Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba stars Tanjiro Kamado as the main character. He is a Demon Slayer in the Demon Slayer Corps who enlisted to find a cure for his sister, Nezuko Kamado, and to hunt down and kill demons, and later swore to fight Muzan Kibutsuji, the Demon King, to rescue others from suffering the same fate as himself. Tanjiro worked as a coal burner until his entire family was slain by Muzan and his younger sister, Nezuko, was transformed into a monster.
Tanjiro Appearance:
Tanjiro is a young lad of ordinary height with a tanned complexion and an athletic, muscular build. He has ruffled black hair with burgundy tips that he pulls back to reveal his brow, as well as large, dark red eyes with white pupils that appear brighter around the lower half of his irises. His mother discovered a scar on the top left of his brow when he went to see his father perform the Hinokami Kagura dance. The scar seemed to be a graze until he came face to face with the Hand Demon at the Final Selection when it transformed into a flame-like pattern, which he named his Demon Slayer Mark. As a result of his intensive training with Sakonji Urokodaki, his hands are noticeably tougher for someone his age. Tanjiro resembles his ancestor Sumiyoshi in appearance, having the same face structure, eyes, and hairdo as him. However, Sumiyoshi’s hair was longer, roughly shoulder-length, and knotted in a ponytail behind his head.
Tanjiro first appears in a black-and-sea-foam-green checkered haori over a white robe and black leggings. He wears a turquoise scarf on occasion and has white bands wrapped around his legs. He also wears a set of hanafuda earrings that symbolize a rising sun over a mountain. His hair is also pulled back into a low ponytail or bun when he practices with Sabito and Makomo; his hair grows to his shoulders when he practices with Sabito and Makomo. Tanjiro appears in the Final Selection wearing a blue, cloud-patterned jinbei-styled kimono and black slacks that are strikingly similar to Sakonji’s outfit.
His hanafuda earrings are still on, but his hair has been trimmed incredibly short and has remained that way since. On the left side of his head, Tanjiro, like the other Sakonji apprentices, wears a hand-carved fox mask fashioned by his master. The eyes, ears, and dots on each corner of the mask’s lips have crimson highlights. The scar on his forehead may be represented by a sun-shaped motif on the mask’s upper right corner.
Tanjiro now wears a dark-brown gakuran jacket, a white belt, baggy pants that extend into tabi socks, a pair of zari with red straps, and bands of white fabric wrapped tightly around his calves to mimic Kyahan, all under his distinctive checkered haori. He carries a large wooden box on his back (a gift from Sakonji Urokodaki) in which his sister rests as they stroll throughout the day.
Personality:
Tanjiro’s kind but somber grin. Tanjiro is a very nice guy by nature, and others have characterized him as having lovely eyes and a sensitive demeanor. He is very determined and will not give up once he has a goal to fulfill; the clearest illustration of this is his never-ending search to discover a treatment for Nezuko. Even though he is rather strong on his own, Tanjiro isn’t afraid to seek assistance from others when necessary. He is fiercely protective of his buddies, but especially of his little sister.
Despite his gentle and understanding disposition, Tanjiro has a limit to his patience and dislikes rudeness and cowardice, as he is quickly frustrated by Zenitsu Agatsuma’s frequent whimpering and upset by Inosuke Hashibira’s barbarous deeds.
Tanjiro is forthright and honest, taking everyone’s remarks seriously and with sincerity. When Tengen Uzui claimed to be a deity, he inquired as to which location he was the god of. He has problems lying, and doing so causes his face to contort badly as his sincerity conflicts with the insincerity of his words. Tanjiro has never lived in a huge city because he grew up in Japan’s countryside. During his missions to Asakusa and Yoshiwara, he marveled at the dazzling lights that engulfed the city. He mistakenly thought the Mugen train was the land’s guardian spirit, and, like Inosuke, he had no idea what a red-light district was.
Tanjiro’s most remarkable characteristic is his capacity to sympathize with everyone, including demons, which causes him to pause before delivering the last blow. Tanjiro has a unique demon ideology, believing that those who have committed evil should be killed without mercy, but those who regret their actions should not be belittled after their deaths, demonstrating great nuance and maturity in Tanjiro’s thinking, which was most likely influenced by his sister. Tanjiro, on the other hand, becomes more calculating and rigorous in his judgments as he accumulates expertise during the years of his service.
His bravery in defending the weak binds him to confront his adversary with respect and dignity, whether he is up against decent people or terrible spirits. Tanjiro is zealous about bringing evil to justice, even proclaiming that he will chop off the heads of demons who have done horrible crimes and confront them about their cruel thinking and criminal activities.
Abilities:
Tanjiro’s exceptional combat prowess and superhuman physical qualities enable him to overcome Rui, a member of the Twelve Kizuki.
General Capabilities
Tanjiro was proved to be a prodigious fighter from the start, with a high natural talent for battle, particularly swordsmanship. Tanjiro had previously been shown to have superhuman abilities such as amazing senses, a heightened sense of smell, enormous willpower, and tremendous intelligence. His inherent powers allow him to outwit and catch Giyu Tomioka, one of the most powerful Demon Slayers, off guard and nearly kill him with nothing but his heated emotions.
