SUMMARY

The Demon Slayer season 4 finale is everything fans wanted and so much more.
It gave way to thrill, extraordinary animation and heartbreaking farewells.
The episode set in stone the upcoming Infinity Castle arc.

Spoiler Alert!
This article contains spoilers for Demon Slayer season 4, specifically for episode 8: The Hashira Unite.

The moment that every Demon Slayer fan had been waiting for is finally here. Hashira Training arc’s finale is everything fans wanted it to be and more. Koyoharu Gotouge’s masterpiece is done justice through Ufotable and the studio has left no effort behind in making it a beautiful spectacle. Although Muzan’s entry got made fun of in the previous episode because of just how dramatic it was, its impact was felt far and wide.
Muzan with Kagaya and Amane Ubuyashiki | Credit: Ufotable
The latest episode and the final episode of season 4 starts as if it were a movie. The entire tone of the episode feels like that of a film, from start to finish. It also skips the need for an opening song, panning the scene right as Muzan enters the Ubuyashiki residence. Wisteria can be seen smoking all around him, mist forming as it burns through a demon so powerful that his presence is felt through and through.

Demon Slayer Brings Forth a Cursed Clan

Demon Slayer Hashira Training Arc episode 8 The Hashira Unite, is not so much about Tanjiro as it is about Ubuyashiki and Muzan. Muzan finds himself dumbfounded at Kagaya Ubuyashiki’s condition, seeing how weak and helpless he looks. The demon goes on to mock exactly that when Ubuyashiki goes on to talk about how his clan is one that is directly related to that of Muzan’s.
Kagaya and Amane Ubuyashiki against Muzan | Credit: Ufotable

Eternity is a human feeling. Only human feelings last forever and are undying.

For a heart as cold as Muzan’s, that revelation does nothing to waver his determination in wanting to kill the man before him. However, then Ubuyashiki goes on to talk about how it was because of Muzan’s existence that his clan was forever cursed. A clan filled with sickly children who barely ever managed to survive, one unable to understand as to why such a harsh fate has been put on them. However, it was later revealed that this futile mortality was a result of repentance. Muzan finds himself amused by this curse, seeing that he never had to pay a price for his own sins.

Muzan also notices Ubuyashiki’s children playing outside. The soundtrack, animation, and overall rhythm of the episode had been beyond compare. This is by far the best Demon Slayer episode in my opinion. Seeing only the family and himself present, Muzan senses something wrong, and surprisingly tranquility is mixed within.
Ubuyashiki and Amane | Credit: Ufotable
Ubuyashiki then goes on to mock about how what Muzan seeks so desperately is eternity in immortality. Something he can never achieve but a mere, terminal human-like Ubuyashiki already has. Muzan, agitated by the conversation, seeks to kill Ubuyashiki before the estate bursts into flames.

Ubuyashiki’s Legacy Lives on Through the Hashira

As the conversation was going underway, the Demon Slayer Corps had already been alerted with the Hashira alongside Tanjiro rushing towards Ubuyashiki’s estate. The entire episode felt personal on many levels. Kagaya Ubuyashiki wasn’t just their master, he was also their savior in many ways. He was a man who could understand their pain and the efforts they put in.

He treated them like his own children but astonishingly enough, he was four years younger than Himejima Gyomei, whom he recruited when the former was merely 14 and the latter was 18. The maturity and understanding of Ubuyashiki made him someone the Hashira were ready to protect with their lives.
The Hashira Unite | Credit: Ufotable
Upon seeing the estate being blasted, all of them find themselves in a state of shock, one that is quickly recovered for the sake of their lost master. It is then discovered that blowing up the estate wasn’t Muzan’s plan but Ubuyashiki’s. It left Muzan in turmoil, delaying his regeneration and buying the Hashira their time. The moment Muzan starts regenerating, Blood Demon Art spikes start piercing through his body, taking away his mobility. It is then that Tamayo appears with her hand pushing into Muzan’s body with a cure.

She then calls upon Himejima, who strikes Muzan’s head, one that unfortunately grows back almost instantly. In a flashback, it is revealed that Ubuyashiki had always intended to use himself as bait to unite the Hashira and get them all to fight Muzan, who he knew, because of his Foresight or Insight, would be coming very soon.

The Infinity Castle Arc Begins

The episode features one beautiful scene after another. The sequence where the Ubuyashiki estate burns is perhaps the best of Ufotable, but it also takes the time to feature a fight between Muzan and Himejima. Their plan is to keep fighting with him until the sun rises, considering that there is no known way to kill him other than sunlight.
The Infinity Castle | Credit: Ufotable
This plan derails drastically when Nakime’s Biwa can be heard, and suddenly, the tides of the war change in an instant. The gates to the Infinity Castle open in an instant, taking everyone from the Demon Slayer Corps to their domain. Everyone finds themself separated, spreading out towards their own fights that are yet to come.

The episode takes its time in establishing a conclusion for the season with every major and minor character fans saw making an appearance. Ubuyashiki’s dying wish was to make sure none of those he cared about had to die anymore. Diving into the Infinity Castle would accomplish the exact opposite of that. Muzan isn’t one to stop under any circumstances and neither is the Demon Slayer Corps.

After the credits, in the proper Demon Slayer fashion, Mitsuri and Tanjiro discuss the only Hashira who’s left’s Taisho-era secret, Rengoku. While the first bit seems to be a light-hearted section, it is Rengoku’s echoing voice that catches not just the audience off guard but also Mitsuri and Tanjiro. Both of them stand in shock as the former Flame Hashira wishes them to win against Muzan.