( Flame flickering )
( Flame whooshes )
( Door scrapes )
( Flame whooshes )
Urokodaki: Let's go.
( Singing in japanese )
Urokodaki: The demon slayer corps.
We number in the hundreds.
An organization completely unrecognized by the government.
Since ancient times, we have existed to hunt down demons.
However, the identity of the demon slayer corps's leader
has always remained a mystery.
Demons...
Their staple food, humans.
They hunt and kill them.
It is unclear when or where they first appeared.
Incredible physical prowess.
Their wounds heal almost instantly.
Flesh completely restores itself.
Severed limbs regenerated.
Some can shape-shift.
Some have other powers.
They can only be killed by sunlight
or decapitation with a special sword.
The demon slayers fight these demons
with mere mortal bodies.
As humans, wounds are slow to heal,
and their lost limbs are unable to grow back.
Nevertheless, they fight to protect and defend humanity.
( Women vocalizing )
( Tanjiro panting )
Urokodaki: I am a trainer.
My job is to teach new swordsmen.
There are many other trainers.
Each one is different.
They all educate their students using their own methods.
To complete your training and join the demon slayer corps,
you will have to survive
the final selection process on mount fujikasane,
and I decide whether
you'll undertake that challenge or not.
Tanjiro: As of today,
I'm going to start keeping a journal for nezuko.
I'm descending the mountain again today.
I'll train so that I can survive through the final selection.
Day after day, I've made my way down the mountain,
and I'm starting to learn how to avoid most of the traps,
because I'm much stronger now,
and somehow I've gotten even better
at picking up subtle scents than I was before.
However...
The traps are getting more difficult.
I'm starting to think he wants me dead.
Today I carried my sword with me down the mountain,
but it made moving a lot harder.
( Yells )
The weight's throwing me off.
I get caught in every trap.
991,
- 992... - Today I swung the sword.
Actually, not just today. That's been every day.
As soon as i'm down the mountain,
I swing it 'til I feel like my arms'll fall off.
1,000!
Urokodaki: Now do 500 more.
( Tanjiro groans )
( Bird warbles )
( Stammering )
Urokodaki: Swords are fragile weapons.
Tanjiro: That's how my sword training started.
Though strong along the blade's edge,
it's very weak on the sides.
So obviously you have to apply the force where it's strongest.
The direction the blade is facing
and the direction you swing have to be exactly the same.
Otherwise, it'll break.
Urokodaki told me, "if you ever break your sword,
I'll break every bone in your body."
He sounded just like that, too, very ominous.
Nezuko.
I have to work hard for her.
♫
( chorus vocalizing )
- ( Music slows ) - ( Gasps )
( Grunts )
Today, I fell down.
I'm training to do it as softly as possible
so I can get up quickly from any position.
( Yelling )
I raise my sword,
charge mr. Urokodaki, and try to kill him.
Meanwhile, he's unarmed, barehanded...
( Gasps )
( Screaming )
But he's ridiculously strong.
He throws me over his shoulder every time,
and I roll to the ground.
♫
( door scrapes )
Nezuko, I'm home.
Today's lesson was about breathing techniques
and fighting forms.
Total concentration breathing?
Urokodaki: That's right.
Also I'm going to teach you
how to use all ten water-breathing forms.
Start by taking a long, deep breath
so the oxygen flows into every cell of your body.
This will enhance your healing ability
and stabilize, as well as energize, your spirit.
Now relax your arms and shoulders,
but keep your lower body braced.
Good. Now breathe!
- ( Inhales )
( Exhales )
( Grunts )
Urokodaki: Wrong!
( Tanjiro groaning )
Urokodaki: Next, the forms.
Tanjiro: Right! How am I doing?
Urokodaki: All wrong!
Tanjiro: How 'bout now?
Urokodaki: Still wrong!
- Tanjiro: Now? - Urokodaki: Again!
- Tanjiro: Now? - Urokodaki: Terrible!
Tanjiro: I get yelled at for not bracing my stomach
and clobbered to a pulp.
My next lesson, I had to become one with the water.
Urokodaki: Get in already.
( Tanjiro groans )
( Gasping )
I'm doing this for nezuko!
( Splash )
( Yelling ) Nezuko!
I am water!
As of now, nezuko's been asleep for six months,
the entire time.
Urokodaki sent for a doctor
to come look at her, but he couldn't find anything.
So why are you still sleeping?
♫
I'm scared.
I'm worried that,
one morning, I'm gonna wake up, and she'll be dead.
Every day, that thought haunts me.
( Birds chirping )
( Panting )
Coming down the mountain's even tougher now.
I start higher, so the air's even thinner.
More than a few times, I thought I was gonna die.
- ( Sword slices ) - ( Grunts )
( Woman vocalizing )
Urokodaki: That's it.
I've taught you all I can.
( Tanjiro panting )
I've been on mount sagiri for a year,
and suddenly this.
Urokodaki: The rest is all up to you.
You have to prove you're capable of advancing to the next level.
Come with me.
( Footsteps shuffling )
( Tanjiro gasps )
( Wind blowing )
Urokodaki: If you can cut this boulder in two,
I'll allow you to enter the final selection.
( Tanjiro sighs )
Is that really...
Even possible?
Can a sword cut through that?
I'm gonna fail.
My sword will break.
( Gasps )
Urokodaki? Hang on a second!
Urokodaki!
After that day, that was it.
He never taught me anything again.
( Sighs )
( Grunts )
( Yells )
( Groans )
( Sighs )
Hyah!
