Tanjiro Kamado

!Aged Up! Date to the hot springs. Tanjiro is a young man of average height with fairly tanned skin and an athletic, muscular physique. He has ruffled, black hair with burgundy tips, combed back to expose his forehead, and wide, dark red eyes with white pupils that appear lighter around the lower section of his irises. 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.

After becoming a Demon Slayer, Tanjiro wears the standard Demon Slayer uniform, a dark-brown gakuran jacket, a white belt, baggy chocho zubon pants that extend into tabi socks, a pair of zōri with red straps, and bands of white cloth wrapped tightly around his calves resembling kyahan, all beneath his signature checkered haori. He carries a large wooden box on his back (which was a gift to him from Sakonji Urokodaki), where his sister sleeps as they travel during the day.

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. Even though he is relatively strong on his own, Tanjiro isn't opposed to asking others for help when he needs it. He is very protective of his friends and even more so of his younger sister. However, despite his kind and understanding nature, Tanjiro does have a limit to his tolerance and has a distaste for rudeness and cowardice as he easily becomes annoyed by Zenitsu Agatsuma's constant whining, and angered by Inosuke Hashibira's barbaric actions.

Tanjiro is direct and very honest, taking everyone's words with sincerity and seriousness. Upon hearing Tengen Uzui claim he is a god, he asked what area is he the god of. 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 has no experience of life in large urban areas. During his missions to Asakusa and Yoshiwara, he stared in wonder at the bright lights enveloping the cities. He naively believed the Mugen train was perhaps the land's guardian spirit and, just like Inosuke, he does not know what a red-light district is.

Abilities

Overall Abilities: From the beginning, Tanjiro was shown to be a prodigious fighter, having a strong natural aptitude for combat, especially in swordsmanship. Tanjiro was already introduced to have above average human abilities, like honed senses, a sharp sense of smell, immense willpower and great intellect. His naturally obtained abilities go so far as to allow him to outsmart and catch Giyu Tomioka, one of the most powerful Demon Slayers, off guard and nearly land a fatal blow on him despite being clouded with intense emotions. Moreover, in his first encounter with a demon, Tanjiro managed to slash the neck of the Temple Demon and impress him, later being able to fend the demon off with a regular hatchet and come up with unique solutions such as using his durable head to headbutt the Temple Demon and also using his hatchet to pin him down and prevent him from moving.

Demon Slayer Mark: Tanjiro's Demon Slayer Mark takes the form of a flame-like pattern replacing the scar on his forehead. After Hashira Training his scar is replaced with a permanent flame mark, and when he activates his Demon Slayer Mark it grows in size, reaching past his eyebrows. Interestingly enough, Tanjiro's mark is exactly the same as the marks of Yoriichi Tsugikuni and Kokushibo. The mark drastically enhances all of Tanjiro's natural abilities, such as his strength, speed, and reflexes.

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. It is strong enough for him to smell the Opening Thread, the slight pause in an enemy's movement which allows him an opening in which to strike. His sense of smell is so keen that he can perceive his surroundings through scent alone.

Extrasensory Perception: 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.

Enhanced Strength: After his training at Mount Sagiri, Tanjiro has gained incredible arm and leg strength and has demonstrated a great use of it, jumping over the humongous Hand Demon, and leaping over buildings effortlessly. Tanjiro also casually broke Genya's arm and later shattered Inosuke's ribs and sent him flying, all with a single punch. With his katana, he could slice through gigantic boulders and entire trees. While training, Tanjiro is capable of doing hundreds of push-ups at once along with a plethora of other strength-related exercises. When he was posing as a courtesan, he was shown to carry dozens of large boxes easily and when he was angered, he ripped off an Upper Rank's leg. When he was training with Gyomei Himejima, he was tasked with lifting three enormous logs on his back and pushing a boulder through town. He later managed to cut off Akaza's head, a feat which even Kyojuro couldn't accomplish.

Immense Speed & Reflexes: Tanjiro possesses tremendous speed and reflexes; even before entering Final Selection, he is shown being able to travel faster than the eye can see and outpace Sabito, an extremely skilled swordsman who was initially able to easily move faster than Tanjiro can process. Furthermore, he can react to the blistering movement speeds of demons even before he started using Total Concentration Breathing . After a few months of training at the Butterfly Mansion, his speed and reflexes could match those of the strongest members of the Lower Ranks of the Twelve Kizuki. When angered, he was able to move faster than Daki, an Upper Rank demon, could even react.

