Kimetsu no Yaiba Episode 17 Recap & Characters (Spoiler-Free)

Episode Summary

You Must Master a Single Thing

After Mother's death, Tanjiro tends to Inosuke's wounds and finds it strange that a Twelve Kizuki member and a demon family share the mountain, since demons do not normally group together.

Lost in the forest, Zenitsu finds a clearing where captured humans are turning into spiders and is poisoned by a spider demon who says he will become a spider within 30 minutes. Remembering his trainer's teachings, he beheads the demon with Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash, Sixfold, then slows the poison with his breathing.

Meanwhile Tanjiro and Inosuke chase a pale female demon who calls out to Father, a giant spider-like demon, and Tanjiro's Water Wheel barely cuts into his arm.

• Tanjiro and Inosuke regroup

  Tanjiro reaffirms his goal for Nezuko's medicine after Mother's defeat, tends to Inosuke's wounds, and ponders the mountain's odd mix of demons.

• Zenitsu's poisoned forest chase

  Lost and frightened, Zenitsu finds a clearing of humans becoming spiders and faces a spider demon that poisons him and says he will soon turn into a spider.

• Zenitsu's fight and decapitation

  Zenitsu recalls his trainer and training, uses Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash extended sixfold, and decapitates the spider demon.

• Father's appearance

  Inosuke and Tanjiro encounter a pale female demon who calls out to Father, a giant spider-like demon that attacks to protect his family.

Recent Timeline

• Duel outside the mansion and wisteria house shelter (Episode 14)

  Outside the tsuzumi mansion, Tanjiro fights the masked Demon Slayer to protect Zenitsu, who guards Nezuko's box, and the bout ends when the mask falls to reveal Inosuke Hashibira and Tanjiro's headbutt knocks him out. After burying the mansion dead and praying for them, Tanjiro and Zenitsu descend the mountain together with Inosuke, who first refused to help. That night a wisteria-crest house shelters them, and a doctor finds broken ribs in all three.

  Nezuko's box then shakes open and Nezuko shows herself fully, prompting Zenitsu to draw his blade in anger that Tanjiro travels with a girl, insisting the Corps is not a place for fun.

• Dispatch to Mount Natagumo and the massacre (Episode 15)

  Once the doctor confirms the three are fully healed, a Kasugai Crow orders them north-northeast to Mount Natagumo, launching the mission that brings them to the mountain. Ten Demon Slayers sent earlier enter the forest and, under the demon's control, begin slaughtering one another, with only a single survivor escaping. The massacre prompts the Kasugai Crow to report it and leads to Hashira being dispatched.

• Controlled Demon Slayers killed and headless doll destroyed (Episode 16)

  Mother snaps the necks of the remaining thread-controlled Demon Slayers once she deems them useless, and Tanjiro and Inosuke witness their deaths. The two then take on the headless doll, the most powerful of Mother's dolls: Inosuke cuts off its arms from atop Nezuko's box, Tanjiro severs its legs with Striking Tide, and Inosuke bisects it with a diagonal monk's hood cut.

• Mother killed by Tanjiro (Episode 16)

  Tanjiro confronts Mother and uses Fifth Form: Blessed Rain After the Drought, granting her a peaceful death after she surrenders. As she dies she thanks him and warns that a Twelve Kizuki member is on the mountain.

• Spider Demon defeated by Zenitsu (Episode 17)

  Poisoned and close to turning into a spider, Zenitsu uses Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash to decapitate the Spider Demon on Mount Natagumo.

Character Graph

Nezuko

demon

Tanjiro's younger sister, turned into a demon, who protects her brother and does not eat humans. She travels in the box on Tanjiro's back and has grown stronger without drinking blood.

• Tanjiro Kamado (Family, Affinity)

  Older brother she protects even as a demon.

• Tamayo (Other, Affinity)

  Hugs her after being healed.

Tamayo

demon · doctor

A demon doctor who freed herself from Muzan's curse, treats humans and is researching a way to turn demons back into humans. To make a medicine for Nezuko, she asked Tanjiro for blood from demons close to Muzan, and she has decided to move away to stay out of Muzan's reach.

• Medical work

  Treats injured people, transforms only those terminally ill or gravely injured, and asks them whether they wish to live as demons.

• Yushiro (Mentor, Guardian, Affinity)

  Her assistant boy, whom she turned into a demon after 200 years of waiting; she cares for him and worries about his future as a demon.