( Metal rings )
♫
from then on, I spent every day
practicing what I'd learned from urokodaki.
( Men vocalizing )
( Grunting )
All the basics like holding my breath and staying flexible.
It's a good thing I wrote it all down in this journal.
( Yells )
But still, even after six more months,
I can't cut through the boulder.
It's frustrating.
Not enough! I'm not training hard enough!
I gotta do more! More!
- ( Yells ) - ( Metal rings )
Unless, am I no good?
Will nezuko die just like this?
( Wails )
I'm about to give up!
It's impossible!
( Groans )
Come on, tanjiro! You can do this!
( Grunts )
- Boy: Silence! - ( Tanjiro gasps )
Boy: It's unseemly to whine, so knock it off.
Tanjiro: Who's this guy? He has no scent.
And what's with the mask?
Boy: A demon slayer bears his suffering in silence.
Isn't that what you want to be?
Then, start acting like it.
( Men vocalize )
♫
you're slow, weak, and immature.
That's not what I'd call a demon slayer.
Tanjiro: What do you think you're doing?!
Boy: Trying to figure out what you think you're doing.
Tanjiro: What do you mean? I'm training.
Boy: How long do you plan to keep sitting on your butt?
Take a fighting stance.
( Tanjiro gasps )
Boy: Come on, then. Give me your best shot.
Tanjiro: But your sword's made of wood.
I could hurt you.
( Boy laughing )
Tanjiro: Huh?
Boy: How thoughtful of you.
I greatly appreciate your concern,
but do you honestly think
you'd even be capable of giving me a scratch?
♫
rest assured, there's nothing to worry about.
I'm far more powerful than you are.
I've already cut through my boulder!
Tanjiro: So it is possible.
( Groans )
( Gasps )
Boy: You obviously haven't learned anything.
You haven't mastered any of your training!
Especially not total concentration breathing.
Didn't urokodaki teach you?
( Tanjiro gasps )
He knows urokodaki? Who is he?
Boy: All you've done with your training
is memorize the information.
Your body still has no clue what it needs to do.
What the hell have you been up to
for the past year and a half?
All of it has to be hammered into your flesh!
More! More! More!
You have to make sure you never forget
any of the secrets urokodaki taught you!
Pound it into the marrow of your bones!
Tanjiro: I'm trying!
I'm giving it all I've got every day!
Except, I'm not getting anywhere!
I can't--
I don't think I can do it!
Boy: You can! Man up!
Don't you want to be a demon slayer?
There's nowhere else to go, but forward!
Give it your all! Show me just what you're capable of!
( Tanjiro yells )
( Groans )
( Birds chirping )
Boy: I'll leave the rest to you.
( Girl grunts )
( Bird warbling )
( Tanjiro groaning )
Girl: Are you all right?
( Tanjiro gasps )
Please tell me you saw that!
Girl: Hmm?
Tanjiro: The way that guy hit me!
His swing didn't lose an ounce of power.
It was just beautiful.
I want to be able to do that!
What do you think? Is that possible?
( Girl chuckles )
I'm positive it is,
because I'll be there to look after you.
( Giggles )
Tanjiro: She's cute.
I'm sorry. Who are you?
The girl told me her name was makomo.
And the name of the guy who beat me up was sabito.
Makomo helped guide me
by pointing out everything I was doing wrong.
She corrected my unnecessary movements
and all my bad habits,
but, when I asked her why she was helping me
and where she came from, she wouldn't say.
Makomo: Sabito and I,
we both love urokodaki very much.
Tanjiro: She said that a lot, almost like a catchphrase.
She and sabito weren't siblings.
They were orphans, and urokodaki raised them.
Makomo: We're not alone, though.
There are lots of other children, too.
They're always watching you, tanjiro.
Tanjiro: She is cute,
but makomo's a strange girl.
Hmm.
Her speech is so abstract and dreamy.
Makomo: With total concentration breathing,
your blood circulation accelerates,
because your heart rate is faster than normal.
That causes your body temperature to spike as well,
allowing a human to fight with the strength of a demon...
So it's crucial to expand your lung capacity.
By introducing lots of air into your bloodstream all at once,
your blood gets excited, so your bones and muscles
start to heat up and grow stronger.
Tanjiro: None of that makes sense.
So how do I learn that?
Makomo: Train until it kills you,
because really, when you get down to it,
there's nothing else you can do.
( Tanjiro panting )
So I trained 'til my arms and legs wanted to fall off.
'Til my lungs and heart felt like they were going to burst,
I swung my sword.
But still...
Sabito kept beating me.
Six months later, that changed.
( Wind blowing )
Once again, I challenged him to a duel,
but, this time, his sword was real.
Sabito: It took you six months,
but you look like you finally belong.
♫
tanjiro: This is the day I win!
A head-to-head fight like this is simple.
Whoever's stronger and faster comes out on top.
( Inhales )
( Grunts )
♫
it was all over in an instant.
Today, in a fraction of a second,
for the first time, my blade struck first.
( Gasps )
( Sabito sighs )
Tanjiro: As soon as I'd won, sabito smiled.
He looked happy, but also sad.
It was a smile of relief.
- Makomo: Tanjiro... - Tanjiro: Eh?
Makomo: You did just great.
Never forget about this.
♫
keep winning for me, tanjiro,
the next one, too.
Tanjiro: Eh?
Next thing I knew, sabito was gone.
( Gasps )
I was sure what my sword cut through was his mask.
But no.
It was the boulder.
( Singing in japanese )