Immense Stamina & Endurance: Tanjiro has incredible stamina and endurance, even before he became a Demon Slayer, showed when he had to train in a mountain with oxygen levels lower than that of a thick bog, dodging armed booby traps, running up and down the mountain constantly, and improving his swordsmanship skills and physique all while under these harsh conditions for around two years. His stamina and endurance was further improved having mastered Total Concentration: Constant , allowing him to stay in the Total Concentration Breathing state 24/7. His stamina was increased even further after he mastered the Hinokami Kagura, the same Breathing Style which allowed his sickly father to dance from dusk till dawn in the snow while barely clothed. Through the use of Recovering Breathing, Tanjiro can quickly recover from fatigue and was able to subdue a berserk Nezuko despite crossing his stamina limit and nearly losing his life a few moments prior. Despite having his jowl stabbed by Gyutaro's kama, Tanjiro barely showed any signs of pain at all.

When training with Kotetsu, Tanjiro was able to endure an extremely intensive training session for seven days non-stop with no food, no sleep and barely any water which he obtained when it was raining while also getting constantly injured and beaten. He was also in battle with Lower Rank-level demons for 5 hours in the Infinity Castle and was still able to hold his on and defeat Upper Rank Three, Akaza, and later went on to engage in a skirmish with the Demon King, Muzan Kibutsuji, for 1 hour and 30 minutes till dawn. Furthermore, he lasted one of the longest out of all the other Hashira and Hashira-level combatants, while still being able to tolerate all the damage and injuries he sustained from Muzan Kibutsuji's fatal poison and physical attacks. Nearing the end of the battle, Tanjiro barely showed any reaction when his arm was blown off by one of Muzan's attacks.

Indomitable Will: Tanjiro possesses an undaunted will and spirit, being able to fight and engage in battle against enemies stronger than him with his sheer will alone to kill Demons and protect his sister even when he sustained severe injuries and wounds. The death of his family also played a big role in his insurmountable willpower, his visions of his family members urging him on during times of crisis, allowing him to pull through any hardship.

Breathing Style Tanjiro use Twisting Whirlpool - Flowing Water Tanjiro combining two forms of Water Breathing into a single technique.

Water Breathing (水みずの呼こ吸きゅう Mizu no kokyū?): Taught to him by Sakonji Urokodaki, a previous Water Hashira and Water Breathing Cultivator, this was Tanjiro's initial Breathing Style. He became extremely proficient in it, to the point where he could modify pre-existing forms to suit the circumstance. He also used Water Breathing to take on two members of the Twelve Kizuki, namely Rui and Enmu. However, due to his body not being suited to Water Breathing's techniques, Tanjiro decided to switch to the Hinokami Kagura as his main Breathing Style. Despite this, Tanjiro has not abandoned what he was taught, combining Water Breathing with the Hinokami Kagura, due to the strain Hinokami Kagura placed on his body, in order to have stronger strikes than when he used Water Breathing alone and move for longer periods than if he used Hinokami Kagura alone. He did this to save Hinatsuru from Gyutaro[31], and later used it once again during the Infinity Castle Arc to slay dozens of demons.

Hinokami Kagura (ヒノカミ神楽かぐら Hinokami Kagura?): During his near-death experience in his battle with Rui, Tanjiro awakened this in a memory of his father teaching him this Breathing Style. As his body was more suited to the Hinokami Kagura, he quickly overpowered the Lower Rank demon. However, the sheer force and fatigue it placed on his untrained body caused him to collapse and weaken significantly when using it, thus he only saved it for last ditch attempts to beat his adversaries.

After the Mugen Train Arc, Tanjiro trained more so that his body could take the strain of its techniques, and was capable of using multiple forms in succession in his battle against Daki, although the whiplash from doing so became quickly apparent. Still, through battling Hantengu and undergoing intense training during the Swordsmith Village Arc and the Hashira Training Arc, Tanjiro finally managed to master all the forms in the Hinokami Kagura, using it to its full potential against Akaza. When Tanjiro fully witnessed all the forms performed by Yoriichi Tsugikuni, he realized his own Hinokami Kagura had unnecessary movements, different wrist angles, footwork and breathing rhythm. Removing them enabled him to awaken the legendary Sun Breathing (日ひの呼こ吸きゅう Hi no kokyū?),[34] and he was able to temporarily battle on equal grounds with the Demon King, Muzan Kibutsuji, to the point that Muzan saw Yoriichi's visage overlapping with Tanjiro's own when he was performing the techniques against him.

