Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Season 3 Episode 8
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Season 3 Episode 8 titled ‘Mu in Muichiro’ opens with Tokito escaping from the water prison and removing the numbing needles from his body. He sees an injured Kotetsu and several fish minions approaching him. Feeling weak and unsure if he can stop them, he suddenly sees a man cheering him on and recognizes him as his father.
Demon Slayer Season 3 Episode 8
In a flashback we see that his father is a lumberjack. His mother is sick and he does his best to take care of her while his father forages for herbs in the rain. They died when he was 10 years old, the father fell off a cliff while searching for herbs, while the mother succumbed to her illness. But he is not alone because he has a twin brother, Yuichiro.
Muichiro is compassionate and kind like his father, while Yuichiro is a pessimist who does not believe in helping others. He believes that his father died a stupid death and left them orphans because no herb would save their mother. Muichiro is shocked at his callousness, but the twin only claims that the “Mu” in Muichiro stands for incompetence and senselessness.
Muichiro realizes that despite having a brother, he has never felt more alone. One day, while fetching water, he sees a beautiful woman who comes to them with an offer, but Yuichiro rejects her. Muichiro later discovers that she is Amane, the wife of Master Kagaya Ubuyashiki. She addressed them because they came from a long line of demon slayers who used the first breathing technique.
Muichiro wants to save people from demons and be useful, but his brother is furious. He says that Muichiro is like their parents who wanted to save others but couldn’t even take care of themselves, and it turns out that the mother got sick after working too hard. Yuichiro is angry that he tried to stop them, but they never obeyed him, leading to their deaths.
He says they are children and since they have no value, Amane has to figure out how to use them. They stop talking after that, but have a huge fight when Yuichiro throws water at Amane, who keeps visiting them. They live together quietly and can hardly stand each other. One night they both wake up to see a demon in their house. In the attack, Yuichiro lunges in front of his brother and rips off his arm.
As the demon prepares to execute them and refers to them as worthless lumberjacks, something goes wrong in Muichiro. He sees red, and when he wakes up, he sees that he has hacked the demon to pieces and knocked it to the ground in the forest. The demon is not dead but suffering until the sun burns it, but Muichiro doesn’t care. Suddenly feeling weak, he crawls back into the house and sees a mortally wounded Yuichiro praying for someone to save Muichiro.
He claims his brother is good-hearted and driven to save lives. He tried to stop him, but Muichiro shouldn’t be blamed for their selfish lifestyle. If anyone should be punished, it should be him and not Muichiro. Muichiro tears up and reaches for his brother and it comes back to the present. He suddenly remembers his brother saying that the “Mu” in Muichiro actually stands for “Mugen” which means unlimited.
Two dark marks form on Muichiro’s face and he easily kills the fish minions. He is begged to go protect Haganezuka and the sword by Kotetsu. Inside the lodge, Gyokko is upset that despite the swordsman Haganezuka’s serious injury, he still hasn’t stopped repairing the sword. He questions whether Kanamori’s injuries will cause him to lose focus, but Muichiro stops him in his tracks by hurting him.
Gyokko suddenly sees that the marks on the slayer’s face are the same as Tanjiro’s forehead scar. He is also surprised that Muichiro easily overcame the paralysis and released the octopus minions. Octopus grabs him and Gyokko cackles that nothing can cut this minion’s flesh. But that doesn’t stop Muichira, who easily cuts the octopus to pieces.
He thanks Kanamori for the sword, who says he was just following the instructions of his previous swordsman, Tetsuido, who is dead. When Muichiro notices how well the blade fits him, he is reminded of Tetsuido, who was concerned that no one would comprehend him. He understands that the swordsman is under pressure because he doesn’t have his memories and instead works hard until he vomits blood.
In the present, Muichiro apologizes for upsetting Tetsuido and says that he is better now. He destroys all the vases thrown at him, but Gyokko is relentless. As he struggles, he remembers Yuichiro’s last words as he apologizes for not being kinder than he thought he couldn’t afford to be.
He felt that no one would protect them no matter how righteous they were, so he was selfish to protect Muichir. He holds his brother’s hand as he dies and says that only the chosen can be kind because they have unlimited power and that Muichiro is the chosen one.
In the epilogue, Tanjiro and Nezuko wish Mitsuri a happy birthday and the swordsmen throw a huge feast for her. They wonder if she can ask for a refill and are shocked by her huge appetite. Tanjiro then reveals that her favorite foods are pork chops, omelets, and the fancy western foods that are part of the birthday feast.
