Murata, the Everyman Fans Never Forgot
Episode 15 sends Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke to a mountain crawling with spider demons, and partway up they find a surviving Demon Slayer Corps member. When Tanjiro introduces himself as a Mizunoto, the Corps' lowest rank, the man's face collapses: why send foot soldiers instead of a Hashira? Ten Corps members entered the mountain, he explains, and before long they were cutting each other down, puppeteered by threads nobody could see.
That despairing survivor is Murata, and his arrival set off a small party in the reaction roundup from Japanese anime news site Anime Anime. "Murata's first appearance," cheered one viewer, while another welcomed him with "we'll be seeing him for a long time yet." One commenter noted he reportedly joined the Corps in the same intake as Giyu Tomioka.
Speaking of whom, the episode also gives rerun viewers their first look at two Hashira. Giyu Tomioka and Shinobu Kocho are ordered to Mount Natagumo near the episode's end, and the reactions lit up accordingly. "The sense of security when Giyu and Shinobu arrive is unreal," wrote one fan, while another laughed that Shinobu's introduction already has her lying through her teeth.
The Kamaboko Trio Finally Rides Together
For anyone catching the rerun as their first watch, the series follows Tanjiro Kamado, who joins the Demon Slayer Corps after a demon slaughters his family and turns his younger sister Nezuko into a demon. Episode 15 opens in the show's gentler register. The boys are recovering at the wisteria-crest house, where Zenitsu spends his downtime chasing Nezuko's box around while the elderly caretaker offers Inosuke clean clothes and promises tempura for dinner. Her kindness triggers what the show renders as "howa howa," a warm, fuzzy feeling Inosuke visibly does not know what to do with. Viewers found the whole stretch healing, with comments like "howa-howa Inosuke is adorable" filling the roundup.
Once the doctor declares them fully healed, a Kasugai crow delivers the next assignment: head north-northeast to Mount Natagumo. At the send-off, the caretaker performs kiribi, a traditional flint-striking ritual meant as a blessing. Inosuke takes it as an attack and erupts; Zenitsu erupts right back, explaining she is purifying them. Fans savored the milestone underneath the bickering: "the kamaboko squad's first mission all together" and "finally a trio."
Zenitsu's Straight-Man Streak
The approach to the mountain belongs to Zenitsu. As night falls he begs the others to stop, insisting something about the mountain terrifies him. Tanjiro catches a scent and bolts, Inosuke chases, and a wounded Corps member is dragged screaming into the trees. Inosuke charges in bellowing "I'm starving," fumbling the Japanese stock phrase for "my arms are itching for a fight," and Zenitsu, still shaking, instantly corrects him. Viewers were impressed that he stays that sharp while terrified, with one calling his comebacks "too good for the Demon Slayer Corps."
Deeper in, Inosuke debuts Beast Breathing Seventh Form: Spatial Awareness to locate the demon controlling the possessed Corps members, and a childlike demon perched on the threads warns the intruders not to disturb his family's quiet life. Zenitsu, meanwhile, sulks alone at the foot of the mountain until his sparrow Chuntaro's encouragement makes him realize Nezuko is up there too. He sprints in at full speed, and fans noted the pattern: "Zenitsu finds horsepower whenever Nezuko is involved."
Kōki Miyata Salutes the Corps' Most Relatable Member
The official Demon Slayer account has been publishing a cast comment for each rerun episode, and episode 15's comes from Kōki Miyata (Aiichirō Nitori in Free!, Hanatarō Yamada in Bleach), who voices Murata. Miyata described his character as someone who may look unreliable but bravely stands his ground in extreme situations without running away, calling that side of him genuinely cool. He also joked that Murata will be showing a lot more skin before long, a wink at events further down the series.
Looking Ahead
The full-series rerun continues Sundays at 9:30 a.m. on Fuji TV and affiliated stations, with the Mount Natagumo arc now underway and Giyu and Shinobu inbound. Internationally, the original TV series streams on Crunchyroll and Netflix, and Koyoharu Gotouge's manga, complete at 23 volumes with over 220 million copies in circulation, is published in English by Viz Media.
On the film side, ufotable's Infinity Castle trilogy opened its first chapter, Akaza's Return, in Japanese theaters on July 18, 2025. The franchise's official English site currently lists a Crunchyroll and digital release dated July 28, 2026, so the movie catch-up window for international fans is about to get wider.