Inosuke Hashibira

Inosuke Hashibira is one of the main protagonists of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba and a traveling companion of Tanjiro Kamado. He is also a Demon Slayer in the Demon Slayer Corps.

Appearance
Inosuke is a young man of average height and pale complexion with an extremely toned and muscular build for his age, possessing large, defined muscles most notably over his stomach and arms. In sharp contrast to this, he has an incredibly pretty and feminine face, with large, wide eyes that are framed by an array of long eyelashes, their irises a dark to soft pale green, thin eyebrows and what could be a small, well-mannered mouth. His thick, black hair reaches just past his shoulders, fading into blue at the tips and forming an unruly and uneven fringe that falls just above his eyes, puffing out before curving and thinning towards his forehead.

Inosuke wears his altered version of the standard Demon Slayer uniform, which consists only of the baggy hakama pants, his tinted a dark gray-blue, which he fastens around his hips with a thick belt of fluffy brown animal fur. The usual cloth leg-wraps are replaced with what appears to be knee-high socks of a furry hide which expose his heels and toes, which also appear to be what fastens the sandal-bases he wears on his feet. His most defining feature is the gray, hollowed-out boar's head he wears as to mask his own, the eyes of which he has tampered with to allow himself vision while wearing it, which has been revealed to have belonged to his late adoptive boar mother.

Personality
Inosuke is an extremely short-tempered and proud young man who always likes to think he is the strongest fighter in a situation, constantly challenging most people he comes across and wanting others to respect and praise him for his skill. This often leads him into unnecessary danger, since he tends to overestimate his abilities in comparison to who it is he's fighting and refuses to accept when he's been defeated, which can be seen when Giyu Tomioka has to tie him up after his fight with the Father Spider Demon to prevent him challenging the Hashira to a fight while still severely injured from his previous battle. This constant wanting to be the best can also cause Inosuke to be very provocative, as he often tries to goad others, most prominently Tanjiro Kamado, into fighting him, although in the case of the latter he usually fails due to Tanjiro's obliviously kind nature.

Due to him having been raised by boars, Inosuke has also been shown to possess little understanding of normal human interaction, at least at the time of his debut, as he seems to frequently assume that people who approach him want to attack him and doesn't appear to understand the kindness others show him.

However, as the story goes on, Inosuke is influenced more and more by Tanjiro's ways and becomes more accustomed to affection and generosity, learning to also acknowledge the strength of people besides himself and develop feelings of friendship towards him and Zenitsu Agatsuma, although he does still retain his proud nature and constant want for praise. He also begins to think more strategically when engaging in combat, using smarter tactics he has picked up from more experienced Demon Slayers and not just rushing into fights head-on without thinking.

Inosuke's sense of camaraderie drastically improves, best evidenced when he lunged at Muzan Kibutsuji, while mourning the scores of Demon Slayers killed and maimed by the Demon Lord and demanding he returns everything he took from them, or else to die as retribution for his crimes.

Physical Abilities

 * Enhanced Strength: Inosuke possesses amazing arm strength, being able to dual wield two katana's as opposed to one, even swinging them at subsonic speeds. During the Hashira Training Arc, he even managed to move a boulder nearly thrice his size with his bare hands.


 * Immense Speed & Reflexes: Inosuke is an incredibly fast individual, being able to keep up with the movements of Doma and later on, a weakened Muzan Kibutsuji.


 * Immense Stamina & Endurance: During the Sunrise Countdown Arc, he lasted around half an hour exerting himself to the peak of his physical and mental condition, despite sustaining wounds all over his body.


 * Enhanced Flexibility: Inosuke is extremely flexible to the point where he can bend backwards so far that his head reaches between his feet. He later displays the ability to dislocate his arm to extend his reach and dislocate any of the joints in his body at will. This flexibility additionally extends to his internal organs, as he was able to shift his heart and avoid it being pierced in the fight against Daki and Gyutaro.

Mental Abilities

 * Tactical Intellect: Despite being very wild and short-tempered, he has slowly developed incredible judgement during battle, shown when he could come up with new techniques and forms on the spot when in battle with Doma.

