Sanemi Shinazugawa

Sanemi Shinazugawa is a major supporting character of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. He is a Demon Slayer of the Demon Slayer Corps and the current Wind Hashira.

Sanemi is also the older brother of Genya Shinazugawa, a Demon Slayer who fought alongside Tanjiro Kamado and Nezuko Kamado. Before becoming a Hashira, Sanemi, along with his partner Masachika Kumeno, defeated the former Lower Rank One, Ubume, with Masachika dying as a result.

Appearance
Sanemi is a tall man of a lean muscular build with spiky long white hair and large pale purple eyes. His face and body are covered with scars, accrued over his many years of fighting demons. He cuts his hair short somewhere in between the Rehabilitation Training Arc and the Mugen Train Arc. He is usually seen wearing a crazed expression on his face.

He wears a green-tinted version of the standard Demon Slayer uniform, unbuttoned to expose his chest and abs with a white long sleeved shirt over it with the kanji for kill etched on the back, white buckles around his shins and tabi socks with a pair of white zōri with green straps.

During his battle with Kokushibo, he loses his right index and middle fingers.

Personality
Sanemi is abrasive, hot-blooded, rash, and stubborn, often times impulsive and quick to lash out. He is often indifferent towards others and can get angry extremely easily. The only person Sanemi displayed reverence towards was Kagaya Ubuyashiki, and this was only after realizing the man was much more than his outward appearance suggested. Sanemi has also displayed a hunger for battle, wishing that he could encounter Upper Rank demons and proclaiming his excitement in fighting Upper Rank One, Kokushibo.

Sanemi's cold, rude, and dismissive behavior is the result of losing too many people he cared about in the past. Later, when he sees those people who have passed, such as his mother, he can't help but give her a smile to be able to see her again. When Genya joins the Demon Slayers in search of him, Sanemi repeatedly dismisses and lashes out during any chance of seeing him, but Tanjiro Kamado is able to tell Sanemi didn't truly hate him; and in fact still bore the same brotherly love he had for him in childhood. This was however never expressed outwardly as he tried to push Genya away from him and the Demon Slayers so he wouldn't be exposed to danger.

Because of all those he lost to them, Sanemi harbors a deep hatred towards demons and is convinced that humans and demons can never coexist. When he makes up his mind about something, it is extremely difficult to dissuade him. He did not believe Tanjiro's insistence that Nezuko Kamado wouldn't eat humans and even moves to prove his own point by stabbing through the box with Nezuko inside. After riling her up, he slashes his own arm to try and bait her into attacking him due to his rare blood's effect. Even after she doesn't, and Kagaya uses this as proof Nezuko won't attack humans, Sanemi doesn't truly accept the Kamado siblings.

Tanjiro is ultimately right about Sanemi. Despite his poor treatment of his brother, Genya, Sanemi truly did love and care for his brother, admitting that he blames himself for not protecting him. He even expresses that he wished that Genya would settle down and have a family. Following the battle with Upper Rank One, Sanemi shows not only great anger and a certain emptiness towards Muzan, but more cooperation with the likes of Giyu, someone he clearly did not get along with in the past. Even when Sanemi is launched out of the battle against Muzan, he displays undeniable courage and determination, like his fellow Hashira. When the showdown with Muzan is finally over and time has passed, Sanemi has clearly mellowed out a bit. He is able to smile with Giyu, even after their past confrontations. Most surprisingly, he admits his mistakes and apologizes to Nezuko about his actions. It goes to the point he gives her a smile and a pat on the head, as he sees Genya in the way she responds.

Overall Abilities
As a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Sanemi is a very powerful and skilled combatant. He has displayed his extraordinary abilities and proficiency in combat on multiple occasions. When sparring with Giyu Tomioka, Sanemi was able to fight on equal grounds with the Water Hashira. In the battle within the Infinity Castle, Sanemi was shown to be capable of annihilating dozens of demons comparable to Lower Rank demons in strength and later could hold his own against Upper Rank One, Kokushibo. According to Kokushibo, Sanemi's physical abilities and techniques have reached their peak. Kokushibo also commented that Sanemi and the accompanying Gyomei Himejima were highly skilled even among the ranks of the Hashira. After Kokushibo was defeated, Sanemi was quick to recover from the death of his brother and proceeded to assist the Demon Slayers against the Demon King, Muzan Kibutsuji.

