Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Season 3 Episode 3 Recap & Review

The Clone Attack

Episode 3 of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba season 3 (Swordsmith Village Arc) titled ‘A Sword from Over 300 Years Ago’ begins with Kotetsu and Tanjiro getting surprised by the sword hidden in Yoriichi Type Zero. Kotetsu is excited for Tanjiro to use the sword but he is scared and they try to convince each other of their ideas. They however decide to unsheath the sword only to see that it is rusty and they are disappointed.

A newly buffed-up Hotaru Haganezuka shows up and tries to take the sword and the two try to stop him as they wonder about his intentions. Kanamori comes and tickles Haganezuko till he blacks out. He says Haganezuko was training to make a stronger sword for Tanjior who is touched.

Haganezuko suddenly wakes up and declares he will fix the sword for Tanjiro and Kotetsu scolds him for being so vague earlier. Haganezuko is annoyed and tries to beat him up but Tanjiro and Kanamori stop him by tickling him. He finally gives Tanjiro a temporary sword and promises to return in 3 days with the newly polished 300-year-old sword.

At dinner time, Tanjiro is worried for Haganezuko and voices his concerns to Genya. However, the other slayer is not interested in befriending him as he broke his arm during their final selection. Tanjiro suddenly notices that Genya had broken his tooth at the hot spring and that he has it as he wanted to return it. The other boy is weirded out and kicks Tanjiro out.

However, Tanjiro is not deterred and as he braids Nezuko’s hair he comes up with a plan to befriend Genya by sharing a meal with him the next morning.

Meanwhile, a swordsmith is returning from the hot springs and sees a vase. He goes to check and it turns out to be the vase of the potted demon, Gyokko who eats the swordsmith but pukes it out. He hates the taste but says he won’t mind destroying the village anyway as it will weaken the slayers. As for Hantengu, he hides on the roof and goes through his plan of quickly killing everyone for opposing Muzan.

At that time, Genya goes to a swordsmith’s hut to check on his sword and sees it empty. He sees a sword and remembers his brother, Sanemi. Meanwhile, Muichiro Tokito wakes Tanjiro and wants to know about Kanamori. He says Kanamori is his new swordsmith and Tanjiro offers to help him look.

Tokito finds him nosey but Tanjiro says kindness returns kindness. Tokito is shocked by him and asks him to repeat his words. Nezuko interrupts them and he spaces out. He wonders if he has seen Nezuko before and both siblings are confused. They suddenly hear something and see Hantengu crying as he slowly enters. Tokito attacks but the demon is quick and dodges it.

Nezuko tries to help but Tanjiro tells her not to use her demon form as it could worsen her condition. Tokito cuts Hantengu’s head but the demon just splits into two more demons Sekido and Karaku. With one move, Tokito is blown away while the other demon attacks Tanjiro. Genya shows up with nichirin bullets and shoots the demons. He then cuts one of their heads and that demon splits into two more demons.

Tanjiro realises that every time Hantengu is beheaded, he creates a new clone of himself and each clone has a different ability. As he tries to figure out Hantengu’s weak spot, a winged clone flies away with Tanjiro while another clone stabs Genya. Tanjiro tells Nezuko to help Genya and the flying demon mocks him. Tanjiro cuts off the leg holding him, but the clone uses soundwaves to attack and he falls into the forest. 

Meanwhile, Tokito is running back to the scene when he sees Kotetsu trying to fend off a demon. He claims that a child has the least skills and will be the least helpful to him so he should help those who have the most skills like the chief swordsmith. But he remembers Tanjiro’s words and goes back. Just as the demon is about to eat Kotetsu, Tokito rescues him.

In the epilogue, Kotetsu is annoyed that Haganezuko is busy working on the 300-year-old sword while they are being attacked. Tanjiro reveals that Haganezuko has windchimes on his hat because whenever he threw a tantrum as a kid, his family would calm him down with windchimes. Haganezuko shows up and berates them for thinking of him as a child. But they start playing the windchimes and he tries to run away.

The Episode Review

Finally, the action has begun. While it was fun to watch filler episodes of the slayers recuperating and training, the action sequences of demon slayer are on another level. And we got a taste of what is to come in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba season 3 with this episode.

With each season, the demons and the slayers are upping their game and we’ve got some truly exciting abilities this season. Sure, Hantengu may be cowardly but he is an Upper Rank Demon for a reason. Splitting into a clone every time he is decapitated is a pretty cool defence. As for Tokito, there is something definitely going on with him which may change our perception of him as the apathetic slayer who likes to space out.