Demon Slayer Vol. 15: To Become a Marked One
- ISBN
- 9781974714780
- Publisher
- Viz Media
- English release
- Pages
- 192
- Chapters
- 125–133
- Anime
- Season 3: Swordsmith Village Arc ep. 45–55; Season 4: Hashira Training Arc ep. 56–63
Two anime seasons meet inside this book. Season 3 ends at chapter 127, the third chapter here, and season 4 covers chapters 128 to 139, which is the rest of this volume and the first six chapters of Vol. 16. So a viewer who stopped after season 3 starts here and re-reads three chapters, and a viewer who has finished season 4 skips it and starts at Vol. 16. The contents split the same way: chapters 125 to 127 end the Swordsmith Village fight, and chapters 128 to 133 begin the Hashira Training arc, which is preparation more than story. Season 4 spent eight episodes on those twelve chapters, a chapter and a half an episode where season 1 averaged two. The stretch the anime lingered over longest is six chapters here and six in the next book. The volume is titled 'To Become a Marked One'.
Spoilers — why this volume matters. Tap to reveal.
The fight ends at sunrise. Tanjiro, with the old sword, cuts down Hantengu's last body as day breaks, and Nezuko, caught in the open, starts to burn. He has to choose between shielding her and saving the villagers the demon is still chasing, and she kicks him toward the villagers. He kills Hantengu, turns back to grieve, and finds her standing in daylight, unharmed. Chapter 126 is 'Daybreak and First Light', and the season 3 finale, a 52-minute episode, takes its title from it. It is the hinge of the whole plot. Muzan has wanted a way to walk in the sun since the Heian period, and now it has a name and an address, which is why he stops sending subordinates and comes himself in Vol. 16. The rest of the book is the Corps getting ready: an emergency meeting about the marks that appeared on Muichiro and Mitsuri, and a training program run by each Hashira in turn, with Giyu refusing to take part until Tanjiro wears him down. It is a breather, and the book says so itself: chapter 132 is titled 'Full-Strength Training'. The anime gave this material a season. The manga gives it twelve chapters and moves on.
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