Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka's Pain (
Synopsis[]
Kagaya's Kasugai Crow suddenly appears in front of Tamayo and invites her to the Demon Slayer headquarters — even though she is a demon. Meanwhile, after receiving a letter from Kagaya at the Butterfly Mansion, Tanjiro pays a visit to Giyu, who is not participating in the Hashira Training. At first Tanjiro is rejected by Giyu, but patiently continues to try to talk to him. Giyu, who gives in to Tanjiro's persistence, begins to share the reason why he won't participate in the training.[1]
Plot[]
Yushiro senses that Tamayo might be in danger.
While dusting bookshelves, Yushiro has a premonition and rushes to Tamayo. She is greeted by the Kasugai crow of Kagaya Ubuyashiki; suspicious of Kagaya's intentions and worried for Yushiro, her fears are eased when the crow notes that Yushiro is upstairs, who falls down a flight of stairs to reach her. He informs her that a young woman in the Corps is also knowledgeable about demons and pharmacology, and the Ubuyashikis want her help in examining Nezuko in the hopes of defeating Muzan. He invites her to the residence of the Ubuyashikis, leaving Tamayo shocked by the idea of her joining the Corps. The crow hopes to hear a favourable response from her before flying away.
Yushiro enters her room to see Tamayo closing her window. Believing they have been found, he begins to plan their escape. She instead tells him that with Nezuko's immunity to the sun, something significant is brewing, or perhaps even before that happened, as she thinks back to a particular moment in her past, believing what happened then has come to the present. To Yushiro's disbelief, Tamayo tells him they will be moving out of the house, but not for the same reason as previous times. Realizing her research must be finished quickly, she asks for his help, believing that this is the last time they will move. Shocked by her request, Yushiro listens as she tells him they will go to the Demon Slayer Corps' headquarters.
Tanjiro is asked by Kagaya to speak with Giyu.
In his bed, Tanjiro reads Kagaya's letter to him; the Oyakata asks about his wellbeing as he explains he is no longer able to move. He had wanted to speak to Giyu but could not, and with now being a crucial time to have everyone united, he asks if he would speak to the Water Hashira instead. Tanjiro resolves to accomplish Kagaya's wish. As he leaves the Butterfly Mansion, he finds Aoi outside sweeping, who asks where he is going. She then wonders if he is going to Hashira Training; Tanjiro answers that he will, but must speak to someone first. Satisfied by the answer, Aoi leaves but is called to by Tanjiro, who asks her about how to tell someone who keeps to themselves that they aren't alone.
She is unsure how to answer, as even if his intentions were to cheer them up, if it were her, she would choose to be alone. After asking if he is leaving soon, to which Tanjiro answers that he is, Aoi then asks if he is meeting only one person, which he confirms; she walks away to fetch something, leaving him to ponder on his difficult task ahead. She gives Tanjiro a bag of onigiri for him and the person he is meeting, which he thanks her for.
Tanjiro informs Giyu about the ongoing Hashira Training.
Tanjiro arrives at Giyu's residence and begins calling from the front, checking if anyone is home. Sitting quietly inside, Giyu hears him from outside as Tanjiro eventually tells him he is entering. Confused and believing he misheard him, he hears the door open and is shocked to see Tanjiro peering inside, looking for him. As he explains what is happening at Hashira Training to him, Giyu notes that he is already aware. Tanjiro tells him he can return to active service in a week and asks if he can join in his training, to which Giyu says no. He then remarks that Giyu smells angry and asks if he is, to which he answers that he is angry at him for not mastering Water Breathing, believing he was supposed to become the Water Hashira.
"I am not the Water Hashira."
Tanjiro apologizes but notes that Sakonji Urokodaki had told him that it wasn't unusual to change one's style or create a derivation, and since Water Breathing is a basic style, many such derivations have been made. Giyu explains that he means for him to become the Water Hashira, as no one is; Tanjiro, surprised by his remark, notes that there is only one who holds the title: him. Giyu bluntly tells Tanjiro he is not the Water Hashira before ordering him to leave as he walks away. Remembering Kagaya's letter and how he had asked him to speak to Giyu, Tanjiro resolves to do whatever it takes.
