Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Season 3 Episode 11 Recap, Review & Ending Explained

The Original Demon

Episode 11 of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba season 3 titled ‘A Connected Bond: Daybreak and First Light’ begins with Genya, Nezuko and Tanjiro searching for Hantengu. Tanjiro is worried that Mitsuri must be tired while sunrise is close. His broken left leg slows him down but he suddenly remembers Zenitsu’s words of how in Thunder Breathing, the focus is on the legs. 

Is Tanjiro able to find the original Hantengu?

With Total Concentration, he puts all of his strength into his other leg and he suddenly zips past Genya and Nezuko and reaches Hantengu. He slices at his neck but before he can cut it clean, Hantengu suddenly grows twice his size. He strangles Tanjiro and Genya tries to loosen his grip.

Nezuko uses her blood demon art to burn Hantengu and Genya is able to free Tanjiro. However, Genya starts burning as well as he realises he has eaten demons. He sees Tanjiro in the flames but the slayer continues to cut through Hantengu’s neck. 

The demon runs off a cliff with Tanjiro still holding onto him. Nezuko follows them and they fall. With Hantengu’s arms torn, he is worried he is not regenerating quickly as Zohakuten is using more of his power. He needs to eat humans to get better. As he walks off with Tanjiro’s sword stuck in his neck, he senses a human. But it is just Tanjiro stuck in a tree and threatening him.

A worried Hantengu spots three swordsmiths and runs after them. Tanjiro frees himself and sees that Nezuko is unconscious. He suddenly hears Tokito who throws the 300-year-old sword at him. Haganezuka is furious and hits Tokito as he warns Tanjiro that he has only sharpened the first half. But Tokito tells him to catch Hantengu before the sun rises and faints. 

Tanjiro uses Zenitsu’s Total Concentration again to reach Hantengu and severs his neck successfully. He sees that the sun is rising and tries to run to Nezuko. He is unable to speak or warn her that she will die if sunlight touches her. She starts running towards him and he is scared. As he catches her she keeps pointing behind him and he is confused. He turns to see Hantengu’s severed body still chasing the swordsmiths.

He notices that the word on the head is ‘resentment’ and that it is a clone as the original body has the word ‘coward’. As he is about to attack, the sunlight burns Nezuko. Genya is still stuck on top of the cliff while Tokito is unconscious. Tanjiro knows he won’t be able to reach Hantengu with Nezuko even though the cowardly demon is burning as well. 

He cannot let his sister die but Nezuko just kicks him in the direction of Hantengu. He remembers their time together after Nezuko turned into a demon. Her eyes close and he tears up but promises to not let her sacrifice be in vain. He smells the original body and realises that it is hidden inside the heart of the Resentment Clone. Just then, the Clone catches the swordsmiths. Tanjiro speeds up and cuts him to pieces and as the original body falls, he strikes.

Is Hantengu truly pitiful?

At that moment, Hantengu’s life flashes before him. A blind person asks why he would steal from their kind benefactor. A human Hantengu who pretends to be blind cries that he is not to blame but his hands. Before the blind man can call the authorities, Hantengu kills him.

The Magistrate investigates and finds that Hantengu is wanted for theft and murder in other towns as well. He also realises that Hantengu can see. He declares since his hands are to blame, he will cut off his hands. Hantengu then sees Muzan who promises to help him. It cuts to a bleeding Magistrate saying that Hantengu will pay for his sins. 

Hantengu comes to and tries to stop Tanjiro but the slayer successfully cuts off his head. The remaining pieces burn up in the sun and Tanjiro falls.

Is Nezuko dead?

He starts crying for Nezuko but suddenly the swordsmiths tell him to turn. He is shocked to see that not only is Nezuko alive, but her burns have also healed. The bamboo piece in her mouth falls and she says ‘Good morning’. She struggles to speak but she says she is fine. He is glad that she is alive and he hugs her while crying. The swordsmiths also start crying while a shocked Genya smiles. Tanjiro faints but he is happy that Nezuko is fine.

Meanwhile, Mitsuri is still trying to fend off the dragons. She believes she is going to die as the dragon swallows her. Suddenly, Zohakuten and the dragons disappear and she realises that Tanjiro has killed Hantengu.

