Inosuke Hashibira

Inosuke Hashibira is one of the main characters of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba and along with Zenitsu Agatsuma, a traveling companion of Tanjiro Kamado and Nezuko 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. 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, in his unique fashion, has customized his Demon Slayer uniform to suit his personal style. His altered attire consists of baggy hakama pants in a dark gray-blue shade, secured at his hips with a thick belt adorned with fluffy brown deer fur. Unlike his fellow companions, Inosuke forgoes wearing a haori. Instead of the customary leg-wraps, he opts for knee-high socks made from bear hide, which serve as a base for the sandals he wears. Notably, his heels and toes are left exposed. However, the most distinctive aspect of his appearance is the gray, hollowed-out boar's head that he wears as a mask. Inosuke has modified the boar's head, altering the eyes to allow him to see while wearing it. This unique mask holds sentimental value as it once belonged to his late adoptive boar mother.

Personality
Inosuke is short-tempered, confrontational, abrasive and proud. He 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 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 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. Inosuke possesses a rather vengeful side to his personality, especially when the people he cares about get harmed. He refused to help the injured Train Engineer who stabbed Tanjiro and was convinced he was right in letting him die, only helping him when Tanjiro begged Inosuke to do so and forgave the man. He immediately attacked Doma upon learning he killed and devoured Shinobu and he became truly angered when he found out Doma was also the one who orphaned him, challenging the Upper Moon by himself and declaring he would create hell for him. Most notably, he challenged Muzan directly and demanded he atone himself by dying for mutilating and nearly killing all the other Demon Slayers.

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. He can't read or write, and struggles to say peoples names right, saying Monchiro instead of Tanjiro, or Monitsu instead of Zenitsu. He can be very rude, without the intention, and treating everyone as an enemy at first.

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 King and demanding he returns everything he took from them, or else to die as retribution for his crimes.

Abilities
Overall Abilities: Inosuke is a very skilled and talented swordsman as he was able to learn Total Concentration Breathing on his own and develop his very own Breathing Style known as Beast Breathing based on his own instincts and upbringing in the mountains by wild boars and passed Final Selection to become a Demon Slayer all without formal training. Inosuke is more than capable of hunting and slaying demons on his own, as he easily killed the Horned Demon without any trouble. He has shown on multiple occasions to be able to hold his own and contribute in fights against Upper Rank demons of the Twelve Kizuki, including Upper Rank Six, Gyutaro and Daki as well as the much stronger Upper Rank Two, Doma. He is also incredibly gifted, possessing inhuman senses and superhuman flexibility, as well as natural aptitude in combat. Most impressively, Inosuke was able to fend off the Demon King, Muzan, along with his fellow comrades, boasting the same combat proficiency as even the Hashira, the strongest swordsman among all the Demon Slayers.

Animal Imitation: Due to growing up with boars in the mountains, Inosuke adopted their habits and started incorporating it into his fighting styles. As a result, both his hand-to-hand combat style and swordsmanship style are very reminiscent of animals and beasts. Tanjiro Kamado noted that his unnatural fighting style which resembles that of a "four legged beast" due to how his attacks come from an extremely low angle while also being very ferocious and utilizing other unorthodox movements, thus making him very unpredictable and vicious.

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.

Enhanced Strength: As suggested by his incredibly toned muscles and physique, Inosuke possesses superhuman physical strength, being able to dual wield two katanas as opposed to one, even swinging them at super speeds. He was able to slice up the parts of Enmu's body that had engulfed one of the train cabins. During Hashira Training, he even managed to move a boulder nearly twice his size with his bare hands. He was able to damage Doma's neck and throw his swords with such strength, the force on impact was enough to drive Kanao's sword through his neck.

Enhanced Touch: After growing up in the mountains, Inosuke developed a sharp and incredibly sensitive sense of touch. His skin can even feel the small vibrations in the air. Inosuke incorporated this ability into his Spatial Awareness technique, where he uses his acute sense of touch to locate all the demons spread out across a giant mountain and later used it to detect the location of the Spider Demon (Father). 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. His sensitive skin also gave him an edge against Doma, as his sense of touch naturally steered him away from inhaling his dangerous ice powder.

Extrasensory Perception: Inosuke's senses are honed to such extremes that he possesses a form of extrasensory perception that allows him to detect things outside the normal range of perception. Inosuke can sense how serious his opponent's are, seen when he sensed that Daki's sash attacks were relaxing a little bit, which gave him an opening to attack and how strong Akaza and Kyojuro Rengoku were. He was also able to sense a person's malice and intent to kill even when they are outside his range of sight, which prevented him from getting killed by Gyutaro's scythe attack. Inosuke was also able to sense that Daki's obi had living people trapped inside it, which prevented him from accidentally harming them when fighting.

