Demon Slayer Season 4 Episode 6 Recap & Spoilers

Tanjiro reaches the end of the Hashira training in episode six of Demon Slayer’s fourth season, but his training with the Stone Hashira may be too difficult to complete. Here’s what happened in Demon Slayer season 4, episode 6.

What Happened in Demon Slayer Season 4 Episode 6?

With Tanjiro having concluded his training with each Hashira fairly easily, I was excited for “The Strongest of the Demon Slayer Corps” for two reasons. One, it was our first real introduction to the Stone Hashira, Gyomei Himejima, and two, this episode may finally see Tanjiro actually learning and developing his skills.

Up until this point, with the exception of his training with Iguro, most of the training that Tanjiro underwent was pointless fluff. It did help to flesh out the other Hashira, with mixed results, but they were never all that interesting or compelling characters to begin with. Now, the focus is solely on Tanjiro and seeing him struggle to overcome the challenges presented to him. For Himejima’s training, Tanjiro has to do three things: stand under a waterfall, lift some logs, and move a boulder. On the surface, these sound like easy tasks, but they’re absolutely backbreaking and soul-crushing to endure because of how extreme Himejima makes them.

During the training with Himejima, we see how the other Demon Slayers are handling his rigorous training. Zenitsu behaves exactly as you would expect him to, by crying loudly and begging to quit. Inosuke, who has been absent for the majority of the season, throws himself at the training but is less aggravating because he actually wants to better himself, if only for his ego. Most of the average Demon Slayers quit the training and resign themselves to support roles, which Tanjiro accepts and wishes them the best.

While Tanjiro is able to handle the first two tasks, moving the boulder nearly 400 feet seems like an impossible task. No matter how much he tries, he can’t seem to move the boulder at all, even after a week of attempts. It’s not until he receives advice from Genya, who was also booted from his older brother’s training following the last episode, that Tanjiro gets a hint as to how to move the boulder—repetitive motion.

While it’s a vague concept not well explained in the episode, the idea behind the motion is a breathing technique. The user must focus on a single action or memory to open their five senses. Whether it’s through prayer or remembering a painful memory, focusing on that single moment allows the user to gain exponential strength. Tanjiro achieves this by thinking of his family and Rengoku’s last words—because, of course, it’s Rengoku’s last words that stick out in his mind. Tanjiro is not only able to move the boulder but also begins to learn how to control his Demon Slayer mark and unleash his true potential. 

See, this is the kind of development I was waiting for during this arc. There were moments during “The Strongest of the Demon Slayer Corps” where Tanjiro felt like the training was impossible. He felt he couldn’t do anything, but he had to learn how to push past his limits and get stronger. The bulk of the episode centers on that main idea, and while two-thirds of our core trio of Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke don’t get any meaningful development, I’m okay with that as long as Tanjiro’s development feels consequential, which is the case here.

Another moment that felt consequential was seeing the development between Genya and Tanjiro. Despite Genya receiving a lot of screentime last season, he came off as an angry, hotheaded Demon Slayer with a chip on his shoulder and didn’t exactly endear himself to viewers like me. Thanks to the events of the last episode, especially here, he comes across as a much friendlier person. Tanjiro stuck up for him, and now he’s repaying the debt by helping him learn about repetitive motion, but he’s also shown to care about his new friend. He apologizes to Tanjiro for making him think back to traumatic moments and helps make rice balls with the other Demon Slayers. This episode alone does more for Genya than all of last season did.

We also, for the first time in what feels like an eternity, check in on Muzan and what he’s been up to. The new Upper Moon 4, a biwa cyclops demon named Nakime, has been working alongside Muzan to find the Demon Slayer Headquarters. She’s been releasing little eyeballs at night to track the Demon Slayers on patrol in the hopes that one of them will lead Nakime to the headquarters, where Muzan believes both Ubuyashiki and Nezuko are. So far, he hasn’t had any luck, but considering they’ve combed through about 60% of the region, it’s only a matter of time until he finds them.

While it’s still not a perfect episode, “The Strongest of the Demon Slayers” feels like the most consequential the season has been since the premiere. We see Tanjiro struggle for once and improve in a meaningful way while also learning what Muzan has been up to all this time. With two episodes left to go, here’s hoping the season kicks it into high gear and this lighter and more meandering season can end on a high note.

And that’s what happened in Demon Slayer Season 4, Episode 6! Come back next week for a look at the next episode of the season!

Demon Slayer is now streaming on Crunchyroll.