With the Entertainment District Arc finally winding down in the anime, fans are a bit forlorn. This season of Demon Slayer was so incredibly action-packed with absurdly beautiful animation and story progression, and thankfully the next season is confirmed already, but that wait is going to be rough.
So, let's take a look back and the final episodes of season two, as well as the season as a whole, and talk about some of the biggest things the Demon Slayer anime has set up for future arcs.
8 Obanai, The Serpent Hashira, Is Seen Once Again
Viewers have only briefly met Obanai Iguro, the Serpent Hashira, in the anime so far. He taunted Tanjiro, the world's best brother, from above during his trial before Ubuyashiki, and since then has been absent from the show altogether.
Well, in the final episode of the second season, he shows back up to both talk down to Uzui and to question him about how much time he'll need off. This brief scene sets up just how Obanai thinks, where his motivations are at, and what he's willing to sacrifice in the fight against Muzan. So, hopefully, we'll see more of this motivation in season three, or at the very least more of why exactly he's so impatient to fill the Hashira slots.
7 The Concept Of Combining Sword Styles
Remember, all the Breathing Styles in Demon Slayer are simply offshoots of the original Sun Breathing style. Each one is workshopped to fit different strengths and weaknesses for particular people. While each Breathing Style has different forms, the actual method of their Total Concentration Breathing is mostly the same.
So, when Tanjiro mixes and even combines the Sun Breathing style with the Water Breathing style he was initially taught, it isn't too outlandish. It was a great way, at the moment, to use the adaptability of Water Breathing and the raw power of Sun Breathing to save Hinatsuri from the ever-ruthless Gyutaro. Fans should be excited because there will be more moments of this later in the series, and even a moment of Tanjiro using a patented Thunder Breathing technique.
6 The Transparent World
The "Transparent World" is quite the odd technique that is introduced very late in the series overall during the Infinity Castle Arc. Basically, once a Demon Slayer has awakened their Demon Slayer Mark and is currently using it, they have the ability to activate this sort of "vision" that allows them to see through living objects. By using this, Demon Slayers can see where a Demon might be hiding their spine, how they plan to move next, or where their attacks might be coming from. Additionally, the world sort of "slows" downtime for the Demon Slayer, allowing them to react to and dodge attacks that were impossible previously.
And, as it turns out, Tanjiro actually (briefly) used a bit of this ability in the fight against Daki. That part of the fight where he was holding his Breath yet releasing absurd amounts of strength was actually a variation or something similar to this technique, though it seems like forcing it was way too much for him as his Demon Slayer Mark hadn't fully awakened yet.
5 Some Demons Have Extra-Special Ways They Must Be Beheaded
This next foreshadowing was sort of touched on in the Mugen Train movie as well (as tragic as it is), but not to the same degree. Basically, it's the concept that the Upper Moons or any other extra-strong, extra-evil Demons have figured out unique ways to avoid being killed with Niichirin Sword beheading in the standard way. Enmu, the antagonist of the Demon Train Arc, fuses himself with the train to make his spinal column much larger, harder, and more difficult to cut, for example.
Daki and her brother Gyutaro, for example, won't die from being beheaded individually but must be decapitated around the same time. It's never stated how they pulled this off, but maybe it has to do with them sort of sharing one "body". Later on, there are a few other Demons (Upper Moons specifically) who have unique ways they must be killed as well, so viewers should start getting used to this being an established concept.
4 The Demon Slayer Mark
It's been mentioned briefly a couple of times now, but everyone seems to think that Tanjiro's forehead scar is a Demon Slayer Mark. For those unaware, a Demon Slayer Mark is a sort of "birthmark" or "tattoo" that appears on the most accomplished Demon Slayers and is said to vastly improve their abilities once gained, though the drawbacks of these are still yet unknown (in the anime).
But, as Tanjiro has said, this forehead scar is from protecting his younger brother from scalding water and wasn't something he had at birth. But, when cutting Gyutaro's neck in the final stages of season two, this Birthmark seems to advance further down his forehead as well as take on this sort of "flame-like" shape. So, even if it wasn't a Demon Slayer Mark before, it very likely is one now.
3 Here Comes Upper Moon Two
When viewers are finally getting the tragic backstory of both Gyutaro and Daki as their two heads argue with each other, another new Demon is introduced as the one who turns both Ume (Daki) and Gyutaro into Demons. This is Doma, a terrifyingly "jubilant" Demon who currently holds the position of Upper Moon Rank Two (though he was Rank Six in the flashback).
Doma is a major antagonist during the Infinity Castle Arc, and one of the more terrifying inhumane Demons altogether, so getting to hear and see him in the anime will assuredly get manga fans excited for his eventual fight scenes, and the snow around them during this flashback is a bit of a reference to his Blood Demon Art as well.
2 Nezuko's Enraged State
It should be clear to anime fans by now that Nezuko is not the typical Demon. Yes, this is obvious by the fact that she hasn't and (usually) won't crave human flesh, but it's more than that. Usually, Demons have their Blood Demon Art and their Regeneration Speed as their two unique features, with the Upper Moons maybe having something extra.
But, as seen in the Entertainment District Arc, Nezuko has more than that. She has her Demon-hating fire-based Demon Blood Art of course, but she also has a Regeneration Speed that rapidly changes based on the current amount of danger she's in. And now, Nezuko also has an "Awakened Form" where she becomes about as Demon-like as she can get, with a flurry of unique abilities that come with it. In her Awakened Form, Nezuko has:
- Even more absurd strength
- Regeneration Speed that rivals the Upper Moons.
- An insatiable craving for Human Flesh.
- And a master-class level of control over her own blood.
And, luckily, this isn't the last unique Demonic Aspect Nezuko unlocks or the last time she uses this Awakened State, so get excited to see some more of it in season three with the Swordsmith Village arc.
1 Obanai Foreshadowing The Hashira Training Arc
Lastly, let's go full circle and talk about the Serpent Hashira again, Iguro Obanai. While arguing with the Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui, Obanai complains about to quality of the lower rank Demon Slayers in comparison to the Hashira.
He mentions that the average "level" of the recruits and Demon Slayers is so much lower than it should be, which is why none of them can rise up and fill the empty Hashira slots left by Uzui and Kyojuro. While this may seem like a throwaway comment, this is actually alluding to the Hashira Training Arc that comes directly after the next story arc in the manga. During this Arc, the Demon Slayers make a wide effort to get all of their Demon Slayers up to a certain level of power, with Obanai being one of the masterminds behind the idea.