| “ | I'll say it again so listen up! You're moving based on habit, Tanjiro. Don't watch your opponent and decide what you'll do before moving. That's no good. Understand? You're lacking in the basic fundamentals. I'm surprised you survived this long. In the Demon Slayer Corps, everything is dangerous. I'll beat the weakness out of you! I won't give you any food until you can do what I'm telling you! |
” |
— Kotetsu to Tanjiro Kamado in Kotetsu
|
Kotetsu (
Quick Answers
Who is the voice actor for Kotetsu in Demon Slayer?
What is the relationship between Kotetsu and Tanjiro?
What does Kotetsu look like without his mask?
What role does Kotetsu play in the Demon Slayer Corps?
Appearance[]
Kotetsu is a child of short stature, pale skin tone, and black hair. He wears a yellow striped yukata, a red vest on top of it, and a Hyottoko mask (with notable eyebrows and cheek prints) that fully conceals his face. However, it's later revealed that Kotetsu's actual face is similar to his mask, having the same wide eyes, bushy eyebrows, and rosy cheeks. The kanji for Hyottoko (
Personality[]
Kotetsu is a kind and energetic child. He is full of passion for his job of maintaining the battle doll Yoriichi Type Zero, even though he has not yet mastered the repairs. This causes him much initial grief and fear, as should the doll break, no one but him is skilled enough to fix it. However, after meeting Tanjiro Kamado he realizes that he cannot give up. He is often very frank and blunt at times. This can be to his own detriment however, as he has no problems being blunt about the notoriously ill-tempered Hotaru Haganezuka who retaliates by assaulting the boy. Despite this, he means the best and tries his hardest to help those around him.
While at times he seems insecure and weak-willed, as shown when he attempts to argue with Muichiro Tokito's harsh but true statements, Kotetsu can also be hot-headed and barbed-tongued. Without Muichiro to see him in the company of Tanjiro, he openly insulted the Hashira on multiple occasions, which shocked Tanjiro with his sharp contrast in demeanor.
Despite initially bearing a grudge against the Mist Hashira, Kotetsu openly wept and repeatedly thanked Muichiro for saving him from a demon attack, even taking back his hatred and insults (which Muichiro did not even know about). He began begging Muichiro to save Kozo Kanamori and Hotaru Haganezuka, showing that he is open to changing his feelings towards people and being on better terms.
History[]
Kotetsu was born to a family of swordsmiths dating back to the Sengoku period, over 300 years before the Taisho period. His ancestors built an advanced battle doll modeled after a Demon Slayer named Yoriichi Tsugikuni and it was used to practice swordsmanship and refine the skills of other Demon Slayers.
His father died unexpectedly, leaving him a lonely orphan; he was an only child. Unfortunately, this also meant that he alone had the knowledge about the inner workings of the doll and should it break, no one but him can repair it. This led him to be protective of the doll to avoid further damage. He also had an uncle named Tetsuhiro, although its unknown how close to him he was before the assault of the Swordsmith Village.
Synopsis[]
Swordsmith Village Arc[]
Kotetsu refuses to give Muichiro access to Yoriichi Type Zero.
Tanjiro first encounters Kotetsu when he was refusing to lend Muichiro Tokito a doll that bears a striking resemblance to a man from his dreams. Irritated by Kotetsu's stubbornness, Muichiro slaps him in the face, causing Tanjiro to rush to his defense. Kotetsu still refuses to give the Mist Hashira the Yoriichi Type Zero training doll even if he tortured him, causing Muichiro to berate the boy for his "stupidity" and for wasting his time, appalling Tanjiro. Muichiro knocks him out after he gives a speech outlining the importance of swordsmiths, and Kotetsu along with Hotaru Haganezuka stay with him until he woke up; Hotaru fled before Tanjiro came to and Kotetsu nervously lied that he was never there when Tanjiro inquired.
Kotetsu reveals that he gave Muichiro the keys to the training doll, causing Tanjiro to apologize for making a fuss, but Kotetsu thanks him for standing up for him even as a stranger. He reveals the importance or Yoriichi Type Zero and its abilities. They overhear the sound of swords clashing, and see Muichiro sparring with the doll. As the boy and Demon Slayer observe, Kotetsu reveals more details about the doll like it being built from the Sengoku era. However, he laments that because of its age and advanced origins, he couldn't fix the doll if it broke, revealing that he lost his father and was an only child, giving him sole responsibility for Yoriichi Type Zero.