• Tanjiro Kamado (Colleague, Affinity)

  She asks Tanjiro to supply blood samples from Nezuko and from demons close to Muzan for her medicine, and he senses she can be trusted.

• Nezuko (Colleague, Other, Affinity)

  Studies Nezuko's blood, finding her rare for healing through sleep, and tearfully thanks her when Nezuko hugs her.

Temari Demon (Susamaru)

demon

A demon who fought with temari, one of the two demons sent by Muzan to take Tanjiro's head. She claimed to be one of the Twelve Kizuki, but she had no number in her eyes and died from the curse Tamayo triggered.

• Attack

  Her temari punch through the house, and she is excited by the upcoming fight, fueled by Muzan's blood.

• Muzan's subordinate

  Serves under Muzan and calls herself one of the Twelve Kizuki, though Tamayo later finds no number in her eyes.

• Tanjiro Kamado (Other, Hostility)

  Declares Tanjiro is the one Muzan wants dead and is eager to take his head.

• Yushiro (Other, Hostility)

  Beheads Yushiro with a temari; he hates her for hurting Tamayo.

Yushiro

demon

A boy Tamayo turned into a demon, who is fiercely protective of her and hostile to anyone who comes near her. He calls Nezuko an eyesore, yet hesitates to leave her behind.

• Attitude

  Protective of Tamayo, quick to strike Tanjiro, and calls Nezuko an eyesore.

• Protector of Tamayo

  Stood in the path of a temari to shield Tamayo and was beheaded, then healed.

• Tamayo (Mentor, Guardian, Affinity)

  His creator and mistress, whom he admires; she found him when he was terminally ill and cares for him.

• Tanjiro Kamado (Other, Hostility)

  Antagonistic toward Tanjiro, punching and flipping him for getting close to Tamayo.

• Nezuko (Other, Colleague, Mixed)

  Calls Nezuko an eyesore and doubts she is really a demon, but while grumbling at her head-patting, he admits she is a beauty.

• Temari Demon (Other, Hostility)

  Hostile to her for hurting Tamayo; vows she is unforgivable.

Zenitsu Agatsuma (Zenitsu)

Demon Slayer

A cowardly Demon Slayer who survived the Final Selection and is terrified of demons and of dying. Poisoned by a spider demon, he faints from fear, then beheads it with Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash, Sixfold, and slows the poison with his breathing.

• Background

  Fell into debt after being deceived out of all his money by a woman; was taken in by an old man who turned out to be a trainer of Demon Slayers, and entered the Final Selection hoping to die.

• Traits

  Whines during missions, attracts the attention of girls, snores loudly, and is terrified of dying at the hands of a demon.

• Tanjiro Kamado (Colleague, Mixed)

  A fellow Final Selection survivor who meets Zenitsu on the road and travels with him to the next mission; Tanjiro scolds him and protects him, and Zenitsu clings to him for protection.

• Nezuko (Other, Affinity)

  Furious that Tanjiro travels with a girl, he becomes smitten with Nezuko and chases after her.

• Spider Demon (Other, Hostility)

  Poisoned by the spider demon, he beheads him with Thunderclap and Flash, Sixfold.

Inosuke Hashibira (masked Demon Slayer)

Demon Slayer · Demon Slayer Corps

A Demon Slayer in a boar mask who survived the Final Selection, was raised alone in the mountains and fights with two serrated Nichirin swords. Wounded but refusing to turn back, he chases a pale female demon and runs into Father at the river.

• Introduction

  Appears in a room wearing a boar mask, startles Zenitsu, and later breaks through a wall to join the fight against the demon.

• Background

  Entered Final Selection after a Demon Slayer entered his mountain; he beat that Slayer and took the sword. Claims he has no parents or siblings and lives in the mountain to test his strength against others.

• Personality

  Reckless and blunt; does not care about the future and enjoys the present, and dismisses courtesy such as eating with chopsticks.

• Tanjiro Kamado (Colleague, Other, Mixed)

  First clashed with Tanjiro outside the tsuzumi mansion, where Inosuke attacked Nezuko's box and was knocked out by Tanjiro's headbutt. He now travels and fights alongside Tanjiro as a self-declared rival.

• Zenitsu Agatsuma (Colleague, Hostility)

  Quarrels with Zenitsu over his rudeness and mocks him; Zenitsu scolds him for being loud.

• Nezuko (Other, Neutral)

  Attacked her box outside the tsuzumi mansion, meaning to kill the demon inside, until Tanjiro stopped him.

• Father (Other, Hostility)

  Chases a pale demon and runs into Father, who targets him first.

