Tanjiro Kamado/Synopsis

History
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.

Final Selection Arc
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. Tanjiro picks her up and, while attempting to carry her to the nearest doctor, discovers that she has been transformed into a Demon and is promptly attacked by her.

Tanjiro struggles to fend off his Demon-turned sister and is overwhelmed by her strength, narrowly managing to block her attack with the handle of his hatchet. As Nezuko begins to grow in size and overpower him, Tanjiro internally apologizes to his family for the suffering they must've felt during their last moments and begs his sister to retain her humanity. Upon hearing her brother's words, Nezuko begins to cry.

The siblings are suddenly interrupted by the arrival of Giyu Tomioka, who attacks Nezuko from behind, only for his attempt to fail when Tanjiro moves her out of the way. Recovering quickly, the swordsman asks Tanjiro why he protected the Demon, and he desperately replies that the creature is his sister. Looking at the maddened Nezuko, Giyu questions this statement before swiftly removing the girl from her brother's grip.

As Tanjiro calls out to Nezuko in alarm, Giyu tells him not to move and states that it is his job to kill Demons. He listens to Tanjiro's attempt to defend his sister and explain their current predicament. As Tanjiro expresses his confusion with Nezuko's transformation, Giyu comments that her change is simple to explain: any open wound bathed in Demon blood causes that person to become a Demon themselves, thus increasing their overall numbers. Tanjiro exclaims that his sister hasn't eaten any people, but Giyu reminds him that she had just attacked her previously and bluntly tells him that there is no way to cure a person once they are turned into a Demon, despite Tanjiro's plea to the contrary. As Tanjiro continues begging for his sister's release, Giyu brings his sword up to Nezuko's throat.

Tanjiro then bows before the swordsman and begs him to spare his sister's life. Giyu grows angry, and yells that Tanjiro has no authority over who lives or who dies, given he was too weak to protect even his own family. He labels all his talk about finding a cure for his sister's condition and his family's killer as ridiculous, since neither he nor the Demon Lord would have any respect for such a miserable display. Giyu demands that Tanjiro prove his dedication to protecting his sister by drawing his axe. While Tanjiro hesitates upon hearing these words, Giyu silently encourages him to find the resolve necessary to accomplish all of the lofty goals he had placed upon himself. He then stabs Nezuko in the chest, causing Tanjiro to throw a stone at him in fury.

Giyu blocks the stone with the hilt of his sword and avoids another one of the projectiles as Tanjiro charges at him empty-handed. Seeing the attack attempt as only a simple act of emotion, the swordsman angrily drives the hilt of his sword into Tanjiro's back, knocking him out. Staring down at the fallen boy, Giyu realizes his opponent's hatchet was missing and looks up to see the weapon spinning towards him through the air, narrowly dodging it. He muses over Tanjiro's clever strategy and realizes the boy's plan was to defeat him with the flying hatchet after he was knocked out.

Distracted, the swordsman is attacked by Nezuko, and he dodges backwards from her kick. Cursing himself, Giyu watches as the girl reaches for her brother, certain that she was going to devour him. To his surprise, she instead stands protectively in front of his vulnerable body before charging at him in rage. Giyu recalls Tanjiro's previous statement that Nezuko wouldn't eat humans, noting that somebody a long time ago had said the same thing and had been killed regardless. He reflects on the nature of Demons, in particular, the high amount of stamina lost during the transformation process, and what they do to alleviate the lost stamina and prevent starvation: eat humans, even those closest to them. Seeing that Nezuko was not following this example, Giyu sheaths his sword and incapacitates the unusual Demon with a barehanded blow to the neck.

While Tanjiro and Nezuko are unconscious, Giyu wraps the latter in a clean cloth and straps a bamboo muzzle-like tube across her mouth. When Tanjiro wakes up after seeing a vision of his deceased mother and siblings, Giyu instructs him to visit a man named Sakonji Urokodaki at Mount Sagiri and to not take his sister out in the sun, vanishing swiftly afterwards. A surprised Tanjiro watches him leave, and he takes Nezuko to dig graves to bury their family and pray for their souls in the afterlife. The pair then leave their home and head towards Mount Sagiri.

Later that day, Tanjiro hides Nezuko in a small cave entrance and goes to the nearby farm to buy a broken basket plus straw and bamboo, comically insisting on paying as the owner was willing to give him the materials for free. Reaching the cave entrance, Tanjiro quickly assembles a basket large enough to carry Nezuko on his back, with a little help from her shrinking abilities.

Near sunset, Tanjiro is told by a villager that to reach Mount Sagiri, he would need to pass through a perilous mountain where people were disappearing. Unafraid, he ignores the warning and encounters a way station with lights on, immediately smelling blood. He goes inside to check in case there were harmed travelers, but instead encounters a Demon feasting on three humans he had just killed. When the Demon notices them, he senses something odd but nevertheless jumps on Tanjiro and tries to strangle him. Nezuko avoids her instinct to eat the human flesh in front of her and kicks the Demon's head off, saving her brother.

Even without a head, the Demon still commands its body to attack and grows a pair of arms on its head, much to Tanjiro's shock. As the body furiously attacks Nezuko, Tanjiro headbutts the head twice in order to get an opening and pins him to a tree nearby. With half of the Demon restrained, Tanjiro goes to help Nezuko by tackling the body of the Demon and throwing it off a cliff. Although Tanjiro nearly falls off as well, Nezuko is able to catch him in time. Despite the excruciating pain caused from the destruction of his body, the Demon does not die.

Tanjiro realizes the Demon pinned in front of him smells different from the one he sensed in their house and concludes his family's murderer was someone different. As Tanjiro prepares to kill the Demon with his knife, the hand of a figure wearing a Tengu mask touches his shoulder and tells him he would be unable to end the Demon's life with such a blunt weapon. Tanjiro questions the man on how to properly kill a Demon, but he is told that he would need to figure it out himself. To the man's disappointment, Tanjiro is too compassionate and overthinks, accidentally letting the Demon perish by the sun's first rays. After watching the Demon's death, Tanjiro notices the man already giving a proper burial to the Demon's victims.

