustion, with Zenitsu yelling at its seeming impossibility. They ask Tanjiro and he states he can only maintain it by pushing himself; he describes the process of strengthening his lungs but his simple words and use of sounds only confuses the two. Shinobu appears behind him and claims the skill is basic, or even a beginner’s skill, asking why they are unable to do it, though she adds that mastering it takes great effort. One by one, she motivates them in their own unique way. She playfully mocks Inosuke for being unable to do Total Concentration and claims he can’t be helped being unable to do something simple, enraging him and giving him the push just to prove her wrong. She then gets close to Zenitsu, holds his hand, and encourages him by being his “biggest cheerleader”, causing Zenitsu to become overjoyed at being touched by a pretty young woman.

Outside, Zenitsu and Inosuke are doing the exercises Tanjiro had been using; sprinting along the fence to build stamina and lifting rocks to gain strength. Kanao watches them from the side and is approached by her master. Shinobu encourages her to train with them; Kanao instead bows to her and walks away. At a well on the other side of the mansion, she watches Tanjiro and Inosuke pushing Zenitsu to lift his weights harder. She takes a coin out of her pocket and flips it. Kanao catches it, sees its flipped side, and reminisces on her past. She was originally a nameless girl from a poverty-stricken household alongside a river. Her parents were incredibly abusive and she had several siblings who also suffered alongside her. Her entire life then was only pain, hunger, and hopelessness. One day, she broke psychologically and she stopped feeling pain and emotions. She was sold into slavery by her parents but was too apathetic to think. Her owner was suddenly met by two girls; Shinobu and her elder sister Kanae. Kanae asks the man why she is tied up, to which he responds it is to prevent her from escaping. She approaches the little girl, introduces herself, and asks for her name, but Kanao only stares blankly at Kanae, shocking her. The man attempts to brush away Kanae’s attempts to talk to her but his hand is hit away by Shinobu, who demands he does not touch her. He becomes irritated and asks for payment if they want to talk to her; in response, Shinobu replies they will purchase her and throws money into the air. As he is distracted, she takes Kanao’s rope and the sisters run away. Kanae is unsure about their brazen theft but Shinobu claims it is fine; while they flee, Kanao has a glimmer in her eyes.

At the Butterfly Mansion, Shinobu cleans up Kanao and clothes her. It is only then that the two learn just how emotionally broken she really is. Shinobu relays her frustration at the girl’s inability to make choices; commenting that even if she starves, she doesn’t eat until told to do so. Kanae instead tells her not to act so angrily since she enjoys looking at her smile, to her sister’s chagrin. Shinobu states it is dangerous to have a child who can’t think for even herself; to help this, Kanae gives Kanao a coin to help her decide. Shinobu is irate at a seemingly nonsensical solution and Kanae only replies the reason she is doing it is because Kanao is "so adorable", annoying her sister even more so. Nonetheless, she states that given a chance, a person’s soul will eventually open up, telling Kanao that if she ever falls in love, she can change too. Kanao stares at her coin and continues to watch the trio training, looking at Tanjiro. In the end, she decides not to be with them and walks away to let them continue training. Soon, Tanjiro receives a message from his Kasugai Crow; he finds Inosuke and announces that their new swords have arrived. He senses Haganezuka’s scent and runs outside the mansion to greet him, seeing he is accompanied by another person. Unfortunately, the swordsmith is less than happy to see him and attempts to stab Tanjiro for snapping his blade. He tries to defend himself by mentioning he was close to dying and that the demon who did so was incredibly powerful, but Haganezuka only smacks his face and pins all the blame on the young Demon Slayer, claiming his weakness is why it broke. He continues to chase him in the mansion’s yard; Shinobu wonders if it is a new training regimen and Aoi responds it is likely not. Inside, Tanjiro is told by the second smith that Haganezuka is very passionate about his creations; Tanjiro agrees while worriedly looking at Haganezuka staring at him in anger. The man introduces himself as Kanamori and states he is the smith who forged Inosuke’s swords. They watch as the new blades turn blue, to Kanamori’s admiration at the color. Tanjiro tells Inosuke he is glad to see him with new blades but they see him walk outside onto the yard. Kanamori asks him what he is doing and he, Tanjiro and Haganezuka watch as Inosuke picks up a stone and chips gouges into the edge. Kanamori becomes enraged at the sight of his work being destroyed and threatens to kill him. Inosuke is satisfied at the chips in the edge, angering his smith, and he proceeds to chip his second blade in the same way, infuriating Kanamori even more.

Outside, Kanamori and Haganezuka leave the mansion, with the former yelling about the audacity of his client to break his swords with a stone, as Tanjiro incessantly apologizes on his and Inosuke’s behalf. That night, Tanjiro sleeps while being able to maintain Total Concentration; the three girls commend his success and they decide to treat him to rice balls when he awakens.

Now adept at Total Concentration, Constant, Tanjiro face Kanao in the full-body training exercise once more; he is able to chase her throughout the match without slowing down, claiming he can’t wait to swing his sword. He is able to grab her hand and win the match. Next, they face off in the reflexes test, with both Demon Slayers seemingly neck and neck. Eventually, he grabs a cup of water and avoids Kanao’s attempt to stop him. But as he is about to splash her, he rationalizes that it would be cruel to splash Kanao with the unpleasant-smelling liquid. Instead, Tanjiro puts the cup on her head, effectively achieving the same result. Sumi, Naho, and Kiyo see him succeed and they celebrate together. His victory is seen by Zenitsu and Inosuke, giving them the last motivation to push themselves. Outside, Zenitsu runs on the fences with new vigor and speed, while Inosuke lifts more weight than ever before.

In a final medical exam in Shinobu’s office, she determines he is now fully healed and can take missions without any misgivings. Happy that his rehabilitation is complete, Tanjiro takes the time to ask Shinobu what she knows about Hinokami Kagura. To his surprise, she knows nothing about it. He tries to ask if she knows anything about “Fire Breathing”, getting the same response.

After being told of what happened to him and how his father influenced him, Shinobu states perhaps his father had used Fire Breathing, which is different from the more familiar Flame Breathing, mentioning it is important not to misname each Breathing Style with the other. She states he can perhaps ask the Flame Hashira, though he is away on a mission. He thanks her for the help and makes his way out, but before Tanjiro can exit, Shinobu tells him that she expects great things from him.

That night, in Nezuko’s room, he sees she is still asleep, having been so for the entire day. He sits down on her bed and confides in her about his unease in seeing her asleep for long periods, despite knowing she is simply regaining stamina. He tells her he will be going soon on his next mission now that he has healed and mastered Total Concentration Constant. He mentions how having both Zenitsu and Inosuke give him confidence, rhetorically answering his statement by mentioning how she thinks both of them are good as well.

He remembers his goal to bring down the strongest demons and give its blood samples to Tamayo. As he becomes unsure if he can succeed in his goal, Nezuko unexpectedly encourages him; “I know you can do it, Big Brother”. He looks back and sees she is still asleep; regardless, the sudden message is enough to give him hope, thanking his sister. Meanwhile, on a moving train, a woman is killed and devoured by a giant, three-eyed demon on board.

Anime Notes

 * The manga shows Tanjiro's triumph over Kanao before he receives his new sword, but the anime shows him getting close to reaching her but ultimately falling short. He later defeats her after getting his new sword.
 * In the anime, Tanjiro receiving a final medical check-up from Shinobu occurs after his victory over Kanao, but in the manga, an event is depicted in between both situations; this event is shown in Episode 26.
 * The ending sequence of Tanjiro receiving encouragement from Nezuko and a demon attack on a train does not appear in the manga.

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