Tanjiro Kamado

Demon Slayer · Demon Slayer Corps · Mizunoto

A Demon Slayer of the Mizunoto rank who fights to turn his demon sister Nezuko back into a human. After Mother's death he resolves to take the Twelve Kizuki member's blood for Nezuko's medicine, then runs into Father with Inosuke at the river.

• Tasks

  Agrees to supply blood samples from Nezuko and from demons close to Muzan.

• Nezuko (Family, Affinity)

  Younger sister turned into a demon, whom he refuses to abandon and carries with him to Mount Natagumo.

• Tamayo (Colleague, Affinity)

  A demon doctor he has come to trust, who asked him for blood samples for her medicine.

• Yushiro (Other, Hostility)

  Repeatedly clashes with Yushiro, who strikes him for approaching Tamayo.

• Temari Demon (Other, Hostility)

  Determined to defeat her and crawls to his allies to do so.

• Zenitsu Agatsuma (Colleague, Affinity)

  Stops Zenitsu from chasing Nezuko and takes him along on the mission.

• Inosuke Hashibira (Colleague, Mixed)

  Constantly clashes with Inosuke, who headbutts him, yet they fight together.

• Mother (Other, Mixed)

  Gives her a peaceful death with Blessed Rain After the Drought after she surrenders, and she warns him of the Twelve Kizuki member on the mountain.

• Father (Other, Hostility)

  Cuts into Father's arm with Water Wheel to protect Inosuke at the river, but barely scratches him.

Father

demon · spider-like demon

An immense, spider-like demon who guards the spider family and harshly punished Mother. Called by a pale female demon, he leaps into the river and attacks Tanjiro and Inosuke, shouting at them to stay away from his family.

• Punishment

  Grabs Mother by the hair and hoists her up, causing her immense pain.

• Mother (Hierarchy, Hostility)

  Harshly wounded Mother in the past and punishes her again.

Mother

demon · thread-controlling demon

A thread-controlling demon of the spider family who puppeted captured Demon Slayers out of fear of Rui and Father. She accepted death at Tanjiro's hands, dying peacefully after warning him that a Twelve Kizuki member is on the mountain.

• Dolls and threads

  Controls captured Demon Slayers through threads attached to their bodies and fights with dolls; her threads and dolls grow stronger the closer they are to her.

• Fear of superiors

  Panics at Rui's threat to tell Father and fears punishment for failing to win.

• Rui (Hierarchy, Hostility)

  Afraid of Rui, who threatens to report her failure to Father.

• Father (Hierarchy, Hostility)

  Fears Father, who harshly wounded her in the past and punishes her again.

• Tanjiro Kamado (Other, Mixed)

  Given a peaceful death by Tanjiro after accepting death, she thanks him by warning of the Twelve Kizuki member on the mountain.

Murata

Demon Slayer Corps · Demon Slayer

The lone survivor of the Demon Slayers first sent to Mount Natagumo, who showed his fear at first. He stayed behind to hold off the controlled Demon Slayers so that Tanjiro and Inosuke could go on.

• Stand

  Blocks an attack and tells his companions to leave him while he fends off the enemies.

• Tanjiro Kamado (Colleague, Affinity)

  Fought alongside Tanjiro against the controlled Demon Slayers, then stayed behind so he could go on.

• Inosuke Hashibira (Colleague, Hostility)

  Insulted Inosuke, who wanted to punch him in return.

Rui

demon

A short, pale child-like demon who orders the spider family around and threatens Mother with Father's punishment. He warned the Demon Slayers to stay away from his family's peaceful life.

• Threats

  Pushes Mother to hasten her efforts by threatening to tell Father.

• Mother (Hierarchy, Hostility)

  Pressures Mother to hurry, threatening to report her to Father.

Spider Demon

demon

A spider demon on Mount Natagumo whose poison turns captured humans into spiders. He torments the poisoned Zenitsu until Zenitsu beheads him with Thunderclap and Flash, Sixfold.

• Zenitsu Agatsuma (Other, Hostility)

  Poisons and taunts Zenitsu, boasting of his coming transformation into a spider, and is then killed by him.

World Memo

• Demons devour humans

  Demons devour humans and are nocturnal, so crossing the mountain at night is perilous and demons roam about at night.

• Demon physical prowess

  Demons have great physical strength and powerful regeneration.

• Demon Slayers protect people

  Demon Slayers exist to protect people and kill demons, fighting on even though they heal more slowly and die more easily than demons.