The masked man introduces himself as Sakonji Urokodaki and asks if Tanjiro was the one Giyu spoke of in his letter, to which Tanjiro confirms. Sakonji follows his question by scolding Tanjiro for his inability to make quick decisions and slaps him when he hesitates to reply about what he would do if his sister decided to consume human flesh. Sakonji states that Tanjiro lacks resolution, stressing that he must not allow his sister to harm another human under any circumstance, else he should kill both her and himself. Sakonji then tells Tanjiro to follow him, saying that he would be tested to see if he would fit the role of a Demon Slayer.

On their path, Tanjiro, while carrying Nezuko on his back, feels short-winded rapidly. Sakonji, despite appearing to be much older than him, keeps an extremely fast pace with his steps seemingly soundless. Glimpses of Tanjiro's past strike his mind as they arrive at Sakonji's house. All worn-out, Tanjiro questions if he had passed the test, in which Sakonji replies the test had just begun at that moment as the two start ascending a mountain.

While the pair scale the mountain, Tanjiro notices the thinness of the air and thick fog covering their sight. When they reach the top, Tanjiro becomes dizzy and feels weakness in his legs. Sakonji tells him to climb down to the house at the foot of the mountain by dawn, vanishing in the fog afterwards. Tanjiro, confident in his sense of smell, easily begins descending as he had memorised Sakonji's scent. However, he immediately encounters several traps, including tripwire triggering rock throwers, ramming wood trunks, and covered pits. Tanjiro notices he is running out of air quickly due to the altitude of the mountain and begins focusing on his breathing. A heavily exhausted and injured Tanjiro manages to reach the house before dawn and, confirming Tanjiro's passage of the test, Sakonji accepts him as his student.

After Tanjiro wakes up, Sakonji explains his profession as a Cultivator, as well as how to join the Demon Slayer Corps: survive the Final Selection held at Mount Fujikasane. To prepare him for this trial, Sakonji begins to train Tanjiro in the way of the sword. Tanjiro's training consists of regimens focusing to practice different skills a Corps swordsman should have. For endurance, Tanjiro would make his way up and down the mountain on a daily basis, improving his ability to evade traps and sharpening his nose, with Sakonji slowly increasing the danger levels of the traps to the point where Tanjiro thought his teacher wanted to kill him. For swordsmanship, Sakonji starts making him perform the same endurance process as before but instead wielding a katana as a way for him to start thinking of it as part of his own body. After descending the mountain, Tanjiro stands at the foot of the mountain and swings his sword numerous times until he felt like his arms would fall off.

Next, Tanjiro learns from Sakonji about the intricacies of the weapon and the forces behind it as he starts slashing bamboo poles to train aiming and precision. For combat practice, Tanjiro learns how to break his fall and get up quickly with his katana as he spars with an unarmed Sakonji. For breathing, Tanjiro learns the proper forms of breathing, receiving blows to the stomach from his teacher when he fails to get it right.

At some point after the training begins, Nezuko falls into an endless slumber, deeply worrying Tanjiro. Sakonji attempts to call a doctor, but he is told that there isn't anything wrong with her. Tanjiro feels an uneasiness that when he wakes up one day, his sister would be dead. He keeps a journal which he writes in daily to remember what he learns from Sakonji and to also serve as something Nezuko could read once she wakes up.

Finally, after a year passes, Sakonji tells Tanjiro that there is nothing left to teach him and instructs him to prove himself by working upon the basics he had been taught. He leads the boy to a giant boulder and tells him that if he can split it in half with his sword, he would be permitted to participate in the Final Selection. While Tanjiro hesitates, overcome with doubt, Sakonji leaves without a word, his hand in the boy's training completed.

Tanjiro starts training by his own harder and harder for half a year but is still not successful. One day, while thinking his skills weren't enough, Tanjiro headbutts the boulder in desperation. A boy with a fox mask appears on the top of the boulder and shouts at him to be silent, scolding him for his whining. A surprised Tanjiro notices that he appeared out of nowhere, and he did not detect his smell. The boy proceeds to attack Tanjiro with a wooden sword, which the latter defends against using the hilt of his sword. Despite wielding a real sword compared to the wooden sword, Tanjiro is overwhelmed from the attacks and receives insults from the boy, who knocks him out after a short fight.

A girl with a fox mask is present next to Tanjiro as he wakes up. She asks him if he was alright, but Tanjiro is too impressed by the fox-masked boy's combat skills to respond. The girl proceeds to assure Tanjiro that she would watch over him and help improve his techniques. She clarifies her name as Makomo and the boy's name as Sabito.

For the next few days, Makomo spends time pointing out the defects and correcting the unnecessary movements in Tanjiro's techniques. Tanjiro comes to know that Makomo and Sabito were not siblings and they were raised by Sakonji, along with other children whom Makomo implies have been watching over Tanjiro as well. She instructs Tanjiro about the concept of the Total Concentration Breathing technique: by expanding his lungs and bringing more air to his bloodstream, his temperature would shoot up and his heartbeat would accelerate to become as strong as a Demon. Tanjiro also learns how to smell out an opening thread that goes from his blade to a spot in his opponent; once he can see this thread, a slash can be made perfectly.

For six months, Tanjiro uses what he learned with Makomo to spar against Sabito but is defeated many times. One day, a longer-haired Tanjiro faces Sabito, the latter who finally wields a real sword. They perform the simplest contest: the faster blade would win. For the first time ever, Tanjiro's blade reaches Sabito's mask and splits it in half, revealing Sabito's face. He holds a sad smile, and fades away alongside Makomo. After they disappear, Tanjiro realizes he had not just split the mask, but also the boulder.

