Giyu Tomioka

Giyu Tomioka is a major supporting character of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. He is a Demon Slayer of the Demon Slayer Corps and the current Water Hashira.

Appearance
Giyu is a tall young man of a muscular stature and pale complexion, who is almost always seen wearing a serious and emotionless expression. He has unruly black hair of uneven lengths that sticks up in tufts around his head, which he wears tied back in a low messy ponytail at the base of his neck. His bangs fall over his eyes in an uneven fringe. His eyes are sharp and moderately large, their irises a deep sapphire that fades to a lighter blue and their pupils a bluish-black, and are framed by thin eyebrows.

Giyu wears a dark cyan-tinted version of the standard Demon Slayer uniform with buttoned white leg-wrapped kyahan and a pair of white zōri with dark blue straps, the socks underneath the same cyan color as his uniform. Over this, Giyu wears a haori that's split down the middle into two different patterns: the right one a solid red, and the left one geometrically patterned with squares of green, orange, and yellow. These haoris were later noted to have belonged to his late older sister, Tsutako Tomioka, and his deceased friend Sabito.

During his battle with Muzan Kibutsuji, he loses his right arm. After the fight, Giyu cuts his hair down to shoulder length, now wearing it loose rather than tied into a ponytail.

While Giyu was training under Sakonji Urokodaki, he wore a red haori which would later make up his current one as well as black hakama pants and his current white leg-wrapped kyahan and pair of white zōri with dark blue straps. In addition, he also wears the warding masks that are signature to Sakonji's pupils. For Giyu, it is a white fox mask with light blue eyes.

Personality
Giyu always wears a stoic and unbothered expression on his face. He has a reserved personality and a strong sense of justice with no tolerance towards those who don't know their own limitations and throw away their lives. Despite letting Nezuko Kamado live due to Tanjiro Kamado's persistence, he shows zero hesitation when killing other demons and has no respect or mercy towards them like most Demon Slayers. Even so, Giyu violated the Demon Slayer Corps' code of conduct when he protected Nezuko during Shinobu's attempt to kill her. This implies that he doesn't completely despise demons as some other Hashira do, and is willing to make an exception for a demon by letting them live if they don't kill and eat humans. This shows that he is more pragmatic in dealing with demons rather letting his hatred cloud his judgement.

Giyu appears to have a complex with what others think of him and is shocked when Shinobu Kocho claims he is hated by many. Besides that however, he doesn't seem to be hurt by Shinobu's other pokes, even ignoring her. Despite that, they are in fact decent friends with a good amount of history together. He is a man of very few words and has trouble interacting with others, so he usually keeps himself at a distance. He even goes out of his way to tell Akaza that he hates talking, and wants to keep his name to himself, as he thinks names are not meant to be shared, especially to demons.

It is revealed later on that Giyu suffers from an inferiority complex which he developed since his participation in the Final Selection. It gets severe to the point where he contemplates abandoning his position as the Water Hashira until Tanjiro helps him realize that instead of acting on his survivor's guilt, he should cherish his life and live on for the people who sacrificed their lives for him. This feeling of survivor's guilt strikes again when he believes Tanjiro has died after the fight against Muzan. Giyu, while he sheds tears, admits how he is always the one who is saved.

Despite his aloof and stoic nature, Giyu is shown to be protective and caring towards those he is close to and considers his friends. This is first shown when he puts his life on the line for Tanjiro and Nezuko by vowing to commit seppuku if the latter were ever to eat a human. Giyu has been shown to lose his composure and usual stoic demeanor when those he cares about are in danger, as seen when he is greatly angered by Akaza's attempt to kill Tanjiro and visibly shocked when he hears the news of Shinobu's death. This is further shown in the fact that he still wears half of Sabito, his late best friend's, and his older sister's haori as a memento of them. However, Giyu appears to be particular in who he shows emotions for, as he doesn't appear to react at all when informed of the passing of Genya Shinazugawa, Muichiro Tokito and Kyojuro Rengoku.

