The Tragedy on the Mountain and the Demon Within
Set in Taisho-era Japan, the tale centers on Tanjiro Kamado, a gentle, coal-selling boy living on an isolated snowy mountain. Returning home from town one fateful morning, Tanjiro discovers a scene of unspeakable horror: his mother and younger siblings have been massacred in cold blood. The sole survivor is his sister, Nezuko Kamado, whose blood has been contaminated with demonic cells, transforming her into a flesh-craving demon.
As Nezuko attacks him, the Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka intervenes to execute her. However, seeing Nezuko miraculously shield her brother and Tanjiro beg for her life with unyielding determination, Giyu spares them and sends Tanjiro to Mount Sagiri to train under the retired Water Hashira, Sakonji Urokodaki.
Final Selection, Water Breathing, and the Demon Slayer Corps
For two grueling years, Tanjiro masters swordplay, trap evasion, and the ten forms of Water Breathing. After slicing a colossal boulder in half with guidance from the spirits of Sabito and Makomo, Tanjiro enters the treacherous Final Selection on Mount Fujikasane, where demons are imprisoned by wisteria flowers. Tanjiro slays the mutated Hand Demon to avenge Urokodaki's fallen disciples, earns his color-changing Nichirin blade, and officially joins the Demon Slayer Corps.
During his missions, Tanjiro forms an inseparable trio with the cowardly yet lightning-fast Zenitsu Agatsuma (Thunder Breathing: First Form, Thunderclap and Flash) and the boisterous, dual-wielding boar-masked Inosuke Hashibira (Beast Breathing).
Hinokami Kagura and Mount Natagumo
The Corps faces a massacre on Mount Natagumo against Lower Rank Five Rui and his artificial spider family. When Rui's razor-sharp threads sever Tanjiro's blade and ensnare Nezuko, Tanjiro remembers his father Tanjuro dancing the sacred ritual Hinokami Kagura (Dance of the Fire God). Channeling this ancestral fire technique alongside Nezuko's Blood Demon Art: Pyrokinesis, Tanjiro severs Rui's neck in one of anime's most visually breathtaking sequences.
Brought before the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters, Tanjiro meets the master Kagaya Ubuyashiki and the nine elite Hashira. Despite the Wind Hashira Sanemi Shinazugawa stabbing Nezuko to provoke her bloodlust, Nezuko refuses human blood, earning the Corps' official acceptance.
Mugen Train and the Flame Hashira's Eternal Legacy
Assigned to investigate disappearances aboard the Mugen Train, Tanjiro's trio joins the charismatic Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku. Together, they neutralize Lower Rank One Enmu, who had merged with the entire locomotive.
However, disaster strikes when Upper Rank Three Akaza descends. In a ferocious clash between martial arts and Flame Breathing, Rengoku fights with awe-inspiring valor, pinning Akaza until dawn threatens to vaporize the demon. Though Akaza severs his own limbs to escape into the forest, Rengoku passes away with a radiant smile, leaving Tanjiro with the iconic words: "Set your heart ablaze."
Entertainment District, Swordsmith Village, and the Sun Conquest
In Yoshiwara's vibrant red-light district, Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui leads the squad against Upper Rank Six siblings Daki and Gyutaro. In an earth-shattering urban battle, Tanjiro and his comrades decapitate both siblings simultaneously, marking the first Upper Rank defeat in over a century.
Journeying to the secret Swordsmith Village to repair his sword, Tanjiro fights alongside Mist Hashira Muichiro Tokito and Love Hashira Mitsuri Kanroji, annihilating Upper Five Gyokko and Upper Four Hantengu. Crucially, as the morning sun rises, Nezuko steps into the daylight without burning—she has conquered the sun!
Learning of Nezuko's immunity, Muzan Kibutsuji mobilizes all his forces for the ultimate assault to consume Nezuko and attain true immortality, triggering the massive Hashira Training Arc and the apocalyptic descent into the shifting labyrinth of the Infinity Castle.