Obanai Iguro

Obanai Iguro is a major supporting character of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. He is a Demon Slayer of the Demon Slayer Corps and the current Serpent Hashira.

Appearance
Obanai is a fairly muscular man of short stature and a pale complexion. He has straight-edged black hair of varying lengths, the longest reaching down to his shoulders and the shortest stopping at his cheekbones, which he wears down with two shorter strands hanging between his eyes. His eyes are almond-shaped and tilt upwards on the far sides, and are unusual due to Obanai possessing heterochromia—his right eye is yellow and his left eye is turquoise. He is partially blind, barely able to see out of his right eye.

Obanai's mouth is also unusual: when he was twelve, it was forcefully cut from its corners to his ears to make it appear more like that of a snake, leaving a large wound that he keeps hidden under the bandage he wears over his lower face.

He wears a navy blue version of the standard Demon Slayer uniform, along with a black and white pinstriped haori, the hem and cuffs of which are striped length ways rather than vertically, which covers his hands. Obanai also sports bandages in place of the leg-wraps around his calves giving the resemblance of kyahan, as well as another set of bandages that cover his mouth, and white with blue-strapped zōri on his feet. He is also always seen with his white snake, Kaburamaru, wrapped around his shoulders.

During their battle with Muzan, Obanai and the other remaining Hashira are attacked by the demon's flailing whips, and Obanai is left with three long slanted scratches over his eyes, rendering him completely blind.

When he was a child, Obanai had waist-length hair that he wore tied down his back with a long white bandage and a regular-looking mouth before it got cut by his family. He also wore a plain white kimono.

Personality
Obanai is a very harsh and strict individual who shows no concern for those who do not abide by the Demon Slayer rules. His expectations for his fellow Demon Slayers are quite unrealistic, as he was seen berating Tengen Uzui for suffering heavy wounds against the "weakest" Upper Rank and telling him to "fight to the death" when Tengen insists on retiring. Tengen's retirement also highlights Obanai's devotion to the future of the Demon Slayer Corps, often at others' expense, such as when he ties up lower-ranked Demon Slayers and uses them as obstacles during Hashira Training for relatively petty reasons. He also sees the newer Demon Slayer recruits as weak and incapable of improvement, expressing surprise when Tengen informs him that Tanjiro Kamado survived the battle with Daki and Gyutaro. Obanai has a rather prominent habit of pointing at people with his finger while berating them or talking badly about someone.

Despite his merciless personality, there are two people he cares deeply about: Kagaya Ubuyashiki and Mitsuri Kanroji. He has a crush on Mitsuri, as he often lets his feelings shine through by sharing meals with her and giving gifts, such as the green socks she wears with her uniform. Obanai seems to let his overprotectiveness of Mitsuri show at times, such as when he threatens Tanjiro for growing too close to her. It was implied that he has a crush on Mitsuri because of her cheerful personality that didn't let any of the hellish training she had gone through to radiate in the slightest. Talking with her also made him forget all the strife and conflict he had encountered during his past and made him feel as if he was an ordinary young man. Like all the Hashira, Obanai has a great deal of respect for Kagaya too.

Obanai is also noted to possess an immense sense of self-loathing due to the fact that he was born to a selfish and immoral clan who would mercilessly sacrifice even newborn children to a demon for their own monetary gain. Obanai considers himself and his family so tainted that years after they were killed, he still felt as if his family were digging their nails into his skin to make sure he couldn't go anywhere. He even goes as far as to believe that, in order for him to ever be worthy of Mitsuri, he would first have to die and cleanse himself of his corrupted blood before confessing his feelings to her. His upbringing also seems to be the cause of his gynophobia since he was born into a family of only women who treated him like a tool. The trauma of his past can also be seen in the form of his face bandages that he dons to cover the nasty scars he received, never removing it until the final battle.

Obanai has an incredible sense of determination, continuing the fight against Muzan even after he is completely blinded and covered in wounds. His ability to protect Giyu and Tanjiro throughout the fight, as well as thanking Tanjiro for helping him and later even took a blow for him proves that Obanai was able to drop his initial grudges and become friendlier with people he was rude to prior.

