Demon Slayer season 3 release date, cast, plot

Demon Slayer season 3 release date, cast, plot and everything you need to know

WATCH: Demon Slayer Season 3 - Official Teaser

Demon Slayer season three is nearly here!

The hugely successful anime franchise wrapped its second season in May of 2022, after an incredible finale that involved some of Demon Slayer’s most impressive fight scenes to date.

Demon Slayer also had a bumper 12 months thanks to the overwhelming success of the spinoff/sequel movie Demon Slayer: Mugen Train. Mugen Train was a hit at the international box office and became the highest-grossing Japanese movie of all time when it was released back in 2020.

So now the dust has settled in the entertainment district, what does the future hold for Tanjiro? Here’s everything we know about Demon Slayer season three.

Demon Slayer season 3 release date: When will Demon Slayer season 3 air?

It's official! Demon Slayer season 3 is released in Japan on April 9. A follow-up date for international release, via Crunchyroll, is yet to be announced.

We also now know that the Swordsmith Village arc will kick off with a one-hour special episode, rather than the standard 22-minute runtime.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba season three’s first episode is also airing early as part of a global ‘theatrical screening event’ (similar to the Mugen Train situation) that will include episodes 10 and 11 of Demon Slayer season two. Details on those global screenings can be found below.

• UK Cinemas - March 1

• United States and Canada - March 3 in ‘over 1,700 theatres’

• Paris - February 25

• Berlin - February 26

• Mexico City - March 4

• Seoul - March 11

• Taipei - March 19

Demon Slayer season 3 cast: Who's in Demon Slayer season 3?

Thanks to a new trailer and some plot details, we can guess that the majority of the cast from the first and second seasons will return. The two major additions will be Mist Hashira, Muichiro Tokito, and the Love Hashira, Mitsuri Kanroji, who were both first introduced in episode 21 of season one.

With that in mind, here are the Japanese and English voice actors for all of Demon Slayer's principal players:

• Tanjiro Kamado – Natsuki Hanae / Zach Aguilar (English)

• Nezuko Kamado – Akari Kitô / Abby Trott (English)

• Inosuke Hashibira – Yoshitsugu Matsuoka / Bryce Papenbrook (English)

• Zenitsu Agatsuma – Hiro Shimono / Aleks Le (English)

• Muzan Kibutsuji – Toshihiko Seki / Greg Chun (English)

• Kagaya Ubuyashiki – Toshiyuki Morikawa / Matthew Mercer (English)

• Water Hashira, Giyu Tomioka – Takahiro Sakurai / Johnny Yong Bosch (English)

• Love Hashira, Mitsuri Kanroji – Kana Hanazawa / Kira Buckland (English)

• Mist Hashira, Muichiro Tokito – Kengo Kawanishi / Griffin Burns (English)

• Flower Hashira, Kanae Kocho – Ai Kayano / Bridget Hoffman (English)

• Tsuguko Kanao Tsuyuri – Reina Ueda / Brianna Knickerbocker (English)

Key players from the production crew will also be back, including head of original story Koyoharu Gotoge, director Haruo Sotozaki and character designer Akira Matsushima.

Demon Slayer season 3 plot: What will happen in Demon Slayer season 3?

Demon Slayer season three will focus on the original manga's ninth arc, the Swordsmith Village arc.

It's worth noting that the Demon Slayer manga officially came to an end in 2020, providing a unique situation for anime fans where they can find out (roughly) what the future has in store for Tanjiro and the gang.

So, spoilers ahead!

The Swordsmith Village arc picks up directly after the Entertainment District arc, which ended with Tanjiro and Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui defeating the demon siblings Gyutaro and Daki.

Luckily, the only permanent casualty of this epic battle was Tanjiro's demon-slaying sword.

Demon Slayer season three will see Tanjiro travel to the Swordsmith Village in order to have his blade repaired by Hotaru Haganezuka.

While there, Tanjiro and co will, of course, be beset by a horde of demons (including a Upper Rank Six that splits themselves across multiple bodies). Luckily, Mist Hashira, Muichiro Tokito, steps in to handle the threat.

Satoshi Hino (Rengoku) was able to identify the key to Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba’s global success (via AnimeNewsNetwork).

"I'm really happy to learn that the appeal of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba and Japanese animation has struck a chord with many overseas viewers.

"Caring for family, the importance of life, and to live one's life to the fullest are some of the themes in this anime, which everyone around the world can relate to. I feel really blessed that everyone around the world has become one and shares this common sentiment."

If season three wants to build on the show’s success, it will continue to develop these important themes.

WATCH Demon Slayer Season 3- Official Trailer :

An official trailer for Demon Slayer season three, which you can watch , was released alongside the show's release date. The trailer is more of a tease than anything, but it does show off some of the series' trademark action and give us our first new glimpse at the Love and Mist Hashiras.

This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Back in April 2022, Crunchyroll and Ufotable released a video that recapped some key moments from the first two seasons – but also highlighted footage of the Mist and Love Hashiras, who we know will play a key role in the third season.

Demon Slayer Season 3 | Swordsmith Village Arc Teaser

A bit more recently, Ufotable also shared the below video which shows off the ‘Upper Moon’ demons, aka the strongest members of Kibutsuji’s Twelve Kizuki, some of whom we know will appear in Demon Slayer season three.

This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Demon Slayer season 3: Where can I watch it?

Earlier in 2022, Ufotable and streaming service Crunchyroll confirmed that Demon Slayer season three would be streaming on the service when it releases.

Subtitled and dubbed versions of Demon Slayer seasons one and two were both made available to international viewers via the service, with the English dub released around four weeks after the Japanese broadcast. Demon Slayer season one aired back in late 2019, while the second aired from October 2021 to April 2022.

Crunchyroll’s base-tier 'fan' membership costs £6.50 per month, or $7.99 in the US, while the premium 'Mega fan' tier costs £8.99 and $9.99 respectively.

The first season of Demon Slayer is also available on Netflix in some countries including Japan, India, Australia, Canada, France and Brazil. Check the full list here. 

10 highest-grossing anime movies of all time (2023)

The highest-grossing anime movie of all time

The 10 highest-grossing anime movies

Here are some of the highest-earning anime movies of all time, which everyone should consider watching.

10) Princess Mononoke

Total revenue: $169,785,704

Hayao Miyazaki is widely regarded as one of the best directors. His movies are generally impeccable and entertaining. Princess Mononoke received widespread critical acclaim and delighted the fanbase too.

Although the story may be cliched in some parts, its execution is marvelous and features some darker themes. It's also worth mentioning that it was the highest-grossing Japanese movie in 1997, regardless of the genre. This masterpiece is also the oldest film on this list.

9) Pokemon: The First Movie

Total revenue: $172,744,662

The initial Pokemon craze was blinding. This series blasted across several media platforms in the late 90s, so naturally, it proved to be a huge hit. It featured all well-known characters, from Ash and Pikachu to the first Legendary Pokemon of the series, Mewtwo.

Technically, there are two parts of this movie. The first one is Pikachu's Vacation, but it's the second one that most fans will likely remember, Mewtwo Strikes Back. The film wasn't as well-received as the previous one on this list, but the sheer popularity of Pokemon made it an astounding success nonetheless.

8) Stand by Me, Doraemon

Total revenue: $183,442,714

It's easy for people to underestimate the Doraemon series' popularity, especially since it's mainly famous in Japan. To give a clear indication of its success, Stand by Me Doraemon was number one in Japan for five weeks in a row.

Doraemon's character is considered a Japanese icon, and readers should know that his series has made over $6.2 billion.

7) Jujutsu Kaisen 0

Total revenue: $190,165,506

Jujutsu Kaisen 0 is the most recent movie on this list, released in 2021. Most modern fans are perhaps aware of Jujutsu Kaisen, but it's worth noting that this anime movie is a prequel to the series.

The original Jujutsu Kaisen 0 was a short manga series that began and ended in 2017, with the iconic sequel beginning a year later. The beloved anime only began in 2020, so a prequel anime movie reaching this level of success is indeed surprising but well-deserved.

6) Weathering With You

Total revenue: $193,715,360

This romantic anime movie was a huge hit back in 2019. It was released in 140 countries, and it was immediately compared to the insanely popular 2016 title, Your Name. It is worth noting that Weathering With You made notably less money by comparison but received excellent reviews. It is a perfect example of a sweet romantic film that viewers will enjoy.

5) Ponyo

Total revenue: $204,826,668

This film is considered one of Miyazaki's more underrated movies, even though it's one of the highest-grossing anime movies of all time. Besides that, it's a prime example of a film designed with kids in mind. However, that does not stop the movie from entertaining adults too.

4) Howl's Moving Castle

Total revenue: $236,214,446

Another Hayao Miyazaki anime movie on this list is Howl's Moving Castle. It takes some inspiration from the eponymous novel by Diana Wynne Jones. The plotline explores various themes tied to feminism and aging. This particular film was even described by Miyazaki as his favorite when asked about his own films.

3) Your Name

Total revenue: $380,140,500

Your Name was referenced earlier in this article, and its total revenue exceeds the previous anime movies on this list. This romantic movie involves a boy and a girl swapping bodies and living the other person's life. It's an unusual plot, but Your Name makes it work and isn't as strange as the initial premise might indicate.

The music also received much praise, with many fans loving the Zenzenzense song.

2) Spirited Away

Total revenue: $395,580,000

The final Hayao Miyazaki anime movie on this list is, unsurprisingly, Spirited Away. It's widely regarded as his best film by fans and critics alike. It is also the only hand-drawn Japanese film to get an Academy Award (specifically the Best Animated Feature). Spirited Away won numerous awards upon its debut, which isn't surprising for anybody who has watched it.

The fairy tale aspects coupled with Japanese mythology are incredibly entertaining, imaginative and include Miyazaki's classic quirky style.

1) Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train

Total revenue: $504,334,511

Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train has a massive lead over every other anime movie in terms of being the highest-grossing anime movie. It's unlikely to be replaced from this position anytime soon.

For those who don't know, this film is a part of the extremely popular Demon Slayer series. Its success wasn't just limited to animations, either. Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train was the highest-grossing film in 2020.

Top 10 Anime according to IMDB:

1."Death Note" (2006-2007)

The story follows Light Yagami, a genius who discovers a mysterious notebook: the "Death Note", which belonged to the shinigami Ryuk, and grants the user the supernatural ability to kill anyone whose name is written in its pages. The series centers around Light's subsequent attempts to use the Death Note to carry out a worldwide massacre of individuals whom he deems immoral and to create a crime-free society, using the alias of a god-like vigilante named "Kira", and the subsequent efforts of an elite Japanese police task force, led by enigmatic detective L, to apprehend him.

2."Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood" (2009-2010)

Brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric are raised by their mother Trisha Elric in the remote village of Resembool in the country of Amestris. Their father Hohenheim, a noted and very gifted alchemist, abandoned his family while the boys were still young, and while in Trisha's care they began to show an affinity for alchemy and became curious about its secrets. However, when Trisha died of a lingering illness, they were cared for by their best friend Winry Rockbell and her grandmother Pinako. The boys traveled the world to advance their alchemic training under Izumi Curtis. Upon returning home, the two decide to try to bring their mother back to life with alchemy. However, human transmutation is a taboo, as it is impossible to do so properly. In the failed transmutation, Al's body is completely obliterated, and Ed loses his left leg. In a last attempt to keep his brother alive, Ed sacrifices his right arm to bring Al's soul back and binds it to a nearby suit of armor. After Edward receives automail prosthetics from Winry and Pinako, the brothers decide to burn their childhood home down, symbolizing their determination and decision of "no turning back," and head to the capital city to become government-sanctioned State Alchemists. After passing the exam, Edward is dubbed the "Fullmetal Alchemist" by the State Military, and the brothers begin their quest to regain their full bodies back through the fabled Philosopher's Stone under the direction of Colonel Roy Mustang. Along the way, they discover a deep government conspiracy to hide the true nature of the Philosopher's Stone that involves the homunculi, the alchemists of the neighboring nation of Xing, the scarred man from the war-torn nation of Ishval, and their own father's past.

3."Attack on Titan" (2013-2022)

Eren Yeager is a boy who lives in the town of Shiganshina, located on the outermost of three circular walls protecting their inhabitants from Titans. In the year 845, the first wall (Wall Maria) is breached by two new types of Titans, the Colossal Titan and the Armored Titan. During the incident, Eren's mother is eaten by a Smiling Titan while Eren escapes. He swears revenge on all Titans and enlists in the military along with his adopted sister Mikasa Ackerman and his best friend Armin Arlert. Five years after Shiganshina's fall, the Colossal Titan attacks the city of Trost, located on the second innermost wall (Wall Rose). Eren helps to successfully defend the city after he discovers a mysterious ability to turn himself into a sentient Attack Titan. Additionally, he regains memories of his father giving him this ability shortly after the fall of Wall Maria, and telling him that the truth about their world can be found in their basement in Shiganshina. These events draw the attention of the Survey Corps and their commander, Erwin Smith, who intend to use his power to reclaim Wall Maria and reach the Yeagers' basement. Eren, Mikasa, and Armin are transferred to the Special Operations Squad, under the care of Captain Levi Ackerman and Hange Zoë.

4."Steins;Gate" (2011)

Steins;Gate is an adaptation of the visual novel of the same name. It is set in 2010 in Akihabara, Tokyo, and follows Rintaro Okabe, a self-proclaimed "mad scientist", who runs the "Future Gadget Laboratory" in an apartment together with his friends Mayuri Shiina and Itaru "Daru" Hashida. While attending a conference about time travel, Okabe finds the dead body of Kurisu Makise, a neuroscience researcher; he sends a text message about it to Daru and later discovers that Kurisu is alive and that the message arrived before he sent it. The laboratory members learn that the cell phone-operated microwave oven they are developing can send text messages back in time; they are joined by Kurisu, and investigate it, sending text messages – referred to as "D-mails" – to the past to change the present. Kurisu eventually creates a device that can send memories through the microwave oven, effectively allowing the user to time travel.

