Demon Slayer: Every Fight We’ve Seen in the Harisha Training Arc (So Far) (2024)

Across the span of four anime seasons, Demon Slayer has delighted and entertained fans with countless high-octane fight sequences, with standouts including Tanjiro's battle against Rui, Kyojuro Rengoku's last stand against Akaza, and most recently, Tanjiro's fight against the Upper Moon 4, Hantengu. Now the anime has launched its Hashira training story arc, which means the slayer vs demon fights are put on pause so the story can focus on everyone getting stronger.

By now, few of Muzan's demons are still active, as Muzan has shifted his attention to just one demon, Nezuko Kamado. During the uneasy peace, Tanjiro and his friends are taking a break from demon hunting and are instead battling one another in intense training matches. None of Season 4's fights have any serious lasting consequences on Demon Slayer, but they're still fun to watch and are a clear indicator of how far Tanjiro and the others have come since Season 1.

8 Obanai Iguro & Sanami Shinazugawa vs Demons Brought the Hashira to Muzan's Door

The only "real" battle that has taken place so far in Demon Slayer Season 4 involved the Serpent and Wind Hashira, who began this season on a nighttime mission. Anime fans saw them halfway through their adventure in the moonlight, fighting together against a large number of regular, low-strength demons. Those demons were obvious "jobbers" to show audiences just how ruthless and deadly these two Hashira can be. There was no particular tension in the fight, but it was still entertaining to see.

The most important development arrived when, seemingly by chance, Sanemi and Obanai stumbled into Muzan's Infinity Castle domain, a place they found bewildering. Just a few seconds later, the two Hashira were booted back out, and they finished their mission safe but also confused. The Demon Slayer Corps will ideally find a way to return to that mysterious doorway that Sanemi and Obanai found, but the odds of that aren't looking too good.

7 Tengen Uzui vs Tanjiro Kamado Was a Tense Nighttime Clash

The first phase of the Hashira training regiment involved the retired Sound Hashira, the flashy Tengen Uzui. He still had the stamina and health to serve as a training "demon" during his phase of training, making good use of his ninja training to challenge Tanjiro and the other trainees. For the most part, Tengen was content to serve as a coach for his subordinates and use his words alone to push them, but it's clear he still has some fight in him.

Tengen sent his subordinates into a moonlit forest, which soon became a terrifying battlefield when Tengen launched his ambush. Most demon slayer cadets stood no chance, but Tanjiro managed to hold off Tengen in a fierce duel with wooden swords, astounding his fellow trainees and pleasing Tengen Uzui – who no doubt had high hopes for Tanjiro in particular. That fight was an impressive duel by any standard, but as anime fans would soon see, it was just warm-up for the intense training to come.

6 Sabito vs Demons Showed What a Skilled Swordsman Sabito Once Was

One of Season 4's fights took place in a flashback sequence. Before Tanjiro joined the training regimen, he spoke to Giyu Tomioka, the moody Water Hashira, and convinced him to explain what was bothering him so much. Giyu spilled his guts and admitted that he felt terribly builty about Sabito's death several years ago. Giyu and Sabito had once been good friends while training together, but when they took the final selection exam, things went sideways.

Anime fans saw the bold, heroic Sabito using Water Breathing to easily dispatch demons in a dazzling display, while Giyu was struggling to keep up. In fact, Giyu got himself hurt, so when more demons arrived, Sabito recklessly took them on to shield Giyu from harm. Tragically, Sabito lost his life to the hand demon, who made a point of killing all of Sakonji Urokodaki's students, Sabito included.

5 Tanjiro Kamado vs Muichiro Tokito Was a Productive Battle Among Friends

After clearing his training phase with Tengen Uzui, Tanjiro proceeded to Muichiro Tokito's own training, which was tougher but still managable for Demon Slayer's hero. The other trainees were having a tough time keeping up with Muichiro the Mist Hashira, but Tanjiro was a decent match for him and Muichiro actually enjoyed the fight. Tanjiro alone could make Muichiro smile and relax during this training regimen.

