Kimetsu no Yaiba Episode 21 Recap & Characters (Spoiler-Free)

Episode Summary

Against Corps Rules

Dying on Mount Natagumo, Rui remembers the parents he killed and is reunited with them in the afterlife. Giyu then shields Tanjiro and Nezuko from Shinobu and lets them flee, but a girl Demon Slayer knocks Tanjiro out and chases Nezuko until a Kasugai Crow orders the siblings taken into custody. Tanjiro later wakes up before the Hashira.

• Rui's backstory and parents

  Rui recalls being frail from birth until Muzan turned him into a demon; after his parents learned what he had become, his father raised a knife at him as he slept, and Rui woke and mortally wounded them both.

• Rui's death and reunion in Hell

  As Rui dies, his remorse and missed parents surface; Tanjiro gently touches him, and in the afterlife his parents reassure him as he returns to his human form.

• Giyu shields Nezuko from Shinobu

  Giyu blocks Shinobu's attack on Nezuko and tells Tanjiro to take his sister and run, then holds Shinobu back while she questions his motives.

• Tanjiro flees and is pursued

  Tanjiro runs off with Nezuko despite his pain; a girl Demon Slayer knocks him out and chases Nezuko, who only evades her strikes, until a Kasugai Crow orders the siblings taken into custody.

• Kakushi clean up after the battle

  Kakushi treat the poisoned Demon Slayers with Shinobu's medicine, Zenitsu recalls that they are the Corps' clean-up crew, Kakushi untie Inosuke from a tree, and Tanjiro later wakes in a stone garden before the Hashira.

Recent Timeline

• Tanjiro and Nezuko's counterattack on Rui (Episode 19)

  Trapped in Rui's blood-thread cage, Tanjiro recalls his father's Hinokami Kagura while Nezuko awakens Exploding Blood and burns the threads. Together they cut through to Rui, but he had already severed his own head with his threads to escape death.

• Giyu beheads Rui (Episode 20)

  As the exhausted Tanjiro is about to be shredded by Murderous Eye Basket, Giyu arrives and cuts the threads apart. He answers Rui's Cutting Thread Rotation with Water Breathing, Eleventh Form: Dead Calm and beheads him in an instant.

• Daughter poisoned by Shinobu (Episode 20)

  Shinobu Kocho evades Daughter's silk, strikes her with Insect Breathing, Butterfly Dance: Caprice, and her wisteria poison kills the demon. Daughter collapses, and Shinobu cuts open her last cocoon, freeing Murata.

• Rui's last memories and Giyu shields the siblings (Episode 21)

  Dying, Rui remembers killing his parents and is reunited with them in the afterlife. Giyu then blocks Shinobu's blade aimed at Nezuko, tells Tanjiro to take his sister and run, and holds Shinobu back.

• Custody order and the trip to headquarters (Episode 21)

  A girl Demon Slayer knocks Tanjiro out and chases Nezuko until a Kasugai Crow orders the siblings taken into custody, and Giyu and Shinobu sheathe their swords. Kakushi treat the Demon Slayers who were turning into spiders with Shinobu's medicine, bring down Zenitsu, who had slowed the poison by killing the demon responsible, and untie Inosuke from a tree. Tanjiro later wakes in a stone garden before the Hashira.

Character Graph

Tanjiro Kamado

Demon Slayer Corps

Eldest son of the Kamado family, who became a Demon Slayer to turn his sister Nezuko, now a demon, back into a human. Badly hurt after the fight with Rui, he begs Giyu not to trample on the remorseful demon, flees from Shinobu with Nezuko, is knocked out by a girl Demon Slayer, and wakes up before the Hashira.

• Nezuko Kamado (Family, Affinity)

  His younger sister; he carries her through the forest to escape Shinobu despite severe pain.

• Giyu Tomioka (Colleague, Affinity)

  Recognizes Tanjiro from their first meeting, shields Nezuko and tells him to take his sister and run.