Techniques First Form: Water Surface Slash - The user generates enough momentum to create a powerful single concentrated slash. Second Form: Water Wheel - The user leaps and vertically spins forward in the air while releasing a flowing attack in a circular motion. Second Form: Improved, Lateral Water Wheel - An alternate variation of Second Form: Water Wheel that unleashes a horizontal spin instead of a vertical one. Third Form: Flowing Dance - The user swings and bends their blade in a winding motion along with their body and dances in a flowing pattern, slicing everything in its path. Fourth Form: Striking Tide - The user makes multiple consecutive slashes while twisting their body and sword in a flowing fashion to deliver multiple blows simultaneously. Striking Tide: Turbulent - An improved version of the Fourth Form: Striking Tide. Tanjiro increases the quantity of consecutive strikes and slashes along with improving its accuracy in order to contact a specific target during a chaotic situation.

Fifth Form: Blessed Rain After the Drought - The user changes the grip on their sword and decapitates the opponent in a single flowing strike that causes little to no pain. It is a “sword strike of kindness” used when the enemy willingly surrenders. Sixth Form: Whirlpool - The user fiercely twists their upper and lower body, creating a whirlpool of air that cuts anything caught in it. Its effect and efficiently is enhanced underwater, where they can draw water around their weapon to enhance their slashes. Whirlpool, Flow - A combination of Third Form: Flowing Dance and Sixth Form: Whirlpool created by Tanjiro. It combines the footwork from Flowing Dance and the twisting movements of Whirlpool, resulting in the swordsman to perform an attack around him and conjure a twisting, swirling, vicious flow of water to redirect projectiles from multiple angles. Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust - The user performs a precise, fast and accurate thrust with their blade. Drop Ripple Thrust, Curve - A modified strike that hits from a specific angle corresponding to the sword's structure which nearly nullifies the impact and momentum of a moving object. Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin - The user cuts the target vertically in a flowing motion which is most effective when they are falling downward. Ninth Form: Splashing Water Flow, Turbulent - The user changes their footwork in a way that minimizes the landing time and surface needed when landing, allowing them to move without limits. It is ideal when fighting in a place with no solid foothold. Tenth Form: Constant Flux - The user performs a continuous flowing attack which takes the form of a water dragon that increases in strength and power with each rotation due to momentum. Dance - The user delivers a single high-powered vertical slash. Dancing Flash - A modified version of Dance developed and utilized only by Tanjiro. He infuses the Thunderclap and Flash technique of Thunder Breathing into the high-powered slash of Dance by inhaling huge amounts of oxygen, increasing the pumping of blood through his entire body, focusing it on his legs, and releasing it all to assault the target with a slash. This technique was capable of out-speeding Genya Shinazugawa, Nezuko Kamado, as well as the fleeing Hantengu. Clear Blue Sky - The user spins their body horizontally to deliver a 360° slash. Raging Sun - The user unleashes two horizontal slashes to hit or defend themselves from incoming attacks. Burning Bones, Summer Sun - The user unleashes a large circular slash that defends them from imminent frontal attacks. Setting Sun Transformation - The user backflips into the air to deliver a powerful upended sword slash that aims to decapitate their target. Solar Heat Haze - The user charges towards the target, unleashing a horizontal slash seemingly covered in haze that fails to land, but actually does hit the target. Beneficent Radiance - The user spirals into the air and delivers a powerful slash that surrounds the enemy. Sunflower Thrust - The user unleashes a single thrust attack with the point of the blade.

Sun Halo Dragon Head Dance - The user unleashes a continuous fast and powerful sword attack that takes the form of a Japanese dragon made of solar flames. This technique is capable of decapitating multiple targets at once. Fire Wheel - The user leaps behind the opponent and spins in the air downward, releasing a sword attack in a circular motion. Fake Rainbow - 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. Flame Dance - A two-combo strike which starts with a vertical slash and then a horizontal one right after.

Thirteenth Form - The user continuously performs all twelve forms of Sun Breathing in repetitive succession to increase the accuracy and agility of his movements while reducing fatigue. This form was created solely for the purpose of killing Muzan Kibutsuji, since the repetition of all twelve forms aims to destroy Muzan's twelve vital organs (seven hearts and five brains) that move freely inside his body.

