Demon Slayer Season 3 ending explained: The stakes for Tanjiro are higher than ever

Updated on January 22, 9:45 a.m. (GMT+8): Added images.

The third season of Demon Slayer has just concluded, delivering an emotionally charged storyline filled with impactful reveals.

We have prepared a detailed overview in our Demon Slayer Season 3 ending explained article, tackling the key events that took place in the 70-minute special.

Here is the impact of the events in the finale, including the anticipated plans of Demon King Muzan Kibutsuji, the series’ main antagonist

Warning: Spoilers if you have not watched the Demon Slayer Season 3’s Swordsmith Village arc.

Demon Slayer Season 3 ending explained

There is a lot to unpack in the Season 3 finale. In Episode 11, titled “A Connected Bond: Daybreak and First Light,” we witness Tanjiro Kamado, Nezuko Kamado, and Genya Shinazugawa in hot pursuit of Hantengu’s primary form. Meanwhile, the Love Pillar, Mitsuri Kanroji, valiantly defends herself against Zohakuten, an upper-rank demon that can control a wooden dragon.

Tanjiro remembers a conversation with Zenitsu Agatsuma, which helps him understand how to utilize Thunder Breathing. With this knowledge, Tanjiro effectively pushes Hantengu to his limits by closing the distance with Thunder Breathing and dealing heavy damage with the Hinokami Kagura dance. In a fierce battle involving Tanjiro, Nezuko, and Genya, they manage to force the Upper Demon Moon off a cliff. 

Desperate to regain his strength, Hantengu tried to devour the nearby villagers. Just as Tanjiro was about to pursue Hantengu, Muichiro Tokito, the Mist Pillar, threw him a 300-year-old Nichirin sword that Hotaru Haganezuka had sharpened in previous episodes.

Utilizing the combined power of Thunder Breathing and the Hinokami Kagura, Tanjiro successfully defeated Hantengu. However, to Tanjiro’s dismay, he discovers that Hantengu is still alive, concealing his smaller form within his heart.

As the sun begins to rise, Tanjiro faced a difficult choice: save the villagers from Hantengu’s wrath and allow the demon to escape, or rescue Nezuko, who will burn to death because of her fatal weakness to sunlight.

With her brother struggling to make a decision, Nezuko selflessly threw Tanjiro to Hantengu, allowing Tanjiro to decapitate the Upper Rank Four demon.

The series then takes a major, unexpected turn, revealing that Nezuko is immune to sunlight.

Although two of his Upper Demon Moons, Hantengu and Gyokko, perished, the Demon King Muzan Kibutsuji found great joy in discovering a demon impervious to sunlight. Muzan’s only weakness is the sun — if he devours a demon with the power to overcome sunlight, he will finally become immortal.

For a thousand years, Muzan integrated himself into human society to search for the Blue Spider Lily flower — the ingredient used by his doctor in an experimental procedure that turned him into the first-ever demon. He believed this was one of the keys to conquering his weakness to sunlight.

Muzan’s second solution was to create more demons and consume one immune to sunlight.

How the events from Season 3 set the stage for the upcoming arcs

The revelation that Nezuko is immune to sunlight is one of the most significant events in the entire Demon Slayer series.

Muzan didn’t consider the Demon Slayer Corp a major threat because his demons have always been far superior throughout the years. However, now that the Demon Slayers have something Muzan desperately wants, this will only lead to a collision course between the two factions.

Another pivotal scene in the Episode 3 finale was when Lady Tamayo explained her scientific findings in a letter to Tanjiro. With the use of the Upper Demon Moon blood that Tanjiro collected, along with Nezuko’s demon blood, Lady Tamayo was able to free a demon from Muzan’s control.

Upon studying Nezuko’s blood, Lady Tamayo realized that Nezuko couldn’t regain her sense of self and remained in a childlike state because she was prioritizing something more important than herself.

Nezuko’s story has always been a focal point of the series. She is a demon who doesn’t consume human flesh or blood. She has also saved her brother, along with other humans, countless times.

Even her Blood Demon Art is a power that only hurts other demons. Nezuko is the only demon who is the closest to being human, which could explain why she is immune to sunlight.

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