Indomitable Will: Sanemi possesses an undaunted spirit and incredible willpower. In his clash with Kokushibo, the second most powerful demon in existence, he has displayed on numerous occasions his utter refusal to give up, despite the seemingly impossible odds against the demon and the numerous severe wounds he received. Sanemi goes so far as to directly battle the demon head-on, actively fighting Kokushibo by himself for an extended amount of time and flatly declaring he would kill him for injuring Genya. After the battle ended with Genya's death, despite mourning his beloved brother, Sanemi was able to push aside his grief to confront Muzan shortly after.

Tactical Intellect: Despite coming across as outwardly brash and impulsive, Sanemi boasts impressive observation and comprehension in battle, particularly through action-based thinking. He displayed this when he deduced the threat of Kokushibo’s miniature moon-shaped attacks, and again when he instantly understood the abilities of Yushiro’s talismans despite never having used them or been informed of their properties.
 * Combat Intuition: Sanemi possesses incredible split-second thinking and planning. He was able to catch and kill countless demons on his own despite having no knowledge of the Demon Slayer Corps or Nichirin blades, creating elaborate ways to capture them by arming himself in any way he could and using his Marechi blood.
 * Weapon Versatility: Sanemi nearly stabbing Kokushibo with Genya's Nichirin Blade.png Sanemi has shown to be fairly flexible in weapon usage, being able to use Genya's sword and shotgun along with his own Nichirin Sword in a high-speed battle against Kokushibo. Additionally, when fighting Muzan, he utilized fire by dumping oil on the demon and lighting it with a match.

Demon Slayer Abilities
Demon Slayer Mark: Later during the battle against Kokushibo, Sanemi awakened his own Demon Slayer Mark that resembled a single paper origami windmill that is green in color with two dots on both sides on his right cheek. The mark dramatically increases his physical capabilities, as seen when Sanemi was still able to fight and contend with Kokushibo, even overpowering him in strength, despite being grievously injured and slashed across his abdomen. However, even though his physical endurance, strength, and tolerance to pain dramatically increased, Sanemi couldn't land a significant hit on Kokushibo without assistance from Gyomei and Muichiro. In addition, Sanemi would have been put into a near-death state twice by Kokushibo if it weren't for their intervention.
 * Bright Red Nichirin Sword: During the battle against Kokushibo, Sanemi strikes Gyomei's spiked flail with his sword, turning both of them briefly red which allowed them to decapitate the Upper Rank. Later in the fight against Muzan, Sanemi, learning from his previous encounter, forcefully clashes his sword together with Giyu's turning both of their blades temporarily red. Turning his blade red granted him the ability to hamper the instantaneous regeneration of Muzan which proved effective in the battle.

Muscle Control: Sanemi can control his own muscles to an extent, using it to close up and prevent fatal wounds from opening up in the middle of battle. When he was slashed numerous times across his body by Kokushibo, Sanemi was able to manipulate and flex his muscles to prevent his organs from falling out. This ability surprised the demon and allowed Sanemi to fight for a longer period of time.

Physical Abilities
Immense Speed & Reflexes: Sanemi possesses tremendous speed and reflexes. He is the second fastest runner among the Hashira. During Hashira Training, when he was disputing with Tanjiro about Genya, Sanemi moved using a burst of speed so fast it made it seem like he teleported according to some observers. Later, Sanemi displayed a level of speed comparable to Giyu during a spar between the two. When faced with demons on par with Lower Rank demons, Sanemi was able to effortlessly slice them into pieces while still sitting down. Sanemi was shown to be much faster than Muichiro in the fight against Upper Rank 1, Kokushibo as the former was able to keep up with the demon's techniques while the latter was defeated easily despite being marked. Upon awakening his Demon Slayer Mark, Sanemi was able to contend and briefly overpower Kokushibo. Additionally, he was also able to keep up with a weakened Muzan while being supported by other Hashira for a considerable period of time.

