| “ | The strong should aid and protect the weak. Then the weak will become strong, and in turn, they will aid and protect those weaker than them. That is the law of nature.
— Tanjirou Kamado
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Tanjiro Kamado was born the eldest child to a family of charcoal makers, living mostly isolated on a mountain with his family. After his father died, he helped take care of his five siblings and mother, at least until the demon Muzan attacked his family. With his sister, Nezuko, turned into a demon, and the rest of his family slaughtered, he sets out to try and find a cure for demonhood to return Nezuko to normal. He encounters Giyu Tomioka, who spares his and Nezuko's lives when he sees that she is not acting like a typical demon. Giyu sends Tanjiro to his mentor, Sakonji Urokodaki, to learn how to use a sword.
Tanjiro meets Urokodaki, and learns how to kill demons and generally utilize a sword. He survives the selection test, and gains a specially-forged Nichirin blade, which emulates the effects of sunlight. The Demon Slayer corps sends him to hunt demons, relaying assignments through a talking crow. He completes several missions successfully, joining forces with Zenitsu Agatsuma and Inosuke Hashibira as he does so. He is eventually sent with them to Natagumo Mountain, where he confronts the spider demon Rui and his "family." He and Inosuke initially enter the mountain, leaving Zenitsu to follow them later, and he gets separated from Inosuke while fighting "Father."
He and Nezuko then encounter Rui, who is jealous of their sibling bond and wishes to take Nezuko for himself. The siblings fight him, with Tanjiro using the power of flashbacks to recall the Hinokami Kagura and Nezuko learning her Blood Demon Art to emerge mostly victorious. The arrival of Shinobu and Giyu completes their victory, and the pair are then taken to the Demon Slayer headquarters. After rehabilitation from their wounds, they are sent off on a new mission to investigate a train alongside the Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku.
They successfully fight off the demon Enmu, who had fused with the train, but Kyojuro is then killed by Azaka, one of Muzan's strongest demons. After mourning his death, the group is then drafted to assist the Sound Hashira, Tengen Uzui, infiltrate the Red Light District and rescue his three wives. The mission is successful, with the swordsmen and Nezuko killing Gyutaro, another one of Muzan's high ranking demons. Tanjirou chips his sword in the process, and he travels to the hidden Swordsmith Village to try and convince the blacksmith who worked on his sword to repair it.
Battle vs. Shinsuke Kazamatsuri and Shakugan alongside Nezuko Kamado (by Leolab)[]
Tanjiro stumbles through the forest, Nezuko’s box on his back and the sun rapidly setting. He was completely, utterly lost, with no idea where or, thanks to the time-manipulating demon he was tracking, when he was. A few steps later, Tanjiro comes to a halt, hearing some rustling ahead as the trees thinned out. As his eyes grew used to the starlight, he spied a waist-high boulder, with a figure on either side leaning against the trees.
On the right was a man in a yukata, with a daishō and straw hat, pouring sake into a pair of dishes on the rock. One was picked up by the red-haired woman on the left, dressed in a sleeveless garment. She uses it to point at Tanjiro as the man drains his own dish.
“Hi! Who’re you?” Shagukan asks.
“And why are you out here so late?” Shinsuke continues, placing the empty dish back on the rock and smiling gently at the boy.
“I’m Tanjiro, from the Demon Slayer Corps,” Tajiro replies, cutting off further explanation as Shinsuke’s gentle demeanor sharpens in an instant, his hand moving to the wakizashi at his waist. Tanjiro, not needing his nose to sense the other man’s hostility, reflexively places his hand on the grip of his own blade.
“Shinsuke-sama?” Shakugan asks, transforming her arms into rock.
“If he means harm to the village, we have to stop him here,” Shinsuke says, nudging Arabuki a fraction of a centimeter out of its sheathe. The motion creates a gust of wind, launching a pebble at Nezuko’s box. Narrative contrivance arcs it perfectly to hit the clasp, and Nezuko tumbles to the ground behind her brother.
