Tanjiro Kamado

Tanjiro Kamado (竈門かまど 炭たん治じ郎ろう Kamado Tanjirō?) is the main protagonist of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. He is a Demon Slayer in the Demon Slayer Corps who joined to find a remedy to turn his sister, Nezuko Kamado, back into a human and to hunt down and kill demons,[5] and later swore to defeat Muzan Kibutsuji,[6] the King of Demons, in order to prevent others from suffering the same fate as him.[7]

Before he became a Demon Slayer, Tanjiro was a coal burner before his family was slaughtered by Muzan, while his younger sister, Nezuko, was turned into a demon.[8]

Appearance Tanjiro is a young boy of average height with fairly tanned skin and an athletic, muscular physique. He has ruffled black hair with red tips (and being entirely only burgundy in the anime), combed back to expose his forehead, and wide, dark red eyes with white pupils that appear lighter around the lower section of his irises. He also has a scar on the top left of his forehead, first seen when his mother brought him to watch his father perform the Hinokami Kagura dance. The scar originally looked somewhat like a graze until his fight with the Hand Demon during Final Selection, after which it developed into a flame-like pattern as his Demon Slayer Mark. It is noted that his hands are visibly rougher for someone his age, as a result of his rigorous training under Sakonji Urokodaki. Tanjiro looks remarkably similar in appearance to his ancestor Sumiyoshi Kamado, possessing the same facial structure, eyes, and hairstyle as him, although Sumiyoshi's hair was longer, about shoulder-length, and would be tied in a ponytail behind his head.

Tanjiro first appears wearing a checkered, black-and-biscay-green haori over a white robe and black pants. He occasionally sports a turquoise scarf and is seen with circular, white bands looped around his calves. He also wears a distinct pair of hanafuda earrings with the image of the rising sun over a mountain. His hair is also kept tied back in a small ponytail or bun; as he trains with Sabito and Makomo, his hair grows to his shoulders.

During Final Selection, Tanjiro wears a blue, cloud-patterned samue-styled kimono and black pants, nearly identical to Sakonji's outfit. He still wears his hanafuda earrings, but his hair is cut extremely short and has remained the same length since. Similar to the rest of the apprentices that were trained under Sakonji, Tanjiro wears a hand-carved fox mask crafted by his master on the left side of his head. The mask has red accents on the eyes, ears, and spots on each corner of its mouth. On the upper right corner of the mask, there is a sun-shaped design that likely symbolizes the scar on his forehead.

After becoming a Demon Slayer, Tanjiro wears the standard Demon Slayer uniform that is similar to the Japanese military uniform in Taishō era, his uniform being black tinted, and reddish black in the anime, it is consisted by a button-up jacket with stand colar and long sleeves, a white belt, tattsuke hakama pants that is wrapped tightly around his calves by a pair of white kyahan, and with tabi socks in the same color of his uniform on his feets, with a pair of zōri with red straps, all beneath his signature checkered haori. He carries a large wooden box on his back (which was a gift to him from Sakonji Urokodaki), where his sister sleeps as they travel during the day. Following his battles, Tanjiro now has prominent scars on his arms and chest: the long scar on his left shoulder was caused by an attack by Upper Rank Six Daki's obi, while various smaller scars were caused by the talons of the manifestation of Upper Rank Four Hantengu's joy, Urogi.[9]

During his second encounter with Muzan Kibutsuji, he injures his right eye in the Infinity Castle. As the battle progresses, Tanjiro suddenly collapses, and his wound begins to form a large mass over his right eye due to the poison inflicted on him by Muzan. Later on, when Tanjiro wakes up, he is described as looking 'repulsive' by Muzan.[10] Later in the battle, Tanjiro's left arm is severed by Muzan.[11]

After being turned into a demon by Muzan, Tanjiro is able to heal the growth on his face as well as regenerate his lost arm and other smaller injuries. He obtains eyes with slit pupils, fangs, and flame-shaped marks over his left forehead and right jaw that are reminiscent of those of Kokushibo, in addition to a third, smaller flame-shaped mark coming down from the right side of his head down to his eyebrow after he conquered the weakness to sunlight. His scar turns into a flame pattern as if it were a permanent Demon Slayer Mark, has become longer, and is the largest of the three. All three marks vaguely point towards his nose, though only his scar-mark reaches it. He still dons his bloodstained corps uniform, one sleeve ripped off where his arm was severed, but loses his checkered haori and the Nichirin Sword at his hip.[3]

After returning to his human form, Tanjiro loses the ability to see with his right eye, the iris of which is now a dull pink-gray color and the pupil black rather than its original white. His left arm, which he regrew as a Demon, now takes on the appearance of that which an older person may have, becoming wrinkled and skeletal, and he loses all feeling in it below the elbow and thus the ability to move it from his forearm down.[12]

Personality Tanjiro's sad smile at Kazumi's words Tanjiro's warm yet solemn smile. Tanjiro is very kind by nature and has been described by others as having very gentle eyes and a compassionate persona. He exhibits a great deal of determination and will not give up once he has a goal to achieve; the best example of this is his relentless quest to find a cure for Nezuko. Even though he is relatively strong on his own, Tanjiro isn't opposed to asking others for help when he needs it. He is very protective of his friends, and even more so of his younger sister. However, despite his kind and understanding nature, Tanjiro does have a limit to his tolerance and has a distaste for rudeness and cowardice, as he easily becomes annoyed by Zenitsu Agatsuma's constant whining and angered by Inosuke Hashibira's barbaric actions.