Tanjiro is praised by Sakonji while also being told that Sakonji actually did not want him to participate in the Final Selection, lest he'd risk another one of his children being killed. Tanjiro cries as they hug and Sakonji urges him to come back alive. Sakonji cuts Tanjiro's hair and gives him a white mask resembling a fox with a sun symbol in the same place Tanjiro had his mark as a way to ward off evil. While leaving, Tanjiro tells Sakonji to give his best to Makomo and Sabito, surprising Sakonji with the fact his student knew the names of his long-deceased students.

Tanjiro arrives at Mount Fujikasane and gathers around with the other contestants. A young boy with black hair and a young girl with white hair walk in and explain that Demons hate Wisteria flowers which grow abundantly until this area, even out of season. From this point on, there would be no more Wisteria, and Demons captured by the Corps roamed free. Their trial is very straightforward: survive for seven days. With determination, Tanjiro and the others march ahead.

Two Demons immediately start assaulting Tanjiro, but he quickly smells the opening thread while avoiding their advances and seizes the opportunity to decapitate both in a single strike. Sakonji had bestowed upon Tanjiro a special sword called the Nichirin Sword, which, at the decapitation of the Demon, would crumble its corpse, preventing it from regenerating and effectively killing it. Tanjiro smells a rotten scent when praying for the souls of the Demons he had just killed. Advancing closer to the centre of the scent, Tanjiro finds a fellow contestant running away from a giant Demon with several hands swirled over its body. The Demon tries to kill the contestant, but Tanjiro pushes himself to act and unleashes the Water Breathing, Second Form: Water Wheel, saving the boy. The Demon recognizes Tanjiro as an Urokodaki student by his fox mask.

The Demon questions Tanjiro regarding current affairs to establish which period of time he was in; upon discovering 47 years had passed since his capture by the hands of Sakonji during his time in the Demon Slayer Corps in the Edo Period, the Demon becomes furious. The contestant refutes such a fact, stating that no Demon there should be that old. However, the Demon replies that not only had he survived for so long, he had also killed 50 people in his life, including 13 students of Sakonji, referring to Sabito and Makomo as notably strong victims and implying Tanjiro would be the 14th. Tanjiro recalls Sakonji teaching him that the strength level of a Demon is proportional to the number of humans it had eaten. Tanjiro notes his sense of smell had developed to the point where he can detect the strength level of a Demon by its decaying scent, explaining the rotten smell felt before.

As the Demon starts describing how it killed both Sabito and Makomo, Tanjiro starts breathing heavily. In an angry response, he charges at the Demon, slicing several of his arms, but is hit by a hook punch on his rib cage and thrown in the nearby tree, hitting his head and fainting. Tanjiro hears a call to waken from one of his deceased brothers while unconscious, regaining consciousness in the nick of time and dodging the Demon's onslaught. Shortly retaliating, Tanjiro cuts more arms from the Demon but realizes that no matter how many arms he cut, more would grow. Tanjiro suddenly leaps very high in response to smelling the Demon's hands underground. While in midair, the Demon tries to take advantage and strike him down, but Tanjiro uses an improvised headbutt in defence, rolling forwards and positioning himself in range of the Demon's head. Tanjiro uses the Water Breathing, First Form: Water Surface Slash and decapitates the Demon. Contrary to the Demon's belief that Tanjiro would feel disdain towards its existence, the young swordsman feels sorrow holding the hand of the Demon while its corpse crumbled, praying for God to not let it become a Demon again when it reincarnates. Tanjiro thinks to himself that all children trained under Sakonji that perished could be at ease now.

On the morning of the seventh day, Tanjiro and three other contestants are congratulated for having survived the trial. One fellow contestant seems aloof, another is still frightened about the trial he had just passed and the last one questions about when they would get their official Nichirin Swords. The two children from the start of the test introduce the Demon Slayer uniforms and the ranking system ranging from the lowest to highest rank, in which the Final Selection survivors were of the lowest. A Kasugai Crow is provided, which would fulfil the task of following the new Demon Hunters at all time for communication purposes, and a crow lands on Tanjiro's shoulder. Out of impatience for receiving his blade, survivor Genya Shinazugawa hits Kanata Ubuyashiki, one of the spokespersons. This prompts Tanjiro to roughly grab his arm and ask for him to calm down. The boy does not comply and Tanjiro breaks his arm in the process. Afterwards, each survivor is asked to choose an alloy for their Nichirin Sword to be forged from.

Sometime later, Tanjiro climbs down Mount Fujikasane feeling a wave of weariness, his body in pain from the fatigue he had sustained from the trial with even the new uniform appearing too heavy for him to carry. Tanjiro is troubled by his emotions for not being able to hold a conversation with any of the Demons before killing them and thus losing the chance to ask about a way to turn a Demon back to a human.

A weary, grimy, and bandage-covered Tanjiro, using a stick as a crutch, eventually arrives back at Sakonji's house. As he makes his way towards the entrance, he suddenly hears the front door being knocked down from inside. Nezuko walks out the house, much to Tanjiro's surprise of the awakening from her slumber. Tanjiro tries to reach her but falls to the ground out of exhaustion. Nezuko immediately picks him up and embraces him as Tanjiro starts crying out of relief. In the tenderness of the moment, Sakonji appears and embraces them both, weeping out of happiness that Tanjiro came back alive.

Fifteen days later, Tanjiro sights at the entrance of the house a man with a large woven hat with floral wind chimes hanging from it, covering his face. The man tells Tanjiro that he is called Haganezuka, and he had forged the blade which would be used by Tanjiro. The young boy also introduces himself, inviting Haganezuka to come into the house and have tea, but is ignored and the swordsmith sits on the ground, unwrapping the Nichirin Sword. Haganezuka explains to Tanjiro the origins of the Nichirin Sword forging. Tanjiro still shows concern about Haganezuka being on the floor as his belongings would get muddy, but he is again ignored. Haganezuka suddenly lifts his head towards Tanjiro, revealing the Hyottoko mask he wore, similar to Sakonji's mask. Once Haganezuka realizes Tanjiro had red hair and eyes, he calls him "Child of Brightness," much to Tanjiro's confusion. Inside the house, Haganezuka explains that the blade changes color after being pulled from the scabbard, hinting that by Tanjiro's features, he might finally see a blade turning bright red. Tanjiro unsheathes the sword and the blade turns black, much to the frustration of Haganezuka. Sakonji comments on how he had never seen this shade of black and Haganezuka jumps on Tanjiro, blaming him for not receiving the chance to see a red blade. In that instant, Tanjiro's crow alerts him to go on his first mission to hunt Demons.