It wasn't just fruitful training for the both of them – it was a fight among friends, which gave the battle a pleasant air. Later, Tanjiro challenged Muichiro to a paper airplane throwing contest, aware that Muichiro was fond of that hobby. Tanjiro lost, but he still got something out of it, at least.

4 Tanjiro Kamado vs Obanai Iguro Took Place in a Bizarre Indoor Battlefield

Tengen and Muichiro were friendly and supportive toward Tanjiro during their training, but the Serpent Hashira Obanai Iguro was a different story. He gave Tanjiro a chilly reception, then ushered Tanjiro into the strangest traning zone Tanjiro had yet seen. Obanai's training took place indoors, with demon slayers bound to thick wooden beams and only narrow gaps between them.

The goal was for Tanjiro to "snake" his sword through the narrow gaps to fight Obanai on his own terms, with flexibility and precision being key to fighting like that. Tanjiro struggled at first, especially since he was so careful to not accidentially hit the other trainees, but eventually, Tanjiro cleared the training. Obanai was satisfied with Tanjiro's final duel against him, but that didn't change Obanai's bad attitude, unfortunately.

3 Obanai Iguro vs Sanemi Shinazugawa vs Muichiro Tokito Was an Elite Training Session For Hashira Only

One of the most intense battles in Demon Slayer's fourth season largely took place off-screen, but anime fans could still imagine how it went. Sanemi and Obanai both made it clear that they had little faith in their trainees, implying that in their minds, only the Hashira would be worth anything in the final battle against Muzan Kibutsuji the demon king. As a result, Sanemi and Obanai felt like they were doing the most good when they sparred against each other.

At one point, Muichiro Tokito joined the two of them and accepted their invitation to spar with them that night. Demon Slayer fans have no doubt that those three swordsmen's training was intense and dynamic, perhaps with the three of them fighting a fluid, chaotic free-for-all with no one to interrupt them.

2 Tanjiro Kamado vs Sanemi Shinazugawa Showed How Tough Sanemi's Training Can Be

Once Tanjiro finished training with Obanai Iguro, he moved on to Sanemi Shinazugawa's training phase, which managed to be even more brutal than Obanai's own. Tanjiro amassed some nasty bruises after several days of fighting Obanai, and after just one day fighting Sanemi, he had many more. It wasn't just him, either – all the other trainees were getting pummeled fighting Sanemi, even when they outnumbered him.

The anime only briefly depicted Tanjiro's training with Sanemi, but it was still evident that the Wind Hashira was showing no mercy with his rapid fighting style. To his credit, Tanjiro lasted a little longer against the Wind Hashira as they clashed with wooden swords, but that didn't stop Tanjiro from limping back to his room later, aching and covered in bruises. Tanjiro even commented to himself that he found it dispiriting to struggle with such harsh training, but his nastiest fight with Sanemi was yet to come.

1 Tanjiro Kamado & Genya Shinazugawa vs Sanemi Shinazugawa Was an Emotionally-Charged Scuffle

The most recent and most emotionally charged battle in Demon Slayer's fourth season was not a sanctioned training duel or even a fight against a demon. It was a battle of brothers, a personal clash that Tanjiro got himself involved in. After Tanjiro's training with Sanemi, Tanjiro stumbled upon the Shinazugawa brothers arguing in the hallway, with Sanemi having nothing but harsh words for Genya. Not even Genya's claims about his ferocious half-other powers could convince Sanemi to take him seriously.

At one point, the hotheaded Sanemi charged and tried to poke Genya's eyes out, only for Tanjiro to get mixed up in the scuffle. The three fighters even burst through a wall in the building and into a courtyard where Zenitsu and other tranees were, where the fight continued. Tanjiro and Sanemi engaged in a brief unarmed battle, one in which Tanjiro actually landed a blow on the Wind Hashira, much to everyone's shock. However, there wasn't much to gain from this brawl, and Tanjiro ended up getting fussed at and had his training with Sanemi suspended.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

TV-MA

Animation

Action

Adventure

Release Date

January 22, 2021

Cast

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

Main Genre

Animation

Seasons

4