Recommends - Demon Slayer's Training on Mount Sagiri, the Two Years That Make Tanjiro

A masked teacher, a mountain full of traps and one last test before the real fight.

Words by Jamie Harper 12 November 2026

Demon Slayer: Tanjiro and Sabito face the boulder on Mount Sagiri

A masked teacher, a mountain full of traps and one last test before the real fight.

Demon Slayer's training arc is the rare one that feels earned, not skipped. We think episodes two to five are where Tanjiro stops being a victim and becomes a swordsman.

The teacher - A red mask on a foggy mountain

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: a red mask on a foggy mountain

Tanjiro carries his sister Nezuko, now a demon, to Mount Sagiri, where a retired demon slayer, Sakonji Urokodaki, lives behind a red tengu mask.

Urokodaki does not say yes. He tests the boy first, and the test is cruel.

The training - Traps, thin air and a sleeping sister

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: traps, thin air and a sleeping sister

Every day Tanjiro runs down the mountain through traps in thin air, then swings a sword until his hands bleed. Nezuko sleeps the whole time and nobody knows why.

ufotable animates the fog and the sweat so well that you feel each month go by.

The verdict - The test under the wisteria

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: the test under the wisteria

Then comes the Final Selection: seven nights on a mountain full of demons, kept in only by the wisteria that blooms all around it.

Start at episode one and do not skip ahead. Episode five, My Own Steel, lands because you watched the work.

Where to watch

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba was listed on Crunchyroll and Netflix in the USA when we last checked, in October 2026. Catalogues change by country and by month, so check the service where you are.