Kidnapper's Bog Arc
After some time, Tanjiro equips himself with a standard Demon Slayer uniform under his checkered haori. Sakonji explains to his pupil that the outfit he is wearing was made from a special kind of fiber. The fabric is designed to be breathable, moisture-repelling and non-flammable. It is strong enough to withstand low-level Demon fangs and talons. As for Tanjiro's Nichirin Sword, it is stated that not much is known about its unique properties since not many people wield black swords. However, it is implied that few black blade wielders have managed to survive as long as others. Tanjiro brushes it off since he is going to do everything in his power to revert his sister to a human again, regardless of what color blade he had. To ease his travels, Sakonji gives Tanjiro a large, custom-made box for Nezuko to rest in during the day, handcrafted out using an extremely light wood called "kirikumo cedar" and coated with rock lacquer to reinforce the exterior and durability. He also mentions his theory that Nezuko sleeps as a way to restore energy, instead of eating human flesh like other Demons. Tanjiro expresses his gratitude to his master and proceeds to instruct Nezuko to enter the box. Right before Tanjiro disembarks on his journey as a Demon Slayer, Sakonji straightens his pupil's clothes and bids him farewell.

Tanjiro travels to the town and hears about the disappearances of young girls every night, eventually meeting a man named Kazumi who was present during the disappearance of his fiancée, Satoko. He brings Tanjiro to the spot where Satoko vanished and Tanjiro detects the smell of a Demon,

Upon sundown, Kazumi questions Tanjiro if they should rest for the night and continue their search tomorrow. The Demon Slayer refutes, stating he cannot afford to rest when "those creatures" are active at night. Tanjiro kneels closer to the ground, picking a new scent at their current location. He speculates that the Demon he is looking for is somewhere nearby. After confirming the culprit is, in fact, a Demon, Tanjiro sprints past Kazumi and towards the source of the scent. Kazumi gets stunned by Tanjiro's speed, and soon follows him, but falls far behind. Tanjiro yells out that a Demon is at large before jumping onto a nearby rooftop.

Arriving at the source of the scent, Tanjiro hops off the roof and lands in an alleyway. He draws his sword, readying himself for battle. Tanjiro detects two different scents: a Demon and a female human. Despite the fact that no one is in sight, he is able to tell that the two are underground. Tanjiro finds the exact spot where the Demon's scent is strongest and proceeds to thrust his blade into the ground. Wounding the Demon, a pocket swamp dimension opens up, revealing the girl trapped inside. Tanjiro immediately grabs the girl and pulls her out. A Demon's hand sticks out from the ground, holding a torn piece of clothing from the girl's sleeve. The creature pulls his upper body out of the swamp, revealing himself to the Demon Slayer.

Tanjiro confirms that this Swamp Demon is capable of using the supernatural Blood Demon Art. As the wound on the Swamp Demon's arm rapidly heals, Tanjiro questions where he was keeping the girls captive. The Swamp Demon does not answer. Instead, he grinds his teeth before sinking back into the swamp. Kazumi arrives in time to see the Swamp Demon disappear into the ground, and Tanjiro promptly asks for Kazumi to hold the girl and for the both of them stay close to him for their protection.

Tanjiro attempts to use the scent of the Demon to detect where it is. While he is able to pinpoint the location and prepares to use the Water Breathing, Fifth Form: Blessed Rain After the Drought, he is surprised by the emergence of three bodies of the Swamp Demon. Switching to the Water Breathing, Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin, Tanjiro manages to hit all three, however none of the wounds are fatal since he switched forms, and he is only able to cut off the arms of the Swamp Demon. The three bodies submerge once again, allowing him to jump back to Kazumi's side and regroup.

Tanjiro is able to wound the shoulder of the Swamp Demon again, however the cut is again too shallow. He attempts to attack further, but protecting Kazumi and the girl at the same time proves to be difficult. One of the three bodies tells Tanjiro not to interfere and another shows off the hairpin collection of the girls the Swamp Demon had eaten, with Satoko's hairpin among them. Fueled with anger, Tanjiro aggressively slashes at the Demon while simulataneously trying to avoid his attacks. The Demon attacks him from behind, and before he defends, Nezuko kicks the door of her box open, tearing off a part of his face as the other two bodies watch in confusion.

Nezuko begins attacking the Demon with her kicks but returns to Tanjiro's side at his call. He remembers Sakonji telling him that Nezuko is capable as a Demon, and entrusts her with defending Kazumi and the girl as he gets dragged into the swamp. Tanjiro is horrified to see the belongings of the deceased girls floating around, and two of the bodies surround and taunt him about the low visibility, lack of air, and weight of the swamp. Unfazed, Tanjiro sees the opening thread and uses Water Breathing, Sixth Form: Whirpool to cut the Demon into pieces, killing the two bodies.

After returning the surface, Tanjiro witnesses Nezuko fighting the last body, which has already healed from her earlier attack. The Demon manages to scratch her face and goes to grab her, but Tanjiro cuts off his arms, rendering him defenseless. He interrogates the Demon about the number of people he ate and about Muzan Kibutsuji, but the Demon refuses to answer out of fear for Muzan. He then regenerates his arms and tries to grab Tanjiro, but the swordsman immediately beheads him, disappointed about the lack of information.