• Demon power scales with victims eaten

  Demons eat humans to gain strength, as humans eat food; a demon's power is proportional to the number of victims it has devoured, and a Demon Slayer's sharpened sense of smell can reveal that number.

• Blood Demon Art spells

  Some kinds of demons possess spells called Blood Demon Art, which grant them supernatural abilities.

• Demon Slayer uniform fibre

  The Demon Slayer uniform is made of a special fibre that is waterproof, flame retardant, and strong enough to repel the claws and teeth of a weak demon.

• Blood Demon Art naming convention

  Demon techniques are classed as Blood Demon Arts and given a name, such as Scent of Illusory Blood, Visual Dream.

• Blood transfusion sustains modified demons

  Demons whose bodies have been modified need only small amounts of blood to survive, taken by blood transfusion. A demon transformed by another needs less blood than the one who transformed them.

• Demons avoid forming groups

  Demons do not form groups because it would let them band together against Muzan; Muzan himself manipulates demons into staying apart.

• Only Muzan destroys demon cells

  Demons are normally unable to harm each other, but Muzan alone is capable of destroying demon cells.

• Marechi blood rarity

  Human blood has different rarity and value to demons; someone with rare blood called Marechi is worth fifty or even a hundred ordinary people when devoured.

• Twelve Kizuki demon rank

  The Twelve Kizuki are elite demons who serve directly under Muzan. True members have a number engraved on their eyeballs, so a demon without it is not a member whatever it claims, and their ranks are numbered, such as Lower Rank Six.

Clue Board

• Other children always watching (Episode 3)

  Makomo says there are other children like her and Sabito, orphans raised by Sakonji, who are always watching Tanjiro; their identity and purpose are not explained.

• Morphed demon imprisoned 47 years (Episode 4)

  The morphed demon says Sakonji imprisoned it on Mount Fujikasane 47 years ago, and the applicant doubts any demon in Final Selection is that old; the demon's origin and why it has lived so long remain unexplained.

• Black blade color (Episode 5)

  Tanjiro's Nichirin Sword turns black, against the smith's expectation of red for a sun-bright user; Sakonji dismisses it as uncommon, and the reason stays unexplained.

• Muzan posing as a family man (Episode 7)

  Muzan is seen living as a human with a wife and a little girl, while Tanjiro recognizes him as a demon. When the wife asks whether he has met Tanjiro before, Muzan denies it and says he must have mistaken him for someone else. Why he hides among humans and whether he truly does not know Tanjiro remains unexplained.

• Muzan's feared hanafuda-earring enemy (Episode 8)

  Muzan suddenly becomes terrified while alone, recalling a past figure standing before him, a feared enemy who raised a sword while wearing hanafuda earrings. The identity of this enemy is not revealed.

• Medicine to turn Nezuko back (Episode 9)

  Tamayo believes there is a way to turn demons back into humans but does not yet know it; to make the medicine she needs blood from Nezuko and from demons with a high concentration of Muzan's blood, such as the Twelve Kizuki. On Mount Natagumo, Tanjiro resolves to take the blood of the Twelve Kizuki member there, but whether the medicine will work is still unknown.

• Unexplained power increase (Episode 10)

  Nezuko's strength rises without consuming blood, and Tamayo states the healing serum does not increase power; the cause is left open.

• Marechi blood term (Episode 12)

  Kyogai calls Tanjiro 'Marechi', which Tanjiro's crow explains refers to someone with rare blood worth fifty or a hundred people if devoured; whether Tanjiro is Marechi is left open.

• Source of the rattling sound (Episode 15)

  A strange rattling sound travels through the air, unsettling Tanjiro; the surviving Demon Slayer says the massacre began after this sound, and its source is unexplained.

• Twelve Kizuki member on the mountain (Episode 16)

  Mother's dying words confirm that a member of the Twelve Kizuki is on Mount Natagumo, but who it is remains unknown.

• A demon family on the mountain (Episode 17)

  Tanjiro finds it strange that a demon family lives on the mountain alongside a Twelve Kizuki member, since demons do not normally group together. Why they live as a family is still unexplained.

• Spider poison transformation outcome (Episode 17)

  Zenitsu is poisoned by a spider bite and told he will become a spider within 30 minutes. He slows the poison's circulation with his breathing, so whether the transformation completes is still unresolved.

Deduction Board

Facts

• Twelve Kizuki member on the mountain

  Mother tells Tanjiro that a member of the Twelve Kizuki is on Mount Natagumo, just before she dies.

