Tanjiro Kamado and Nezuko Kamado vs Giyu Tomioka is a battle between the siblings Tanjiro Kamado and Nezuko Kamado and a member of the Demon Slayer Corps, Giyu Tomioka and the first fight of the series.
Prologue[]
After most of his family has been slain by a demon, Tanjiro Kamado discovers his sister Nezuko to be the sole survivor. When he tries carrying her down the mountain to a nearby village, she awakens and shakes them off from the path. They fall into a snow-laced forest where Tanjiro realizes that Nezuko has become a demon.[1]
Demon Nezuko attacks Tanjiro.
Nezuko tries to feed on Tanjiro but he stuffs his hatchet's handle in her mouth as she pins him to the ground. Her demon form grows in size but Tanjiro pleads with Nezuko until her humanity cries out, calming herself down as her tears spill onto Tanjiro's face. Just when the skirmish appears to be over, a mysterious swordsman appears and tries to behead Nezuko with a katana. Tanjiro moves her out of the way in time and only his hair is partially sliced off.[2]
The swordsman, Giyu Tomioka, questions Tanjiro and quickly takes Nezuko hostage. He explains he is a Demon Slayer and will now kill Nezuko. Tanjiro begs him not to, asking him not to take away the last family member he has left. Annoyed by Tanjiro's pathetic groveling, Giyu gets angry and starts to berate him; he tells Tanjiro his family was massacred because he was weak and groveling will never work with demons. In reality, he blames himself for not getting to the mountain in time to save them. Berating Tanjiro is his way to help mold his resolve and give him the drive to eventually save his sister and avenge his family.[3]
Battle[]
The Demon Slayer stabs his sword into Nezuko, forcing Tanjiro to act by throwing a rock his opponent, which he is forced to deflect. Tanjiro grabs his hatchet and circles his target, using the trees as cover. He throws another rock while passing by a tree but Giyu easily dodges the stone.[4]
Giyu strikes down Tanjiro.
Tanjiro charges straight for the Demon Slayer, who sees his attempt is simply a frontal assault driven purely on emotion. Disappointed, Giyu knocks out the boy using the hilt of his sword. After knocking Tanjiro down, he notices that his hatchet is missing. He looks up and is nearly hit by the weapon flying through the air, ducking out of the blade's path.[5]
Giyu figures out that Tanjiro must have launched the hatchet at the same time as when he threw the second stone. He hid his hands as he pretended to attack to fool him into thinking he was unarmed. Unlike before, the Demon Slayer is now impressed by the boy's resolve to save his sister, attempting to bring down his opponent after falling in battle.[6]
Nezuko fights Giyu to save Tanjiro.
Nezuko breaks out of Giyu's hold and kicks him away. She goes over to Tanjiro, causing him to believe she'll try and devour him. However, he is shocked when Nezuko protects her brother despite becoming a demon. Giyu ponders on Nezuko's state of mind as he dodges an assault from the newly-turned demon. He keeps her back using only his hands and surmises that because she decided to protect her brother rather than eat him, despite sustaining wounds that would be healed by eating him.
Knowing that demons will even feed on their family members soon after transforming, he realizes these siblings must be truly unique.[7] Nezuko jumps off a tree and tries to attack the Demon Slayer's head. Giyu sheathes his sword and uses a strong chop at the neck to knock her unconscious.[8]
Aftermath[]
Tanjiro eventually wakes up to find that he and Nezuko are both unharmed. Giyu tells him to find a man named Sakonji Urokodaki who lives at the foot on Mount Sagiri, while indirectly revealing his identity. Before disappearing, Giyu tells Tanjiro to keep Nezuko out of direct sunlight.[9]Tanjiro returns home to bury his family and says one final goodbye. Afterward, Tanjiro and Nezuko begin their long journey to return her to normal.[10]
Trivia[]
- Apart from being the first battle in the series, it's also the only battle where an unaffiliated civilian is a combatant.
References[]
- ↑ Kimetsu no Yaiba Manga: Chapter 1 (Pages 11-17).
- ↑ Kimetsu no Yaiba Manga: Chapter 1 (Pages 18-24).
- ↑ Kimetsu no Yaiba Manga: Chapter 1 (Pages 25-35).
- ↑ Kimetsu no Yaiba Manga: Chapter 1 (Pages 36-38).
- ↑ Kimetsu no Yaiba Manga: Chapter 1 (Pages 39-45).
- ↑ Kimetsu no Yaiba Manga: Chapter 1 (Pages 46-47).
- ↑ Kimetsu no Yaiba Manga: Chapter 1 (Pages 47-50).
- ↑ Kimetsu no Yaiba Manga: Chapter 1 (Page 51).
- ↑ Kimetsu no Yaiba Manga: Chapter 1 (Pages 52-54).
- ↑ Kimetsu no Yaiba Manga: Chapter 1 (Pages 55-56).