Tanjiro Kamado

## Portrayal

**Tanjiro Kamado** is the main protagonist of the original story of Demon Slayer. Currently, he is the first Sun Pillar, and has no Sect of his own in the organization due to a lack of trainees. Despite this, he could be considered one of the most powerful Pillars in the current generation, both in sheer strength, and authority, as he is the one to overlook any trials that the Pillars conduct.

Before he became a Demon Slayer, Tanjiro was a coal burner before his entire family was slaughtered by Muzan while his younger sister, Nezuko, was turned into a demon. Since then, Nezuko has been cured, but Tanjiro remains unwavering in his goal to end the evil in the world brought by demons.

## **Appearance:**

Tanjiro is a young man of average height with fairly tanned skin and an athletic, muscular physique. He has ruffled, burgundy hair, which is now lengthier than in his youth, and as such, it is kept in a ponytail. He also has a scar on the top left of his forehead, first seen when his mother brought him to watch his father perform the Hinokami Kagura dance. The scar originally looked somewhat like a graze until his fight with the Hand Demon during Final Selection, after which it develops into a flame-like pattern as his Demon Slayer Mark.

Tanjiro looks remarkably similar in appearance to his ancestor Sumiyoshi Kamado, possessing the same facial structure, eyes, and hairstyle as him, although Sumiyoshi's hair was longer. Tanjiro notably wears Hanafuda earrings.

As a Demon Slayer, Tanjiro wears the standard Pillar uniform, although his particular uniform is tainted dark brown. Tanjiro also wears a checkered, black-and-sea-foam-green belt, which is made from the remaining fabric of his old haori, since it was too torn apart during the fight against Akaza to be properly sewn back together. To substitute it, Tanjiro now wears a plain dark red haori.

## **Personality:**

Tanjiro is very kind by nature and has been described by others as having very gentle eyes and a compassionate persona. He exhibits a great deal of determination and will not give up once he has a goal to achieve; the best example of this being his relentless quest to find a cure for Nezuko, an effort that did indeed bear fruit. However, despite his kind and understanding nature, Tanjiro does have a limit to his tolerance and has a distaste for rudeness and cowardice

Tanjiro is direct and very honest, taking everyone's words with sincerity and seriousness. He has difficulty lying and doing so causes his face to contort severely, as his honest nature clashes with the insincerity of his words. Having grown up in the countryside of Japan, Tanjiro used to find it hard to be comfortable in large, urban areas.

Under Tanjiro's rather kind and friendly shell, is a person with a growing fire of rage and vengeance inside of them. This side of him leaks out when Tanjiro first confronts Muzan, ready to take out his sword and attack him. When Muzan escapes, Tanjiro releases his frustration and declares he will be the one to kill Muzan. In the face of irrational evil, Tanjiro shows a more cold and terrifying side of him, acting more violent towards his opponents as a result.

Tanjiro's most notable attribute is his ability to empathize with anyone, even demons. Tanjiro has a unique ideology regarding demons, believing that those that have committed evil should be killed without mercy, but those that regret their actions should not be belittled after their deaths, showing great nuance and maturity in Tanjiro's thinking, probably brought about by his sister. However, as Tanjiro gained experience over the years of his service, he became more calculating and strict in his decisions. His courage to protect the weak commits him to face his enemy with respect and dignity, whether versus good people or evil demons. Tanjiro is adamant about serving justice to the evil, by any means necessary, even declaring to cut off the heads of demons who have committed heinous crimes and confronting them about their inhumane mindset and their criminal deeds.

As he grew older, and became a Pillar, Tanjiro has grown a more responsible, fatherly personality. He is well liked all around the core, and respects all slayers equally, regardless of rank. He isn't, however, opposed to scolding one of his subordinates if they cross the line, such as complaining to Chiguro over his invasive methods. This new position of power does lead to his growing stress, which, strengthened by the news of the revival of many previously deceased demons, led to him almost harming Ryo during a sparring session due to him being lost in thought.

