Giyu Tomioka

Giyu Tomioka is a Demon Slayer and the Water Pillar of the Demon Slayer Corps.

Appearance
Giyu is a tall young man with medium-length, messy black hair tied back into a low ponytail. He has thin eyebrows and sharp, dark blue eyes.

Giyu wears the standard black Demon Slayer's uniform along with a haori with two different patterns: one solid red and one geometrically patterned with green, orange, and yellow (which were based on the haoris worn by his late older sister and Sabito, respectively).

During his battle with Muzan Kibutsuji, he lost his right arm.

Personality
Giyu always wears a serious 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 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 Pillars 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 than out of hatred for Demons like some other pillars do.

Giyu appears to have a complex with what others think of him and is shocked when Shinobu Kocho claims he is hated by many.

He is a man of very few words and has trouble interacting with others, so he usually keeps himself at a distance.

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 Pillar 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.

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.

Abilities and Powers
As a Pillar of the Demon Slayer Corps, Giyu is a very powerful swordsman. He is able to easily defeat the Father Spider Demon in his transformed state and Rui, Lower Moon Five. During his fight against Akaza, Upper Moon 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 Pillar into Demon, something Akaza only asks of the most worthy of his opponents. Akaza states that he has not fought a Water Pillar as skilled as Giyu in fifty years.

Natural Abilities

 * Master Swordsman: Being a Pillar of the Demon Slayer Corps, Giyu is one of the most powerful and skilled swordsmen in the entire organization. Akaza, the Upper Moon Three, states that Giyu possesses finely developed swordsmanship.


 * Enhanced Speed: Giyu is very fast, being able to tie up Inosuke Hashibira before he even realized what happened. He was also able to cut off Rui's head in the blink of an eye.


 * Enhanced Endurance: Giyu possesses great levels of endurance, as shown when he endures a powerful attack from Akaza, the Upper Moon Three, and continues to fight with only minor bruises. After being hit by Muzan's attack and being injected with his blood, he was able to keep on fighting alongside Obanai, unlike his other fellow Pillar, Mitsuri, who was greatly affected by the same attack.


 * Crimson Red Nichirin Blade: 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 Demons.




 * 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. 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 Moon Three on even ground. However, he was unable to come close to cutting Akaza's head, which ultimately led to his sword being broken and nearly fatally injured if it weren't for Tanjiro's intervention.

Swordsmanship
Breath of Water Style (の): Taught by Sakonji Urokodaki. The user can increase the amount of oxygen in one's blood by controlling his breathing pattern. This increases his strength and agility to equal a demon's. He has learned to do full focus breathing at all times as all pillars have, further increasing his base strength, speed, and stamina. He knows all of the Breath of Water Style techniques and has developed one additional style of his own.


 * First Style: Water Surface Slice (ノ り): A single concentrated slash.


 * Second Style: Water Wheel (ノ): The swordsman jumps and spins his body while slashing.


 * Third Style: Dance of the Rapid Current (ノ い): The swordsman swings his blade at his opponent in a way that mimics the movement of waves on the surface of water.




 * Fourth Style: Striking Tide (ノ ち): The swordsman makes multiple consecutive slashes while twisting their body in a flowing fashion similar to a harsh tide.


 * Fifth Style: The Merciful Rain of a Dry Day (ノ の): A "sword strike of kindness" that kills the target with little to no pain. This style is used when the enemy surrenders.


 * Sixth Style: Twisting Whirpool (ノ ねじれ): The swordsman fiercely twists his upper and lower body, which creates a whirlpool that cuts anything caught in it.


 * Seventh Style: Piercing Rain Drop (ノ き): A fast and accurate stab. The fastest Breath of Water technique.


 * Eight Style: Waterfall Jar (ノ): The swordsman cuts the target vertically.


 * Ninth Style: Water Splash (ノ): 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 Style: The Dragon of Change (ノ): A continuous attack that increases in power with each rotation, creating a strong slash.


 * Eleventh Style: Dead Calm (ノ): A technique created by Giyu himself. Giyu engages a skill that disables and nullifies incoming attacks. However, its effectiveness is limited as fast and numerous attacks can break through it.

Trivia

 * Giyu's name contains the kanji for "heroism, loyalty and courage".
 * 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 was ranked in 4th place as of the first character popularity poll with 2,190 votes.
 * Giyu is the only character who has his own spinoff. The spinoff 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. He is said to also make Giyu very nervous.
 * Giyu's Japanese and English voice actors both share the role of Sasori from Naruto: Shippuden.
 * 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.

Quotes

 * "Don't cry. Don't succumb to sorrow. This isn't the time to despair. I know you're devastated right now. Your family massacred, your sister's a demon. I know it hurts. I know you wanna scream. I understand. If only I had gotten here a half a day sooner, maybe then your family would still be alive. However, there's no way to turn back time. So feel it... feel the pure rage of being unable to forgive... let it be what gives you the strength to take action. With that fragile resolve of yours, you can't protect your sister or heal her, and you'll never get revenge for what happened to your family!"
 * (To himself) "She must've been craving a feast right from the start, even her own brother. But she protected him and turned her attention to me. I wonder if... just maybe... these two are different."
 * (To Shinobu Kocho) "I'm not disliked by people."
 * (To Akaza) "If you want to kill Tanjiro, you'll have to get through me first!"

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