She hisses behind her bamboo muzzle as she rises, forming claws with her hands. Sensing the danger to both of them, she charges, making the first move. Shakugan intercepts her, firing off a Goushentin that stalls her momentum. Shinsuke rushes past her, creating a wind tunnel as he draws Arabuki fully. Tanjiro draws his own sword to parry, but before he can get it fully out of its sheathe Shinsuke slams his palm into the hilt, forcing the blade back into its sheathe.
Tanjiro’s life flashes before his eyes as the cursed steel comes towards his neck, and Nezuko – not his memories – bails him out. She kicks Shinsuke in the chest, sending him back a few meters. Tanjiro gets his sword out just in time to parry another blast from Shakugan, who charges in to defend her husband. She ducks low, under a slash from Tanjiro, lashing out with her stone fist.
Shinsuke dodges as well, and slices over his wife’s head, forcing Nezuko to break off her attack and leap back to avoid getting sliced. He manipulates the wind, knocking Tanjiro off balance. Shakugan hits him full force in the stomach, sending him reeling back. Shinsuke steps in, cutting downward as his wife swings her stone arm at Nezuko, again preventing the demon from interfering.
Steel hits steel and stone hits flesh, both blows parried. Shakugan aims and fires a blast with her other fist, hitting Nezuko in the face and sending her flying into a tree. Shinsuke generates a blast of air under Tanjiro’s feet, sending the demon slayer into the air. He flies after him as Nezuko charges at Shakugan anew, his younger opponent using their clashes to maneuver in the air. The youth leaps off a branch in an awkward manner, and Shinsuke wastes no time in making a shallow cut in his opponent’s elbow, aiming for the tendon.
His eyes widen as he sees a hit, but doesn’t feel it. He drops, the change in altitude saving his life as Tanjiro’s blade sends his hair flying as it passes. Shinsuke twists, flipping in the air to kick Tanjiro in the face.
The sound of him hitting a tree reaches the women on the ground, drawing Nezuko’s attention for a split second. Shakugan uses the distraction to punch the younger girl in the face, but Nezuko simply shrinks under the blow and grows back to full size with an uppercut. Shakugan stumbles back, and as her foe closes to follow up she slams her fist into the younger girl’s gut. Shakugan fires a Goutenshin at point-blank range. The blast sends Nezuko flying backwards, slamming into a tree yet again. A branch pierces her palm, and she groans in pain as she picks herself back up.
She flings the blood in front of her, activating her Blood Demon Art to generate flames to keep Shakugan at bay. The two glare at each other as they catch their breath, each waiting to see how the other would react. Their staredown is broken when a black sword plunges down into the forest floor, and Shinsuke lands next to Shakugan with a Tanjiro bound by the wind and struggling.
The sight of her bound brother infuriates her, activating her transformation into a full demon. She is unable to hear Tanjiro yelling at her to stop as she bites through the bamboo muzzle, a horn growing out of her forehead as her sanity fades. Shinsuke and Shakugan, noting Tanjiro’s reaction, look at each other and nod.
He releases Tanjiro, using Arabuki to create a path for Shakugan to circle around and grab Nezuko from behind while he charges in and presses his hand to her forehead. As Tanjiro staggers to his feet and reclaims his sword, he sees Nezuko revert to her normal form and sag to the ground, asleep. Shinsuke turns to him and slowly, deliberately sheathes Arabuki.
“I saw her trauma,” he says, as Tanjiro sheathes his own blade, “Our village has humans, demons, and fusions of the two alike. You’re welcome to rest there, though I’d keep quiet about the whole ‘Demon Slayer Corps’ bit quiet while you’re there.”
“Thank you,” Tanjiro says, bowing, “I apologize for the misunderstanding.”
“No, no,” Shinsuke replies, smiling sheepishly as Shakugan lifts Nezuko over her shoulder, “I’m the one who jumped to conclusions. Haven’t had the best of experiences with self-proclaimed ‘Demon Slayers’”
And with that, the three start down the path leading to the village, regaling each other with tales of their adventures.
Expert's Opinion[]
Both teams were fairly evenly matched. While Shinsuke had more raw power at his disposal thanks to Arabuki, Tanjiro brought a high level of skill and a variety of techniques to counter Shinsuke. Shakugan, similarly, had a high level of skill and experience fighting stronger opponents to counter Nezuko's raw power.