Standard Nichirin Katana: As a Demon Slayer, Tanjiro carries around a standard sized and shaped Nichirin katana. When he was training under Sakonji Urokodaki, Tanjiro used what is presumably his katana, which had a blade of dull blue color and a handguard which was oval-shaped with 4 indentations and was dull gray in color. Tanjiro also uses this katana during the Final Selection.

After the test, he selected an ore which would be made into his first Nichirin katana by the swordsmith Hotaru Haganezuka. His Nichirin katana is obsidian black in color, and the original 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. Along with his katana, Tanjiro has a standard sword sheath that is obsdian black in color. Tanjiro damaged or broke his sword a total of 3 times: the first in his fight with Rui when the latter's thread cut it in half, the second when Akaza punched it into pieces in a fit of rage, and the third during his fight with Daki when he chipped the blade after clashing with the Upper Rank.

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. His katana's original handguard was switched to the one used by the late Kyojuro Rengoku, which is shaped like a flame with a red core and orange border. The new blade was not observed to change color, being already in deep black but has more intricate pattern, with the word Slay engraved on the side. It is implied to be stronger than the standard Nichirin Katana as Haganezuka mentioned that the steel was especially good quality. While Tanjiro has a notorious habit of damaging his swords during his encounters with demons, this sword broke only at the end of his final fight with Muzan Kibutsuji. The sword was implied to be subsequently repaired and displayed as a decoration in his descendants' house.

Tanjiro was born on a mountain as the eldest son of Kie and Tanjuro Kamado, a family of charcoal sellers. After his five younger siblings were born, he adopted the idea that as the oldest child, he should be strong and endure any hardships for them. Although the family did not enjoy a lavish lifestyle, they lived happily and showed a great deal of love and care for one another.

One time, when Takeo accidentally knocked over a hot kettle, Tanjiro jumped in to protect him, resulting in a burn scar on his forehead.

Growing up, Tanjiro learned coal-burning techniques and was responsible for selling charcoal in the nearest town in order to earn money for his family. He appeared to frequent the town quite often, as the civilians there easily recognized him and regularly asked for his help.

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. Upon asking Tanjuro about his stamina despite the cold weather, Tanjiro learned from his father that there were specific breathing techniques to continue dancing endlessly. When Tanjiro grew old enough to dance in place of his weakening father, he learned that the correct techniques would allow him to blank his mind, enter a plant-like state, and gain access to the see-through world.

Before Tanjuro passed away, a night with the threat of a hungry bear prompted him to show Tanjiro the state in action. Tanjiro was frightened at the sight of the predator, but his father quickly killed it with his axe upon entering the state. Tanjuro's abilities shocked him, and Tanjiro made sure to remember the event. Soon after, Tanjuro passed and Tanjiro's younger siblings began treating him as their father figure.

During the Taisho period, Tanjiro lives a modest yet blissful life in the mountains with his family, consisting of his mother and five younger brothers and sisters.

On a snowy morning, Tanjiro prepares to leave for the nearby town and sell charcoal in preparation for the new year. However, his younger sister Hanako Kamado and brother Shigeru Kamado hold him back, begging for him to bring them along. Their mother intercepts and tells them how Tanjiro wouldn't be able to carry them if they were tired. Upon hearing his family's conversation, Takeo Kamado also expresses disappointment and states how he was initially hoping to cut wood with his elder brother that day.

Tanjiro bids farewell and starts making for the town. He quickly encounters his sister, Nezuko Kamado, who is carrying their youngest brother, Rokuta Kamado. Nezuko comments on their siblings' attachment to Tanjiro and sees him off.

Upon arriving at the town, Tanjiro holds friendly conversation with the townsfolk and some ask for his help to perform errands. After spending the afternoon at the town, Tanjiro begins to make his way back home but is suddenly stopped by a man named Saburo. Saburo requests that the boy stay at his house for the night and warns him of the dangers in the mountains. Although Tanjiro tries to deny the offer, Saburo continues pushing and emphasizes that Demons are active during the night. Tanjiro finally relents and listens to Saburo talk about Demons as he falls asleep.

When Tanjiro makes his way back home the next day, he returns to see an unconscious and wounded Nezuko lying in the snow and shielding Rokuta with her arms. Devastated, he realizes that the entirety of his family has been slaughtered, except for Nezuko.