• Spider poison turns humans into spiders

  The spider demon's poison turns bitten humans into spiders, and he tells Zenitsu he will become one within 30 minutes.

• Father as spider-like demon

  Father is an enormous, spider-like demon who leaps into the water to confront Inosuke and Tanjiro.

Evidence

• Demon scent masking the pale demon

  The demon scent throughout the mountain kept Tanjiro from sensing the pale female demon.

• Pale female demon calls him Father

  The pale female demon calls out 'Father!' as Inosuke pursues her.

• Father guards his family

  Father angrily demands they stay away from his family and prepares to strike Inosuke.

Inferences

• Welcomes death as release

  She accepts death as a way to be freed from her suffering and to know peace.

• Higher Muzan blood concentration

  Tanjiro concludes the Kizuki member must hold a higher concentration of Muzan's blood, reaffirming his goal to extract it for Nezuko's medicine.

• Father of the pale female demon

  Father is the father of the pale female demon, the head of the family she belongs to.

Suspicions

• Identity of the Twelve Kizuki member

  Mother warns that a member of the Twelve Kizuki is on the mountain, but who it is remains unknown.

• Why demons live as a family

  Demons do not normally group together, yet the demons on this mountain call one another Mother and Father; why they live as a family is unknown.

• Someone once treasured her

  She cannot recall her human past but believes a person who looked at her kindly, as Tanjiro does, treasured her.

Battle Record

Zenitsu beheads the Spider Demon with Thunderclap and Flash, Sixfold despite the poison, while Tanjiro and Inosuke run into Father at the river; that fight is unresolved at episode end.

Mount Natagumo forest fight

Headless doll and Mother · Episodes 15–16

Location: Mount Natagumo forest

Trigger: Mother's thread-controlled demon dolls attack Tanjiro and Inosuke

Sides

• Tanjiro and Inosuke — Demon Slayers: Tanjiro Kamado, Inosuke Hashibira
• Mother's forces — Demon: Mother / Thread-controlled puppets: headless doll, controlled Demon Slayers

Outcome: Mother is killed by Tanjiro; the headless doll is sliced apart by Inosuke

Aftermath

• Mother dies peacefully after Tanjiro's Blessed Rain attack
• Mother warns Tanjiro that a member of the Twelve Kizuki is on the mountain

Zenitsu vs Spider Demon in the clearing

Mount Natagumo forest · Episode 17

Location: Enormous forest clearing on Mount Natagumo, beneath the suspended house

Trigger: Zenitsu wandered into the clearing where captured humans were turning into spiders; the Spider Demon poisoned him

Sides

• Demon Slayer side — Demon Slayer: Zenitsu Agatsuma
• Demon side — Demon: Spider Demon / Spiders: transformed spiders

Outcome: Zenitsu beheaded the Spider Demon with Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash; the demon disintegrated to ash

Aftermath

• Zenitsu lay atop the suspended house in pain from the poison
• Zenitsu used his breathing to slow the poison's circulation

Tanjiro and Inosuke vs Father at the river

Mount Natagumo riverbank · Episode 17– (Ongoing)

Location: River on Mount Natagumo

Trigger: Tanjiro and Inosuke spotted a pale female demon across the river; she called out Father, who then attacked

Sides

• Demon Slayer side — Demon Slayers: Tanjiro Kamado, Inosuke Hashibira
• Demon side — Demon: Father

Outcome: Unresolved; Tanjiro's Water Breathing, Second Form: Water Wheel barely cut into Father's arm while Father prepared to strike Inosuke

Ability Table

Season Summary

Season 1 — Season 1

Episodes 1–17

After a demon slaughters his family and turns his sister Nezuko into a demon, Tanjiro Kamado trains under Sakonji Urokodaki and joins the Demon Slayer Corps. He crosses paths with Muzan Kibutsuji, the progenitor of all demons, and promises the demon doctor Tamayo blood samples for a medicine that could make Nezuko human again. With Zenitsu Agatsuma and Inosuke Hashibira, he survives the tsuzumi mansion, where he defeats Kyogai.

On Mount Natagumo, Tanjiro and Inosuke cut through Demon Slayers puppeted by threads, and Tanjiro gives Mother, the thread-controlling demon, a peaceful death; she warns that a Twelve Kizuki member is on the mountain. Separated from them, Zenitsu is poisoned by a spider demon but beheads it with Thunderclap and Flash, Sixfold, while Tanjiro and Inosuke run into Father, a giant spider demon who guards his family.

Music Releases

• Gurenge (OP)
• from the edge (ED)