Ryo Yorunoha

Ryo Yorunoha is the main protagonist of Demon Slayer: Blade of the Night. He is a Demon Slayer in the Demon Slayer Core, who joined in order to protect his loved ones, and in order to prevent others from suffering the woes that the existence of demons causes.

Ryo, before joining the Demon Slayer Core, used to live with his family near a simplistic village, where they survived by chopping down, selling, and carpenting wood from the nearby forest

## **Appearance:**

Ryo Yorunoha is a tall lean boy with incredibly dark hair, which is notoriously strange due to its sheer lack of color. During his youth, Ryo used to dirty it with soot to make it lighter in color. He has a mostly pale completion, and during most of his time as a slayer, his body has accumulated scars. His eyes are sharp, and during most of the story, carry thick eye bags underneath them, which Ryo never takes note of. His pupils are dark brown.

His hair is mostly kept at neck length, ending in sharp tips. During the start of the story, he kept it long, and tied it behind his back, but went on to cut it short not long after the Final Selection

While possessing many outfits during the story, either as disguises or casual clothing, Ryo is most often dressed in the average slayer uniform. His uniform is notoriously lacking in any colored tint, which makes it so it is plain black.

Ryo wears a purple haori with black accents that formed a sayagata pattern, which is paired with a dark blue kimono top with hexagon patterns formed by slightly lighter fabric. Under the kimono, Ryo also wears a makeshift necklace made out of Kaguya's earring.

## **Personality:**

Ryo is a complicated person in a multitude of levels, having a moral compass that could mostly be described as righteous, but he often goes against said compass due to some sort of personal ambition.

Ryo's general, outward demeanor tends to be generally neutral, if not a little oddly intense. He tends to be sarcastic, and sometimes smug when speaking casually with people he's comfortable with. Ryo is capable of having a more friendly facade, but abstains from using it for most of the time.

Ryo is, notoriously, someone that craves affection and approval from others, with it being the thing he’d hate the most to lack, seeing as his constant attempts to befriend others, and to keep his friends alive. While he is somewhat distrustful of others due to a past of rejection, maintaining a stoic appearance with those he doesn’t fully know, Ryo has a tendency to attach himself to people far too quickly, seeing as he grew an intense affection for Kaguya, a girl he barely knew, after only spending a few days with her. While it could be argued that it was helped by the near-death situations they have been through together, it is still noteworthy how fast he can befriend someone, even those that have wronged him in the past, such as Iwajima.

His problem of getting attached to people too easily is not helped by his intense fear of losing people, and only further emphasized by his memory not making justice of just how poorly he feels after losing someone, as he always underestimates the depression he has a tendency to grow into after losing a loved one.

Ryo is also emotionally closed off to a fault, being unwilling to open up to the people he cares about, mostly due to, once more, the fear of being rejected and shoved away once they discover his inner demons. This is why it is the easiest for him to open up when he is talking to someone equally mentally disturbed (Such as Kanjuro) and to someone who cannot hear him (Such as Kaguya when she was comatose). He has an easier time opening up to older people, as he feels they are more responsible, and wiser, and can give him solid advice, without judgement

Ryo has an issue with responsibility, as he has a tendency to believe everything bad that ever happened in his life is his fault. Whether he is correct or not is mostly irrelevant, since convincing him otherwise is harshly difficult. This has arised due to him having to be the man of the house from an early age.

Stemming from his responsibility issues, Ryo also has a tendency to feel guilt over his overarching objective being to protect his loved ones. He takes into consideration other people’s goals, and finds his own to be lacking, given his job is to kill people. Notably, it is best that he maintains himself without an objective. That is due to his intense desire to fulfill the people he loves in an emotional level, such as him taking it on himself to force the Uzui triplets to choose a Sound Pillar, and resorting to use violence to make his ends meet. Ryo might not have an overarching objective, but he was shown to be very dangerous and ambitious when faced with one.

Ryo, aside from the mountain of flaws that he carries, is an incredibly caring person, that, while on training break, spent every single day with a comatose Kaguya, regardless of whether or not she could tell, he wanted that, in the off-chance she did know he was there, she was happier. He remembers every minute detail of his friends, and while does not demonstrate, he does his best to cater to their tastes and personality.

