Sword of the Demon Hunter: Season 1 Episode 17 – Recap and Review

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Episode 17 Details

• Available On: HiDive
• Public Release Date: August 4, 2025
• Director(s): Hazuki Sato
• Writer(s): Saji Komori

Storylines

• Lord Hatakeyama sets up Jinya to face Kiichi Okada, and Kiichi bests Jinya, but doesn’t kill him, for he is intrigued by him.
• We return to modern times, in 2009, and see Kiichi still alive, and are led to question if he is the only one from Jinya’s past with whom he still associates in the present.

New Cast and Characters

Kiichi Okada (Kazuya Nakai)

• Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
• Character Summary: Kiichi is one of Lord Hatakeyama’s favorite soldiers, who is mainly tasked with handling those the Lord sees as barbarians. However, with Kiichi’s bloodlust leading to him killing women and children, with little remorse, he is slowly morphing from an asset to a liability.

Kaouru Asagao (Sayumi Suzushiro)

• Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
• Character Summary: Kaouru is one of Miyaka’s friends, and later Jinya’s friend too.

Notable Locations & Items

• Edobash Bridge: The bridge we often see Jinya traverse, and has notable fight sequences on
• Fukugawa: Where Jinya lived in 1864

Slide Text

1. Intro Slide
2. Recap: It’s 1864, and despite their history, Lord Hatakeyama comes to Jinya, hoping he can slay a demon for him.
3. Recap: Said demon, who seemingly is more so a twisted human turned demon, is Kiichi Okada, who Lord Hatakeyama formerly employed to handle those he saw as barbarians.
4. Recap: Jinya takes the job solely because Kiichi is painted as someone not above collateral damage, such as women and children.
5. Recap: But, ultimately, Jinya is unable to defeat him. However, the two remain cordial, all the way up to 2009, when/where Kiichi runs a store that allows the teenage appearing Jinya to buy alcohol.
6. Review: Seeing Jinya as a father, especially with Ofuu by his side, really pushes the need to question, in 2009, whether Kaoru is potentially Ofuu and whether he is just watching over his descendants?
7. Review: On top of that, I loved that Kiichi fight. Somehow, they had Jinya lose without making him look bad, or presenting the idea that he will have a Goku-level comeback.
8. Review: In addition to that, I also appreciated that, when Kiichi and Jinya met again in modern times, there was no animosity, but they weren’t best friends either. They were cordial and mature.
9. Review: Now, this still leaves the question of what the path forward is for Sword of the Demon Hunter, but at least the tease of watching Nomari grow and Ofuu playing a maternal role is worth getting excited about.
10. Overall (82/100): While we may never see the high of the first episode, I must admit, the inclusion of Nomari, even if a baby at this point, brings something new and positive to Sword of the Demon Hunter. Perhaps because now, he has something to lose/ there is a level of risk.

What To Check Out Next

• 

  Sword Of The Demon Hunter: Season 1/ Episode 23 – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)

  Kaoru, for reasons unknown, heads to the past and Normari begins asking challenging questions towards Jinya.

• 

  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.

• 

  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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