How to watch Demon Slayer in order

Want to know how to watch Demon Slayer in order? It's not as easy as you might think. The anime doesn't make things simple after its first season, with a movie and confusingly-titled seasons making it extremely difficult for outsiders to get from A to B.

Whether you're a newcomer who has a hit a roadblock or just want a refresher on how to watch Demon Slayer in order, scroll on down below: we've got the full story for those who want to dive straight into demon-slaying adventures with Tanjiro and the gang.

With Demon Slayer season 4 officially happening, too, there's never been a better time to start the series. We'll also answer any burning questions you may have, including what version of Mugen Train you should watch, how many episodes there currently are, and all the latest on Hashira Training arc's (unsurprisingly) complicated release plans.

For more, check out our list of the best anime and new anime you should be watching right now, as well as guides on how to watch Neon Genesis Evangelion in order and how to watch Pokemon in order.

Demon Slayer currently consists of three seasons, two movies that are now technically skippable, and a fourth season on the way. But that's not as intimidating as it sounds: Here's how you should watch Demon Slayer in order.

The first season, released in 2019, is 26 episodes long – and you should watch that from start to finish.

Here’s where it gets a little trickier to follow. A sequel to the first season was released as a film: Demon Slayer: Mugen Train. The wildly successful Demon Slayer movie was also adapted into a television arc as part of Demon Slayer season 2.

That 'Mugen Train' arc is seven episodes long and is then followed by 11 wholly original episodes in the 'Entertainment District' arc. In total, Demon Slayer season 2 is 18 episodes long.

To keep things simple, we recommend watching Demon Slayer season 1 and then picking either the Mugen Train feature film or the Mugen Train recap arc (episodes 27-33) to watch. From there, you can watch the Entertainment District arc (episodes 33-44) as normal.

A second Demon Slayer 'movie', To the Swordsmith Village, was released earlier in 2023. It bundles together episodes 10 and 11 of the Entertainment District arc and the first episode of season 3, AKA the Swordsmith Village arc. This is largely redundant. We recommend just jumping ahead to the proper TV episodes.

Speaking of, Demon Slayer season 3 - 11 episodes long - was released in 2023 and should be watched from beginning to end after Entertainment District.

 A fourth season, titled Hashira Training, is also on the way but will begin with a 'To the Hashira' movie which will consist of the first episode of the new season. You can watch that a few months early in February 2024 or the one-hour premiere in Spring 2024. The choice is yours.

That’s all you really need to focus on. In our educated opinion, we would recommend watching the adapted-for-TV Mugen Train arc instead of the movie. Not only do you get extra scenes, but you also get a bonus episode (the 27th episode), which provides a little more backstory to one of Mugen Train’s most prominent characters.

It's completely your choice. Mugen Train is a full sequel to the first season and, unlike other anime tie-in movies, it’s canon. It also introduces various characters and story beats that are followed up on in Demon Slayer’s Entertainment District Arc.

It does feel a little pointless watching both the movie and the Mugen Train arc series, however. So make sure you pick one or the other.

To the Swordsmith Village is completely skippable; move on to Demon Slayer season 3 instead. Once Demon Slayer season 4 is out, you can also skip the upcoming To The Hashira movie.

Anime can sometimes be packed with so-called 'filler' episodes, entries designed to kill time until the manga source material pumps out new issues for the TV show to adapt. That’s not really the case in Demon Slayer.

Some episodes can be a little slow, particularly in the middle third of the first season and the third season, but everything is worth watching. We’d only recommend skipping the Demon Slayer: Mugen Train arc if you’ve already seen the Mugen Train movie recently, as well as skipping To The Swordsmith Village movie entirely as those events are covered in Demon Slayer season 3.

There are currently 55 episodes of Demon Slayer for you to watch.

Demon Slayer season 3 (AKA the Swordsmith Village arc) adapted the next chapter in Tanjiro’s story and is 11 episodes long. A fourth season, the Hashira Training arc, is on the way but is currently undated.

For more from the world of anime, here are our guides to Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 and Chainsaw Man season 2.