Sword of the Demon Hunter episode 1: Jinta and Suzune begin their century-long pursuit

Sword of the Demon Hunter episode 1 was released on March 31, 2025, and introduced Jinta and Suzune, siblings who will serve as the main opposing forces throughout the story. Episode 1 revealed Suzune's part-demon lineage, which was apparently the cause of their mother's death.

Their distraught father blamed Suzune for the misfortune. As a result, both Jinta and Suzune ran away and settled in the swordsmithing village of Kadono. Unfortunately, misunderstandings and manipulation led to Jinta and Suzune abandoning each other and starting their 170-year-long pursuit.

Disclaimer- This article contains spoilers for Sword of the Demon Hunter episode 1.

Sword of the Demon Hunter episode 1 highlights

Sword of the Demon Hunter episode 1: Suzune (Image via Yokohama Animation Lab)

Sword of the Demon Hunter episode 1 started with Suzune and Jinta's father abusing a toddler, Suzune, for undisclosed reasons. This culminated in Suzune being locked in a nearby outhouse while Jinta watched from the sidelines. A few moments later, Jinta found Suzune wandering the streets in the rain and apologized for not stepping up to their father.

A distraught Suzune requested Jinta to forget about her and return to their father. As a result, Jinta decided to run away from home alongside Suzune. Eventually, a wanderer named Motoharu found both of them and offered to take them under his wing.

Sword of the Demon Hunter episode 1: Shirayuki (Image via Yokohama Animation Lab)

The episode then cuts to Suzune and Jinta reaching the swordsmithing village of Kadono village alongside Motoharu. Motoharu introduced them to his daughter, Shirayuki, marking the beginning of Jinta and Suzune's new life. Sometime later, Jinta found out that Motoharu held the duty of protecting Kadono village alongside Shirayuki's mother, Yokaze. She was the current Itsukihime and a divine figure within the village, responsible for defending it from demons.

The episode then transitioned a few years into the future. Jinta was now serving as the village protector, while Shirayuki had taken on the role of Itsukihime. It was revealed that Motoharu lost his life fighting a demon who had consumed Yokaze to attain immortality. Jinta then reported sightings of demons near the village, bringing the meeting to an end.

Sword of the Demon Hunter episode 1: Jinta (Image via Yokohama Animation Lab)

Soon after, the current Itsukihime, Shirayuki, appeared and tried to engage Jinta in conversation. However, he remained stiff and loyal to his duties as her protector while suppressing his romantic feelings for her. Eventually, Jinta relented and started reminiscing about their childhood, only to discover Suzune asleep within the Itsukihime's quarters. Apparently, no one questioned why Suzune's appearance had remained the same as her toddler self.

The village chief requested a private audience with the Itsukihime, which she approved, much to Jinta's surprise. A few days later, Itsukihime managed to sneak away from the shrine to spend a day with Jinta. Suzune encouraged this endeavor, though she hid her slight frustration.

Eventually, Shirayuki revealed to Jinta that she would need to marry the village chief's son, Kiyomasa, as part of her duties as the Itsukihime. The village chief had requested her to produce an heir in case of her untimely demise. Unfortunately, Jinta could not be considered a partner for being an outsider. Both of them then expressed their love for each other while resigning themselves to the circumstances.

Sword of the Demon Hunter episode 1: Jinta's opponent (Image via Yokohama Animation Lab)

Sometime later, two demons appeared near the village. Jinta engaged one of them in battle. Although the battle mostly favored the demon, Jinta achieved victory while losing an entire arm.

While Jinta and the village elders had expected the Itsukihime to be the target, the actual target turned out to be Suzune due to her part-demon lineage. The demon took advantage of Suzune's love for Jinta, alongside her naive nature, by showing her visions of Shirayuki in a relationship with Kiyomasa.

The demon then escorted Suzune to Shirayuki's quarters, where her doubts were verified. Suzune perceived Shirayuki and Kiyomasa's relationship as infidelity toward Jinta, who risked his life every day to protect Shirayuki. Although Shirayuki tried to reason with Suzune, Suzune deduced that Shirayuki had kept her mind and body from ever growing to preserve their rather peaceful life.

Sword of the Demon Hunter episode 1: Demon Suzune (Image via Yokohama Animation Lab)

Soon after, Suzune's anger reached a breaking point, transforming her into a much more mature demonic form. Elsewhere, Jinta woke up after being healed by his dying opponent and bolted toward the Itsukihime. Although Jinta managed to find Shirayuki, Suzune decapitated her while her lifeless body remained in Jinta's embrace.

Eventually, Jinta and Suzune entered a heated verbal exchange. Enraged at Suzune's indifference to tragedy and death, Jinta engaged her in combat. Although Jinta managed to gain the upper hand, Suzune escaped while vowing to reduce the world to rubble.

Jinta leaving the village as shown in the anime (Image via Yokohama Animation Lab)

Afterward, Jinta, now nearly immortal due to his opponent demon's healing, left the village. The village chief apologized for deliberately pushing for Kiyomasa and Shirayuki's marriage and decided to establish a shrine under Jinta's name.

This shrine would serve as a form of respite for Jinta throughout his centuries-long journey. Sword of the Demon Hunter episode 1 ended with a glimpse into the present time, where Jinta returned to Jinta Shrine and came face to face with the current Itsukihime.

Final Thoughts

Sword of the Demon Hunter episode 1 mainly served as an introduction to the overall lore of the series. Although episode 1 painted the series as heavy on action, future episodes will take on a much different tone. The story will focus more on mystery-solving, with a narrative split across the future and past. Sword of the Demon Hunter episode 2 will be released on April 8, 2025, and will be available for streaming on BiliBili and Ani-One Asia.