Tanjiro inspires Kotetsu.
After Muichiro's Kasugai Crow berated Tanjiro for pointing out the doll's resemblance to a man in his dreams, Kotetsu defends Tanjiro by suggesting that it was an inherited memory from his ancestor. They formally introduce themselves, the latter telling him to ignore the crow, but suddenly, he hears Muichiro breaking Yoriichi Type Zero’s armor. Horrified, Kotetsu runs away and climbs up a tree. Tanjiro comforts the distressed child by discouraging him from giving up and promising to help. Kotetsu fatalistically rebuffs Tanjiro’s words, but the Demon Slayer also climbs the tree and flicks his exposed chin. Tanjiro further encourages Kotetsu by telling him to think of his future, suggesting that his descendants will succeed him and revealing his mission to kill Muzan Kibutsuji.
Kotetsu is moved and decides to go back. As he makes small talk with Tanjiro, Muichiro crosses paths with them again, holding one of the doll's blades in order to replace his own. Kotetsu runs to the doll in horror, but after he and Tanjiro see it is still working, he becomes determined to personally train Tanjiro, filled with a vindictive desire to spite Muichiro. Kotetsu helps him train with the doll but also seems to torture him by restricting him from food, water, or breaks just to motivate him, all the while insulting his skill. After Tanjiro inflicts a faint strike against the doll, Kotetsu finally awards him with food.
Kotetsu and Tanjiro fight Hotaru over the ancient katana.
After more training, Tanjiro beheads Yoriichi Type Zero, with Kotetsu's permission, vowing to rebuild the doll if it breaks. The doll is revealed to have had a 300 year old sword hidden inside it, and he encourages Tanjiro to take it. The humble Demon Slayer eventually relents but to both their disappointment, the blade is severely rusted. Hotaru, now much more muscular, suddenly appears before them, and attempts to take the sword with them to hone it, although his poor communication results in a tug-of-war between them. After Kozo Kanamori pacifies Hotaru by tickling his sides, Kotetsu flings pebbles at him and insults his temper, lack of a bride, and social skills, causing the swordsmith to lash out at the boy before being restrained.
Muichiro saves Kotetsu.
Later, the village is attacked by Upper Rank Four Hantengu and Upper Rank Five Gyokko; Kotetsu ends up being menaced by a giant fish demon created from the latter's Blood Demon Art, futilely trying to defend himself with a sword before being grabbed by the demon. Muichiro witnesses Kotetsu's peril and remembering Tanjiro's philosophy on how life rewards good deeds, saves Kotetsu from death despite initially believing him to be of low priority. After killing the demon, Kotetsu is immensely grateful and thanks Muichiro, apologizing for his past insults while sobbing.
Kotetsu cowers behind Muichiro while facing Gyokko.
Just as the Mist Hashira readies to leave, Kotetsu reveals that Kozo is also in peril and begs Muichiro to save him, to which he hesitatingly obliges to. Muichiro sprints while carrying Kotetsu, eventually finding Kozo and killing the demon menacing him. Kotetsu introduces him to the Mist Hashira, and later decide they must next head to their works shed to save Hotaru and pick up Muichiro’s new sword. Muichiro suddenly stops them, and although Kotetsu is initially annoyed, Upper Rank Five himself appears before them. Gyokko asks the trio to witness his “artwork” and presents the mangled bodies of several swordsmiths.
Kozo and Kotetsu are horrified seeing familiar faces mutilated in a gruesome way, with the latter even recognizing his uncle Tetsuhiro as a victim of Gyokko’s "art". The Upper Rank then twists a sword embedded in a villager, causing him to scream and revealing that some were barely still alive. Kotetsu wails for Gyokko to stop and sobs in despair, much to the demon’s delight. Muichiro then attacks Gyokko, and he retaliates by using Thousand Needle Fish Kill, summoning goldfish that spit poison needles. After missing the Mist Hashira, the fish instead aim and fire at Kotetsu and Kozo, but Muichiro takes the brunt of the attack. He orders the two to run and hide, but Kotetsu secretly stays behind and sees Muichiro get trapped in Gyokko's Blood Demon Art: Water Prison Pot.
Kotetsu blows bubbles to give Muichiro air.