However, Giyu will not let his personal relationships get in the way of his duty. When Tanjiro begins his assault as a demon, Giyu is the first to announce that they need to take him down, despite his brotherly-type relationship with Tanjiro. Following this whole conflict, its clear that Giyu has been able to embrace his happier side, shown by his smiles towards the Kamado siblings and even Sanemi, which shows how much their combative relationship has slowly developed into one of mutual respect.

Abilities
Overall Abilities: As a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Giyu is a very powerful and skilled swordsman and combatant. From the beginning, Giyu showed how much he outclassed Tanjiro and his friends, being able to effortlessly capture Nezuko from him and later knocked him unconscious in a single blow. Later, he was able to easily defeat the Father Spider Demon in his transformed state and Rui, Lower Rank Five, something Tanjiro and Inosuke respectively failed to accomplish. He also fought equally against fellow Hashira Sanemi in a sparring match. Giyu was also shown easily beating dozens of demons equal to that of the Lower Ranks of the Twelve Kizuki. Giyu is also an incredible teammate able to grasp their intentions and work in tandem with it.

During his fight against Akaza, Upper Rank Three, he was able to hold on his own for some time and like Kyojuro, Akaza is amazed by Giyu's skills to the point that he offers to transform the Hashira into demon, something Akaza only asks of the most worthy of his opponents. When he first awakened his mark, Giyu was able to momentarily overpower the Upper Rank demon too, repeatedly cutting his arms, slicing his body and even cutting his neck. Akaza even states that he has not fought a Water Hashira as skilled as Giyu in fifty years. When he encountered the Demon King Muzan Kibutsuji, Giyu was able to hold him off for a decent amount of time along with Tanjiro and later played a pivotal role in his defeat. Moreover, after Tanjiro became a demon, Giyu was the first to act and fend him off, defending Zenitsu and a kakushi while fighting evenly with him, long enough for him to be turned back to a human.

Demon Slayer Mark: During his battle against Akaza, Giyu awakens his Demon Slayer Mark, appearing as a fluid-water like design on his left cheek, complementing his Breathing Style, Water Breathing. When activated, he gains a tremendous increase in speed, precision, and endurance to the point where he could engage in a long battle against the Upper Rank on even ground.
 * Bright Red Nichirin Sword: During the fight against Muzan, Sanemi forcefully clashes his sword together with Giyu's turning both of their blades temporarily red, which grants them the ability to hamper the enhanced regeneration of the Demon King, making their attacks much more effective and deadly.

Immense Speed & Reflexes: Giyu possesses inhuman speed and reflexes, as shown when he took Nezuko away from Tanjiro's grasps at blinding speeds, which took him several seconds to register. Later, he was able to hoist and tie Inosuke up to a tree before he even realized what happened, causing him to remark that he's extremely fast. Giyu also easily caught up to Shinobu when she was pursuing Tanjiro. Giyu cut all of Rui's threads and Akaza's shockwaves so fast that it seemed like he didn't move his arms at all. Furthermore, he blizted and decapitated Rui instantly. He was also able to keep up with Upper Rank Three, Akaza, who is one of the fastest demons in existence and when he awakened his mark, Giyu managed to out-speed him several times and appeared to "teleport" even to Akaza. Giyu also managed to evade many of Muzan's attacks and negate them with dead calm.

Immense Stamina & Endurance: Due to extremely harsh training, Giyu has attained incredible stamina and endurance. In his battle against Akaza, he managed to continue fighting even after sustaining dozens of injuries all over his body, severely weakening him, a feat which pleasantly surprised Akaza. In the Sunrise Countdown Arc, Giyu managed to hold off Muzan despite being initially inflicted with his blood poison, and later still played a pivotal role in his defeat after his hand was cut off by helping Tanjiro turn his blade bright red. After the entire ordeal and when Tanjiro became a demon, Giyu still had enough energy left to fight him off for a brief period of time. Giyu was also one of two Hashira to survive the final battle.

Immense Strength: As a Hashira, Giyu has honed his physical strength to superhuman levels. Even since the first encounter, he has displayed impressive feats, such as swinging his blade with so much force that he caused an enormous gust of wind that knocked both Tanjiro and Nezuko back a far distance. He later held down a berserk demon Nezuko with one hand effortlessly, and later, knocking her unconscious in one strike to the neck. In his Gaiden, he could break extremely strong ropes tied around his wrists with ease while nonchalantly talking to Shinobu Kocho. He could also turn his Nichirin Sword bright red through sheer force with the assistance of Sanemi, a feat which requires an absurd amount of grip strength to accomplish.

