Sword of the Demon Hunter episode 7: Naotsugu embraces change and reconciles with his father

Sword of the Demon Hunter episode 7 aired on May 12, 2025, and showed a major milestone in Jinya's overall character development while simultaneously fleshing out characters that appeared in episode 1 of the series.

The episode mainly focused on Juuzou, Jinya's estranged biological father, hiring him to investigate a popular yet supposedly "cursed" painting. Out of sheer coincidence, the painting ends up leading Jinya back to Motoharu and his hidden past. All of which culminated in Jinya and Juuzou mending their estranged relationship with a drink.

Disclaimer: This article contains soilers for Sword of the Demon Hunter episode 7.

Sword of the Demon Hunter episode 7 highlights

Sword of the Demon Hunter episode 7: Demonic Painting (Image via Yokohama Animation Lab)

Sword of the Demon Hunter episode 7 starts off with Juuzou, Jinya's biological father, meeting Jinya in order to discuss details for a certain job. Juuzou goes on to produce the painting of a shrine maiden known as "The Ukiyo-e of Kudanzaka," describing how it is known as a demonic painting among the masses.

Apparently, a patron who had the painting met an untimely death, with even the original painter falling sick recently. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Juuzou requests Jinya to investigate the incidents and deal with the demonic forces. Needless to say, Jinya accepts the job and departs alongside the painting.

Sword of the Demon Hunter episode 7: Ofuu and her father (Image via Yokohama Animation Lab)

Eventually, Jinya finds himself in Ofuu's soba restaurant once again to put in his usual order. Soon, Zenji barges into the shop and requests Jinya to investigate the demonic painting that he has recently acquired. Jinya realizes that the demonic paintings are mass-produced, and the entire dogma around its apparent curse might end up going out of control. Fortunately, Zenji acquires the whereabouts of the original artist and asks Jinya to go visit him.

Accurate to the rumors, the old artist had indeed fallen sick. Wanting to uncover the actual secrets behind the painting, he inquired about its actual origins as well as the events that led to the artist's current state. The artist dispelled the rumors, mentioning how he isn't sick and has only grown weak due to his old age. He went on to describe how a swordsman from Kadono commissioned the "demonic painting."

Sword of the Demon Hunter episode 7: Motoharu (Image via Yokohama Animation Lab)

Jinya reveals how Motoharu is his foster father and requests further details. Their conversation goes on to describe how Motoharu hated and complained about Yokaze every time he visited the artist throughout the years. Eventually, Motoharu's feelings changed, and he found himself in love with Yokaze and commissioned the so-called demonic painting.

The painting went through numerous revisions, with Motoharu adding numerous accessories alongside qualities that he found attractive into the painting. Eventually, some publishing houses took notice of the painting and got approval to make it into a mass-produced piece.

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The "demonic painting" rumors started off with Motoharu describing how unearthly bewitching the painting was. The publishing houses simply used those comments to construct the demonic painting rumors, with the deaths and the artist's current state being unfortunate coincidences. Jinya ends up remembering Motoharu's final words, asking him to grow into a person who can embrace change as well as one's inner hatred.

Eventually, Jinya finds himself back in Ofuu's restaurant and strikes up a conversation with Ofuu. He goes on to describe how Ofuu had such a great father. The conversation eventually shifts to Ofuu describing how fathers usually have numerous layers to them and are just regular humans with both good and bad qualities.

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Sword of the Demon Hunter episode 7 then cuts to Jinya reporting back to Juuzou, telling him how there's nothing to worry about. Juuzou then shares drinks with Jinya and takes the opportunity to ask about his interests. Juuzou then invites Jinya to drink with him sometime later, hinting at his longing for a connection with his son.

Sword of the Demon Hunter episode 7 then ends with Jinya embracing his own complicated feelings towards Juuzou, accepting his invitation to drink, essentially reestablishing their familial relationship.

Final thoughts

Sword of the Demon Hunter episode 8 will be released on May 20, 2025, and focus on yet another murder mystery, revolving around a person's spontaneous transformation into a demon.

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About the author

Anupam is an anime and manga writer at Sportskeeda. Currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Logistics & Transportation, Anupam has simultaneously gained professional experience of almost 2 years as a content writer, having worked previously for Otakukart and Sportslumo.

Being part of the anime fandom for over a decade, Anupam believes his greatest strength lies in theorycrafting around animanga series and predicting their plots. His personal experiences have guaranteed him detailed knowledge about the reputation, reception, and plot points of several anime, which he combines with extensive research to report on a topic. They have also taught him the significance of respecting and accurately reporting on community sentiments attached to a particular series, which has now become a non-negotiable part of his writing process.

Anupam’s favorite artist is video game designer Hideo Kojima, whose ability to nonchalantly embed deep messages in his games he deeply admires. When not debating fresh anime theories, Anupam can be found reading or playing combat games.

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Edited by Somava