This Sunday, the 10th episode of Demon Slayer: Swordsmith Village Arc aired on TV, and it made a surprising announcement. Rather than running for two more weeks alongside most of the other Spring 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 Slayer first aired back in 2019 to an incredible reception in Japan and beyond. The first 24 episodes were extremely popular, which led to the movie Mugen Train being released in 2020. The movie broke box office records around the world, despite being released during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was so popular, that the next TV series for Demon Slayer began with an extended seven episode version of the Mugen Train Arc before starting the ten episode Entertainment District Arc in 2021.
On April 9th, 2023, the current Swordsmith Village Arc began airing with a one-hour special. Before that, the final two episodes of the Entertainment District Arc along with this one-hour special were screened at movie theaters across Japan - and even internationally. All of these points show just how popularDemon Slayer is right now around the world.
In this latest arc in the Demon Slayer story, 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 the Demon Slayer Corps use 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, the Swordsmith Village Arc is coming to an end. With a one-hour opening episode and 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 the Swordsmith Village Arc is far from the last season of Demon Slayer we will see.
The final episode of Demon Slayer: Swordsmith Village Arc will air on June 18, 2023, on Crunchyroll.
Source: AnimeNewsNetwork