Demon Slayer Arcs (Anime) Ranked

One of the things that impressed me most when I first started Demon Slayer was the story’s willingness to evolve and spread out across multiple sub-stories – in other words, the narrative was split into arcs!

Nine of the twelve manga arcs have been adapted into anime form (Seasons 2,3 and 4 have one arc each, but Season 1 was comprised of six different arcs), and it sounds like the best is yet to come. How would I rank the anime arcs?

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

OK

9 – Tsuzumi Mansion

I had a tough time picking my least favourite Demon Slayer Arc as they all have good moments sprinkled across them, but in the end I think Tsuzumi Mansion had the lowest lows.

Both the fight with the exiled Lower Rank Demon and Zenitsu’s sudden display of power were awesome, but Inosuke and Zenitsu were at their absolute worst here. I’m not exaggerating when I say I thought they were the worst TV characters I’d even seen after I first finished this arc.

This is also one of the worst examples of padding in the whole Demon Slayer series – what could have just been a couple of episodes drags out for multiple, and it really hurts the viewing experience.

8 – Rehabilitation Training

Rehabilitation Training is a weird arc more for its placement at the end of Season 1 than the actual content within it. Nothing much happens, which makes it a weak note to end the first season on.

The best parts by far were meeting all of the Hashira / understanding how the Demon Slayer Corps worked as well as Muzan obliterating the Lower Ranks. Everything in between was very filler-y and a bit boring.

Good

7 – Kidnapper’s Bog / First Mission

I’ve heard conflicting things about what this arc should be titled, but in essence it’s basically Tanjiro’s first proper tussle with a demon.

He fights a fairly standard demon and learns some lessons along the way. A very short arc, but necessary to the story.

6 – Asakusa

What starts off as a seemingly innocuous arc soon becomes a pivotal point in the narrative.

Tanjiro ends up meeting both Muzan – which I was amazed happened so early in the series – and Lady Tamayo, two important characters for the story as a whole. The fight outside Lady Tamayo’s manor dragged in places, but it was a fun set piece.

Great

5 – Final Selection

If there was one thing I appreciated most about Demon Slayer’s first season, it was that it wasted no time at all getting to the good stuff.

Tanjiro has a really compelling origin story, and I love how his training didn’t take up the majority of the first season. In terms of “the protagonist trains for the first time” arcs, it doesn’t get better than Final Selection.

4 – Swordsmith Village

The most recent arc at the time of writing, and the most disappointing by far.

The fights against Upper Ranks Four & Five were cool, and I liked most of the backstories that got fleshed out, but the storytelling felt too rushed and there weren’t enough blood-pumping moments to make Swordsmith Village a stand-out arc.

But I’ve still ranked it at number four on this list – it’s a testament to Demon Slayer’s continuing quality that it had an “off” season and I still really enjoyed it.

Amazing

3 – Mount Natagumo

Five out of the six arcs present in Season 1 are in the bottom five of this list, which is why I consider the first season to be the weakest overall. The one arc that shined above the others, however, was the Mount Natagumo Arc.

The Demons actually feel like a threatening force for the first time in the series, and their dastardly powers and acts of cruelty translate really well to the screen. This is also where Inosuke and Zenitsu start to become more likeable, and Tanjiro’s fight against the Spider Demon is the most hype part of Season 1.

2 – Mugen Train

I was hesitant going into Season 2 knowing that it would be shorter and set primarily on a train, but the Mugen Train Arc blew my socks off.

Rengoku is probably my favourite Hashira so far purely because of his screen presence and infectious positivity, and some of the fights – especially in the last two episodes – took my breath away.

What bumped Mugen Train above Mount Natagumo, however, was the psychological torment that Tanjiro and co. went through. Some of these episodes and dream sequences got really dark, and I loved every second.

1 – Entertainment District

Mugen Train set my expectations sky-high going into the third season, but the Entertainment District Arc still managed to wow me again and again.

Tengen is yet another slam-dunk in the Hashira department, Tanjiro finally gets to face off against an Upper Rank, Nezuko gets a few episodes in the spotlight, and the penultimate episode is the most intense twenty minutes of TV I’ve seen in a long time. If the final few arcs are anywhere near as awesome as this, Demon Slayer is about to earn its place among the pantheon of all-time great shows.

Aaand that’s my list! You can check out some of my latest blog posts below: