Demon Slayer Season 4, Episode 7 Recap and Spoilers (2024)

The Spring 2024 anime season is nearly over, meaning the fourth season of Demon Slayer is already nearing its conclusion. Episode 7, "Stone Hashira Gyomei Himejima," is the penultimate episode of this season, providing a blend of yet more Hashira-style training and some enticing mysteries and rising tension. This episode feels like a dramatic shift from a safe training arc to thre grim reality of facing Muzan Kibutsuji and his four Upper Moons.

Episode 7 is light on the training and action, though those elements do appear in the episode. For the most part, Episode 7 is character-driven, exploring Gyomei Himejima's painful past while also showing Tanjiro trying to make inroads with Sanemi Shinazugawa. All the while, Episode 7 cranks up the mystery and tension as Zenitsu Agatsuma becomes uncharacteristically serious and Muzan Kibutsuji himself confronts his longtime rival, Kagaya Ubuyashiki.

Tanjiro Kamado is Once Again a Model Shonen Protagonist

From the very beginning, Tanjiro Kamado has been a consummate shonen protagonist, to the point some anime fans might say he's a bit boring or predictable. He is one of the least subversive anime leads fans have seen in some time, a stark contrast with wacky antiheroes like Denji or the hero turned villain Eren Yeager.

Tanjiro is truly and completely devoted to doing good for others while also being an honest, hardworking, empathetic, and reliable person for everyone who needs him. His outstanding character helped him win over friends like the Mist Hashira Muichiro Tokito and even the angry Genya Shinazugawa, and fans see more of that in Episode 7.

To begin with, Tanjiro shows true shonen-style perseverance to use repetitive action to push the boulder one cho away from its starting point, a fine example of protagonist grit at work. Then, Tanjiro lives up to his wholesome reputation with his words when the Stone Hashira, Gyomei Himejima, personally congratulates him on a job well done.

Gyomei also commends Tanjiro for being willing to sacrifice Nezuko to the morning sun to protect the swordsmith village's residents. Even if Tanjiro got it both ways because Nezuko survived anyway, Tanjiro still showed incredible selflessness and resolve with his apparent decisions, and Gyomei has immense respect for that.

However, as Tanjiro points out, that decision may not have been his own after all. It was Nezuko's. So, Tanjiro asks Gyomei to withhold praise until Tanjiro has fully and truly earned it on his own. That makes him one of the most honest and honor-bound shonen heroes anime fans could ever think of.

Tanjiro's good nature appears again later in Episode 7, when he stumbles upon Giyu Tomioka and Sanemi Shinazugwa fiercely dueling with wooden swords. During a break in the fighting, Tanjiro tries to mend ties with Sanemi and offers the Wind Hashira his favorite treats -- tea and red bean mochi. Sanemi isn't too keen on the idea, but Tanjiro insists, another example of his stubbornly good spirit at work.

Giyu Tomioka, no matter his personal woes, is impressed and decides to offer the same snacks to his fellow Hashira for similar reasons. Most likely, this amusing subplot won't go anywhere, but it's still a charming Tanjiro moment. It's also encouraging to see Tanjiro and Giyu continuing to bond over even the smallest of things, which may help Giyu move on from the pain of his flashback.

Zenitsu Agatsuma is Hiding Something Serious From His Friends

For some time now, Zenitsu Agatsuma has been on the back burner. He has not said or done anything of note since he and Inosuke helped Tanjiro fight Daki back in the Entertainment District story arc, and Zenitsu seems to be struggling with the Hashira training regimen, too. For example, he hasn't yet been seen pushing a stone one cho away, though Tanjiro has already done so and Inosuke is making progress.

Zenitsu is also complaining and panicking like usual, especially when it comes to Sanemi's and Gyomei's training, which may lead some Demon Slayer fans to conclude that Zenitsu is just a gag character by this point. Fortunately, Episode 7 drops a vague but compelling hint that that's about to change. Near the episode's beginning, Zenitsu gets a surprise message from his kasugai crow, or rather, his kasugai sparrow.

Anime fans can't see what the message says, but it must be serious and important, because next time fans see Zenitsu in Episode 7, he's all business. Zenitsu isn't yelling or panicking or even goofing off. He sets in solemn meditation when Tanjiro next sees him, and he doesn't explain himself to his friend.

But Zenitsu does have blood on his face, suggesting he's pushing himself with some serious training off-screen. He just might be on the verge of a serious glow-up, and not a moment too soon, because Zenitsu is definitely the weakest link in his shonen-style trio at the moment.

Gyomei Himejima Reveals His Full Backstory

One by one, the Hashira have revealed their painful and tragic backstories, from Muichiro losing his brother to a demon to Tengen defying his ninja clan's ways to Mitsuri struggling with self-acceptance. Now it's time for the Stone Hashira to explore his backstory, and he goes into full detail early in Episode 7.

Gyomei is more cynical and mistrustful than his gentle, monk-like persona would suggest, but it's not because Gyomei is a bad person. He was once incredibly trusting, but it cost him dearly, so in the present, Gyomei is much slower to trust others. Gyomei has seen humanity's true nature, learning firsthand that even if people act cooperative and selfless, they will gladly betray or abandon one another in the name of self-preservation.

Gyomei is not 100% jaded about this, but he is still cautious about bonds of loyalty and trust. Demon Slayer fans learn the grim truth when Gyomei thinks back on his younger years, when he was evidently in his late teens or so. In that shonen flashback sequence, Gyomei is seen caring for eight orphans in a modest temple, where bonds of loyalty, trust, and cooperation are paramount, so everyone can stay safe and get just enough to eat.

One night, a certain boy runs afoul of a demon, so to save his own skin, the boy sells out Gyomei and the other kids, and the demon promptly attacks. All but one of the children end up butchered, and Gyomei pummels the demon repeately to keep it on the defensive until the sun rises, finishing it off. The day seems saved, but the real tragedy is still waiting to strike.

The last surviving child, a young girl of only four years named Sayo, is traumatized and confused, blending Gyomei and the demon in her mind. Sayo reports the entire incident to the authorities, describing the events vaguely enough so the authorities believe Gyomei is the real monster, not the demon.

Since the demon was dissolved in the morning light, there's no evidence of the demon's attack, so Gyomei is blamed for the children's murders and imprisoned. Only Kagaya Ubuyashiki spares Gyomei from execution. Thus, in the present day, Gyomei is cautious about trust and people's claims that they will protect one another. That's why Gyomei is so impressed that the Kamados are willing to sacrifice themselves and make hard decisions to defend the people whom they already vowed they'd protect.

Muzan Kibutsuji and Nakime Close in On the Demon Slayer Corps

In the last few Demon Slayer episodes, the new Upper Moon 4, Nakime, has been using her countless eyeball scouts to search for Nezuko Kamado and Kagaya Ubuyashiki, and in Episode 7, Nakime makes a breakthrough. That night, Sanemi Shinazugawa walks alone when he finds one of Nakime's eyeball scouts, crushing it in his hand before realizing what is going on.

Sanemi is on alert at once, alarmed that the Demon Slayer Corps' compound has been infiltrated. He races off to help, but at the same time, Muzan Kibutsuji the demon king is already making his move. In a slow and dramatic sequence to conclude Episode 7, Muzan arrives through the front gates of the Demon Slayer Corps compound, evidently without a care in the world.

Nakime has finally zeroed in on Kagaya Ubuyashiki, and Muzan intends to make a show of meeting his nemesis face to face at last. As the episode concludes, Muzan stands a handful of feet from the Corps leaders, and Kagaya offers a simple greeting to his worst enemy. The episode ends on that cliffhanger, leaving Demon Slayer fans to wonder what Muzan will do: kill Kagaya, capture him alive, or taunt him and then depart.

It's also unclear whether the slayers will arrive to defend their master in time and thus begin the final battle on their home turf, or whether they will arrive too late, allowing Muzan to return to his Infinity Castle. If the latter happens, the final fight will no doubt take place on Muzan's home turf instead, making the final battle that much more challenging.

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