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So, you want to start Demon Slayer. Where to begin? The smart money would (obviously) be from the first season and work your way through. Unfortunately for those wanting to jump on anime’s most exciting bandwagon, it’s not that straightforward.
What began as a simple task as turned into a bit of a Tanjiro-style headache. But we’re here to clue you in on how to watch Demon Slayer in order, from all the arcs, the Mugen Train movie, and what is ultimately skippable in the grand scheme of things.
You are probably already shouting questions at your screen: where should you begin? Should you watch the Mugen Train movie? And what exactly is Demon Slayer season 2? To help you prepare for Demon Slayer season 3, we’ve put together a no-nonsense guide on how to watch Demon Slayer in order. You can breathe a little easier now.
And once you’ve done with all that, there are plenty more series to dip into. Here’s our list of the best anime you should be watching right now.
How to watch Demon Slayer in order
Demon Slayer currently consists of two seasons, with a movie sandwiched in-between. The first season, released in 2019, is 26 episodes long – and you should watch that from start to finish.
Here’s where it gets a little trickier to follow. A sequel to the first season was released as a film: Demon Slayer: Mugen Train. The wildly successful Demon Slayer movie was also adapted into a television arc to begin Demon Slayer season 2.
That ‘Mugen Train’ arc is followed by wholly original episodes in the ‘Entertainment District Arc’. The Mugen Train arc is seven episodes long; the Entertainment District arc consists of a further 11 episodes.
To keep things simple, we recommend watching Demon Slayer season 1 then picking either the Mugen Train feature film or the Mugen Train recap arc to watch. From there, you can watch the Entertainment District arc. Laid out on the page, the Demon Slayer watch order looks a little like this.
- Demon Slayer season 1 (episodes 1-26)
- Mugen Train movie OR Demon Slayer: Mugen Train TV arc (episodes 27-33)
- Demon Slayer season 2, AKA the Entertainment District arc (episodes 34-44)
That’s all you really need to focus on. In our expert opinion, we would recommend watching the adapted-for-TV Mugen Train arc instead of the movie. Not only do you get extra scenes, but you also get a bonus episode (the 27th episode), which provides a little more backstory to one of Mugen Train’s most prominent characters.
Should I watch the Mugen Train movie?
Absolutely. It’s a full sequel to the first season and, unlike other anime movies, it’s canon. It also introduces various characters and concepts that are followed up on in Demon Slayer’s Entertainment District Arc.
It does feel a little redundant to watch both the movie and the Mugen Train arc series, so make sure you pick one or the other.
Can I skip any Demon Slayer episodes?
Anime can sometimes be packed with so-called ‘filler’ episodes, those designed to kill time until the source material gets pumps out new issues for the TV show to adapt. That’s not really the case in Demon Slayer.
Some episodes can be a little slow, particularly in the middle third of the first season, but everything is worth watching. We’d only recommend skipping the Demon Slayer: Mugen Train arc if you’ve already seen the Mugen Train movie recently.
How many episodes of Demon Slayer are there?
There are currently 44 episodes of Demon Slayer for you to watch – with more on the way.
Announced in early 2022, Demon Slayer season 3 (AKA the Swordsmith Village arc) will adapt the next chapter in Tanjiro’s story. It’s not yet known how many episodes will be in the third season, however.
For more from the world of anime, here’s our guide to Jujutsu Kaisen season 2.