Ryo is also immensely determined, being able to keep up with his friends, all of which had long achieved Total Concentration Breathing, all with a mix of Repetitive Action, the broken Moon Breathing, and a load of hard work. He is dedicated to growing stronger, even if it is for no specific purpose other than protecting his loved ones. He is, without a doubt, one of the most dedicated and dutiful of the entire cast, keeping up with others while having considerably less tools to do so.

Easily Ryo's worst fear, as displayed in Chapter 111, is loneliness. Represented repeatedly with different interpretations of solitary states of his hypothetical life, Ryo despises the idea of losing his loved ones, and turning out to be alone like his mother foretold. Ryo's general lack of objective could also be added into this fear, as it would amount to his life turning entirely aimless whenever no one would be there to guide him, even if only passively like currently occurs with his friends.

## **Synopsis:**

Ryo is the eldest son of Nozomi and Kishi Yorunoha, and the only surviving one at that. From a young age, all of his family members, save for his mother, all died from mysteriously average circumstances, after being attacked by a demon, Ryo is recruited by Gikuro Tomioka, and subsequently joined the Demon Slayer Core.

## **Abilities:**

**Superhuman Strength:** Ryo, while lacking notoriety in the area, has a physical strength above what could be considered to be humanly possible.

**Superhuman Speed:** Ryo has enough speed to be able to perform countless attacks in a flash, having enough dexterity and agility to successfully use some of his Moon Breathing techniques

**Genius Intellect:** Ryo is shown to be a master tactician in battles, not only capable of making a viable strategy for him to win, but also for his friends, making assumptions that usually are correct, based nearly entirely on how the demon is fighting. Most notably, Ryo managed to survive the entire Final Selection almost entirely by using his mind to make up for his lacking strength

**Indomitable Will:** Ryo is, without a doubt, one of the most determined and fortituous characters in the entire story, having enough drive to train twice as hard, ignoring the pain and strain from his incomplete Breathing Style to reach a level of strength comparable, if not superior to some of his partners.

**Novice Toxicologist:** Ryo currently dabbles on the production of poisons, and while he mostly takes recipes from a book someone else wrote, given his intellect, should he carry on the field, Ryo may achieve impressive results.

**Repetitive Action:** Mastered after months of training every single day, it allows a Ryo to achieve the same effects as Total Concentration Breathing by using repeating pre-set movements or remembering intense feelings to open the five senses and raise their concentration, drawing out the physical powers of the body for a long extended period. Ryo activates this technique by whistling a random melody he came up with. Its overall effect is to remind Ryo of the most stressful situation he had ever been in, the Final Selection, and it is congruent to forcing his body to tense up in a dangerous moment.

**Unconscious State:** Ryo, when falling unconscious while full of adrenaline, will enter a state where his body moves entirely on instinct, hunting for whatever is the strongest thing in the vicinity, regardless of whether is human or demon, friend or foe. Ryo has no control over this state, and would not know it existed if not for his friends revealing it to him. This state is powerful, but has a multitude of drawbacks, from the fact that it spends all of Ryo's power in attacks, making it hard for him to recover after usage, and the sheer unpredictability of the form. Most recently, not only did he attack his own allies during this state, but he also got severely damaged by his own overexertion.

**Explosive Potential:** Ryo, being an oddity when it comes to potential due to its sheer size, has a double-edged ability to instinctively use every single ounce of strength and energy still on him in one go, which tends to leave him severely wounded and bedridden for a few days depending on the strength of the explosion. Ryo has displayed this when unlocking a few of his Moon Breathing Forms, and during his short fight against Akaza, said explosion being not only his current peak in strength, but also surprising even the Upper Moon.

## **Fighting Style:**

**Average Swordsman:** Ryo, as of now, remains with an acceptable strength in sheer swordsmanship, being able to handle himself in a fight, although lacking speed and dexterity to face higher level opponents

**Novice Martial Artist:** Ryo has developed a total of one technique for hand to hand martial arts, in order to fight in case he is ever unarmed. He has still ways to develop, especially given he only developed a singular attack, which he trained while his muscles were in recovery.