Tanjiro returns to Nezuko, who is sleeping to recover and internally apologizes to her for not finding a solution to turn her back fast enough. He checks up on Kazumi, who is traumatized over Satoko's death, and tells him to keep living on, no matter how hard it is for him. Kazumi angrily yells at him for not understanding the situation, but Tanjiro gives him a sad smile, and Kazumi realizes that he must have gone through a similar experience. Tanjiro gifts him the cloth with Satoko's hairpin and leaves as Kazumi profusely apologizes for being insensitive. With his first mission completed, Tanjiro curses Muzan for the suffering he has caused.

Asakusa Arc
Tanjiro's crow instructs him to head to Asakusa, Tokyo for his next mission. He is blinded by the city's bright lights and energetic atmosphere and rests at an udon stand with Nezuko. Suddenly, he recognizes the smell of the demon who murdered his family and follows the scent, ultimately identifying Muzan in the busy crowd but is shocked at his disguise as a human with a human wife and young daughter. Muzan causes a distraction by slashing a passerby's neck, turning him into a demon to Tanjiro's horror.

The new Demon attempts to attack his wife, but Tanjiro tackles and gags him. Muzan takes this opportunity to leave with his family and recognizes Tanjiro's hanafuda earrings in the process. Tanjiro yells after him but is quickly swarmed by the police, who try to get him off the man, unaware that he is a Demon. Nearby, a lady and young man watch the scene, and the lady uses her Scent of Illusory Blood, Visual Dream to distract the police as she talks to Tanjiro. She introduces herself as a demon and a doctor who wishes to see the destruction of Muzan.

After retrieving Nezuko from the noodle stand, Tanjiro meets up with the young man and is led to a house where the lady is treating the couple. The lady introduces herself as Tamayo and the young man as Yushiro. He questions about how they are able to treat wounds when Demons are attracted to the smell of human blood, and Tamayo reveals she has altered her body to remove both Muzan's curse and her reliance on human flesh, so she and Yushiro only need to drink human blood to survive. She also mentions that she is capable of transforming humans into demons, as she had done with Yushiro, but only in cases where the human does not have long to live and gives full permission. Tanjiro realizes she is telling the truth and isn't attempting to deceive him.

After hearing about Tamayo's abilities, Tanjiro asks if she knows of a way to turn a demon back into a human. She mentions that a treatment does exist, as does for any disease, but there is currently no known cure. However, she mentions her desire to conduct research and create this cure and requests Tanjiro for two things: permission to study Nezuko's blood and demon blood that has a high concentration of Muzan's blood, coming from a demon that has strength levels similar to that of Muzan. Tanjiro accepts, grateful for the opportunity to help.

Later, Tanjiro is admonished by the udon vendor for not eating the udon bowl he gave him. He immediately orders a new bowl and states that he will really eat it. The vendor asks Nezuko if she too will have one but Tanjiro interjects by asking for two bowls instead. After gobbling down his udon, they leave the vendor and continue to the city. As they walk, Tanjiro apologizes to Nezuko for leaving her behind suddenly, but she stops walking and looks on ahead. He sees that she is staring at the boy who accompanied the demon he met earlier, who claims he only waited under her orders.

When Tanjiro claims he could have found her with his sense of smell, he responds by stating that she is hidden under a cloaking spell he can’t see. The boy inquires about Nezuko really being a demon as well, calling her an eyesore while doing so. Upon hearing this, Tanjiro angrily retorts that Nezuko was considered the beauty in their town and refuses to let him get away with what he said. Travelling through the city, they end up at an alley’s dead end. Tanjiro is still claiming that the boy is wrong about Nezuko’s appearance, only for him to walk through the wall, instructing him to do so as well. Tanjiro and Nezuko walk through the wall and find a house seemingly where the dead end is.

Before entering the house, the boy quickly threatens Tanjiro should he offend the person inside in any way, claiming that though he has no care what happens to him, he only brought him to the house because the woman insisted. They enter in and Tanjiro finds the injured woman from Asakusa on a hospital bed, attended to by the demon from earlier. He apologizes to the demon for leaving her with the job and learns that the transformed man is still restrained in the basement. Tanjiro wonders aloud if she struggles to treat injured people, only to be punched in the chest by the boy. He criticizes Tanjiro for believing that treating humans involves holding back their desire for blood, leading him to quietly apologize.

Tanjiro realizes that is why he doesn’t smell anything different from the two despite them not being the obvious demons he has seen. Tamayo adds that Yushiro can get away with less than her as she is the one who transformed him. Seeing his surprised reaction, Tamayo tells Tanjiro that while it is usually Muzan who can transform people, she was able to turn Yushiro into one but only after 200 years. At this, Tanjiro incredulously asks how old she is, only to be jabbed repeatedly in the stomach by Yushiro for asking for her age. Tamayo threatens Yushiro if he hurts him again and he quickly complies while admiring her beauty. Tamayo says that she doesn’t intend to create more demons and only transforms people who are terminally ill or gravely injured, adding that she will still ask them if they wish to live as demons as well. Tanjiro senses that she is pure and honest and someone he can fully trust. Finally, he asks if it is possible to transform a demon back into a human.

Upon hearing this, Tanjiro tries in close to receive the answer but Yushiro angrily flips him over for trying to get near Tamayo. Tamayo scolds him again for hurting Tanjiro, though he claims he merely threw him over his shoulder, not hit him. Tamayo tells Tanjiro that for any wound, there is medicine or treatment, and that while she concurrently doesn’t know how to, she and Yushiro are dedicated to working on a method that may succeed. She gives him a task; to produce an elixir for treatment, she would need both blood samples from Nezuko and from demons as close to Muzan as possible. Due to Nezuko’s condition of sleeping to heal, Tamayo sees her as extremely rare and unique, since most demons cannot handle not eating for two years. She also explains that by demons close to Muzan, she means demons whose powers are similar to him, making it more difficult. Tamayo asks if Tanjiro is willing to do her request; with the hope others too can be saved, Tanjiro complies. Tamayo smiles at his acknowledgement, causing Tanjiro to blush, though he immediately sees Yushiro’s anger at it. Suddenly, multiple temaris punch through the house, battering the interior and forcing everyone inside to duck for safety. They stop and fly back to their owner, the Temari Demon. As the Arrow Demon wonders how they plan to kill them, she answers, “Vindictively, of course!”. Their powerful presence startles both Tanjiro and Yushiro.