Indomitable Will: Giyu possesses an undaunted will and indomitable will, never giving up despite suffering numerous injuries against Akaza, one of the strongest demons in existence and later on the Demon King, Muzan. Even when losing his arm, he still remained steadfast and managed to play an important role in defeating Muzan.

Fighting Style
Master Swordsman: Being a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Giyu is one of the most powerful and skilled swordsman in the entire organization. Upper Rank Three, Akaza, who has fought countless swordsman in the past, was impressed with Giyu's skill, stating that he possesses finely developed swordsmanship.

Swordsmanship
Water Breathing (の): A Breathing Style taught to him by the Water Hashira before him, Sakonji Urokodaki. As the Water Hashira, Giyu is his generation's most skilled Water Breathing user. Giyu has completely mastered this swordsmanship style, to the point that he created an entirely new technique within the Breathing Style and impressed Akaza who had fought Water Hashira in the past.


 * First Form: Water Surface Slash (ノ　り) - The user generates enough momentum to create a powerful single concentrated slash.


 * Second Form: Water Wheel (ノ) - The user leaps and vertically spins forward in the air while releasing a flowing attack in a circular motion.


 * Third Form: Flowing Dance (ノ　い) - 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 (ノ　ち) - The user makes multiple consecutive slashes while twisting their body and sword in a flowing fashion to deliver multiple blows simultaneously.


 * Fifth Form: Blessed Rain After the Drought (ノ　の) - 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 (ノ　ねじれ) - 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 the user can draw water around their weapon to enhance their slashes.


 * Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust (ノ　き) - The user performs a fast and accurate stab, capable of reducing the impact of a moving target.


 * Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin (ノ) - The user cuts the target vertically in a flowing motion which is most effective when they are falling downward.


 * Ninth Form: Splashing Water Flow (ノ) - The user changes their footwork in a way that minimizes the landing time and surface needed when landing, allowing the user to move without limits. Ideal when fighting in a place with no solid foothold.


 * Tenth Form: Constant Flux (ノ) - The user performs a continuous flowing attack which seemingly takes the form of a water dragon that increases in strength and power with each rotation due to momentum.


 * Eleventh Form: Dead Calm (ノ) - The personal creation of the current Water Hashira, Giyu Tomioka. The user ceases all body movements and enters a state of complete tranquility, deflecting, blocking and cutting any incoming attacks with imperceptible speed with his blade. However, its effectiveness is limited as fast and numerous attacks can break through.

Game Exclusive Techniques

 * Eleventh Form: Dead Calm, Tidal Waves (ノ　・り) - An offensive variation of Dead Calm. The user initiates Dead Calm, before suddenly appearing behind their opponent, having already moved and unleashed a delayed-barrage of sharp water sword slashes that completely lacerates them before summoning multiple towering tidal waves and causing them to slam downwards on their enemy with tremendous force.

Equipment
Standard Nichirin Katana: As a Demon Slayer, Giyu carries around a standard sized and shaped Nichirin katana that is deep blue in color. His katana's hilt is hexagonal shaped with a bronze core and with an overlapping fuschia border. As a Hashira, Giyu's blade has the words Destroy Demons engraved on the side. With his katana, Giyu has a standard sword sheath that is deep black in color.

