This Sunday, the 10th episode ofDemon Slayer: Swordsmith Village Arcaired on TV, and it made a surprising announcement. Rather than running for two more weeks alongside most of the otherSpring 2023 anime, it will finish next week with a final 11th episode. The episode won’t be typical, though, and will clock in at 70 minutes long.
Demon Slayerfirst aired back in 2019 to an incredible reception in Japan and beyond. The first 24 episodes were extremely popular, which led to the movieMugen Trainbeing released in 2020. The moviebroke box office records around the world, despite being released during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was so popular, that the next TV series forDemon Slayerbegan with an extended seven episode version of theMugen Train Arcbefore starting the ten episodeEntertainment District Arcin 2021.
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On April 9th, 2023, the currentSwordsmith Village Arcbegan airing with a one-hour special. Before that, the final two episodes of theEntertainment District Arcalong with this one-hour special were screened at movie theaters across Japan - and even internationally. All of these points showjust how popularDemon Slayeris right now around the world.
In this latest arc in theDemon Slayerstory, the main character Tanjiro has to replace his broken sword, which was destroyed in the epic battle at the end of the last season of the anime. The swords that theDemon Slayer Corpsuse are special, though, and can only be forged in a secret village in the mountains. When Tanjiro arrives to ask for a new sword from his usual swordsmith, though, powerful high-tier demons begin to attack the previously safe village - and of course, it’s up to Tanjiro to stop them, and prevent the art of these special swords from being lost forever.
Now, theSwordsmith Village Arcis coming to an end. With aone-hour opening episodeand a 70-minute final episode, the anime will finish with 11 episodes on paper, but about 13 average episodes in run time. It makes it the longest single arc since the series began, especially with two extended episodes pushing the run time longer than ever.
The reason for the final extra long episode over breaking it into two pieces has not been officially revealed, but we can make a guess. Likely, the story does not have a place that is good to stop, and will be non-stop action similar to the conclusions of the previous arcs. Rather than getting everyone hyped up and enjoying an exciting fight only to stop it in the middle, the story will continue through to its conclusion. And we are sure that theSwordsmith Village Arcis far from the last season ofDemon Slayerwe will see.
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The final episode ofDemon Slayer: Swordsmith Village Arcwill air on July 24, 2025, onCrunchyroll.