Tanjiro requests Tamayo leave as he is the one targeted but she instead asks that he fights without them in his concern, as they don't need protection as demons. Susamaru hurls a temari at him with incredible speed; Tanjiro watches and determines a form to defeat it. The fastest form at his disposal, he uses Water Breathing, Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust, Curve and pierces the temari. Somewhat surprised, she nonetheless summons back to her and the temari slides of his blade on its own. He notes that the temaris move unnaturally without spinning, such as when it struck Yushiro.

Tamayo watches as Yushiro heals his mouth and jaws to speak, complaining that he was right not to let themselves get involved with Tanjiro, since his blindfold technique isn't fully working still. He can only masks object and isn't able to completely hide their existence. Tanjiro realizes it was Yushiro's Blood Demon Art that inadvertently hid their attackers until they destroyed the house. Yushiro declares he despises anyone who ruins the time with him and Tamayo and calls their act unforgivable.

She discards her kimono to fight more freely and reveals they must be honoured to be killed by her, a member of the Twelve Kizuki. When Tanjiro hears this, Tamayo explains they are demons that serve directly under Muzan. She grows 2 new pairs of arms and forms 4 more temaris to fight with, now enjoying the battle. She launches all six at the house, forcing Tanjiro to evade them all as one ends up cutting Yushiro's face. Tamayo tries to think if she can cast her spell now but sees Tanjiro would be affected to, while Yushiro needs more time to heal in order to attack again. Tanjiro gets overwhelmed by the greater number of temaris, which injured Tamayo and Yushiro upon striking them. As he wonders how he can defeat them to save the demons, he notices there are two demon scents present.

Yushiro tells him to follow the arrows to determine and dodge their path. When Tanjiro states he can't see them, Yushiro irritably gives him a paper talisman imbued with his sight. Upon receiving it, Tanjiro sees that arrows appear and dictate the path and trajectory of Susamaru's temaris. He thanks Yushiro for this new insight and sees that Nezuko has returned, asking she join him outside to battle their opponents. He tells her to deal with Yahaba while he fights Susamaru and she complies.

Susamaru declares she will bring Tanjiro's head to Muzan and launches all of her temaris. Tanjiro evades them and runs away as the temaris pursue him, waiting for Nezuko's mark. Nezuko finds Yahaba in the trees and kicks him repeatedly. The distraction causes the arrows to fade, stopping the temaris' movement. With his chance in sight, Tanjiro uses Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance; he cuts all the temaris in a fluid dance of movement and quickly slices off Susamaru's arms right afterwards. Tanjiro asks Tamayo if these demons are closely related to Muzan, which she surmises must be true; he then declares that he will extract their blood for sure. Susamaru laughs at his intentions and implores Tanjiro to try and extract their blood. Yushiro warns him that if they truly are Twelve Kizuki demons, they will be more formidable that he's faced thus far.

Tanjiro charges at Yahaba with the intent of extracting his blood to produce the treatment. He senses the Opening Thread but the demon uses his arrows to disrupt his footwork, causing him to miss. Using his arrows, he flings Tanjiro throughout the surrounded area, causing him to slam into the trees and into the ground hard. Yahaba launches him high into the air and disables his arrow to drop the Demon Slayer to his death; in the nick of time, Tanjiro uses Eight Form: Waterfall Basin to stop his momentum and save himself.

Tanjiro continues to face the Arrow Demon but notices that even sensing the Opening Thread is pointless unless he can strike with pinpoint accuracy. Yahaba sends multiple arrows at him, forcing the Demon Slayer to evade them all. He tries to cut the arrows with his blade but making contact only take him to the arrow's path, slamming him into a wall. In pain, he drops his sword and sees an arrow wrapped around his arm to twist it off. Thinking quickly, he runs up a tree to be mid-air when the arrow spins his arm, saving himself. After recovering his sword, he hears Yahaba commending him for evading his attack, while realizing he needs to change the arrows path without touching them.

Now enraged, Yahaba prepares his final assault, launching numerous arrows to kill Tanjiro. He quickly thinks of an idea: use the Sixth Form to trap the arrows and the footwork of the Third Form to close in on the Arrow Demon. As they converge on him, Tanjiro twists himself into a combined attack, Twisting Whirlpool-Flowing Water. With his arrows being spun around, Yahaba loses focus. Tanjiro, despite the heavy weight of the combined attack on his sword, gets close to him and uses Second Form: Improved, Lateral Water Wheel to decapitate the Arrow Demon.

Using multiple arrows, he grabs Tanjiro's body and throws him towards a wall at high speed. Tanjiro realizes the arrows are stronger than before and uses Water Breathing, Fourth Form: Striking Tide to stop the attack from splattering him against the wall. As he lands, he is pulled by another arrow high into the air, quickly using Second Form: Water Wheel to stop the momentum. He is grabbed by another and pulled towards the house, utilizing Eight Form: Waterfall Basin to stop his descent.

Yahaba relentlessly continues his last stand, forcing the Demon Slayer to then use Water Surface Slash, Drop Ripple Thrust, Curve and Whirlpool continuously to save himself. Using so many forms consecutively saps Tanjiro's energy but the Arrow Demon continues his assault while he fades into ash. Tanjiro continues to use various Water Breathing forms to save himself from the arrows until Yahaba finally disintegrates for good. Upon his death, the arrows disappear but Tanjiro plummets to the ground. Exhausted and injured, he is too weak to even grip his sword but Tanjiro is determined to reach his allies and defeat the Temari Demon, biting his sword and crawling to them.

