Tanjiro Never Reached the Highest ‘Demon Slayer’ Ranking—But He Could Have
Why did they do the man so dirty? Demon Slayer‘s Tanjiro has had a hard life.
He was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth like the characters in a certain eat-the-rich film. He’s just a simple charcoal seller in the countrysides of Japan, from a long line of charcoal sellers. Well, that’s not entirely true. If his 23andMe results were to leak, one would see that he actually has the blood of the most powerful demon slayer in existence flowing through his veins. But does he know that? No he does not. As far as Tanjiro is concerned, he’s just a rustic lad that has no special powers but a weirdly sensitive nose. But all that changes the day that Muzan the Demon King decides to murder Tanjiro’s entire family and turn his lil’ sis into a demon.
Tanjiro changed that day.
Tanjiro made an Anime Protagonist Vow to Kill All of The Bad Guys and Save The World. After impressing a wandering Hashira with his instinctual battle skills, he begins on his journey to becoming a full-fledged demon slayer. After passing examination, he’s brought in to the Demon Slayer Corps, and trained under the established Hashira: the most powerful Demon Slayers in the biz. But does Main Character Tanjiro ever become a Hashira? Does he ever earn the highest rank that one can achieve in the Corps?
No, he does not. But he should have.
Why doesn’t Tanjiro ever become a Hashira?
To put it simply, because Tanjiro eliminated the NEED for Hashira in the first place. Tanjiro quickly rises through the ever confusing and totally irrelevant ranking system of the Demon Slayer Corps with each battle he fights. Despite not being a Hashira, he takes on Hashira-level opponents on the daily. In fact, he very often solos Hashira level threats. Halfway through the series he begins fighting demons that even outclass some of the Hashira. I’m talking of course about the Upper Moons, the six most powerful demons under Muzan’s employ. Tanjiro fighting so many powerful demons all the time that I think the Demon Slayer Corps forgot this kid wasn’t a Hashira. By the time that Tanjiro has met and surpassed Hashira-level power, the Demon Slayer Corps has bigger things to worry about than a Hashira-making ceremony for Tanjiro.
They’ve got Muzan on their hands.
After fighting through Muzan’s Infinity Castle and slaying the final Upper Moons, Tanjiro and friends engage in a knock down, drag out battle with the Demon King over the course of a night. During the course of the fighting, Tanjiro comes into his true power after tapping into the latent abilities of his lineage. He’s a descendent of the guy who INVENTED breathing techniques after all, and is able to wield the breathing technique upon which all other techniques are based: Sun Breathing. Tanjiro—with the help of the rest of the Demon Slayer Corps—proceeds to slay the Demon King Muzan himself. As Muzan was the one primarily responsible for making all of the demons in the first place (and with the rest of Muzan’s ranks dead) Tanjiro effectively makes the need for Hashira irrelevant. In fact, he puts the entire Demon Slayer Corps out of a job. What’s a Demon Slayer Corps gonna do without any demons to slay? I guess they could go after social demons like alcoholism or risky sexual practices but I think there are probably other people better qualified for that job.
Still, they could have AT LEAST made Tanjiro an honorary Hashira before disbanding the Demon Slayer Corps. He was never gonna ask them to do it, he’s just too nice.
Why does Tanjiro deserve to be a Hashira?
Tanjiro has far more qualifications for becoming a Hashira besides who his however-many-times-great grandfather was. He might be a genetic nepobaby, but he still had to work damn hard. He was able to quickly master Water Breathing techniques, and was later able to shift to Fire Breathing styles. Not only that, he eventually is able to use Full Focus Breathing—a breathing style that grants enhanced awareness and power that only Hashira level combatants are able to perform. After that, he unlocks his “See-Through World” ability which basically grants him mystical X-ray vision! It allows him to sense his opponents movies before they happen, and it also dampens his own spiritual presence so his opponents aren’t able to sense him on the battlefield. So it’s more than X-ray vision, it’s X-ray vision that allows you to see the future and become effectively invisible. Let’s see one of those Hashira jokers try and do that.
Surely this makes him qualified enough, right? Just wait ’til you hear about Tanjiro’s Demon Slayer Mark. This kid is overqualified for the job. It’s like Albert Einstein applying to be a high school psychics teacher. Tanjiro has mystical mark on his forehead known as “The Demon Slayer Mark.” While dormant, the mark appears like a burn on his forehead. When the mark is activated however it spreads across his face, and later his entire body. Just to look cool? Yes, but it does more! The Demon Slayer Mark increases Tanjiro’s speed and strength exponentially, allowing to achieve unimaginable levels of power.
While many Demon Slayers are born with this mark, not all of them are able to awaken it. So how does it awaken? Simple. All you have to do is survive multiple combat situations that cause your heartbeat to climb to 200 beats per minute and your body temperature to reach 102 degrees Fahrenheit. You know, just semi fatal conditions in your body that make survival hard enough without bloodthirsty demons also trying to kill you. According to Mist Hashira Yuichiro Tokito, many Demon Slayers who possess the mark do not survive its awakening. Oh yeah, and not every Demon Slayer even has the mark in the first place. Basically you have to be born with this rare skin condition and then hope it doesn’t kill you to even use it. Tanjiro is one of the few who passes that test.
So seriously, can we just give this kid the job?
(featured image: Ufotable)
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