Immense Speed & Reflexes: Inosuke is an incredibly fast individual, as seen when he rushed through the Tsuzumi Mansion at inhuman speeds and managed to evade the Horned Demon's attacks in the nick of time, displaying his honed reflexes and movement speed. A few months later, his speed and reflexes have further improved, to the point he could fend off Daki's sentient Obi sash while protecting the humans trapped inside them, and later managed to go toe-to-toe with the Upper Rank herself. With the help of Zenitsu and Tanjiro, Inosuke was able to run up to Daki and decapitate her before she could react. As further credence to his superhuman speed, Inosuke can keep up with Upper Rank Two, Doma, with varying degrees of success, sometimes being able to land some hits on him and steal Kanao's katana away from him without Doma noticing despite the sword being next to him. Even while he was enervated and injured, Inosuke could still match Muzan and later demon Tanjiro in speed. Immense Stamina & Endurance: Due to enduring harsh training as a Demon Slayer, Insouke has built up great endurance and stamina, which he displayed on multiple occasions. Inosuke, along with Zenitsu, were capable of keeping up with an awakened Daki and lasted long enough to cut off her head despite suffering multiple injuries. Furthermore, Inosuke still played a pivotal role in the Upper Rank's defeat despite getting stabbed in the chest while being inflicted with deadly poison. Later on, Inosuke lasted impressively long against the second strongest Upper Rank demon, Doma, and endured countless attacks from him. During his battle with Muzan, he suffered a multitude of minor and severe injuries but still persisted in order to defeat the Demon King and later on fend off demon Tanjiro.

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 willpower was best displayed during his battle against Upper Rank Two, Doma, where despite sustaining dozens of injuries, he refused to give up and continued to fight the demon despite his overwhelming power. Even in the face of the Demon King, Inosuke remained steadfast and never gave up.

Poison Resistance: Inosuke was able to resist and survive the effect of Upper Rank Six's poison to a certain extent 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 Total Concentration Breathing simultaneously, granting the user immense strength able to rival Upper Rank demons. Inosuke quickly mastered this technique after watching Tanjiro and likes to rephrase "Boar Rush!" while doing so.

Fighting Style
Master Swordsman: Inosuke has displayed exemplary skill in dual wielding his Nichirin katanas, allowing him to take on and defeat demons in various occasions, even enabling him to match members of the Twelve Kizuki. During the events within the Infinity Castle, Inosuke has undeniably polished his swordsmanship skill to the level of a Hashira, allowing him to keep up and go toe-to-toe with Upper Rank Two, Doma.

Breathing Style
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. It also seems to take inspirations from the wild boars that he grew up with.

Techniques

 * First Fang: Pierce (ノ　ちき) - The user stabs the target's neck with both blades.


 * Second Fang: Slice (ノ　りき) - The user unleashes a double slash with two blades in an X-shaped cut.


 * Third Fang: Devour (ノ　いき) - The user releases simultaneous horizontal slashes towards the target's throat to decapitate them.


 * Fourth Fang: Slice 'n' Dice (ノ　き) - The user delivers multiple diagonal double slashes with both swords.


 * Fifth Fang: Crazy Cutting (ノ　いき) - The user slices everything in all directions while in mid-air.


 * Sixth Fang: Palisade Bite (ノ　み) - The user releases simultaneous slashes with two swords from both directions in a saw-like movement.


 * Seventh Form: Spatial Awareness (ノ) - The user utilizes their sense of touch to identify the position of enemies and their weaknesses by feeling small disturbances in the air. This technique was so strong that Inosuke Hashibira could sense all the demons spread out through a whole mountain.


 * Eighth Fang: Explosive Rush (ノ) - The user charges towards their opponent at blinding speeds, ignoring all incoming attacks.


 * Ninth Fang: Extending Bendy Slash (ノ　・うねりき) - The user dislocates the joints of their arm to increase the range of their attack, and then unleashing a fast swinging forward strike.


 * Tenth Fang: Whirling Fangs (ノ) - The user rapidly spins their swords in a circular motion, deflecting enemy attacks such as projectiles.


 * Sudden Throwing Strike (いつきのげき) - The user throws both of their blades in a spinning motion at an enemy.

Game Exclusive Technique

 * Boar Rush - The user relentlessly charges towards their opponent ignoring practically all attacks thrown at them.
 * Third Fang: Devour Rush (ノ　・いき) - The user rushes towards their opponent and stabs them with both blades, dragging them along the ground with their momentum. They then turn and throw them high up into the air, readying the Third Fang: Devour as they slice them in an X-like pattern above them at the falling opponent.
 * Sixth Fang: Palisade Bite, Feral Rush (ノ　み・) - The user performs a charging headbutt at the opponent to knock them away then uses Eighth Form: Explosive Rush to close the distance between them, followed up with Sixth Fang: Palisade Bite and a few more slashes to top it off.

