Demon Slayer Season 4 Episode 4 Recap & Spoilers (2024)

As the Spring 2024 anime season draws on, Demon Slayer's heroes keep grinding away with their new training arc, with no end in sight. By Episode 4, it's evident that the Hashira training arc is here for the long haul – longer than the training sequences found in similar anime like Jujutsu Kaisen and My Hero Academia. After all, this is the heroes' last chance to get strong enough to face Muzan and the Upper Moons, so the Hashira training is rather in-depth for maximum results.

Right now, protagonist Tanjiro Kamado's own training is coming along fairly well thanks to both his protagonist powers and the fact that he has survived brushes with death against multiple Moons, giving him an edge. The training arc isn't about whether Tanjiro can earn the approval of his Hashira trainers, though. His real quest is to befriend them and get to know them better as allies & friends. As of Episode 4, Tanjiro is making great progress, moving on from Giyu Tomioka's heartbreaking backstory to Muichiro Tokito's hobbies.

The Hashira Training Regimen Slogs Onward, With Bruises For All

The Hashira training regimen is broken up into several phases, with nearly every current and former Hashira overseeing a singular phase of this marathon training arc. In Episode 3, Demon Slayer fans watched the retired Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui pushing his trainees to toughen up, and Tanjiro breezed his way right through that phase, much to his fellow trainees' shock. It would have been tedious to show much of that, though, so the narrative swiftly moves on to Muichiro Tokito's own training in Episode 4, which is more compelling to watch.

That's why Muichiro's training takes up the bulk of an entire episode, rather than just one brief snippet of it. As expected, the rank-and-file members of the Demon Slayer Corps still struggle with this tough training regimen, since they're being asked to get on a Hashira's level in just a few weeks, which is far more than they signed up for when they passed the final selection exam. This is indeed highly unusual for the Demon Slayer Corps, but with the final battle against Muzan Kibutsuji the demon king looming, the Hashira and their master Kagaya have little other choice.

In all likelihood, only the named heroes of Demon Slayer will get much out of this training and make serious progress with the redshirt slayers there to make them look that much better. Episode 4 shows how rough this training can be not just for the rank-and-file slayers, but even the Hashira who train them. It's easy for Tengen Uzui to stand around and coach his trainees while his three wives serve lunch, but it's another for the young Mist Hashira, Muichiro Tokito, to spar all day long with a large handful of redshirts with wooden swords.

The ever-empathetic Tanjiro Kamado notes to himself that this training exacts a heavy toll from the Mist Hashira, and the narrative confirms that when a brief scene shows a shirtless Muichiro washing himself by the well, with large, nasty bruises on his arms and torso. Muichiro may be far stronger than his traineess, but not even he will get through this unscathed. Going Plus Ultra means fighting through the pain for Demon Slayer's heroes, Hashira or not, and that kind of grit is what it takes to even stand a chance against the remaining villains.

The Wind, Serpent, and Mist Hashira Have Their Own Super-Training By Moonlight

While the Demon Slayer anime has a generally positive and constructive tone about the rigorous Hashira training regimen, some of the Hashira are openly skeptical of all this. In fact, Wind Hashira Sanemi Shinazugawa and Serpent Hashira Obanai Iguro openly doubted whether this would do much good in the last episode, commenting that no redshirt demon slayer would accomplish anything against an Upper Moon.

They almost seem to think the overall Hashira training arc is a waste of time, but evidently, Tengen and Muichiro feel differently, and the remaining Hashira might also have faith in this regimen. So far, at least, there has been no conflict among the Hashira about this — evidently, Sanemi and Obanai are keeping quiet about their doubts. However, Sanemi and Obanai aren't just giving up or slacking off. They still have faith in the remaining Hashira to get the job done when the final battle is joined, and thus they are training with each other by moonlight.

It's mostly been off screen, but Demon Slayer fans can be reasonably sure that this Hashira-only training is both intense and fruitful, or else pragmatic characters like Sanemi and Obanai would have dropped the idea by now. In Episode 4, Muichiro Tokito joins them for another nighttime session, and Sanemi and Obanai welcome him. Now, Sanemi and Obanai are using their actions alone rather than their words to show that they have faith in the Hashira alone to fight this final battle properly.