Tanjiro is direct and very honest, taking everyone's words with sincerity and seriousness. Upon hearing Tengen Uzui claim he is a god, he asked what area he was the god of. He has difficulty lying, and doing so causes his face to contort severely as his honest nature clashes with the insincerity of his words. Having grown up in the countryside of Japan, Tanjiro has no experience of life in large urban areas. During his missions to Asakusa and Yoshiwara, he stared in wonder at the bright lights enveloping the cities. He naively believed the Mugen train was perhaps the land's guardian spirit, and, just like Inosuke, he does not know what a red-light district is.

Tanjiro's eyes becoming bloodshot due to his rage Tanjiro enraged by Daki's apathy for taking innocent lives. Under Tanjiro's rather kind and friendly shell is a person with a growing fire of rage and vengeance inside of them. This side of him leaks out when Tanjiro first confronts Muzan, ready to take out his sword and attack him. When Muzan escapes, Tanjiro releases his frustration and declares he will be the one to kill Muzan. On Mount Natagumo, when the captured Demon Slayers had their necks snapped by the Mother Spider Demon's threads, Tanjiro showed noticeable anger that even Inosuke sensed. Upon seeing Daki smirking after witnessing her slaughter innocent people indiscriminately with her sashes, he seethed with rage and confronted her alone. This side of Tanjiro is fully exemplified after Muzan's speech, where he compares himself to a natural disaster. Tanjiro responds to that by calling Muzan "a being that should not exist." In the face of irrational evil, Tanjiro shows a more cold and terrifying side of himself, acting more violently towards his opponents as a result.

Tanjiro demands Hantengu stop running Tanjiro demands that Hantengu atone for his sins. Tanjiro's most notable attribute is his ability to empathize with anyone, even demons, which often makes him hesitate before delivering the final blow. Tanjiro has a unique ideology regarding demons, believing that those who have committed evil should be killed without mercy, but those who regret their actions should not be belittled after their deaths, showing great nuance and maturity in Tanjiro's thinking, probably brought about by his sister. However, as Tanjiro gains experience over the years of his service, he becomes more calculating and strict in his decisions. His courage to protect the weak commits him to face his enemies with respect and dignity, whether they are good people or evil demons. Tanjiro is adamant about serving justice to the evil by any means necessary, even declaring to cut off the heads of demons who have committed heinous crimes and confronting them about their inhumane mindset and their criminal deeds.

Hard Skull: Tanjiro has an innately strong skull, which the Temple Demon compares to a rock. During certain situations, he can headbutt the opponent hard enough to stun them or knock them out completely; in some situations, he can even cause their head to bleed upon impact. Managing to hit the Temple Demon twice in a row without being stunned shows he is capable of doing it more than once. The full power of this attack is shown to give Inosuke a delayed concussion, while Tanjiro suffered no backlash from it. Tanjiro also head-butted the Wind Hashira, Sanemi Shinazugawa, having temporarily stunned him, leaving the other Hashira impressed by its durability. Tanjiro also used this to temporarily stun Gyutaro, Upper Rank Six, and used the opportunity to gain an upper hand over him. Furthermore, he caused Akaza, Upper Rank Three, to bleed when he headbutted him.

Tanjiro encourages himself Tanjiro's undaunted spirit and willpower. Indomitable Will: Tanjiro possesses an undaunted will and spirit, being able to fight and engage in battle against enemies stronger than him with his sheer will alone to kill Demons and protect his sister even when he sustained severe injuries and wounds. The death of his family also played a big role in his insurmountable willpower; his visions of his family members urging him on during times of crisis allowed him to pull through any hardship.

During his mission on Mount Natagumo, Tanjiro was willing to sacrifice his life for his sister, relying on nothing but sheer determination to fight through Rui's attacks to kill him. When he was in a battle with Enmu, he displayed his supernatural willpower by committing suicide relentlessly in his dreams in order to awaken from the demon's sleep spell, a feat that even Enmu thought was insane.[25] After Kyojuro was killed in a battle with Akaza, his final words and actions had a major impact on Tanjiro's mindset and willpower, increasing it to unprecedented levels, as shown when he didn't give up no matter how hopeless a situation was, even in the face of Upper Rank demons. His spirit also played a big role in the final moments of Muzan's death, where his will allowed him to overcome his blood and return to becoming human.