5."Cowboy Bebop" (1998-1999)

In 2071, roughly fifty years after an accident with a hyperspace gateway which made Earth almost uninhabitable, humanity has colonized most of the rocky planets and moons of the Solar System. Amid a rising crime rate, the Inter Solar System Police (ISSP) set up a legalized contract system, in which registered bounty hunters (also referred to as "Cowboys") chase criminals and bring them in alive in return for a reward.The series' protagonists are bounty-hunters working from the spaceship Bebop. The original crew are Spike Spiegel, an exiled former hitman of the criminal Red Dragon Syndicate, and Jet Black, a former ISSP officer. They are later joined by Faye Valentine, an amnesiac con artist; Edward, an eccentric child, skilled in hacking; and Ein, a genetically-engineered Pembroke Welsh Corgi with human-like intelligence. Over the course of the series, the team get involved in disastrous mishaps leaving them without money, while often confronting faces and events from their past:^[16] these include Jet's reasons for leaving the ISSP, and Faye's past as a young woman from Earth injured in an accident and cryogenically frozen to save her life.

6."Avatar: The Last Airbender" (2005-2008)

Avatar is set in an Asiatic-inspired world in which some people can telekinetically manipulate one of the four elements—water, earth, fire or air—through practices known as "bending", inspired by Chinese martial arts. The only individual who can bend all four elements, the "Avatar", is responsible for maintaining harmony among the world's four nations, and serves as the link between the physical world and the spirit world. The series is centered around the journey of twelve-year-old Aang, the current Avatar and last survivor of his nation, the Air Nomads, along with his friends Katara, Sokka, and later Toph, as they strive to end the Fire Nation's war against the other nations of the world. It also follows the story of Zuko—the exiled prince of the Fire Nation, seeking to restore his lost honor by capturing Aang, accompanied by his wise uncle Iroh—and later, his ambitious sister Azula. Avatar is presented in a style that combines anime with American cartoons and relies on the imagery of primarily Chinese culture, with some other East Asian, Southeast Asian, South Asian, New World, Siberian, and Arctic influences.

7."Neon Genesis Evangelion" (1995-1996)

The series explores the experiences and emotions of Evangelion pilots and members of Nerv as they try to prevent Angels from causing more cataclysms. In the process, they are called upon to understand the ultimate causes of events and the motives for human action. The series has been described as a deconstruction of the mecha genre and it features archetypal imagery derived from Shinto cosmology as well as Jewish and Christian mystical traditions, including Midrashic tales and Kabbalah. The psychoanalytic accounts of human behavior put forward by Freud and Jung are also prominently featured.

8."One Punch Man" (2015-2019)

On a supercontinent version of Earth that has four Moons, powerful monsters and villains wreak havoc. The millionaire Agoni creates the Hero Association, which employs superheroes to fight evil. Saitama, an unassociated hero, hails from City Z and performs heroic deeds as a hobby. For three years, he has trained enough to defeat any enemy with a single punch, his unmatched strength leaving him bored. He becomes a reluctant mentor to Genos, a cyborg seeking revenge against another cyborg who killed his family and destroyed his hometown, after Saitama defeats a monster that defeated Genos.

9."Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion" (2006-2008)

In an alternative timeline, the world is divided into three superpowers (similar to the world of Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell): the Holy Britannian Empire (the Americas; also called Britannia), the Chinese Federation (Asia), and the Europa United (Europe and Africa). The story takes place after the Holy Britannian Empire's conquest of Japan on August 10, 2010 a.t.b., by means of Britannia's newest weapon, the "Autonomous Armored Knight", or "Knightmare Frame". In turn, Britannia effectively strips Japan and its citizens of all rights and freedoms and renames the country Area 11 with its citizens referred to as Elevens.

The point of divergence for this timeline appears to be that King Henry VIII of England had a male heir who became King Henry IX. Later, England, led by Queen Elizabeth III, was defeated by Napoleon at the Battle of Trafalgar. The queen fled to Britain's North American colonies where the Britannian Empire was established.

10."Hunter x Hunter" (2011-2014)

Hunters (ハンター, Hantā) are licensed, elite members of humanity who are capable of tracking down secret treasures, rare beasts, or even other individuals. They can also access locations that regulars cannot access.To obtain a license one must pass the rigorous annual Hunter Examination run by the Hunter Association, which has a success rate of less than one in a hundred-thousand. A Hunter may be awarded up to three stars: a single star for making "remarkable achievements in a particular field"; they may then be upgraded to two stars for "holding an official position" and mentoring another Hunter up to single star level; and finally upgraded to three stars for "remarkable achievements in multiple fields".