Sasaki Ganryu is the boss that caps the Onimusha: Way of the Sword demo, waiting at the end of the “The Stage is Set at Kiyomizu” quest at Kiyomizu-dera Temple. He fights as a one-on-one duelist rather than a Genma monster, and you have to put him down to finish the demo.
Quick answer: Parry his combo strings (especially the red-glowing final hit), perfect-dodge the grab he gains at around 50% health, stay on offense so his stamina never recovers, and pull Yellow Souls with your Oni Armament to heal when you are out of items.
Ganryu’s attacks and how to counter each one
Ganryu rewards precise defense. Learn his tells first, then lean on parrying to open him up. The table below breaks down each move and the response that works.
| Attack | What it does | Counter |
|---|---|---|
| Blade Barrage | Locks you into a trading duel where you must match his strikes | Time a Basic Attack or Two-Handed Attack just as his sword is about to land |
| Poke combo (three hits) | Two rapid pokes into a hard finisher; the last hit glows red and drains your Stamina | Parry the whole chain, and be sure to catch the final red hit |
| Stomp-and-slash combo | He slams his feet down and follows with a slash | Parry both parts to briefly stun him, or dodge the kick and counter the slash |
| Grab | Unlocked once his HP drops to about 50% | Perform a Perfect Dodge to avoid it, then counter |
Note: the red glow on his poke combo’s finisher is the one to respect most. Landing that parry both stops the Stamina drain and gives you a clean opening.
The second half: watch for the grab
The fight escalates once you knock Ganryu down to roughly half health. That is when he adds the grab to his moveset, and a normal dodge will not save you from it. You need a Perfect Dodge to slip out and punish afterward. If you are not confident in your parry timing on his kicks, this is also where dodging into his slashes and answering with a counter becomes the safer routine.
Stay aggressive and heal with Yellow Souls
Ganryu can claw back his own stamina if you sit on the defensive, so keep the pressure on between his combos. Beyond parry punishes, Break Issen is a reliable way to chip his health down over the fight.
If you run dry on healing items, your Oni Armament can extract Yellow Souls from him, which restore health. Do this during his recovery windows, not while he is mid-combo, so you do not eat a hit while you are locked in the animation.
How you know the fight is over
When Ganryu’s health empties, a cutscene plays automatically. Once it finishes, you regain control and can absorb the Souls scattered around the arena, which marks the end of the demo’s story stage. Holding on to that demo save is worth doing, since keeping the file lets you claim a Kubi Akari charm when the full game arrives on September 4, 2026.
