by “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” is a Japanese-style fantasy battle manga serialized in “Weekly Shonen Jump” by Koyoharu Gotouge. The original comic is completed in 23 volumes and has become a worldwide hit with a total circulation of over 150 million copies.
The anime adaptation began with the TV anime “Tanjiro Kamado: Unwavering Resolve Arc” broadcast in 2019, followed by the movie “Mugen Train Arc” in 2020, the TV anime “Yukaku Arc” aired in 2021, the “Swordsmith Village Arc” in 2023, and the “Hashira Training Arc” in 2024. It has been announced that the “Mugen Castle Arc” will be made into a trilogy of movies.
This article will summarize information about the “Final Battle Arc,” which may be the final episode of the anime “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba,” along with some speculation.
What is the popular anime “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba”?
The protagonist, Tanjiro Kamado, was born the eldest son of a charcoal-burning family in Okutama County, Tokyo Prefecture, during the Taisho era. When he left home for business, a demon killed and ate his family. To turn his sister Nezuko, the only survivor who had turned into a monster, back into a human, Tanjiro joined the Demon Slayer Corps, which fights demons to protect people and threw himself into a fierce battle to the death.
The story of “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba,” which begins with such a prologue, is a famous work that depicts the battle between man-eating demons and the Demon Slayer Corps’ swordsmen. While it is a classic story of a boys’ manga centered on friendship, effort, and victory, it has also been highly praised for its dramatic nature, which touches on the sad past of the demons who were once humans.
2021, it attracted attention by winning the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s Art Encouragement Prize for New Artists, the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Special Award, and the Japan Cartoonists Association Award Grand Prize in the Comics Division.
What is “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Final Battle”?
The final battle arc of “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” may be the episode that will be released after the Infinity Castle arc, which has been announced to be made into a movie trilogy. It has yet to be announced that it will be made into an anime, and it is uncertain whether it will be produced. Some may think there is no final battle arc in “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.”
Fans are divided on which parts of the original manga should be considered the Mugenjo Arc. Some think it extends from Volume 16 to the final Volume 23, while others consider it up to Chapter 180, “Recovery,” in Volume 21, and the rest to be the Final Battle Arc.
Due to this background, it is currently unclear how the anime production side perceives the story divisions of “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.” It is unknown whether the final battle with Kibutsuji Muzan will be included in the Infinity Castle Arc or whether a separate Final Battle Arc will be produced.
When will the anime “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Final Battle Arc” be broadcast or released?
If the anime “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: The Final Battle” is produced, will it be a TV anime or a movie version? And above all, when will it be broadcast or released? It isn’t easy to speculate at this point when we do not even know the screening date of the movie trilogy Mugenjo Arc, but let’s predict the broadcast or release date by referring to the past production schedule.
First of all, it took 13 months from the end of the TV anime “Tanjiro Kamado: Unwavering Resolve Arc” to the release of the movie “Mugen Train Arc.” The following TV anime, “Yukaku Arc,” started 14 months later, and it took 14 months from the end of that to the start of the TV anime “Swordsmith Village Arc,” and the subsequent TV anime, “Hashira Training Arc” was 11 months after the end of “Swordsmith Village Arc.” In other words, the interval between each series is 11 to 14 months.
Considering that the first part of the movie Mugenjo Arc will be released around May to August 2025, the second part in 2026, and the third part in 2027. If the Final Battle Arc is produced, it will be another 11 to 14 months after the third part of the Mugenjo Arc, probably from 2028 to 2029.
However, in the “Bocchi the Rock!” movie compilation, which Aniplex distributes, the production company of “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba,” the interval between the first and second parts was only two months. In this way, with the “Mugenjo Arc” movie trilogy being released consecutively in a relatively short span, the broadcast or release of the Final Battle Arc may be brought forward.
Which volumes and chapters of the manga does “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Final Battle Arc” cover?
As mentioned above, if the Infinity Castle Arc ends with Chapter 180, “Recovery” in Volume 21 of the original manga, the Final Battle Arc will consist of a total of 25 chapters, from Chapter 181 “The Great Disaster” in Volume 21 to Chapter 205 “A Life Shining Through the Ages” in Volume 23. Chapter 205 will be the final chapter of the original Demon Slayer manga.
You may think 25 episodes are a little short, but the “Infinity Train Arc” was even shorter at 13 episodes in the original comics, so it seems like it would be enough to make an independent anime episode. Also, the official fan book “Demon Slayer Corps Travelogue Vol. 2” includes a specially drawn epilogue, “Tanjiro’s Recent Status Report,” so even if the Final Battle Arc is animated, it won’t be short on volume.
