Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Episode 54: Love Hashira Mitsuri Kanroji

Mitsuri Kanroji bursts into the battle to save Tanjiro after he is trapped by a wooden dragon, and she immediately takes on the enemy controlling the attacks around them. She cuts apart the dragons, then demands that the demon release Nezuko and Genya, but her opponent mocks her and keeps fighting.

She unleashes a series of fast, flexible attacks with her distinctive sword style, deflecting assaults made of lightning, wind, sound, and spear-like strikes from the demon’s wooden forms. She manages to wrap her blade around the demon’s neck, but he counters with a devastating sonic blast that knocks her unconscious before she can finish him.

As she lies helpless and a killing blow seems about to land, the episode shifts into her memories. As a child, she was unusually strong, ate a lot, and had hair that was not its current color, which made her stand out from other people. Later, a marriage engagement was broken off because of her appearance and strength, and she began trying to hide her natural traits by changing her hair and eating less so she could seem more ordinary.

The memory sequence shows that this left her unhappy, because she felt she was no longer living honestly as herself. A conversation with the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps encourages her to value who she truly is, and a gift from another swordsman helps restore her confidence. She awakens with renewed determination, thanks her comrades, and a mark appears on her neck as her speed and power increase.

While Mitsuri recovers, Tanjiro follows the demon’s hidden body by scent, Genya bites into part of the wooden enemy to gain strength, and Nezuko uses her blood fire attack to burn the target area. Even so, the hidden body turns out to be empty, and the demon escapes again.