Miscellaneous Abilities

 * Enhanced Senses: Like all skilled Demon Slayers, Inosuke possesses incredible sharp senses that allows him to detect things normal humans would be totally ignorant to. When Kanao Tsuyuri was about to be killed by Doma's attack, Inosuke sensed it and arrived in the nick of time to save her life.
 * Enhanced Touch: After growing up in the mountains, Inosuke developed a sharp and incredibly sensitive sense of touch. He can even feel small vibrations in the air. By using this ability, he can tell if anyone is looking at him, especially if they have any hostile intentions. He can even pinpoint the exact location they are looking at, which gives him an edge in combat.


 * Animal Imitation: Due to living and growing up with wild boars, Inosuke has learnt to imitate many of their behaviors, which contributed to his proficiency in his Beast Breathing.


 * Poison Resistance: Inosuke was able to resist and survive the effect of Upper Rank 6's poison although it was considered incredibly deadly, which suggests that he may have complete immunity to some poisonous substances. However, as stated by Aoi Kanzaki, this also means that none of Shinobu Kocho's medicines will work on him, so, if he is exposed to a stronger poison than that of Gyutaro or one that he has not developed a resistance to, they cannot be used as a remedy and he is in greater danger of death.


 * Repetitive Action: A technique practiced by few members in the Corps, it allow a person to achieve the same effects as Total Concentration Breathing by using repeating pre-set movements or remembering intense feelings to open the five senses and raise their concentration, drawing out the physical powers of the body for an long extended period. It is possible to use both Repetitive Action and Breathing simultaneously, granting the user immense strength able to rival Upper Demon Moons. Inosuke quickly mastered this technique after watching Tanjiro and likes to rephrase "Pig Assault" while doing so.


 * Indomitable Will: Inosuke possesses an incredible and undaunted will and spirit, never faltering and remaining steadfast and courageous in the face of any foe, to the point where it endangers himself. His will was best displayed during his battle against Upper Rank 2, Doma, where despite sustaining dozens of injuries, he refused to give up and continued to fight the Demon despite his overwhelming power.

Fighting Style

 * Master Swordsman: Nearing the Infinity Castle Arc, Inosuke has polished his swordsmanship to the level of a Hashira, allowing him to keep up with Upper Rank 2, Doma.


 * Animalistic Combat: Due to growing up with boars in the mountains, Inosuke adopted their habits. This both his hand-to-hand combat style and swordsmanship very reminiscent of animals and beasts. Tanjiro Kamado noted that his unnatural fighting style which reassembles that of a "four legged beast" due to how his attacks come from an extremely low angle while also being very ferocious and incorporating other unorthodox movements, thus making him very unpredictable and very vicious.

Swordsmanship
Beast Breathing (の): A Breathing Style distantly derived from Wind Breathing and the personal creation of Inosuke Hashibira himself after living in the mountains and fighting for survival.

The Beast Breathing combat style mimics beasts and wild animals, specifically their unpredictable and wild nature, including movements, attacks and senses, and replicates it with the user's movements, techniques and swordsmanship. Most, if not all, known techniques and forms are simple, straightforward yet wild and unpredictable movements and attacks, although one of them, utilizes the powerful sense of touch to replicate an animal's primal senses. When utilized properly, the user visualizes the claws and roars of wild beasts and animals emanating from their weapon, surroundings or themselves.