What is Muzan searching for?

Elsewhere, a woman and her maid ask her son Toshikuni if he is alright after seeing his room in disarray. She offers to help him find the book he has been looking for. The boy turns out to be Muzan in disguise who learned from Hantengu that Nezuko can survive the sun.

He kills the mother and laughs as he realises that he doesn’t need to look for the Blue Spider Lily flower anymore. The maid looks scared as Muzan turns back into his true form and gleefully says that he can finally resist the sun if he devours Nezuko. As the maid screams for help, he kills her and leaves.

What is Muzan’s origin story?

Muzan remembers that it all started 1000 years ago. In a flashback, he is annoyed that he has a fraud doctor but he is the only one who knows how to save him from his illness. At first, Muzan listens but as he doesn’t get better he kills the doctor. But he realises that the doctor was indeed right as his medicine turns him into a powerful demon. He starts craving humans and he eats them without thought.

But he cannot go out in the sun anymore as it would burn him to death. He looks into the doctor’s research and realises that he needs the Blue Spider Lily flower but has no idea to find it. He regrets killing the doctor who knew about it. Since then, he has been searching for the flower or a demon who can withstand the sun. Now that he has found Nezuko, he doesn’t need to create any more demons.

How does everyone react to Nezuko?

Back at the swordsmith village, Tokito rushes to Tanjiro who is being carried by Nezuko and the two boys are glad for each other. Tokito thanks him for helping him and Tanjiro is confused by his new genial nature as Tokito also asks after Nezuko. They are interrupted by a furious Haganezuka who asks about the 300-year-old sword. Tanjiro is not sure and Haganezuka threatens him for breaking the sword.

Tanjiro tells Nezuko to run and Haganezuka chases them. The group tries to stop them as they have the sword which is in perfect condition. Mitsuri rushes over as well and hugs everyone as she is glad they won. Nezuko says she is glad as well and Mitsuri is shocked that she can speak. She hugs Nezuko as she is glad she is okay. 

Does Tamayo make any progress with Nezuko’s cure?

Meanwhile, Tamayo thanks Tanjiro for bringing the blood of the Twelve Kizuki and Nezuko as it will help find a cure for her. She updates him that the last demon that Muzan had created is free from his control due to Nezuko’s blood. He just needs to drink a little blood to survive.

Nezuko’s blood keeps changing but Tamayo wonders why she has not been able to change back into a human. She suspects that Nezuko has been prioritizing something else than her human nature. She has a theory that Nezuko may be able to resist the sun in the future, which has indeed come true.

How does it end for everyone in the swordsmith village?

As the swordsmiths go about fixing their village, Tanjiro bids the Chief farewell. An exhausted Nezuko sleeps in her box. Haganezuka hides near the exit to see Tanjiro off but he is still angry at him for using the sword. He pokes Tanjiro’s face while Kotetsu tries to defend him.

The Chief points out that even then Haganezuka came to see Tanjiro off. The young slayer thanks him for his swords and a begrudging Haganezuka tells him he will fix the 300-year-old sword and bring it to him. Kotetsu notices that Haganezuka is blushing and it angers him as he starts hurling him around.

The Kamado siblings finally leave but the Kakushi stops midway. Tanjiro is confused and he is allowed to take his blindfold off. He is delighted to see the whole village celebrating and thanking him for his help. The Kakushi makes an exception and allows him to keep the blindfold off till they exit the village.

The Episode Review

The season 3 finale of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba has been an eventful watch and we’d expect nothing less from this exciting anime. It ties up all the loose ends and brings them together such as the 300-year-old sword finally fulfilling its purpose and episode 11 revealing Muzan’s actual aim for sending the demons to the swordsmith village.

Brownie points also go to the episode for fun little tidbits such as Zenitsu’s cameo and the flashback showcasing Muzan’s origin. Mitsuri is a mood with the way she reacted to hearing Nezuko for the first time cause same, sis, we were equally excited to see her talking.

Genya’s powers were also explained although way too briefly and we hope he gets a little more screen time in the next arcs. The same goes for Tokito as this new friendly and funny Mist Hashira is everything. All-in-all, the finale had everything from new abilities to cool action scenes and tears that had us hanging at the edge of our seats.