He was able to effortlessly take out multiple low-level demons without the assistance of others shortly after learning Water Breathing and accepting the Final Selection, allowing Tanjiro to adapt to and vanquish his opponents. This was demonstrated when he avoided the unique Blood Demon Arts and combat methods of powerful and talented demons like the Swamp Demon, Susamaru, Yahaba, and Kyogai.
Despite having the lowest rank in the organization, Tanjiro could hold his own against demons with the powers of a member of the Twelve Kizuki, the twelve strongest demons in existence, and subsequently against an actual member himself, Rui, Lower Rank Five. After recalling the Hinokami Kagura, which he learned from his father as a youngster, he nearly defeated the Lower Rank demon, a feat that many thought could only be accomplished by a Hashira, the Demon Slayer Corps’ best swordsmen.
Tanjiro was capable of fighting and beheading Lower Rank One, Enmu, on his own, even managing to come up with a solution to the demon’s spells during battle and possessing enough willpower to commit suicide in his dreams to wake up after mastering Total Concentration: Constant ( Zen Such Jch? ), which further enhanced his physical abilities. Tanjiro eventually beheaded the toughest Lower Rank demon with the assistance of Nezuko, Inosuke, Zenitsu, and Kyojuro Rengoku. With Kyojuro’s death at the hands of Upper-Rank Three, Akaza, the Flame, Hashira’s last words served as a vital inspiration for Tanjiro to carry on in times of difficulty and were a key component in his unbreakable resolve from then on.
After the combat, Tanjiro was able to fight on equal footing with Daki, an Upper-Rank demon who had lived for over a century and slain several Hashira over their existence, even temporarily dominating her when angered, however, he ran out of stamina before he could behead her. Even though he was wounded and slightly tired.
Fighting Technique:
Tanjiro’s swordsmanship ability allowed him to protect himself from an Upper Rank’s strong attack.
Tanjiro had always been a sword-fighting prodigy, beginning with talent comparable to Sabato, one of Sakonji Urokodaki’s greatest disciples, then surpassing him in a matter of months and avenging his murder by killing the Hand Demon. Despite being Mizunoto-ranked, his sword skills were better than those of his seniors, even beating two Lower-Ranked members of the Twelve Kizuki.
His swordsmanship has also improved significantly, as seen by his ability to take on Upper-Rank demons months after healing from injuries and having no prior experience battling opponents of that quality. Mitsuri Kanroji even said that achieving such a performance was akin to four years of rigorous effort.
Swordsmanship:
Water Breathing (Mizu no koky?): This was Tanjiro’s first Breathing Style, taught to him by Sakonji Urokodaki, a prior Water Hashira, and Water Breathing Cultivator. He grew incredibly skilled at it, allowing him to take on two of the Twelve Kizuki, Rui and Enmu. However, because his anatomy was not suited to Water Breathing methods, Tanjiro chose the Hinokami Kagura as his primary Breathing Style.
Hinokami Kagura (Hinokami Kagura?):
During his near-death experience in his encounter with Rui, Tanjiro recalled his father teaching him this breathing style. Because his physique was more adapted to the Hinokami Kagura, he rapidly overpowered the Lower Rank demon. However, the immense power and stress it placed on his untrained body led him to fall and weaken substantially while utilizing it, thus he only utilized it for last-ditch attempts to defeat his opponents.
Tanjiro trained more after the Mugen Train Arc so that his body could withstand the strain of its skills, and was capable of taking numerous forms in succession in his combat against Daki, albeit the whiplash from doing so was rapidly obvious. Despite this, facing Hantengu and undergoing severe training throughout the Swordsmith Village Arc and the Hashira Training Arc.
Equipment
Tanjiro wields a regular-sized and shaped Nichirin katana that is deep black but transforms brilliant red either with Nezuko Kamado’s Blood Demon Art or because he intentionally turns it bright red through his Demon Slayer Mark. On the side of his sword, the words Slay ( Metsu?) are etched. His original hilt is a black ring connected to its center bylines with a border of the same color, with the appearance of a wagon wheel.
Following the Swordsmith Village Arc, his hilt is altered to that of Kyojuro Rengoku, which is formed like a flame with a red center and an orange perimeter. Tanjiro carries a regular sword sheath in deep black with his katana.
Battles
- Tanjiro Kamado Battles:
- Final Selection Arc
- Tanjiro Kamado and Nezuko Kamado vs Giyu Tomioka
- Tanjiro Kamado and Nezuko Kamado vs Temple Demon
- Tanjiro Kamado vs Sabito
- Tanjiro Kamado vs Hand Demon
- First Mission Arc:
- Tanjiro Kamado and Nezuko Kamado vs Swamp Demon
- Asakusa Arc:
- Tanjiro Kamado, Nezuko Kamado, Tamayo, and Yushiro vs Susamaru and Yahaba
- Tsuzumi Mansion Arc:
- Tanjiro Kamado vs Kyogai
- Tanjiro Kamado vs Inosuke Hashibira
- Natagumo Mountain Arc:
- Tanjiro Kamado and Inosuke Hashibira vs Spider Demon (Mother)
- Tanjiro Kamado and Inosuke Hashibira vs Spider Demon (Father)
- Tanjiro Kamado and Nezuko Kamado vs Rui
- Mugen Train Arc:
- Demon Slayers vs Enmu
- Entertainment District Arc:
- Tanjiro Kamado and Nezuko Kamado vs Daki
- Tanjiro Kamado and Tengen Uzui vs Gyutaro