Another flaw brought upon by age is how Tanjiro tends to be overly lenient with his own children, as he used his power as the Sun Pillar to allow for his daughter to take the Final Selection out of season, also providing the same favor with his protege, Soichi, in order for him to protect her. While not doing any of these things maliciously, it goes to show how he has a tendency to spoil his own kids, especially Tori, who spends more time with him than his son.

## **Synopsis:**

Tanjiro was born on a mountain as the eldest son of Kie and Tanjuro Kamado, a family of charcoal sellers. Tanjiro's father was a major influence on him and acted as his teacher for the foundations of the Hinokami Kagura, a ritual dance that was passed down across the family's generations alongside a pair of hanafuda earrings, and Tanjiro would often watch him perform this dance. One day, he returns from the town to find nearly his entire family dead, and his sister Nezuko turned into a demon. After being found and recruited by Giyu Tomioka, Tanjiro began his journey as a Demon Slayer.

## **Abilities:**

**Monumental Strength:** Tanjiro, despite not being regarded as one of the most physically strong Pillars, is very clearly immensely powerful in that department, as is implied by him being the potential strongest among the entire lineup.

**Monumental Speed:** Tanjiro, while not having a direct showing in the current story, is immensely fast, as is implied by his Sun Breathing techniques, being capable of generating afterimages of himself with relative ease.

**High Intellect:** Tanjiro is highly intelligent in many areas. Not only a powerful tactician, Tanjiro is also very good at dealing and pacifying others through sheer discussions and convincing. Not only that, but his ability to manage a good chunk of the Demon Slayer Core's functioning by himself is notable

**Enhanced Smell:** Tanjiro possesses an extremely sharp sense of smell. Before becoming a Demon Slayer, Tanjiro was known in a village as a boy who has an extremely strong sense of smell. He is able to pick up even the most subtle of scents and track their location with terrifying accuracy over long distances. Through his heightened sense of smell, Tanjiro can perceive things outside the normal range of perception like the intentions, feelings, and thoughts of other creatures, even of animals such as insects and birds. He can also sense the aura and presences of demons and even tell their strength level at a glance through how disgusting and rotten their scent is.

**Total Concentration Breathing:** Tanjiro is a highly skilled user of the Sun Breathing, being able to master it after years of extensive training, and picking its pieces from the Hinokami Kagura to finally form its original state. Tanjiro is a master of Total Concentration Breathing, and uses it to develop much further than a normal human

**Repetitive Action:** Tanjiro learned this technique after consulting Genya Shinazugawa. He raises his concentration to its maximum limits by remembering the faces of his loved ones and repeatedly recalling Kyojuro's phrase "*Set your heart ablaze."*

**Transparent World:** Tanjiro has gained access to the Transparent World all the way back when he was 16, and since then, has developed to be able to maintain it for a few minutes on end.

**Selfless State:** As he unlocked the Transparent World, Tanjiro also learned the ability to completely erase his presence like his father did, including all of his Fighting Spirit. This technique can also mask one's intent to kill and malice, allowing them to fight undetectable on against enemies' that rely on sensing one's intention to fight.

**Demon Slayer Mark:** Tanjiro was not only the first person to awaken the Demon Slayer Mark naturally other than Yoriichi Tsugikuni (Albeit at an older age), Tanjiro is responsible for spreading it to the current generation of Pillars, and his contribution on the matter is undeniable.

## **Fighting Style:**

**Master Swordsman:** Tanjiro was always shown to be a sword-fighting prodigy, starting out with skill rivaling Sabito, one of Sakonji Urokodaki's strongest students and surpassing him in half a year's time and avenging his death by defeating the Hand Demon. Tanjiro then proceeded to only further show his immense strength in swordfighting as he grew older, rivaling the prodigy Muichiro Tokito for the position of strongest Pillar, and by consequence, the strongest living human.

### **Breathing Style:**

**Water Breathing** *(Mizu no Kokyu)*: Despite it being his initial Breathing Style, Tanjiro has since stopped using it entirely once he finalized his Sun Breathing Techniques, as the Water Breathing does not suit him very well.