 * 1) First Fang: Pierce (ノ) - Inosuke stabs the target's neck with both blades.
 * 2) Second Fang: Rip and Tear (ノ) - A double X-shaped slash with his two blades in both diagonals.
 * Third Fang: Devour (ノ) - Simultaneous horizontal slashes towards the target's throat.
 * Fourth Fang: Slice 'n' Dice (ノ) - A multiple diagonal double slashes with both swords.
 * Fifth Fang: Crazy Cutting (ノ いき) - The 'Crazy Cutting' is a technique which slices everything in all directions.
 * Sixth Fang: Palisade Bite (ノ み) - A simultaneous decapitation with his two swords from both directions.
 * Seventh Form: Spatial Awareness (ノ) - Inosuke can identify the position of enemies by feeling small disturbances in the air. He usually plunges both of his Nichirin blades into the ground to utilize this technique.
 * Eighth Fang: Explosive Rush (ノ) - Inosuke makes a mad dash at his opponent, not even paying attention to defending himself along the way.
 * Ninth Fang: Extending Bendy Slash (ノ うねりき) - Inosuke dislocates the joints of his arm to increase the range of his attack.
 * Tenth Fang: Whirling Fangs (ノ) - Inosuke spins his swords in a circular motion. He used this attack to blow away Doma's Freezing Clouds.
 * Sudden Throwing Strike (いつきの げき) - An improvised technique in which Inosuke throws both of his blades at an enemy.

Equipment

 * Dual Modified Nichirin Blade: Like all Demon Slayers, Inosuke harbors a Nichirin Blade, but instead of one, he has 2, both of which he shaped a jagged edge like a beasts teeth and jaws, perfect for tearing through flesh, which is more to his liking. He doesn't have a hilt or scabbard, but rather uses bandages to tie his katanas. His dual blades indigo-gray in color.

Trivia

 * Inosuke's surname contains the kanji for "beak, bill" (嘴) and "broad, flat" (平), and his first name contains a common abbreviation of the word for "Italy" (伊), "of, this" (之) and "assistance, help" (助).
 * The "ino" in his first name sounds similar to the first part of the Japanese word for "boar" (猪).
 * Inosuke's rankings in the popularity polls are as follows:
 * Inosuke ranked 5th place in the first popularity poll with 1,977 votes.
 * Inosuke ranked 6th place in the second popularity poll with 8,750 votes.
 * Inosuke doesn't care to remember other people's names and usually gets it right every seven attempts (referring to Tanjiro as Gonpachiro, Kentaro, Monjiro, Santaro, etc.) and referring Zenitsu as (Monitsu, etc.).
 * Both of Inosuke's voice actors, Yoshisugu Matsuoka and Bryce Papenbrook, also share the role of Kirito from Sword Art Online.
 * Inosuke appears to enjoy eating tempura, as shown when he rests at the Wisteria mansion and when he uses it as motivation during training.
 * His swords are different from the other Demon Slayers in that he purposefully chips them himself to give them jagged edges.
 * Inosuke used boars, bears and wolves as references when creating Beast Breathing.
 * He is hated by the uniform-makers of the Demon Slayer Corps because he always tears apart the top part of his uniform.
 * Inosuke is a member of "Stylish Scruffy Democracy" band together with Tanjiro (Vocals), Zenitsu (Shamizen and Song writer), and Tengen (Harmonica). Inosuke is the Taiko Drummer of the band. "Exploding skin and the melancholy of modern smell" is their debut song that made everyone who heard it feel dizzy and vomit non-stop.
 * Inosuke is tone deaf, along with Tanjiro.

Quotes

 * (First on-screen words) "(Maniacal laughter) Better watch out! Cuz ready or not, HERE I COME!!"
 * (To Doma) "It truly is a miracle, meeting you here. The Demon who killed my mother and my friends is right before my eyes! Allow me to thank you for making me remember, but I won't just cut off your head now! I'll show you what true hell is like!"
 * (To Doma) "If there isn't a hell, then I'll make one God damn it! Just shut the hell up already! Don't talk about my mom as if she was unhappy, you bastard!"
 * (To Muzan) "You sure got me back there. You're dead. They protected us. That ball ball old man's leg and the hanhan baori guy's arm got cut off. All those corpses everywhere are the buddies I ate my food with. Give 'em back. The leg, the arm, the lives. Give them back. If you can't do that... Then you'll die a million times over to make up for it!!"
 * (About Tanjiro Kamado) "We're comrades... And like brothers... So if someone starts to stray from the path, we all stop him. No matter how hard or painful it is... We walk the right path."

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