After Gyokko leaves, Kotetsu tries to free Muichiro from the water prison by stabbing it with a knife. Muichiro believes it to be futile and sees another fish demon with sharp claws walking behind Kotetsu before attacking him. The demon stabs Kotetsu in the solar plexus, and despite Muichiro’s internal pleas that he save himself, the boy stumbles towards him and blows bubbles in the water prison, giving him more air. Touched by the act, and with enough air for another breathing technique, Muichiro frees himself. Muichiro then saves Kotetsu from more clawed fish demons, but the bleeding child tells the Mist Hashira to protect Hotaru and Kozo instead of him.
Kotetsu reveals he was protected by Kyojuro's tsuba.
Muichiro ends up awakening his Demon Slayer Mark and subsequently defeats Gyokko, but the ordeal leaves him exhausted and frothing at the mouth. Kotetsu appears before a panicked Kozo, instructing him to lay the Mist Hashira on his side so he doesn't choke. However, Kozo is astonished that Kotetsu is alive, questioning if he’s a ghost. Kotetsu reveals that although his arm was lacerated badly, his chest was protected by the tsuba of fallen Flame Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku, which he had promised Tanjiro he’d hold on to in order for it to be added to his new sword.
Kotetsu waves goodbye to the Kamado siblings.
Afterwards, Kotetsu joins Muichiro when he gives Tanjiro the ancient sword Hotaru was honing so he could fight Hantengu. He witnesses Hotaru hit Muichiro's head, indignant since he had not finished, and when Muichiro faints again, Kotetsu accuses him of killing the Mist Hashira. After Tanjiro ends up defeating Hantengu, Kotetsu helps Muichiro walk as the Demon Slayer Corps regroup, and is later hugged by Love Hashira Mitsuri Kanroji as she weepingly celebrates their victory. Kotetsu later gives his farewells to Tanjiro before he leaves the Swordsmith Village, but teases Hotaru for being embarrassed when he promises to give him a new sword, causing him to spin Kotetsu by his feet.
Hashira Training Arc[]
During a Hashira meeting, Muichiro gives his testimony on how he awakened his mark, mentioning Kotetsu's near-death filling him with rage, causing a high heart-rate and high temperature.
Sunrise Countdown Arc[]
In the aftermath of the final battle, Kotetsu along with other swordsmiths visited a recovering Tanjiro who had suffered major injuries after being temporarily turned into a demon, much to Zenitsu Agatsuma's dismay. He also joined a group photo alongside surviving members of the Demon Slayer Corps.
Legacy[]
In the modern day, Kotetsu has an elementary school aged descendant, who is friends with Kozo's descendant and shares Kotetsu's comically round eyes and bushy eyebrows.[4]
Abilities[]
Overview: Despite his young age, he has shown to be a skilled teacher and trainer, as shown when he asks Tanjiro to face Yoriichi Type Zero. Kotetsu also corrected the posture and mistakes that Tanjiro made and how he had survived this way, which indicates that Kotetsu has had some trouble with demons.
Fighting Style[]
Yoriichi Type Zero Mastery: As a young boy in a village of swordsmiths, Kotetsu is incapable of fighting, nor was taught how to. That's not to say that he's completely harmless, however. As the only person with the knowledge on how to operate the immensely powerful Yoriichi Type Zero, Kotetsu could use the doll to train Demon Slayers as he did with Tanjiro, with the training being so harsh and grueling that it nearly killed Tanjiro. Due to it breaking after Tanjiro defeated Yoriichi Type Zero, Kotetsu did not use the doll in actual combat, with the exception being it's appearance as a playable character in The Hinokami Chronicles 2, with Kotetsu tinkering with it to enhance it’s fighting.
Game Exclusive Techniques[]
- Maintenance (
絡 繰 点 検 Karakuri Tenken?)[6]- Kotetsu quickly comes to inspect and fiddle with Yoriichi Type Zero's settings. This has the in-game effect of replenishing the skill meter at an accelerated rate.
- Mechanical Doll's True Potential (
戦 闘 用 絡繰 人 形 の神 髄 Sentō-Yō Karakuriningyō no Shinzui?)[6]- Working off of its automation, Yoriichi Type Zero knocks the opponent back and spins it body around to slash their oppoent with their swords. Kotetsu then runs towards the doll in order to fiddle with its swords and optimize its settings. After Kotetsu climbs onto its back, the doll speeds towards its opponent in a winding fashion and mercilessly swings its swords while spinning horizontally at such a fast rate that it makes Kotetsu dizzy. The doll then finishes with a move similar to Sun Halo Dragon Dance's stance and rushes through their opponent, using all of its swords to unleash several crescent-shaped slashes.