Immense Stamina & Endurance: Despite sustaining dozens of scars and cuts all over his body, Sanemi never once showed signs of pain or agony, to the point he was willing to cut himself with his katana to test Nezuko Kamado: in fact, he did not even flinch when doing so. His incredible stamina and pain endurance also shone through during his battle with Kokushibo, where he could keep up with the Upper Rank demon for an extended period of time by himself without the Demon Slayer Mark and upon receving numerous severe injuries from one of Kokushibo's techniques, still continued to fight which shocked him. During the final confrontation with Muzan, he could fight the Demon King for roughly half an hour straight without rest, exerting his physical and mental capabilities to its limit without tiring out. When Muzan was cornered, he was one of the first ones to take action, having enough energy to unleash two more Wind Breathing techniques.

Immense Strength: Due to years of harsh training, Sanemi possesses incredible physical strength. He could lift Nezuko Kamado in her box with a single hand without effort, knock out Zenitsu Agatsuma with a casual strike, break a wooden sword because he swung it with too much force, and cut Tanjiro Kamado's ear with a single kick. He was also able to briefly contend with Kokushibo, one of the physically strongest demons in existence in a sword fight.

Supernatural Abilities
Marechi Blood: Sanemi's blood was revealed to be one of the rarest blood types, making it incredibly intoxicating and mouth watering to demons. It is also unique due to its intense potency that the smallest whiff of his blood immediately causes demons to salivate and lose focus, as his blood was able to affect the strongest of the Upper Ranks, Kokushibo. However, its effect waned after a while and was proven to completely ineffective against Kokushibo after being accustomed to it and Muzan. Despite his blood's potency, Nezuko was shown to be able to resist it due to her own strong conviction and will not to eat humans, which is even further cemented and strengthened by the hypnosis planted in her brain by Sakonji Urokodaki. In addition to its potency against a demon's senses, Sanemi's blood was able to coagulate through his mastery of Total Concentration Breathing, which enabled him to stop his bleeding entirely and continue fighting even when cut.

Fighting Style
Master Swordsman: Being a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Sanemi is one of the most powerful and skilled swordsmen in the entire organization. His swordsmanship proficiency matched that of Giyu Tomioka's, an extremely skilled swordsman in his own right, during their sparring match while undergoing pillar training. Sanemi's skills with the sword allowed him to keep up with and impress Upper Rank One, Kokushibo, a demon with centuries of swordsmanship skill under his belt. Sanemi could also adapt and work with Gyomei's Stone Breathing techniques to push back Kokushibo.

Breathing Style
Wind Breathing (の): A Breathing Style that Sanemi learned and mastered with Masachika Kumeno after tutelage from an unknown cultivator. As the Wind Hashira, Sanemi considered to be the most skilled Wind Breathing user of his generation. His level of skill with Wind Breathing reminded Kokushibo of the first Wind Hashira during the Sengoku Era, the Golden Age of Demon Slayers.

Techniques

 * First Form: Dust Whirlwind Cutter (ノ　・ぎ) - The user dashes forward at blinding speeds and slashes continuously in a horizontal cyclone pattern.


 * Second Form: Claws, Purifying Wind (ノ　・) - The user lifts the sword upwards towards the right, above their head and unleashes four vertical slashes at once down on the enemy resembling claws.


 * Third Form: Clear Storm Wind Tree (ノ) - The user unleashes a whirlwind of slashes around their body that can defend them from incoming attacks and slice up their surroundings.


 * Fourth Form: Rising Dust Storm (ノ) - The user releases several slashes above them from below their target.


 * Fifth Form: Cold Mountain Wind (ノ　らし) - The user creates several circular arched slashes that increase in size from above their target.


 * Sixth Form: Black Wind Mountain Mist (ノ) - The user rotates their body in an uppercut movement, creating a tornado of slashes.


 * Seventh Form: Gale, Sudden Gusts (ノ　・) - The user leaps into the air while swinging their blade which generates gale-force winds to shred their opponent apart.


 * Eighth Form: Primary Gale Slash (ノ　り) - The user leaps into the air and swings their blade horizontally, creating circular torrents of wind that slice up the opponent instantly.