Overall Abilities
As a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Obanai is a very powerful and skilled combatant. It was revealed that he was more or less blind in his right eye, meaning he ascended to the highest rank in the Demon Slayer Corps with one functioning eye. This combined with his small physique and subpar physical strength holding him back (most likely due to his harsh upbringing) makes it especially impressive that Obanai managed to attain Hashira status.

During the Infinity Castle Arc, Obanai was able to quickly decapitate numerous demons on par with Lower Ranks with ease and hold back the newly appointed Upper Rank Four, Nakime. When engaging in battle with the Demon King, Muzan Kibutsuji, Obanai was able to land a great deal of hits on him, slashing off limbs and nearly beheading him over the course of the battle. After Obanai, Giyu, Sanemi, Gyomei, Zenitsu, Inosuke and Kanao were heavily injured by Muzan's attack, Obanai was the first to regain consciousness and aid Tanjiro despite having his eyes clawed out during the attack earlier. Even though Muzan was severely weakened by the drugs in his system, he and Tanjiro managed to fend off and push the Demon King into a corner by themselves, displaying incredible stamina and endurance. After getting directly hit by Muzan's Shockwave Energy Blast technique, he still took a hit for Tanjiro when Muzan was about to bite his head off. When the Demon King swelled his flesh and exponentially grew in size, Obanai still possessed enough stamina to unleash one technique that aided in slowing Muzan down. Even though Obanai lost his life at the end of the battle, he was undoubtedly one of the biggest contributors in subduing the Demon King.

Kaburamaru: Obanai, having always been partially blind in his right eye, developed a combat technique utilizing his pet snake Kaburamaru. Kaburamaru possesses a unique ability which allows him to read and predict a target's attacks and then relay that information to Obanai. The full extent of this technique is demonstrated when Obanai is completely blinded by Muzan, but he is still able to continue fighting effectively. Kaburamaru also seems to be capable of understanding human speech and emotions, as he understood Tanjiro's instructions to grab Yushiro's paper talisman and later shed tears when watching Obanai and Mitsuri pass away. Kanao herself stated that Kaburamaru was exceptionally clever.

Demon Slayer Abilities
Demon Slayer Mark: During the final battle against Muzan, Obanai awakened his own Demon Slayer Mark. His Demon Slayer Mark took the form of three snake like tattoo patterns with large dots, stretching from his left arm to the left side of his chest that then boosted all of Obanai's natural abilities, as seen where he was able to land powerful sword slashes against him, swiftly dodge and maneuver himself to avoid all of Muzan's immensely fast attacks, increase his physical stamina and durability allowing him to fight despite being severely injured.
 * Bright Red Nichirin Sword: After remembering how Muichiro Tokito turned his blade red, Obanai puts all of his strength into gripping his blade, turning it bright red. However, he put too much strength into his grip and almost fainted due to the lack of oxygen. Turning his Nichirin Sword bright red proved to be extremely effective against Muzan, allowing his attacks to hamper his immediate regeneration and giving the other Demon Slayers a chance to turn their blades bright red as well to increase their offensive output.
 * Transparent World: Though briefly, Obanai managed to access the Transparent World and see Muzan's twelve vital organs (seven hearts and five brains) for a split-second after Gyomei instructed everyone to attempt to do so.

Physical Abilities
Enhanced Strength: Despite his short stature and lesser physical strength due to his upbringing, Obanai possesses a great amount of physical strength, as shown when he pins Tanjiro to the ground with so much force that he couldn't move or breathe. He was also one of the only Demon Slayers able to turn his Nichirin Sword bright red through sheer grip strength, the other being Muichiro Tokito. Despite this, he is the second-weakest Hashira in terms of physical strength, with only Shinobu being weaker than him.

