Masachika Kumeno

Masachika Kumeno
Kanji	粂野 匡近
Rōmaji	Kumeno Masachika
Characteristics
Race	Human
Gender	Male
Hair Color	Black
Eye Color	Green
Affiliation
Affiliation	Demon Slayer Corps
Occupation	Demon Slayer
Combat Style	Wind Breathing
Personal Status
Status	Deceased
Relative(s)	Unnamed Younger Brother
Debuts
Manga Debut	Chapter 168

“	What are big brothers for?	”
	— Masachika to Sanemi Shinazugawa in Signs from the Wind

Masachika Kumeno (粂 (くめ) 野 (の) 匡 (まさ) 近 (ちか) , Kumeno Masachika^?) was a minor character in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. He was a Demon Slayer closely acquainted with future Wind Hashira Sanemi Shinazugawa, who being slain by the then Lower Rank One Ubume.

Appearance

Masachika was a young man with an average build and short, spiky black hair. He had noticeably small, rounded eyebrows and two prominent scars on his left cheek. His mouth was usually curved into a happy smile.

Masachika wore the standard Demon Slayer uniform that consisted of a dark gakuran jacket, white belt, and baggy hakama pants tucked into white wraps of cloth around his ankles.

In Kimetsu Gakuen!, his eyes are olive green with white diamond-shaped pupils.

Personality

Masachika's lively behavior irritated Sanemi.

Masachika was a very kind person, befriending Sanemi and even introducing him to someone who could help train him. However, in stark contrast to Sanemi's ill-tempered and rude behavior, Masachika is also shown to have a jolly and high-spirited personality. He frequently teased Sanemi by inviting him to eat out, imploring him to view him as his big brother, and poking fun at Sanemi's recklessness and cluelessness to romance.

Masachika was also very sociable and charismatic, telling Shinobu Kocho a humorous tale about Gyomei Himejima being chased for playing the flute too loud and fondness for cats, and endearing himself to a grumpy old man with his exuberant charm, making the man retell the story of "Yae".

Despite his usual playfulness, he was absolutely repulsed upon learning that as a human, Ubume had tortured and killed her daughter, and became full of rage when the demon made facetious excuses over her prior actions. His anger was further stirred when Ubume correctly analyzed that Sanemi was a victim of parental abuse and feigned pity for him.

In his final moments, Masachika's kindness caused him to lose focus when one of Ubume's kidnapping victims attempted to defend the demon, leading him to be fatally struck by Ubume. Despite this Masachika still showed concern for the girl and Ubume's other victims when the demon was defeated. His last words to Sanemi were telling the Demon Slayer to be happy and live on. In his will, Masachika considered Sanemi as a brother and wished the best for his loved ones.

History

Little is known about Masachika prior to joining the Demon Slayer Corps, but he had a younger brother killed by demons.

After Sanemi began wandering in search of demons to kill by cutting himself and intoxicating them with his blood, he met Masachika by chance who tended to his wounds. Masachika was already a member of the Demon Slayer Corps, and not approving of Sanemi's near-suicidal method of killing demons, he arranged a trainer for Sanemi so he could properly learn how to defeat demons.

Later on, when Sanemi had already joined the corps, Masachika scolds Sanemi for drawing his own blood again and forcibly takes him to the Butterfly Mansion, much to his annoyance.

Some time later, the two encountered Ubume, the previous Lower Rank One of the Twelve Kizuki, but in the battle, Masachika was killed by the demon.

For killing Ubume, Sanemi was given the rank of Wind Hashira, but despite this, he remained bitter over his friend's death. When he confronts Kagaya Ubuyashiki about the latter's inability to fight, Kagaya apologizes for his weakness and identifies Masachika by name, much to Sanemi's surprise. Kanae Kocho then informs him that Kagaya has memorized every slain Demon Slayer's name and background, and Kagaya decides to give Sanemi Masachika's will.

Synopsis

Infinity Castle Arc

During his clash with Upper Rank One Kokushibo, Sanemi recalls the time he had met Masachika, and Kagaya giving him his will.

Relationships

Sanemi Shinazugawa

Sanemi and Masachika had a close brotherly relationship, with Masachika viewing Sanemi as the younger brother he lost. Despite this, he didn't hesitate to either tease or chide Sanemi for his recklessness. Moreover, when Ubume correctly analyzed that Sanemi suffered abuse and insinuated that it was from both of his parents, whilst acting like she pitied him, Masachika became enraged and came to the defense of both his and his mother.

Abilities

Overall Abilities: Masachika was an incredibly powerful swordsman, who attained the position of Kinoe, the highest non-Hashira rank in the Demon Slayer Corps. He and Sanemi, who was also Kinoe at the time, were able to successfully defeat Lower Rank One Ubume, the most powerful of the Lower Ranks despite sacrificing his life in the process.

Fighting Style

Breathing Style

Wind Breathing (風 (かぜ) の呼 (こ) 吸 (きゅう) , Kaze no kokyū^?): Masachika possessed an understanding of the Wind Breathing techniques and learned and mastered them with Sanemi after tutelage from an unknown cultivator. He seemed to have a particular fondness or forte for Wind Breathing's third form, as it was the only technique he used against his battle with Ubume, compared to Sanemi who used several.

Techniques

• Third Form: Clear Storm Wind Tree (参 (さん) ノ型 (かた) 　晴 (せい) 嵐 (らん) 風 (ふう) 樹 (じゅ) , San no kata: Seiran Fūju^?) - The user unleashes a whirlwind of slashes around their body that can defend them from incoming attacks and slice up their surroundings.

Battles

Masachika Kumeno Battles

Pre-Series Battles

• Sanemi Shinazugawa and Masachika Kumeno vs Ubume

Trivia

• Masachika's given name contains the kanji for "frame, framework, chest" (匡, masa^?) and the Kun reading of "near, close" (近, chika^?), and his surname contains the Kun readings for a kokuji, which bore the meaning of "long time" and "rice" (粂, kume^?) and "field" (野, no^?).
• In Kimetsu Academy, Masachika is alive, being the librarian of the school; he keeps the same playful, joyful and kind personality and the same scars on his cheek of his canon counterpart. Aparently, as the same as his counterpart, he gets along well with the math teacher: Sanemi Shinazugawa.

Quotes

• (To Sanemi Shinazugawa) "You've gotta enjoy life. Yeah, we could face death at any moment, but lots of Demon Slayers find love too. Some even start families. I mean, the Sound Hashira has three beautiful wives! Imagine that. Three! Wow, that's a lot. Three wives. One would be enough for me. Just one lady I can love from the bottom of my heart..."
• (To Ubume) "That's a lie! You betrayed her! You killed her by inches! Every time she started to get better, you hurt her again! You poisoned her, crushed her throat, slapped her head, broke her legs! How could you do that to the child you gave birth to? [...] I won't let you get away with this, Yae."
• (To Ubume about Sanemi Shinazugawa) "Sanemi's no pitiful child. Not even close. His mom loved him. She loved her sons from the bottom of her heart. You don't know the first thing about him, you wretched demon! Don't drag your filth over his memories!"