Tanjiro arrives to the scene, where Susamaru is running in utter fear after speaking Muzan's name. Without warning, giant demonic arms rupture out of Susamaru's body and mouth. As Tanjiro, Tamayo and Yushiro witness the scene in horror, the arms begin to brutally destroy Susamaru's body. After the carnage, they look at what remains of the Temari Demon; Tanjiro asks if she is dead but Tamayo explains she is still yet to die and will do so momentarily. She states that is the effect of the curse and she was killed by Muzan's cells still inside her. She goes on by saying that while demons are normally unable to harm each other, Muzan alone is capable of destroying demon cells. Suddenly, Yushiro runs over to Tanjiro and pushes a cloth to his nose, warning him not to inhale Tamayo's spell, being harmful to humans, while Tanjiro acknowledges.

Tamayo calls over Tanjiro and shows that Susamaru isn't one of the Twelve Kizuki. She explains that they have a number engraved on their eyeballs but points to Susamaru's detached eye and notes that it doesn't possess one. She surmises that Yahaba also didn't have one and believes they are too weak to be true members. Stunned by her statement of them being too weak, Yushiro adds that they were stupid demons, admonishing Susamaru for hurting Tamayo and claiming she deserved her demise. Nonetheless, Tamayo extracts a vial of her blood, hoping it may prove useful regardless. She then leaves to tend to Nezuko, who had accidentally inhaled her spell; Yushiro, unwillingly to leave her, runs away and leaves Tanjiro on his own to assist Tamayo.

Tanjiro suddenly hears a voice, a girl asking for a temari. He hears it coming from Susamaru's remains and kindly places her last temari next to it. The voice asks to play with him while Tanjiro sadly notes that despite murdering numerous people, she was still a little girl. The sun then rises to a new day; as Susamaru's remains and blood burn away, Tanjiro laments that she was manipulated into thinking she was of the Twelve Kizuki, manipulated and compelled to fight just to be killed by a curse. He finds no salvation in her fate, as nothing will remain of her and death is the price she paid for killing others. He blames her demise on Muzan and asks if this is how he treats even those who worship him, deeming him, "a true demon".

With the sun up, the demons have moved to the house's basement. Tanjiro walks down to see them and finds Nezuko all healed. She quickly hugs him in relief but unexpectedly turns to hug Tamayo as well. Yushiro becomes incensed at her touching Tamayo but she brushes aside his "concern" and states she does not mind. At this, Yushiro denies what he just said and says Tamayo is kind-hearted, while noting her beauty. Nezuko also begins to pat Yushiro's head gently, annoying him. Tamayo comments that Nezuko had been behaving like this since waking up and is worried for her; Tanjiro calms her concern and states she probably thinks of them as members of her family.

Tamayo states that having come close to Muzan, she and Yushiro will leave the region. They must conceal themselves again soon or face another risk. She also states that despite hiding her identity, working with people as a doctor, some can determine her true nature as a demon. Tamayo asks if Tanjiro is willing to let them take Nezuko in, while Yushiro shows his disapproval. Though Tanjiro knows she will be safer not engaging in battle, he thanks her for her concern but states they will be staying together, unwilling for them to be apart. Having received her answer, Tamayo wishes them good fortune in battles to come, while Yushiro bluntly states they must now erase all traces of themselves, asking them to depart now. Tanjiro returns the sentiment to the demons. As Nezuko runs away, he chides his sister for running away but is called upon by Yushiro; he admits that Nezuko is a beauty, causing Tanjiro to laugh at his final acknowledgement.

Outside, his Kasugai Crow repeatedly directs him to a new mission south-southeast, constantly nagging the Demon Slayer with its continuous statements. Suddenly, they hear a loud "please"; they turn to the source and find a yellow-clad Demon Slayer harassing a woman into marrying him, claiming he can die any time and begging her to marry him, as Tanjiro watches the unusual scene in surprise.

Tsuzumi Mansion Arc
Tanjiro intervenes helping the woman. The yellow-clad Demon Slayer shouts at Tanjiro, arguing that he ruined a marriage despite the woman already having a fiancé. The yellow- clad Demon Slayer also reveals their name to be Zenitsu. The two slayers get assigned a mission nearby and head over. They arrive at a mansion hidden away by a few trees. Two children nearby very frighten, explain that their brother had been taken by a monster into the mansion. Zenitsu hears a tsuzumi drum before Tanjiro as well hears it. The drum gets louder before someone is launched out of the house, falling to the ground and eventual death. Tanjiro tells the two children, Shoichi and Teruko to stay outside. Tanjiro placing the box containing Nezuko nearby so if they were in danger, she would protect them. Tanjiro and Zenitsu being dragged along enter into the mansion. Shoichi and Teruko soon appear joining them, as they had gotten scared of whatever was inside the box due to scratching sounds. The four are soon divided by the shifting of the rooms and house, Tanjiro left with only Teruko. Tanjiro and Teruko wander the house and encounter a demon. Tanjiro telling Teruko to stay back dashes toward the demon attempting to engage it, but is however stopped by the room rotating as the demon strikes a drum on its body.

Mount Natagumo Arc
Their next destination is to the north-northwest. Tanjiro and Nezuko head towards Mount Natagumo with Zenitsu and Inosuke. This mountain is covered with spider webs and is swarming with innumerable spiders. Leaving the cowering Zenitsu behind, Tanjiro and Inosuke head up the mountain where they run into fellow Demon Slayers entangled in spider webs.

