Sword Of The Demon Hunter: Season 1 Episode 15 – Recap and Review
Sword Of The Demon Hunter gets surprisingly political and like most shifts in the series’ narrative, it likely won’t be welcomed.
Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.
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Episode 15 Details
- Available On: HiDive
- Public Release Date: July 21, 2025
- Director(s): Kenjin Suzuki
- Writer(s): Deko Akao
Episode 15 Recap (With Spoilers)
The Politics Of Edo: Jinya, Miura, Tsuchiura, Lord Yashude Hatakeyama
With it being 1862, and Japan’s policy of isolationism being over for almost a decade, the varying differences of opinion on whether that was a good idea, and what Japan’s future is, take hold. Jinya doesn’t see himself as political, but Miura, who serves the Shogunate, is passionate about politics.
Enter Lord Hatakeyama, who is trying to save Japan from becoming a colony and believes returning to isolation is the only way to go. He wishes to recruit Jinya, knowing his power, and perhaps seeing demon kind, like his right hand, Tsuchiura, as the best means to push this agenda. Jinya is politely, but sternly against most of what Lord Hatakeyama stands for, and leaves with it being clear that he and Tsuchiura are likely to meet again on less cordial terms.
Do You Blame The Weapon Or The Man?: Jinya, Miura, Mataroku Sugino
Not content on providing a sense of where Japan is culturally and politically, Sword Of The Demon Hunter notably doubles down by presenting an assassin, Mataroku Sugino, who believes he has a demon sword, which causes him to be violent. He has already killed his wife, and the next target is supposed to by Zuizan Takechi, leader of a loyalist group, the Tosa Loyalist Party.
Jinya stops the man, without killing him, and while the sword, the Yatonomori Kaneomi, truly was made from the demon blood of Yato, Kaneomi’s wife, it doesn’t seem it was made with ill intent or cursed. If anything, Mataroku was an unstable man, given something by Lord Yashude, who accidentally killed his wife. To ease the grief and guilt, the sword was blamed, and Lord Yashude pointed a simple man in the direction of his enemy, who likely would be killed, and Matraoku as well.
However, that plot is stopped, Jinya absorbs the sword’s ability, and we’re left wondering if this act by Lord Yashude will be punished by Jinya or someone else entirely?
New Cast and Characters
Tsuchiura (Kenichiro Matsuda)
- Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
- Character Summary: Tsuchiura is Lord Hatakeyama’s right hand and muscle regarding his fight for Japan to return to its former isolationist policy. Which, as a demon, Tsuchiura may think means safety for himself and his kind.
Lord Yashude Hatakeyama (Toshihiko Seki)
- Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
- Character Summary: Lord Hatakeyama supports isolation for Japan’s future and fears that the inclusion of other world powers will eventually make Japan a colony. So, with that in mind, he is gathering like-minded people, including Demons, no matter their socio-economic status, to join his cause.
Mataroku Sugino (Nobuya Takahashi)
- Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
- Character Summary: Mataroku is a commoner duped by Lord Hatakeyama into trying to assassinate one of his rivals.
Yato (To Be Determined)
- Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
- Character Summary: Yato is a demon, married to Kaneomi, whose blood was used to make a collection of notable swords that Kaneomi sold.
Kaneomi (To Be Determined)
- Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
- Character Summary: Kaneomi is a legendary crafter of swords, from the Kadono region, known for his craftsmanship, like many from Kadono, but the use of his demon’s wife’s blood has made one of his collections legendary and perhaps with notable powers.
Links
- Check out our page for this series, featuring more recaps, reviews, and articles.
- Visit our main page TV Shows we’ve covered.
Review and Commentary
On The Fence
The Politics [71/100]
A part of me wants to appreciate that Sword of the Demon Hunter refuses to be pinned down and stick to doing one thing. But the problem is, it struggles to do anything consistently well, so bouncing around to different themes, like politics, isn’t great for a show that often feels like it is struggling.
What doesn’t help is that this is the first time the show has really dug into how Japan was changing, be it culturally or politically, and was notably dialogue-heavy. Then, to make things worse, it didn’t have enough Ofuu or someone to counterbalance how dry Jinya generally is. So, on top of a topic the show hasn’t touched, and lacking a notable fight since Mataroku was a basic human, it didn’t present a single thing to counterbalance all these weak points.
Honestly, I think I have one more episode in me to be this disappointed before I’ll have to tap out because this show is not only inconsistent in narrative, but also is just generally going downhill.
Overall
Our Overall Rating [71/100]
Sword Of The Demon Hunter continues to present not only a non-linear storyline, which offers no benefits to the show, but now dives into topics it has rarely, if ever, presented and doubles down, as it has long been about demons, politics, and the shifts in Japan through the mid-1800s. The combination creates the need to question what is the plan, the direction of this show, and whether the good times are ultimately behind us or will this eventually move beyond the shaky ground it has been for almost the entire season, and finally become stead.
Check Out Our Past Coverage Of This Series
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Sword of the Demon Hunter: Season 1 Episode 21 – Recap and Review
It’s the end of an era for Jinya, as it seems he is finally moving on from Edo.
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Sword Of The Demon Hunter: Season 1 Episode 20 – Recap and Review
Tsuchiura’s backstory is introduced as Jinya has a heart-to-heart with Ofuu regarding him running away and hiding.
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Sword Of The Demon Hunter: Season 1 Episode 18 – Recap and Review
It’s an uneventful episode teasing the possibility of Suzune’s return while offering nothing until that time comes.
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