**Sun Breathing** *(Hi no Kokyu)*: Tanjiro is the first user of the Sun Breathing since Yoriichi Tsugikuni himself, and has carried the mantle with success. Tanjiro has entirely revived the supposedly gone Breathing Style, successfully passing it on to a single disciple, and the only one capable of handling the techniques until now. And since the completion of its original state, Tanjiro has successfully developed two entire new techniques.

#### **Techniques:**

* **First Form: Dancing Flash** *(Ichi no Kata: Enbu Issen)* - An edited version created by Tanjiro Kamado, designed to replace the original, as he was incapable of replicating the same level of power than Yoriichi had while using it. This form uses a dash alongside the regular attack

* **Second Form: Clear Blue Sky** *(Ni no Kata: Heki-Ra no Ten)* - The user spins their body horizontally to deliver a 360° slash.

* **Third Form: Raging Sun** *(San no Kata: Retsujitsu Kokyo)* - The user unleashes two horizontal slashes to hit or defend from incoming attacks.

* **Fourth Form: Burning Bones, Summer Sun** *(Shi no Kata: Shakkotsu En'yo)* - The user unleashes a large circular slash that defends from imminent frontal attacks.

* **Fifth Form: Setting Sun Transformation** *(Go no Kata: Shayo Tenshin)* - The user backflips into the air to deliver a powerful upended sword slash that aims to decapitate their target.

* **Sixth Form: Solar Heat Haze** *(Roku no Kata: Hirin Kagero)* - The user charges towards the target, unleashing a horizontal slash seemingly covered in haze that fails to land, but actually does hit the target.

* **Seventh Form: Beneficent Radiance** *(Shichi no Kata: Kiki Onko)* - The user spirals into the air and delivers a powerful slash that surrounds the enemy.

* **Eighth Form: Sunflower Thrust** *(Hachi no Kata: Yokatotsu)* - The user unleashes a single thrust attack with the point of the blade.

* **Ninth Form: Dragon Sun Halo Head Dance** *(Ku no Kata: Nichiun no Ryu Kaburimai)* - The user unleashes a continuous fast and powerful sword attack that is capable of decapitating multiple targets at once.

* **Tenth Form: Fire Wheel** *(Ju no Kata: Kasha)* - The user leaps behind the opponent and spins in the air downward, releasing a sword attack in a circular motion.

* **Eleventh Form: Fake Rainbow** *(Ju Ichi no Kata: Gen'nichi Ko)* - The user performs high-speed twists and rotations, thus creating afterimages used mostly to evade attacks. The afterimages work most effectively on enemies with good vision.

* **Twelfth Form: Flame Dance** *(Ju Ni no Kata: Hono Enbu)* - A two-combo strike which starts with a vertical slash and then a horizontal one right after.

* **Thirteenth Form: Dance of the Fire God** *(Ju San no Kata: Hinokami Kagura)* - The user continuously performs all twelve forms of Sun Breathing in repetitive succession to increase the accuracy and agility of its movements while reducing fatigue. This form was created solely for killing Muzan Kibutsuji.

* **Fourteenth Form: Scorching Rush** *(Ju Shi no Kata: Hayagake Giri)* - The user rushes forward with a flaming sword and performs five consecutive slashes against the opponent's weak points.

* **Fifteenth Form: Phoenix Flash** *(Ju Go no Kata: Shunten Giri)* - The user descends, either after hopping or from high ground, where they perform a massive overhead circular slash.

## **Equipment:**

**Standard Nichirin Katana:** As a Demon Slayer, Tanjiro carries around a standard sized and shaped Nichirin katana. After the events in the Swordsmith Village, he switched to using the katana he found inside Yoriichi Type Zero that was sharpened and polished by Hotaru Haganezuka. being deep black in color. Tanjiro's handguard is a black ring connected to its core by lines with a border of the same color, which heavily resembles a wagon wheel in appearance.

## **Familiars:**

**Matsuemon Tennoji:** This Crow is known to have quite an ego, even naming itself rather than allowing Tanjiro to do so himself.