Tanjiro and Muichiro Build a Wonderful New Friendship While Training

Episode 4 isn't entirely about the hard-won gains of grueling training, and longtime Demon Slayer fans wouldn't expect it to be, either. This anime has a strong emotional core with themes of friendship, familial love, grief, and hope, and it's not just action sequences that bring out such things in Demon Slayer's main characters. So far, the Hashira training arc has found time for a strong emotional impact, including Giyu Tomioka's heartbreaking flashback, and now it's Muichiro's turn to create some emotional resonance, albeit in a different way.

Episode 4 has a heartwarming and delightful tone thanks to his newfound friendship with Tanjiro, all while they train together, so fans might say that Muichiro Tokito sets a new standard for the remaining Hashira. If Genya and Obanai were more open-minded too, this training might proceed more smoothly. Tanjiro and Muichiro do well together as they train in the latter's dojo, but that's not the real gain here.

Instead, Demon Slayer fans are treated to a new side to Muichiro, with that quiet himbo showing his happy, carefree side that closely mirrors Tanjiro's own. In Season 3, Muichiro showed his grim and aloof side as a duty-oriented Hashira, and it seemed Muichiro wanted to push people away, perhaps to avoid getting hurt again. But in Season 4's fourth episode, Muichiro is relaxed and smiling when he's around Tanjiro, showing what a positive effect the protagonist has had on him.

Perhaps it all traces back to that moment in the swordsmith village, when Tanjiro urged Muichiro to fight not just for duty's sake, but to protect people. In Episode 4, Tanjiro takes the next step and decides to bond with Muichiro over a hobby — in this case, Muichiro's fondness for paper airplanes folded out of origami paper. It's a quaint and charming scene to watch Tanjiro hade a paper airplane-throwing contest with the Mist Hashira, bringing out Muichiro's innocent and fun side in ways no training match ever could.

Muichiro is usually his stern, aloof self when around the rank-and-file slayers, but when a crowd gathers to watch the contest, he's still happy and relaxed, and allows everyone to play with their own airplanes, too. Fans might say that just for once, Muichiro is allowed to be the innocent kid he really is, rather than a duty-bound warrior who sacrificed his youth to fight demons. It's innocent bonds like these that motivate Demon Slayer's heroes to fight that much harder for each other's sake, making each fight scene more than just a clash of swords and claws.

Nezuko Kamado Must Sit Out the Action

So far, Demon Slayer fns have seen plenty of Tanjiro's own training, but very little of Inosuke's and Zenitsu's, so the anime's primary shonen trio is nowhere to be seen, and that's a shame for fans of Inosuke and Zenitsu. That is especially true for Nezuko Kamado, who has nothing in particular to do during this training program's many phases. Nezuko is no slayer, and her fighting style is totally different than any slayer's, so she must sit out the action. For now, as Episode 4 shows, Nezuko is simply asleep with Sakonji Urokodaki to watch over her.

Tanjiro and Muichiro take a moment to discuss this near the end of Episode 4, just so Demon Slayer fans are clear on why Nezuko isn't doing anything. After all, as Tanjiro and Muichiro note, Nezuko is Muzan's primary target, and it's dreadfully risky to bring her along on any mission, since all demons are looking for her. This means Nezuko must simply sit out the action and remain hidden until the very last moment, when the demon slayers are ready to take the fight to Muzan on their own terms. Alternatively, if the demons make the first move, then Nezuko might volunteer to join the fight. Either way, fans shouldn't expect much from her until the training arc is complete.

Demon Slayer

TV-MA

Anime

Action

Adventure

When Tanjiro Kamado returns home to find his family was attacked and killed by demons, he discovers his younger sister Nezuko was the only survivor. As Nezuko slowly becomes a demon, Tanjiro sets out to find a cure for her and become a demon slayer so he can avenge his family.

Release Date

April 6, 2019

Cast

Natsuki Hanae , Zach Aguilar , Abby Trott , Yosh*tsugu Matsuoka

Main Genre

Anime

Seasons

3

Studio

ufotable

Creator

Koyoharu Gotouge

Streaming Service(s)

Crunchyroll , Hulu , Amazon Prime Video , Netflix