• Rui (Other, Mixed)

  Fought Rui to the death; as the demon fades, Tanjiro smells his sorrow and gently lays a hand on him.

• Shinobu Kocho (Other, Hostility)

  The Hashira who tries to kill Nezuko; Tanjiro tells her the demon is his sister.

Nezuko Kamado (Nezuko)

demon

Tanjiro's younger sister, who was turned into a demon but protects her brother and has never eaten a human. Exhausted after the fight with Rui, she only dodges a girl Demon Slayer's sword until a Kasugai Crow orders that she and Tanjiro be taken into custody.

• Tanjiro Kamado (Family, Affinity)

  Her older brother, who carries her away from Shinobu.

• Shinobu Kocho (Other, Hostility)

  The Hashira who tried to kill her; Giyu blocked the blade.

Rui (Lower Rank Five)

demon · Twelve Kizuki

Lower Rank Five of the Twelve Kizuki, a frail boy whom Muzan turned into a demon and who forced other demons into a fake family. Beheaded by Giyu, he remembers the parents he killed as he dies, apologizes to them, and goes with them into the afterlife.

• His human parents

  After he became a demon, his father raised a knife at him in his sleep while his mother sobbed; Rui killed them both. As his mother died he remembered his father's words that they would die with him, but he chose to believe Muzan, who blamed his parents.

• Fake family

  He bound his fake family by fear, hoping a family bond would bring back his lost human memories.

• Muzan Kibutsuji (Hierarchy, Mixed)

  The Demon Progenitor who said he pitied him, made him a demon, and told him his parents were to blame.

• Tanjiro Kamado (Other, Mixed)

  Fought Tanjiro and Nezuko to the death; Tanjiro's gentle touch as he fades brings back the memory of his parents.

• Giyu Tomioka (Other, Hostility)

  The Hashira who beheaded him.

Giyu Tomioka

Demon Slayer Corps · Water Hashira

The Water Hashira, a quiet swordsman who spared Nezuko when he first met the siblings and sent Tanjiro to Sakonji Urokodaki. After beheading Rui he scolds Tanjiro for pitying a demon, then blocks Shinobu's attack on Nezuko and holds her back so the siblings can escape.

• Shinobu Kocho (Colleague, Hostility)

  Blocks her blade aimed at Nezuko and restrains her; the clash ends when a crow relays the order to take the siblings into custody.

• Tanjiro Kamado (Colleague, Affinity)

  Lets him escape with Nezuko, telling Shinobu only that his reason lies in something that happened two years ago.

Shinobu Kocho (Shinobu)

Demon Slayer Corps · Insect Hashira

The Insect Hashira, the only Hashira who cannot behead demons and kills them with wisteria poison instead. She tries to kill Nezuko, is blocked and restrained by Giyu, and stops only when a crow orders the siblings brought to headquarters; her medicine saves the Demon Slayers who were turning into spiders.

• Giyu Tomioka (Colleague, Hostility)

  Questions why a Hashira would protect a demon and crosses swords with him to get to Nezuko.

• Nezuko Kamado (Other, Hostility)

  Tries to kill her with a poison she says will be painless.

Muzan Kibutsuji (Muzan)

demon

The Demon Progenitor, the first demon, whom Tanjiro is hunting to find a cure for Nezuko. In Rui's memories he appears as the one who turned the frail boy into a demon and later told him his parents were to blame.

• Rui (Hierarchy, Mixed)

  Made Rui a demon and favoured him.

• Tanjiro Kamado (Other, Hostility)

  Sent demons to kill Tanjiro after their encounter in Asakusa.

Zenitsu Agatsuma (Zenitsu)

Demon Slayer Corps

A timid Demon Slayer who fights with Thunder Breathing once he passes out from fear. Bitten by a spider demon on Mount Natagumo, he slowed the poison by killing the demon responsible; Kakushi bring him down from the hanging house to be treated, and he recognizes the girl giving orders as a Final Selection survivor.