Immense Speed & Reflexes: As a Hashira, Obanai possesses superhuman levels of speed and reflexes. When Tanjiro Kamado was about to get hit by what would likely have been a fatal strike from Muzan, Obanai managed to jump in and save him in time. He was capable of keeping up with Muzan Kibutsuji's whip attacks for an extended period of time without the boost granted by the Demon Slayer Mark and still managed to land many hits on the Demon King. After awakening the mark, Obanai was fast enough to slice off both of Muzan's limbs. Even when completely blinded, Obanai was able to evade many of Muzan's attacks, push him into a corner, and caught up to him and pierced his body when he was fleeing, albeit Muzan was severely weakened then. Obanai was ranked 7th in a race against his fellow Hashira.

Immense Stamina & Endurance: Obanai has displayed his phenomenal stamina and endurance on multiple occasions during the Infinity Castle Arc and final battle. Obanai, along with Mitsuri, were able to play an exhausting game of cat and mouse with Upper Rank Four, Nakime for an extended period of time and still had enough energy to arrive to Tanjiro's and Giyu's aid. At the surface, Obanai and his allies were able to stall Muzan for around half an hour, sustaining injuries from poison and his flesh whips, before the Demon King overpowered them.

When Muzan incapacitated him, Giyu, Sanemi, Gyomei, Zenitsu, Inosuke and Kanao, Obanai was the first to recover, before all his other fellow Hashira did, despite receiving a nasty injury which clawed out his eyes. Afterwards, Obanai, with Tanjiro's aid, managed to drive Muzan into a corner and fend him of by themselves for another 35 minutes before being hit by Muzan's Shockwave Energy Blast technique which greatly damaged his nervous system. Despite this, Obanai remained steadfast and took a blow for Tanjiro when Muzan was poised to bite his head off. Nearing the end of the battle, Obanai still had enough energy to muster a technique. Out of all the Demon Slayers that fought in that battle, Obanai lasted the longest.

Fighting Style
Master Swordsman: As a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Obanai was one of the most powerful and skilled swordsmen in the entire organization. This was shown during the Hashira Training Arc where he was entrusted to teach all the other Demon Slayers about sword wielding techniques. Obanai makes use of a unique swordsmanship style that utilizes slithering motions to bending his sword and attacks in impossible ways, allowing him to weave through narrow openings with ease despite wielding a standard wooden sword. His swordsmanship prowess allowed him to keep up with the Demon King himself, Muzan Kibutsuji.

Breathing Style
Serpent Breathing (の): A Breathing Style Obanai created himself and mastered. This swordsmanship style makes use of twists and turns similar to how a serpent slithers to attack in strange ways. Obanai also learnt to incorporate his pet snake, Kaburamaru, into this Breathing Style, making it extremely effective in combat as seen in the final battle where he could keep up with a weakened Muzan while completely blind and still managed to drive him into a corner.

Techniques

 * First Form: Winding Serpent Slash (ノ　り) - The user moves like a slithering snake and releases several slashes in a winding pattern.


 * Second Form: Venom Fangs of the Narrow Head (ノ　の) - The user dashes behind their opponent at blinding speed and aims to swiftly slice off their head.


 * Third Form: Coil Choke (ノ　め) - The user circles around their opponent while using their sword to slice them from all directions.


 * Fourth Form: Twin-Headed Reptile (ノ) - The user leaps forward and performs a horizontal slash that slices through the target.


 * Fifth Form: Slithering Serpent (ノ) - The user curves their sword in multiple directions and slices their opponent, making it capable of decapitating multiple enemies at once.

Equipment
Twisted Nichirin Katana: Obanai carries around a heavily modified Nichirin katana similar in appearance to an Indonesian Kris Sword, with the sword's shape modeled into waves resembling a slithering snake, which is lavender in color. His katana's handguard has a gold circular shape engraved with two snakes connected by several plant-like patterns. As a Hashira, the words Destroyer of Demons are engraved on the side of the blade. Obanai also carries along a special scabbard made of leather held together by a weak magnetic pull that opens up whenever he uses his katana. It is designed so that Obanai unsheathes his sword vertically instead of horizontally.