#### **Techniques:**

* **Unnamed Axe Kick:** Ryo's first martial technique, composed of a single kick with his heel. After a day of intense practice, he can use it appropriately enough to not fall down in the middle of the technique.

### **Breathing Style:**

**Moon Breathing** *(Tsuki no Kokyu)*: Having the basics learned from sheer instinct, Ryo slowly learned more and more how to use it, and while it currently remains incomplete, Ryo already has access to many of its techiques, gained from a multitude of ways. Despite this, Ryo lacks knowledge on all of them.

#### **Techniques:**

* **First Form: Dark Moon, Evening Palace** *(Ichi no Kata: Yamidzuki - Yoi no Miya)* - The user quickly draws their sword and slashes swiftly in a singular horizontal motion in a crescent shape.

* **Second Form: Pearl Flower Moongazing** *(Ni no Kata: Shuka no Rogetsu)* - The user performs several crescent-shaped slashes that defend him from incoming attacks.

* **Third Form: Loathsome Moon, Chains** *(San no Kata: Enkidzuki - Tsugari)* - The user swings their sword rapidly in two gigantic crescent slashes with an extensive range of attack.

* **Fourth Form: Black Ring, Lunar Eclipse** *(Shi no Kata: Kuromaru - Gesshoku)* - The user will slash in a concentrated 360 degrees attack. This Form possesses an incredible range, and should be used to eliminate threats all around the user.

* **Fifth Form: Moon Spirit Calamitous Eddy** *(Go no Kata: Geppaku Saika)* - The user makes multiple curved slashes layered over one another, creating a rising vortex of sword slashes.

* **Sixth Form: Perpetual Night, Lonely Moon - Incessant** *(Roku no Kata: Tokoyo Kogetsu - Muken)* - The user releases a wild barrage of crescent-shaped slashes several meters in front of them.

* **Seventh Form: Mirror of Misfortune, Moonlit** *(Shichi no Kata: Yakkyo - Dzukibae)* - The user swings their sword in what appears as a powerful frontal crescent-shaped slash but actually are powerful multi-directional long-ranged slashes in the ground.

* **Eighth Form: Moon-Dragon Ringtail** *(Hachi no Kata: Getsuryu Rinbi)* - The user performs a singular gigantic crescent-shaped slash that slowly decreases in size.

* **Ninth Form: Waning Moonswaths** *(Ku no Kata: Kudaridzuki - Renmen)* - The user does a stream of long-ranged crescent-shaped vertical and horizontal slashes

* **Tenth Form: Drilling Slashes, Moon Through Bamboo Leaves** *(Ju no Kata: Senmenzan - Ragetsu)* - The user performs a long-ranged triple-layered slash twister, having an extensive range and destructive capacity

* **Eleventh Form: Fragmented Moon** *(Ju Ichi no Kata: Danpen-ka Shita Tsuki)* - The user will quickly strike downwards at such speeds that it barely looks like they moved. This will often break the floor and leave large slashes on the ground.

* **Twelfth Form: Brilliant Scattering Moondust** *(Ju Ni no Kata: Azayaka Tsukihokori no Sanran)* - The user will perform two powerful, crescent slashes in quick succession in order to clear their surroundings or defend from attacks

* **Thirteenth Form: Moon’s Pull** *(Ju San no Kata: Tsuki no Hiku)* - The user will slash all around themselves with their long sword, used in self-defence or to strike multiple enemies at once

* **Fourteenth Form: Catastrophe, Tenman Crescent Moon** *(Ju Shi no Kata: Kyohen - Tenman Sengetsu)* - The user creates a chaotic vortex of powerful prolonged omni-directional slashes that destroys whatever is caught up within its attack radius.

