Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba season 4 is finally here. So, this Demon Slayer watch order is perfect for those who want to have a refresher on what happened in the franchise so far!
Keep reading until the end to find out how to watch Demon Slayer for the best viewing experience.
RELATED: Demon Slayer Manga vs. Anime: Which Is Better?
How to Watch the Demon Slayer Series and Movies
As of writing, the Demon Slayer franchise has four seasons and one movie; this includes the latest fourth season, but not the World Tour movie releases.
Usually, with other anime series, fans can watch the anime without inserting the movies, but that is not the case with Demon Slayer.
The Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train movie is canon. As such, it is integral to the overall story.
With that, here is the best order to watch the Kimetsu no Yaiba series and movies:
- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Season 1
- Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train
- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Season 2
- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Season 3
- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Season 4
There are movie versions of seasons 3 and 4 that were screened in two World Tours, but they are simply special releases.
This means they shouldn't be a factor for viewers who want to watch the entire series.
Where to Watch Demon Slayer Online
Since the series is widely known, various platforms have added it to their libraries. Having said that, fans can stream Demon Slayer season 1 on Hulu, Crunchyroll, and Netflix.
Meanwhile, the Mugen Train movie is available for purchase as a DVD or for streaming on Crunchyroll.
Like the first season, Demon Slayer seasons 2 and 3 are also available to watch on Crunchyroll.
As for season 4, Crunchyroll will also stream the anime in the US and most of the world.
Its first episode is coming out today, May 12, 2024.
How Is the Mugen Train Arc TV Series Different from the Movie?
Aside from the Mugen Train movie, seven episodes of Demon Slayer season 2 covered the same arc in the TV anime adaptation.
The said episodes serve as a recap of the previous arc before the Entertainment District arc. In terms of content, both the movie and the anime stayed true to the manga.
However, there were added scenes in the anime (which were mostly scenery) that did not affect the story's overall flow.
Since the anime has more time and space for content (since seven 20-minute episodes are longer than a feature-length movie), the TV series' story feels more smooth.
However, we noticed that some scenes from the movie were shuffled and used as recaps. Again, the progression of the main story remained the same.
With those in mind, it would be better to watch both, especially for avid Demon Slayer fans.
Moreover, the added scenes give more depth to the characters and improve the storytelling.
The movie also did a great job in terms of animation and plot. As most fans know, Demon Slayer's animation quality is on a different level, so it is really hard to skip any content from the shounen anime.
How Is the Swordsmith Village Arc TV Series Different from the World Tour Movie Release?
It appears that the strategy used in the Mugen Train arc of releasing both a movie and a series gained a lot of positive feedback, so the same approach was used for the Swordsmith Village arc.
But this time, the Swordsmith Village movie covers the last two episodes of Demon Slayer season 2 and one episode from season 3.
Some fans felt like they were scammed after watching the Swordsmith Village movie as it contains a recap from season 2, but the movie's content has been explained beforehand to set viewers' expectations.
Despite how confusing the cinema World Tour release may have been, watching the third season shouldn't be too difficult.
That's because the Swordsmith Village movie version is not available on any streaming platform. Instead, fans can simply watch the first episode of season 3.
This is also the case with the Hashira Training arc World Tour. Fans don't need to have seen the movie in theaters as the first episode will be streamed on Crunchyroll.
If you've already seen the show, which of the seasons do you think is the best? Let us know in the comments.
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