Trivia

 * Obanai's surname contains the Man'yōgana for the mora "i" and the Kun'yomi reading the kanji for "dark, sinister" (the reason it's guro instead of kuro is due to rendaku pronunciation). His given name contains the Kun'yomi of the kanji for "small" and the On'yomi reading for "banana" and "within".
 * Obanai's snake is called Kaburamaru, and Obanai considers him as more of a friend than a pet.
 * After Obanai's death, Kaburamaru is entrusted to Kanao Tsuyuri by Sanemi Shinazugawa.
 * Obanai is not very strong in terms of physical strength as he is listed "a little weak" by Koyoharu Gotoge when asked about arm-wrestling strength between the Hashira.
 * Obanai's rankings in the popularity polls are as follows:
 * Obanai ranked 26th in the first popularity poll with 90 votes.
 * Obanai ranked 8th in the second popularity poll with 6204 votes.
 * Obanai's Japanese voice actor, Ken'ichi Suzumura, is married to Tamayo's voice actress, Maaya Sakamoto.
 * Obanai's slit mouth is similar to that of the Japanese onryō, Kuchisake-onna.
 * Obanai makes a cameo appearance alongside Mitsuri Kanroji in chapter 137 of Tonikaku Kawaii.
 * Obanai's sword was made by Gantetsu, son of Tecchin Tecchikawahara.
 * Obanai viewed the other Hashira as follows:
 * "She's hardworking and very patient." - Insect Hashira
 * "We had the opportunity to talk about our own pasts to one another. He was troubled by his clan and consumed with regret for murdering his brothers with his own hands, but he's never dispirited, and I respect him because of it." - Sound Hashira
 * "I love her. She's so cute. I'm unable to speak logically sometimes and I worry because of it." - Love Hashira
 * "Very strong. I can rely on him." - Stone Hashira
 * "I hate him. His expression is always like he's unhappy and it irritates me." - Water Hashira
 * "We converse often. I like him. He has a good personality." - Flame Hashira
 * "I hope he doesn't die given that he's so young. We speak occasionally." - Mist Hashira
 * "A friend I get along well with." - Wind Hashira
 * Obanai's level of openness is ranked as 60%.
 * Due to his upbringing, Obanai developed a fear and hatred towards women. Interacting with female Demon Slayers did not help, as their attempts to mask their past traumas made him uncomfortable. Mitsuri was implied to be the first and only woman he found to be beautiful.
 * Although Obanai doesn't like to eat much (seeing it as too much trouble), seeing Mitsuri happily eat her food made him work up his appetite and eat more than usual.
 * Obanai's meeting with Mitsuri was love at first sight. He was so dumbfounded that Kaburamaru also started to panic, which for some reason led to the snake biting him.
 * Despite being described as the second-weakest member in the Hashira in terms of strength, Obanai is the only Hashira who was able to contend with Muzan before awakening his Demon Slayer Mark.
 * Obanai has the smallest appetite out of all the Hashira. He can go about three days without eating.
 * In Kimetsu Academy, Obanai is a chemistry teacher. He has an allergy to women and always wears a mask. It is said that he keeps a snake around him in order to avoid contact with women. He often goes to Aoi's restaurant, but only ever orders tea. He would frequently ask if the "girl with the braids" is coming over. When students fail tests, they are crucified to a post and shot at with bottle rockets.

Quotes

 * (To himself in regards to Mitsuri Kanroji) "I want to die defeating Muzan, and I pray that it will purify my filthy blood. Then, if I am reborn as a human being in a peaceful world without demons, I will tell you of my feelings for you."
 * (To himself) "One second... dawn feels so far away... so to even buy one second, everyone in the Demon Slayer Corps is sacrificing their lives! Defeat is unforgivable. It is absolutely unforgivable to waste the lives of our comrades who protected us."
 * (To himself in regards to Muzan Kibutsuji) "Muzan isn't a samurai with pride or a human being who acts on emotion. He's a thing that only clings to life!"
 * (To Mitsuri Kanroji) "You got excited over the smallest things, and your laughter was like bells ringing. You must have struggled on your way to becoming a Hashira but you never gave any indication of it. I enjoyed talking to you and was happy to feel like a normal boy. I'm sure others felt the same way. Your bottomless cheerfulness and kindness have saved many people, so you should be proud. I would never let anyone say otherwise."

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