Equipment
Dual Serrated Nichirin Katanas: Unlike most Demon Slayers, Inosuke wields two Nichirin katanas. They are chipped with numerous gashes within the blade's edge, allowing the swords to rip and tear flesh, rather than cause a clean slice, which he prefers. His dual katanas are indigo-gray in color. Inosuke's katana doesn't have a handguard, but rather, he wraps the hilt of the katana in cloth. He also doesn't possess a sword sheath, and also uses cloth to tie his katanas at either side of his waist.

Inosuke breaks his katana twice throughout the course of the series: once during his battle against the Father Spider Demon when he failed to slice through his skin, and second during the final battle against Muzan.

Trivia

 * Inosuke's surname contains the Kun'yomi reading of the kanji for "beak, bill" and "broad, flat". The reason it is pronounced "bira" is due to rendaku. His given name contains the Man'yōgana for the kana "I", and the Man'yōgana of the kana "no" and the regular kanji for "assistance, help".
 * The "ino" in his first name sounds similar to the first part of the Japanese word for "boar". This is further proved with the kanji for his name as a courtesan Inoko.
 * 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 Kentaro, Monjiro, Santaro, Soichiro, etc.), referring Zenitsu as (Monitsu, Chuitsu (チュウ), etc.) and Nezuko as Pyonko (ピョン) in his Mugen Train dream.
 * Further into the series, however, Inosuke has worked his way up into correctly pronouncing the name of his closest friends at last; by the events in the Infinity Castle he has been able to call Tanjiro, Zenitsu, Kanao and Shinobu by their correct names consistently without fail.
 * Inosuke's unmasked face was accidentally revealed in a Jump GIGA 4-koma before he was unmasked in the actual Weekly Shonen Jump magazine serialization. Koyoharu Gotoge later apologized for this in the volume release.
 * 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 and the swordsmiths (Kozo Kanamori) of the Demon Slayer Corps because he always tears apart the top part of his uniform as well as chipping the swords the swordsmiths gave him with a rock, right in front of their eyes too.
 * In a Weekly Shonen Jump spoof 4-koma, Inosuke is plays the taiko drums the band "Chic-N-Scruffy Democracy," the other members being Zenitsu (shamisen), Tanjiro (vocals), and Tengen (harmonica). "Melancholy of Explosive Sound Skin and Modern Sense of Smell" is their debut single, and it reportedly made everyone who heard it feel dizzy and nauseous.
 * Inosuke is tone deaf, along with Tanjiro.
 * Inosuke held a strong platonic relationship with Nezuko. Since the latter was always kind to him and never yelled at him for being unconventional and she never laughed at him whenever he explained his reasoning for doing the things he did. Because of this, Inosuke respected and treated Nezuko like a mother figure and reports things that happen to him to her.
 * Whenever Nezuko visited Kanao and Aoi once a month, Inosuke would be with her. Zenitsu hated Inosuke in those moments for it.
 * Although Aoi doesn't smile much, Inosuke was able to make her laugh often by doing unexpected things.
 * Inosuke's crow mostly stays hidden. This is because he almost ate his crow on 18 different occasions.
 * Inosuke's stomach clock is extremely precise to the point it isn't even a second off.
 * During Inosuke's encounter with Murata in the Mount Natagumo, he promised to punch the latter when they met once more. Although he was unable to fulfil his promise as he was injured and depressed at the time of their next meeting, he was able to kick Murata's face and subsequently taunt him after they met in the Infinity Castle.
 * Although he was successful in his act of playful violence against Murata, his actions sparked some determination within Kanao. She decided to punish Inosuke by spanking him in the butt, which made Murata leap in joy. Inosuke was unable to stop Kanao as she was normally a calm and quiet person.
 * In Kimetsu Academy, Inosuke is a topic on TV as a result of him being raised by boars. He lives with Hisa, his foster parent, and exclusively brings her bento to school. He doesn't wear shoes and sports short-sleeved shirts all year round.

Quotes

 * (First on-screen words) "Better watch out! Cause' ready or not, HERE I COME!!"
 * (To Tanjiro Kamado and Zenitsu Agatsuma) "Don't cry even if you have regrets! No matter how pathetic or humiliated you feel, you still have to go on living!"
 * (To Doma) "Fate bringing us together really is a miracle. After all, the demon who killed... my mother and my friend... is right before my eyes!! You have my gratitude for making me remember. Just cutting off your head won't be enough!! I'm gonna send you to hell!!"
 * (To Doma) "If Hell doesn't exist, I'll create it for you!! That's enough of your crap!! Don't say my mother was miserable, you bastard!!"
 * (To Muzan Kibutsuji) "You've really done it now! And I won't stand up for it! They protected us! The old guy with the rosary lost his leg! And the guy with the half-and-half haori lost his arm! All the bodies lying around here belonged to comrades I shared my meals with! Give them back! Their leg and arms! Their lives! Everything! Give them back! If you can't do that... Then you'll pay for it with a million deaths!!"
 * (To himself about his friends) "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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