• Tanjiro Kamado (Colleague, Affinity)

  His companion on missions since they met on the road after Final Selection; they were separated on Mount Natagumo.

Inosuke Hashibira

Demon Slayer Corps

A boar-masked Demon Slayer raised in the mountains, who fights with two jagged swords and his self-taught Beast Breathing. Still tied to a tree after the fight on Mount Natagumo, he is untied by Kakushi who are shocked at his wounds, and he starts to doubt himself for not killing a single demon there.

• Tanjiro Kamado (Colleague, Mixed)

  Fights alongside Tanjiro while treating him as a rival.

World Memo

• Demons can enter houses

  Demons can enter human houses, which is why Demon Slayers are present to protect people.

• Demon physical prowess

  Demons have great physical strength and powerful regeneration.

• Varied demon powers

  Some demons can shape-shift, while others have entirely different powers.

• Demon Slayers protect people

  Demon Slayers exist to protect people, and their job is to kill demons.

  Humans fight demons despite slower regeneration and higher mortality, continuing to protect others.

• Final Selection requirement

  Becoming a Demon Slayer requires attending the Final Selection held on Mount Fujikasane. The trainer alone decides whether a student may enter.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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 a group of elite demons that serve directly under Muzan.

  Members of the Twelve Kizuki have a number engraved on their eyeballs; a demon lacking this eye marking is not a true member, regardless of claiming the rank.

  A rank can be lost: Kyogai, once Lower Rank Six, hoped to win his place back by devouring Marechi blood.

• Demon Slayer rank and pay

  Demon Slayers can climb the ranks, and higher rank brings better pay.

Clue Board

• 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.

• Nezuko sensing siblings in victims (Episode 6)

  Nezuko touches the heads of Kazumi and the rescued girl and seems to see her siblings Takeo and Hanako within them, before charging the clones.

• Demon's silence about Muzan (Episode 7)

  The clone knows something about Muzan Kibutsuji but refuses to say anything after hearing the name. He recalls being threatened by Muzan not to tell anyone, since Muzan is always watching, and his fear grows more erratic.

• 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.

• Why Muzan wants Tanjiro dead (Episode 9)

  The demons were tasked by their master to kill Tanjiro, and Susamaru says Tanjiro is the one Muzan wants dead. The reason Muzan wants him dead is not given.

• Nezuko sees her mother in demons (Episode 9)

  Nezuko sees the images of her mother and brother Rokuta in Tamayo and Yushiro, and sees her mother's image in the demon again. Why she sees them is not explained.

• Susamaru not a Twelve Kizuki (Episode 10)

  Tamayo shows that Susamaru lacks the number engraved on her eyeball, so she is not one of the Twelve Kizuki; Tamayo believes Yahaba also lacked one and that such demons are too weak to be true members.

• Mould-like smell at claw attack (Episode 13)

  Tanjiro senses a mould-like smell that appears whenever Kyogai uses the claw attack, a cue he uses to read the attacks, though its source and meaning are not explained.

• Tanjiro unburned by Nezuko's flames (Episode 20)

  Rui wonders why Tanjiro was not burned by Nezuko's flames while his threads were, a question left unexplained.

• Demon's victim count (Episode 20)

  Tanjiro senses that the immense demon with tsuzumis embedded in its body is the strongest in the house and surmises that it has devoured a great number of victims. The count is not yet confirmed.

  Shinobu counts fourteen cocoons with human captives in one spot and says Daughter has devoured at least eighty people, while Daughter insists she killed only five.

• Nezuko's restraint (Episode 21)

  Nezuko spends energy healing her wounds and fighting while resisting the urge to kill Tanjiro for food, and Giyu notices she is different from other demons.

  The Demon Slayer girl notices that Nezuko only evades her slashes and does not attack back, which she sets aside without pursuing.

• Giyu's reason tied to a past event (Episode 21)

  Giyu blocks Shinobu's attack on Nezuko and says his reason is something that happened two years ago, but he does not explain it and Shinobu does not understand.