* **Fifteenth Form: Slicing Waning Moon** *(Ju Go no Kata: Gegen'notsuki Kiru)* - The user dashes past an opponent or a group of opponents, delivering countless slashes in the way at high speeds, with a deceivingly large range

* **Seventeenth Form: Crescent Rush** *(Ju Shichi no Kata: Mikadzuki Bakushin)* - The user dashes with a low stance, unsheathing their blade for a powerful, crescent shaped upwards slashed, potentially aimed diagonally for additional damage.

* **Eighteenth Form: Heaven Piercing Moon Fang** *(Ju Hachi no Kata: Tensho no Getsuga)* - The user performs a single, high power, crescent upwards vertical slash that can tear any defenses apart and rend an opponent's body in half. This attack, if performed by an inexperienced user, will be incredibly suicidal.

* **Nineteenth Form: Dark Night Sky** *(Ju Ku no Kata: Kurai Yozora)* - The user performs a frontal vortex of slashes to redirect and intercept incoming attacks that can't be blocked head-on.

## **Equipment:**

**Unorthodox Long Nichirin Katana:** As a Demon Slayer, Ryo uses a Katana with an uncommonly long blade, which was requested by him in order to increase his striking range. His original Katana, which was regular sized, was destroyed in the fight against Kyojin in Sakurashima, and was therefore replaced by his new, and current blade. It possesses a bright white blade in accordance to the Moon Breathing, and currently, it lacks a handguard

## **Familiars:**

**Shoku:** Ryo's crow, Shoku, is a relatively competent crow, with the trait that is gets tired incredibly easily, often falling asleep on Ryo's shoulder.

**Yorumaru:** Shared with his group, Yorumaru is a demon serpent that has displayed at the very least affection for the main group, while also providing support in battles with its abilities.

## **Battles:**

* Ryo and Nozomi vs Barrel Demon
* Ryo vs Tsukuro
* Ryo vs Tori (Sparring)
* Ryo vs Tanjiro (Sparring)
* Ryo vs Angler Demon
* Ryo vs Iwajima
* Ryo vs Bug Demon
* Ryo and Kaguya vs Vest Demon
* Ryo, Taro and Kaguya vs Iwajima
* Ryo and Kaguya vs Dokuro
* Ryo, Iwajima and Shinku vs Dokuro
* Ryo and Taro vs Akio
* Ryo and Taro vs Slug Demon
* Ryo, Taro and Kanjuro vs Mind Demon
* Ryo vs Soichi (Sparring)
* Ryo and Kanjuro vs Taka
* Ryo, Iwajima and Kanjuro vs Kyojin
* Ryo vs Taro (Sparring)
* Ryo vs Yoriichi Type Zero (Sparring)
* Ryo, Taro, Iwajima, Shinku and Fubuki vs Hisame
* Ryo vs Soichi (Sparring)
* Ryo vs Fumen, Meigen and Tenma
* Ryo vs Tenshi
* Ryo, Taro, Kanjuro, Iwajima, Fubuki, Shinku, Gikuro, Yushibo and Aya vs Akaza
* Ryo and Taro vs Muichiro
* Ryo vs Murata
* Ryo vs Raijun
* Ryo vs Tengen
* Ryo vs Yoriichi
* Ryo vs Iwajima (Sparring)
* Ryo vs Tenshi
* Ryo, Taro, Iwajima, Shinku and Yorumaru vs Kosui
* Ryo, Kanjuro, Fubuki and Yorumaru vs Koriru

## **Trivia:**

* Ryo’s name is divided into [Ryo], which means [Survive, Excel], and [Yorunoha], which is a jumble of the phrase [Yoru no Ha], which translates to [Blade of the Night], naming the story itself, and alluding to his Breathing Style.
* Ryo’s favorite food is grilled salmon, and prefers it as is, with barely anything else as a side-dish.
* While not being driven by money, Ryo is a cheapskate of the lowest kind.
* Ryo’s openness level is 30%
* Ryo’s favorite color is blue
* Ryo is a horrible singer, ear splittingly horrible.
* If Ryo didn't become a slayer, he would be a lawyer.
* If he was in Kimetsu Academy, Ryo would be a student that bothered the teachers by how little he paid attention and prostrated himself, and yet had stellar grades.