Demon Slayer‘s third season is well under way on Crunchyroll, and the latest episode provides a heart-wrenching backstory to one of this season’s key characters. In Demon Slayer, Genya is one of the more unique characters the show has to offer. Genya’s origin story answers some major questions regarding the character, while managing to leave the audience craving more.
Many origin stories in the franchise are sad, usually stemming from a death of a loved one. Genya’s is no exception, as the character carries around a lot of pent-up anger for those around him and his brother—the Wind Hashira, Sanemi.
The Genya origin story
Years ago, Genya lived with his family of younger siblings and older brother. Unfortunately, Genya’s father was cruel and abusive—often beating him and his siblings. His mother did everything she could to protect them, shielding her children and taking the blows from the assaulting father.
One day, Genya’s mother didn’t come home and Sanemi went out to look for her. Later that night, his younger siblings heard a knock on the door and opened it, assuming it was their mother.
When the door opened, a dark figure barged in, rampaging through the house and killing everything in its sight. Genya watched as all his younger siblings were slaughtered by this mysterious figure—leaving him as the final victim.
In the last moment, Sanemi jumped into action, saving his brother from being killed. Sanemi and the monstrous figure escaped the house, leaving Genya alone. Genya then chased after his older brother into the streets, later finding Sanemi standing over their mother’s dead body as the sun rose. She was turned into a demon who killed her children and husband, and Sanemi was the one who had to put her down. But Genya didn’t know that at the time, as he was just a young child.
As his mother’s body disintegrated with the morning sun, Genya blamed his brother for murdering her. Genya didn’t fully understand the situation, and has yet to apologize to his brother as the two grew apart years later.
What’s next for Genya?
This story was told as Genya’s life flashed before his eyes, thinking he was about to be slaughtered by a demon in battle. Fortunately for Genya, Tanjiro comes to the rescue and saves him from being impaled in the back of the neck.
The episode ends with Genya taking a hit for Tanjiro in return. As Tanjiro is about to be taken out from behind, Genya stands in front of him. The final shot of the episode leaves us with a swiss-cheesed Genya, still standing and instructing Tanjiro to flee the area. Clearly, there’s still more to the Genya origin story to be told.
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