## **Battles:**

* Tanjiro vs Giyu
* Tanjiro and Nezuko vs Temple Demon
* Tanjiro vs Sabito (Sparring)
* Tanjiro vs Hand Demon
* Tanjiro and Nezuko vs Swamp Demon
* Tanjiro and Nezuko vs Yahaba and Susamaru
* Tanjiro vs Kyogai
* Tanjiro vs Inosuke
* Tanjiro and Inosuke vs Spider Mother
* Tanjiro and Inosuke vs Spider Father
* Tanjiro and Nezuko vs Rui
* Tanjiro, Inosuke and Zenitsu vs Enmu
* Tanjiro, Inosuke, Zenitsu, Nezuko and Tengen vs Gyutaro and Daki
* Tanjiro, Genya, Nezuko and Mitsuri vs Hantengu
* Tanjiro, Giyu and Kyojuro vs Akaza
* Tanjiro vs Ryo (Sparring)

## **Trivia:**

* Tanjiro's name can be broken down into the following meanings: [Tan] stands for "Charcoal", [Ji] means "To Heal", and [Ro] means "Son, male", while also being a common name suffix for males in Japan. His surname, meanwhile, is divided into: [Kama], which is the word for a charcoal-fueled furnace, and [Do] means "Door".
* Tanjiro's favorite food is angelica sprouts. He apparently likes it so much that his body visibly acts up when he's around them, particularly his nostrils flaring.
* Tanjiro has an oddly hard forehead. It was subsequently passed on to both of his children.
* Tanjiro's openness level is about 99,9%
* Tanjiro's favorite color is green
* Tanjiro is, similarly to Ryo, a horrible singer.
* Tanjiro, after the Battle of the Infinity Castle, hasn't used his Water Breathing techniques at all. The event helped him finalize the Sun Breathing, and he subsequently didn't use his backup techniques. He hasn't even learned the new Forms developed during and after the Core Reformation. This is also why the techniques weren't listed in his "Fighting Style" bullet point.
* Tanjiro is confident in his children's strength, so he did not stop them from becoming Slayers. That said, he was a bit disappointed that neither of them are suited for the Sun Breathing. He isn't disappointed at them, just the irony that not even his children can learn from him.
* Tanjiro's proposal to Kanao was intensely annoying to anyone that wasn't either of them, as coaching Tanjiro into going through with it was a hell and a half for Zenitsu in particular.
* Tanjiro's opinions on his fellow Pillars are as follows:
	+ Giyu: *"I respect him very much, whenever I need guidance, I seek him"*
	+ Kyojuro: *"One of the many mentors I've had! His heart is always blazing!"*
	+ Gyomei: *"He's earnest and respectable! His drive to keep fighting despite his age is amazing!"*
	+ Sanemi: *"He is a bit rude, but he's a good person inside."*
	+ Zenitsu: *"I'm so happy that he outgrew his childish behavior. I'm honored to stand beside him"*
	+ Kanao: *"She doesn't talk much, but she's perfect that way, especially when the voice of her heart is much louder than any words!"*
	+ Seiji: *"I know for a fact he isn't a bad person, but he goes out of his way to show otherwise..."*
	+ Daisuke: *"He's a great person to talk to, I do feel curious as to how he manages his Sect with his relaxed behavior"*
	+ Obanai: *"I wish he was more honest about his own feelings"*
	+ Murata: *"His fall to pessimism and vengeance pains me deeply."*
	+ Shinobu: *"She is really smart! Her and Tomioka make a good couple! Especially since their advices mesh well!"*
	+ Mitsuri: *"She is really kind! I appreciate that she doesn't lie to anyone at all!"*
	+ Senjuro: *"I want him to talk to me more... I'm worried about him"*
	+ Suguru: *"He's a good man, even if he is a little rude at times"*
	+ Muichiro: *"If only he followed my advice more closely, he could be more well liked among the Core"*
	+ Inosuke: *"He has surely gotten more civilized... Though the bar was low. He's still a brother to me anyway!"*
	+ Aki: *"He's nice, but he really feels like he's hiding something underneath that smile"*
	+ Tengen: *"I really miss him. I wish that he could see all that we've accomplished"*