Mugen Train Arc
After leaving the Butterfly Mansion, Tanjiro, Nezuko, Zenitsu, and Inosuke approach the train they were told to go to. After some trouble dealing with Inosuke, Tanjiro and his group board the train. Inside, Zenitsu asks Tanjiro about Kyojuro Rengoku, the Flame Hashira, who they were instructed to meet. Tanjiro then hears a loud sound in the distance, and then figures out that it is Kyojuro, eating bento. Tanjiro and Zenitsu walk up to him, trying to get his attention. Kyojuro then turns around and then Tanjiro sits next to him, while Zenitsu goes back with Inosuke. Tanjiro asks Kyojuro about Hinokami Kagura, the breathing style that he used to defeat Rui with. Kyojuro says he's never heard of it, and Tanjiro gets confused. Kyojuro then tells Tanjiro that it's great that his father mastered it, and ends the topic quickly.

Shortly after Tanjiro and Kyojuro's conversation, Kyojuro asks Tanjiro if he wants to be his tsuguko. Tanjiro turns off his offer, but Kyojuro keeps talking. Kyojuro explains that Flame Breathing is one of the primary Breathing Styles, along with Water, Wind, Stone, Thunder. He then asks Tanjiro what color his sword is. Tanjiro answers black. Kyojuro says that there isn't a Hashira with a black sword, so he could be the first. Kyojuro says that he would train Tanjiro at his place as well. Later, a conductor walks up to them, asking if he can punch their tickets. Tanjiro picks up a suspicious smell from the man. After the man punched their tickets, Kyojuro smells a demon at the back of the train. It used its Blood Demon Art to hide itself. He stands up and uses Flame Breathing, First Form: Unknowing Fire to decapitate the demon. After Tanjiro witnesses his attack, he immediately asks if he could be his tsuguko, along with Zenitsu and Inosuke. Kyojuro agrees, and then they all celebrate, calling Kyojuro "Big Brother Rengoku."

Kyojuro, Tanjiro, Zenitsu, Nezuko, and Inosuke then all fall asleep. Tanjiro has a strange dream where he is back with his family. He walks inside and talks to them for a while, and then his mother asks him if he can go get some water for a bath. Tanjiro gets jacket on and heads out with two baskets. Once he reaches the river, he sees his reflection in the water.

Swordsmith Village Arc
In a dream, Tanjiro sees his ancestor, Sumiyoshi, bringing tea to a mysterious long-haired man who is sitting near Sumiyoshi's sleeping wife, holding their child and looking out into their garden. The man thanks him for the tea, and Sumiyoshi apologises to him for making him take care of his family when he's their guest. He tells him not to worry about it, also adding that he'll be leaving soon and that he can't keep eating meals for free like that. Sumiyoshi says that it's totally fine, since he owes him his life, and, when the man doesn't reply, he adds that he can at least tell his story since he has no successor at hand. The man tells him that there's no need, as masters of their craft will always find their way to the same place. He also says that Sumiyoshi shouldn't see him as some special kind of man, because that is what he is not. He says that he could not protect a single thing that was of worth to him and that he is a man of no worth, to which Sumiyoshi thinks in his head that the man shouldn't think of himself like that.

Tanjiro finally awakens from the coma he was in due to his injuries at Gyutaro and Daki's hands and is met by a shocked Kanao, who drops the vase she was holding and rushes to his side, asking him if he's okay. Kanao explains to him that he was unconscious for a whole two months and smiles as she says that she's so glad that he's finally awake. Goto enters the room with the castella he brought over, and Tanjiro thanks him, which greatly shocks the kakushi, who then yells to Kanao that she should've told someone Tanjiro was finally awake, before also yelling the news to Kiyo Terauchi, Naho Takada and Sumi Nakahara. The three come rushing over, cheering and crying, glad that Tanjiro is finally awake, and Aoi Kanzaki joins them shortly after, expressing her guilt and gratitude to Tanjiro for going to the Entertainment District in her place.

Tanjiro asks them how everyone else is doing, to which Sumi and Goto reply that Zenitsu had awoken the day after the incident and had gone back on the job two days ago, and Tengen had made it back without any help from the kakushi, just with the support of his wives. Tanjiro expresses his gladness that they're okay, and asks how Inosuke is doing. Sumi and Aoi explain that Inosuke was very close to death at one point due to his bleeding and the poison circulating around his body, and Tanjiro says that he must just be hallucinating the boar-headed Demon Slayer on the ceiling of the room then. Everyone looks up, realising that Inosuke is indeed there, as he jumps down and lands at the end of Tanjiro's bed, saying he's impressed Tanjiro noticed him and boasting that he woke up a whole seven days before he did. As Inosuke continues ranting at him, Kiyo shows Tanjiro a picture of a honey badger and says that Shinobu said Inosuke was just like it, since he's nearly impossible to kill. Inosuke exclaims that he's immortal, but Goto says he's just a moron, which stirs up commotion in the room, with the former trying to attack the latter as Aoi attempts to hold him back. As they continue to argue, Kanao tries to tell them to be quiet, but they ignore her until she raises her voice and shouts that Tanjiro has fallen back asleep so they should let him sleep peacefully.

A week passes, and Tanjiro makes a full recovery. He asks Naho if he got a new sword as he chipped his old one, and Kiyo shows him a number of letters Hotaru sent him that tell Tanjiro to die and that he hates him, saying he has no sword for him. Tanjiro expresses his guilt at having Hotaru make so many swords for him since he keeps breaking them, but Sumi says that Demon Slayers break their swords all the time, so it's probably Hotaru's fault for taking offence to that. Kiyo suggests that he go to the Swordsmith Village to talk things out with Hotaru in person.

Hashira Training Arc
Tanjiro participates in the Hashira Training Program with the rest of the Demon Slayers. He completes every course with the exception of the course run by the Wind Hashira, as he is banned for attacking him in defense of Genya.

Sunrise Countdown Arc
After his defeat, Muzan manages to turn Tanjiro into a Demon and transfer all of his emotions into him. Tanjiro, now a Demon, starts to attack the other Demon Slayers, prompting Giyu to attack Tanjiro in order to stop him. Inosuke rushes up to Tanjiro, pledging to stop him from his rampage, but after a flashback, he is unable to bring himself to hurt Tanjiro and Tanjiro reaches out his hand at Inosuke, threatening to attack.

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