Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Season 2: Release date, how to watch

If you ever walk into an anime store, the first couple pieces of merchandise you’re likely to see will include cloak-wearing characters with samurai-looking swords, a strange boy with the head of a boar and a cute girl with  a cylindrical object superimposed on her mouth. Those characters belong to the Demon Slayer franchise, and it’s kind of a big deal, with a second season just around the corner.

That’s right, it’s time for gentle-eyed, yet determined Tanjiro Kamado to continue his relentless quest to find a cure for his sister-turned-demon Nezuko Kamado — hacking a demon or two along the way with his signature water-breathing form.

Demon Slayer has been a monumental hit over the last two years. It soared to new heights during the pandemic with the release of its spectacularly animated canonical film, Demon Slayer: Mugen Train, which became the fastest movie to make over ¥10 billion (or over $100 million) at the Japanese box office. The film’s cumulative earnings surpassed $313 million in December 2020, dethroning Hayao Miyazaki’s magnum opus, the critically-acclaimed animated fantasy film Spirited Away, which held the spot since its 2001 release.

Excitement is bubbling now as we’re just weeks away from Demon Slayer’s second season. Release dates are still unknown, but here’s everything we know so far.

Demon Slayer Season 2 Release Date

Demon Slayer Season 2 will be kicking off with an adaptation of the manga’s Entertainment District Arc. It will broadcast every Sunday this fall on Fuji TV, a Japanese television station, and it will run through the winter season, giving fans half a year’s worth of sword-slashing action. 

It’s still unknown exactly which Sunday Demon Slayer will begin airing in Japan, but that’s what we expect to learn on Saturday, September 25 — the day the official Twitter account announced it would release new information about the upcoming season.

The news announcment is expected to come at the conclusion of Fuji TV’s special airings of season 1, which will culminate with a showing of the Demon Slayer movie, Mugen Train, for the first time on TV. These airings will have newly cut footage unseen by those of us who wish we could join the Demon Slayer Corps.

How to watch Demon Slayer Season 2 in the US?

Here’s what we know for sure: the second installment of Demon Slayer will be streaming on Funimation in 2021 for the English-speaking audience, according to a Funimation press release. These episodes will be made available in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

But beyond this, questions remain: Will the episodes on Funimation be subbed, dubbed or both? Will Funimation release new episodes for English-speaking territories alongside the fall and winter Sunday airings in Japan? Will Zenitsu finally find love?

There’s still more information to come, and we’re likely to hear more about streaming in the US during the follow-up report on September 25, so stay tuned.

Where we left off: Recap of season 1 and Mugen Train 

Demon Slayer Season 2 will pick up after the events of the fiery clash on the Mugen Train — the setting for the Demon Slayer movie where it was rumored that 40 passengers disappeared at the end of season 1. 

The swordsmen trio Tanjiro Kamado, Zenitsu Agatsuma and Inosuke Hashibira are dispatched to the train at the end of season 1 to investigate the disappearances after their rehabilitation training is complete at the Butterfly Mansion The trio is accompanied by Tanjiro’s sister-turned-demon Nezuko, as always, and the Fire Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku. (The Hashira are the elite group of Demon Slayer swordsmen.)

Without entering into spoiler territory, the Demon Slayers face off against Enmu, a demon of the Twelve Kizuki who’s been terrorizing passengers on the Mugen Train. The Twelve Kizuki is the strongest group of demons assembled by Muzan Kibutsuji — the original demon who alone can turn humans into demons. 

What’s next for the fledgling members of the Demon Slayer Corps? The Entertainment District Arc

The trailer for Demon Slayer season 2 shows Tanjiro, Zenitsu, Inosuke and Nezuko heading to Yoshiwara for their next mission — a town with dazzling bright lights and nocturnal tendencies that’s “awash in vanity and desire of men and women.” Perhaps, the perfect place for a demon. A big emphasis is placed on the Sound Hashira, Tengen Uzui, in the trailer and promotional poster, and so we can expect to learn more about his backstory as he likely leads the mission through the streets of Yoshiwara.