Calling to Giyu again, he mentions having onigiri and asks if he would like to eat with him, believing he will be calmer when satiated. With no answer received, he puts the onigiris outside his door. That morning, Giyu finds Tanjiro lying in his home as he wakes up. Tanjiro is glad to see he ate the food, only for Giyu to then walk away, ignoring his calls to him. Dismayed but not disheartened, Tanjiro proceeds to follow him outside, pestering him with numerous inane questions. For the next several days, he continues following Giyu in everything he does, even as he is eating, meditating, bathing, or using the lavatory.
Giyu trained with and befriended Sabito.
Eventually growing tired of his persistent following, Giyu finally confesses to Tanjiro that he did not pass Final Selection. Tanjiro asks if he means the selection at the mountain of wisteria and Giyu confirms it. He explains that during his year of entering the selection, there was a boy who, like himself, lost his family to demons — a peach-haired boy — and he states his name was Sabito, causing Tanjiro to remember him. They were both thirteen when they met; they became friends because of that, and since they were similarly lonely, he describes him as kind and having a strong sense of justice.
Sabito saves Giyu using Fourth Form: Striking Tide.
Giyu sadly remembers that Sabito was the only one to die in Final Selection, but not before killing almost every demon on the mountain singlehandedly. As a result, everyone but him passed. He himself was injured and dazed by the first demon that attacked him. Before it could attack him again, Sabito suddenly appeared, using Water Breathing, Fourth Form: Striking Tide to rush in and behead it. Weak from his wound and the heavy blood loss, Giyu nearly faints but is caught by Sabito to stop him from falling.
However, they soon heard a distant cry of terror as an applicant was grabbed and about to be eaten by a large, green demon. Sabito entrusted Giyu to a fellow trainee and ran to the source of the voice. Giyu attempted to reach out to him, but suddenly collapsed. Waking up a week later, he learned from the other survivors that he had passed Final Selection, but Giyu refused to accept how he, someone who did not defeat a single demon and had to be rescued, could be considered someone to pass the selection.
Giyu dismisses Tanjiro, believing he should not to waste his time with him.
He believes he is not worthy of the title of the Water Hashira, adding that he cannot even stand with the other Hashira on equal terms. He considers himself different from them, and furthermore, he does not see himself deserving of a place in the Corps. Giyu tells Tanjiro to seek out another Hashira to train with, claiming that while the mark will not come to him, it could have appeared on Sabito and that he is simply wasting his time being with him, before walking away.
Driven to tears by Giyu's re-telling of his past, Tanjiro imagines that he wishes that he had died, a pain he is familiar; to have someone you had deeply cared for die and the wish that they had lived instead of themselves, a pain like being ripped apart. He remembers when Sabito mysteriously trained him on Mount Sagiri despite his death and realizes that Sabito would be the same age as Giyu had he lived, marvelling at his feat of saving everyone on Mount Fujikasane alone, whereas he was occupied with his own journey. Tanjiro believes that had he lived, Sabito would have undoubtedly been an incredible swordsman, adding that it is likely another reason Giyu believes he should have died.
After recovering, Giyu trained hard on his path to becoming Hashira.
He had felt the same when Kyojuro was killed, an incredible and noble person who protected at the cost of his life, even thinking that he himself should have died in place of him as he even believed Kyojuro was capable of defeating Muzan someday. Despite this, he knew the late Flame Hashira believed in him. He attempts to find the words to encourage Giyu, knowing that despite what he himself believes, Giyu would have undoubtedly pushed himself and suffered on his path to becoming a Hashira.
Sabito confronts Giyu for wishing he was dead.
While he knows it is not his right to criticize him, he believes he must try to ask him about something. Trying to reach Giyu, he lags behind him as he is on crutches while being ignored, but Tanjiro eventually asks Giyu if he is going to pass on what Sabito had entrusted to him. His words stop the Hashira in his tracks, causing him to touch his face and reminisce on a moment in his past. During their training, Sabito had slapped him in the face in anger for saying that he should have died, warning him that repeating his self-pity would be the end of their friendship.