 (Yoriichi Type Zero)  (Yoriichi Type Zero)  (Yoriichi Type Zero)  (Kotetsu)  (Yoriichi Type Zero)  (Yoriichi Type Zero)  (Both) |
Relationships[]
Muichiro Tokito[]
In the beginning, their relationship was not very good, as Muichiro tried to force Kotetsu to lend him the key so he can fight against Yoriichi Type Zero, even going into lengths to almost insult Kotetsu's job as a swordsmith. This made Kotetsu bear a grudge against Muichiro, talking behind his back like calling him "seaweed head." However, later when Gyokko uses his Blood Demon Art to summon fish demons, Muichiro saves Kotetsu after being reminded of Tanjiro telling him to help others in need of it. Shortly after he saves Kotetsu, they were quickly on better terms with each other.
Tanjiro Kamado[]
Kotetsu sees Tanjiro as a friend. At first, Tanjiro defended Kotetsu when Muichiro and Kotetsu were arguing over the key, but Kotetsu shoved Tanjiro away when he tried to help him. Tanjiro was knocked out by Muichiro afterwards but woke up to see Kotetsu still there, who thanked him for standing up to him. Whilst watching Muichiro fight against Yoriichi Type Zero, Kotetsu runs off and Tanjiro follows him. Tanjiro later finds Kotetsu in the tree and encouraged him to keep going and work hard, even getting to the point where he appears in front of Kotetsu and flicked his chin. Later, Tanjiro trains with Yoriichi Type Zero while having Kotetsu scold him for each of his failures. However, Kotetsu helped Tanjiro work hard and eventually, Tanjiro won against Yoriichi Type Zero. Kotetsu was said to have a "venomous tongue" by Tanjiro. Tanjiro's trust in Kotetsu was best exemplified by him allowing Kotetsu to temporarily keep the tsuba of Kyojuro Rengoku, his fallen idol and mentor.
Hotaru Haganezuka[]
Although Kotetsu is usually on even terms with Hotaru, his mouthy and blunt attitude causes him to provoke the notoriously ill-tempered swordsmith, usually making him lash out physically.
Kozo Kanamori[]
Kotetsu seems to be good friends with Kozo. They are relieved to see each other when Kozo is rescued by Muichiro and they hold each other for comfort when they witness Gyokko presents "Death Throes of the Smiths" an art piece consisting of numerous barely-alive swordsmiths, including Kotetsu's uncle. Later on when Kotetsu teases Hotaru for his bashfulness in announcing that he'll forge a new sword for Tanjiro, Kozo attempts to warn him not to awaken his wrath, but to no avail.
Trivia[]
- Kotetsu shares his Japanese and English voice actors with Yaad from Delicious in Dungeon.
- Kotetsu's actual face bears a striking resemblance to his mask, so much so that people say he doesn't really need to wear the mask.[7]
- He is an orphan with no siblings.[2]
- His name literally means "little iron" (小鉄 kotetsu).
- He may be named after the real-life swordsmith Nagasone Kotetsu from the Edo Period.
Quotes[]
- (To Tanjiro Kamado) "I hoped the doll would never break, but I'm determined. Combat training should last until dark, so I'll get ready to see this to the end... like I should."[1]
- (To Tanjiro Kamado) "Yes! Train with this, Tanjiro! And get stronger than that emotionless jerk! I will help you... with all my strength!"[8]
- (To Tanjiro Kamado) "I'll say it again so listen up! You're moving based on habit, Tanjiro. Don't watch your opponent and decide what you'll do before moving. That's no good. Understand? You're lacking in the basic fundamentals. I'm surprised you survived this long? In the Demon Slayer Corps, everything is dangerous. I'll beat the weakness out of you! I won't give you any food until you can do what I'm telling you!"[9]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kimetsu no Yaiba Manga: Chapter 103 (Page 12).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kimetsu no Yaiba Manga: Chapter 103 (Page 4).
- ↑ Kimetsu no Yaiba Manga: Chapter 111 (Page 4).
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Kimetsu no Yaiba Manga: Chapter 205 (Page 9).
- ↑ Kimetsu no Yaiba Manga: Chapter 102 (Page 19).
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Kimetsu no Yaiba Game: The Hinokami Chronicles 2.
- ↑ Kimetsu no Yaiba Manga: Volume 13, (Extra Pages).
- ↑ Kimetsu no Yaiba Manga: Chapter 103 (Page 19).
- ↑ Kimetsu no Yaiba Manga: Chapter 104 (Page 4).