Deduction Board

Facts

• Frail body before transformation

  Rui was frail from birth and could barely walk until Muzan appeared to him one night.

• Parents tried to kill Rui

  After Rui became a demon, his father raised a knife at him while his mother sobbed beside the bedroom; Rui woke and mortally wounded both parents.

• Muzan blamed the parents

  Muzan told Rui the fault lay with his parents for their inability to accept him.

Evidence

• Rui's realization

  Rui sees Tanjiro hugging Nezuko and realizes he did everything to get what they have.

• Father's last words

  As Rui's father died he said that they would die with Rui, which Rui only remembered when his mother died.

• Mother's apology

  Rui's mother apologized to him for not giving him a strong body as she died.

Inferences

• 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.

• Loyalty tied to fear

  Daughter's loyalty to Rui appears rooted in fear of punishment for disobedience.

• Family as a route to memory

  Rui's pretend family appears aimed at recovering his lost human memories.

Suspicions

• Giyu's reason tied to two years ago

  Giyu says he protected Nezuko because of something that happened two years ago, but does not explain further.

• Hidden kill count

  Shinobu claims Daughter has devoured at least eighty people, while Daughter insists she has killed only five.

• Rui's remorse

  Rui says he regrets severing the bond with his parents and has missed them every day since.

Battle Record

Shinobu attacks Nezuko; Giyu blocks her blade and the two clash on the mountain, with Giyu restraining her until a crow interrupts.

Inosuke and Giyu vs Father in the forest

Father's final stand · Episodes 17–18

Location: Mount Natagumo forest

Trigger: Father hunts the Demon Slayers who entered the mountain

Demon Slayer Corps vs Spider Family

• Demon Slayer Corps — fighters: Inosuke Hashibira, Giyu Tomioka
• Spider Family — demon: Father

Outcome: Father is slain by Giyu Tomioka

Aftermath

• Inosuke is left badly wounded

Tanjiro vs Rui in the forest of Mount Natagumo

Rui's defeat · Episodes 18–20

Location: Mount Natagumo forest

Trigger: Rui's pursuit of the siblings

Demon Slayers vs Rui

• Demon Slayers — combatants: Tanjiro Kamado, Nezuko Kamado, Giyu Tomioka
• Rui — combatant: Rui

Outcome: Rui escapes Tanjiro and Nezuko's attack by severing his own head, then is beheaded by Giyu Tomioka.

Aftermath

• Rui's severed head falls while still wanting to kill the siblings
• Daughter continues to run away from the battle

Giyu and Shinobu clash on Mount Natagumo

Shinobu's attack on Nezuko halted · Episode 21

Location: Mount Natagumo forest

Trigger: Shinobu tries to kill Nezuko, a demon, and Giyu blocks her blade

Sides

• Giyu Tomioka's side — Hashira: Giyu Tomioka
• Shinobu's side — Hashira: Shinobu Kocho

Outcome: When a Kasugai Crow relays headquarters' order to take the siblings into custody, both sheathe their swords and leave the mountain.

Ability Table

Season Summary

Season 1 — Season 1

Episodes 1–21

Charcoal seller Tanjiro Kamado finds his family slaughtered by a demon and his sister Nezuko turned into one. Spared by Giyu Tomioka, he trains under Sakonji Urokodaki, passes Final Selection, and hunts demons with Nezuko while searching for a way to cure her. He crosses paths with Muzan Kibutsuji, the first demon, in Asakusa, allies with the demon doctor Tamayo, and is joined by Zenitsu Agatsuma and Inosuke Hashibira; on Mount Natagumo, Lower Rank Five Rui nearly kills the siblings before Giyu beheads him.

Dying, Rui remembers the parents he killed and is reunited with them in the afterlife. Giyu then shields the siblings from Shinobu Kocho; a girl Demon Slayer knocks Tanjiro out and chases Nezuko until a Kasugai Crow orders the two taken into custody, and Tanjiro wakes up before the Hashira.

Music Releases

• Gurenge (OP)
• from the edge (ED)