He reminds Giyu that his older sister hid him from demons the day before her marriage and that he, of all people, should not be insulting her memory. Sabito tells him not to die and to pass on the life his sister gave him in place of hers. Giyu remarks that the shock and pain of Sabito's slap is coming to him vividly, asking how he could forget the conversation with him. He remembers choosing not to reminisce about the moment, as it would only drive him to tears in grief and pain. He says the names of his sister, Tsutako, and Sabito, apologizing to them for his immaturity. Seeing Giyu is not speaking, Tanjiro begins to fear he has caused the already pained Giyu even more harm.
While eating soba with Tanjiro, Giyu asks about Shinobu.
Given that he cannot spar with him yet, he has the idea of an eating contest that, on the occasion he wins, he can use to encourage Giyu to participate in Hashira Training, and since Giyu does not speak often, it is ideal. Giyu then turns to Tanjiro and apologizes to him, but before he can explain his willingness to train, Tanjiro asks if he would join him in a soba eating contest, much to his confusion. At a soba shop, while they eat, Giyu notes that, regarding the program for Hashira Training, he did not see Shinobu being mentioned and asks Tanjiro about what she is teaching the Corps. To this, Tanjiro replies that he too is unaware, wondering how she is doing.
Walking to her house, a visibly agitated Shinobu sits down and attempts to calm herself. She prays for Kanae to help her and attempts to reason that only the immature cannot control their emotions, but she herself struggles to keep composed. Kanao then appears to inform her that she is leaving to participate in Sanemi's training. She asks Shinobu if she would train her after completing Gyomei's training, but the Hashira tells her Tsuguko she is not participating in training. Kanao becomes confused but is called by her to sit with her.
Shinobu tells her plan regarding Kanae's killer to Kanao.
Kanao explains she had wanted to do more training with her, causing Shinobu to smile at seeing her adoptive sister becoming more open and candid with her feelings. Just as she imagined, Shinobu believes that now is the right time; she tells Kanao about the demon who killed Kanae and intends to explain to her the plan she will devise to kill them.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
- Tamayo
- Yushiro
- Muzan Kibutsuji (flashback)
- Yoriichi Tsugikuni (flashback)
- Tanjiro Kamado
- Nezuko Kamado (flashback)
- Kagaya Ubuyashiki
- Amane Ubuyashiki
- Giyu Tomioka
- Aoi Kanzaki
- Sabito (flashback)
- Sakonji Urokodaki (flashback)
- Murata (flashback)
- Hand Demon (flashback)
- Kyojuro Rengoku (flashback)
- Inosuke Hashibira (flashback)
- Tsutako Tomioka (flashback)
- Shinobu Kocho
- Kanao Tsuyuri
Anime Notes[]
- The scene in the anime, showing Yushiro comically tumbling down the stairs to reach Tamayo, is an adaptation of a Volume Extra. In addition, there is an additional scene where Tamayo tells Yushiro to prepare for their leave.
- As Tamayo talks about Nezuko, there is a brief flashback of her and Muzan's fateful encounter with Yoriichi.
- The scene where Tanjiro makes small-talk with Aoi, who gives him a bag of onigiri, does not appear in the manga.
- In the montage of Tanjiro pestering Giyu to make him talk, the anime adds extra scenes, namely Tanjiro trying to talk to Giyu while he is trying to sleep and when he is bathing.
- There is an extended scene of Giyu and Sabito training under Sakonji as well as them participating in Final Selection. Murata is included in this flashback, revealing that he was part of the same Final Selection as Giyu and Sabito; this was not revealed in the manga until much later.
- When Giyu states that he cannot stand with the Hashira, the anime does not adapt the manga panel of Giyu standing with the other Hashira. Instead, the anime depicts Giyu kneeling in front of Kagaya.
- When Tanjiro points out how if Sabito had lived, he would've been the same age as Giyu, the manga visualizes this by portraying Giyu next to an adult Sabito. The anime instead visualizes this by having the back view of Giyu walking away morph into Sabito.
- When Tanjiro thinks about how hard Giyu must've trained and suffered to become a Hashira, there is an original scene of a young Giyu slicing through tatami mats.
- The anime adds a short scene of Giyu and Tanjiro discussing Shinobu's lack of a role in Hashira Training, which was not present in the manga.
References[]
- ↑ Episode 57 on the Official Website