Trivia

 * Giyu's name contains the kanji for "heroism, loyalty and courage". His surname contains the kanji for "wealth" and "hill".
 * Giyu's favorite food is simmered salmon with daikon (Winter radish). Seeing a fresh plate made Giyu smile, a sight which impressed and also disgusted Shinobu.
 * Giyu's rankings in the popularity polls are as follows:
 * Giyu ranked 4th place in the first popularity poll with 2,190 votes.
 * Giyu ranked 2nd place in the second popularity poll with 13,281 votes.
 * Giyu is one of two characters who have their own spin off, the other being Kyojuro Rengoku. Giyu's spin off is a two-part story depicting events after Giyu's encounter with Tanjiro and Nezuko, called Giyu Tomioka: Gaiden (Part 1) and Giyu Tomioka: Gaiden (Part 2).
 * Giyu's crow is a very old crow, so it tends to make mistakes when giving messages and move slowly during battles. He is said to make Giyu very nervous.
 * Giyu's Japanese and English voice actors both share the role of Sasori from Naruto: Shippūden.
 * Koyoharu Gotōge's initial design for Giyu was roughly the same as the official design, except it featured him with fingerless sleeves, a cloth that tied the ends of his haori around his waist, and looser hakama pants.
 * Giyu viewed the other Hashira as follows:
 * "I like him, he talks to me nicely." - Flame Hashira
 * "I haven't talked with him much." - Mist Hashira
 * "It's sad to be bad-mouthed by him." - Serpent Hashira
 * "I respect him. He talks to me often. He's a kind person. I like him." - Stone Hashira
 * "I love her. Her sometimes bratty characteristics are adorable. She's earnest and hardworking. She looks unwell at times, though." - Insect Hashira
 * "I'm a little envious of his sense of freedom." - Sound Hashira
 * "Whenever I stand next to her, she always talks to me, but she's revealing too much skin." - Love Hashira
 * "He's hot-tempered." - Wind Hashira
 * Giyu's overall level of openness was ranked 30%
 * Giyu's haori was almost torn to shreds after the decisive battle against Muzan, however, Nezuko managed to restore most of it with her craftsmanship and sewing. Giyu was so moved by this that he sent her so many different gifts (kimonos, western clothes, hair ornaments etc.) that even Zenitsu considered him a potential love rival.
 * Giyu, as well as Tanjiro and Sanemi, fell into a coma after the battle. Everyday, Nezuko would go to Giyu with his mended haori and call for him to come back. For a while, it was unknown whether Tanjiro and Sanemi would also regain consciousness due to their state (taking at least 3 months for a full recovery).
 * Giyu befriends Tengen and his family after the battle. When Tengen's child was born, he was allowed to hold the baby.

Quotes

 * (To himself, regarding Tanjiro Kamado) "Don't cry. Don't despair. Now's not the time for that. I know you're devastated. Your family was massacred, and your sister became a demon. I know it's painful. I know you want to scream. I get it. If only I'd gotten here a half-day sooner, your family might not have ended up dead. But there's no way to turn back time. Feel the rage. The powerful pure rage of not being able to forgive will become your unswerving drive to take action!"
 * (To himself, regarding Sabito and Tsutako) "Why did I forget that exchange with Sabito? It's important. I didn't want to remember because my tears would never stop. When I did remember, I was so sad I couldn't do anything. Tsutako. Sabito. I'm sorry I'm so immature."
 * (To himself, regarding Tanjiro Kamado) "Tanjiro... your techniques have improved by a lot. It would not be an overstatement to say that your ability is equal to a Hashira's. You do this well against an Upper Rank Kizuki. That snowy day all you could do was hang your head in despair. You wailed and begged for your sister's life. But now you can fight. Now you won't lose... either life... or dignity."
 * (To himself) "I really don't want to draw my sword. And I don't like to fight anyone for amusement. But now, for the first time in a long while, I'm up against a strong opponent who can overwhelm me and I realize that my senses have been sharply honed in a short time. Senses that were closed off to me have been awakened and dragged out to the place where my strong opponent stands. Now I understand how the intense struggle to survive increases in one's skills."
 * (To himself, regarding Tanjiro Kamado)"I must pass on what was entrusted to me. Never again will I let family and friends die before my eyes. I'll save him. I will save Tanjiro the same way I was saved."
 * (To Yae) "What is it now? You know this already. That is a monster that can no longer be called a human. A demon. Face it Yae, that is no longer your father.
 * (To Shinobu Kocho) "Even if something does happen, my heart will never waver. We are the nine strongest swordsmen in our organization. The literal 'Hashira' of the Demon Slayer Corps. That is why we will never forget who we wield our swords for and who we are protecting. There are things that must be supported. So the Hashira must act as Hashira."

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