 * Ninth Form: Idaten Typhoon (ノ) - The user backflips into the air and while upside-down, unleashes a powerful gust of circular wind that slashes apart anything below.

Equipment
Standard Nichirin Katana: Sanemi carries around a standard sized and shaped Nichirin katana with a black blade that has a jagged, jaw-like pattern that is green in color engraved on both sides. His katana's handguard is in an abstract shape with 8 points with an overlapping pattern; each plate has a forest green core with a silver border. As a Hashira, Sanemi's blade has the words Destroyer of Demons engraved on the side. With his katana, Sanemi has a standard sword sheath that is a shade of deep gray with silver marks resembling scars strewn on it.

Trivia

 * His given name, Sanemi, is composed of the Kun'yomi reading of the kanji for "seed (of a fruit), core" and the Go-on'yomi for "all the more, increasingly".
 * Sanemi's surname has the Nanori "immortality river".
 * Sanemi's rankings in the popularity polls are as follows:
 * Sanemi ranked 15th place in the first popularity poll with 207 votes.
 * Sanemi ranked 9th place in the second popularity poll with 5,716 votes.
 * As revealed during his bout against Giyu, Sanemi loves ohagi and considers it his favorite thing, frequently cooking it. However, his pride refuses him from saying anything about it.
 * Like Kiyoshi, Sanemi is a marechi, but his blood is considered rarer than the average marechi. Because of this, the smell of it can intoxicate demons and disrupt their senses and movement speed.
 * Sanemi always keeps his uniform open, as he is proud of his muscles.
 * Sanemi shares the same listed height and weight as Muzan Kibutsuji.
 * Sanemi owns a Japanese rhinoceros beetle.
 * Sanemi viewed the other Hashira as follows:
 * "I talk to her fairly often (because she's Kanae's sister)." - Insect Hashira
 * "I guess he's alright. Sometimes he acts big brotherish to me." - Sound Hashira
 * "I don't care for her. (I can't stand ditzes.)" - Love Hashira
 * "I respect that guy." - Stone Hashira
 * "I can't stand him! (It ticks me off how he holds himself aloof.)" - Water Hashira
 * "I like 'im. He's a good guy." - Flame Hashira
 * "We've barely spoken." - Mist Hashira
 * "I get along with him the best." - Serpent Hashira
 * Sanemi's level of openness is ranked as 60%.
 * Sanemi is the most feared Hashira among the Demon Slayer Corps.
 * Sanemi is one of the only four Hashira who use a normal Nichirin Katana. The other three are Kyojuro Rengoku, Giyu Tomioka, and Muichiro Tokito.
 * Sanemi is the only person shown to actively hunt for and kill demons before joining the Demon Slayer Corps. Before he knew about the Corps or Nichirin swords, he would arm himself with various gardening tools and lengths of chain. Then, he would find and restrain demons in order to expose them to sunlight and burn them to death.
 * In Kimetsu Academy, Sanemi is a math teacher. He always keeps his collar open, because he feels stressed when it gets stuffy around his neck, and he never buttons up even for important family celebrations. When one of his students said that "Nobody needs math in the future", he tossed said student out the classroom window like in Smash Bros and this became known as the "Smash Bros. Incident." There was a "Kill Sanemi-sensei" plot for a while, but, after said incident, that plan disappeared. Sanemi's always very kind to elders, women, and children, though kids tend to cry when he gets close to them. He talks to Kanae frequently.

Quotes

 * (To Kokushibo, after he identifies Sanemi as the Wind Hashira) "That's right! And that wind... is going to wrench off your head!"
 * (To Genya Shinazugawa) "Why do you think I went so far as to kill our mother? To protect you. You should have had a house somewhere and raised a family and grow old. To make up for what I couldn't do for mother and our little brothers and little sisters, you should have had a wife and children and made them happy. And I would've never let a demon get near you."
 * (To Kiriya Ubuyashiki) "We don't need any of your gratitude! The biggest reason why the Demon Slayers stayed together is because of the efforts of the Ubuyashiki family!"

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