Kanao Tsuyuri is an aloof and rather quiet member of the Demon Slayer Corps who according to Tanjiro Kamado is the closest warrior to the Hashira in the ancient organization. Although she may appear underconfident and fragile at times, Kanao has undergone such rigorous training that she plays a critical role in helping her comrades fight against Muzan and his evil forces.

Sadly, the trauma inflicted by Kanao's abusive parents deeply influenced her life, including her career as a demon slayer for a long time. But with support from her adoptive Hashira sisters and members of the corps, Tsuyuri has stood against remarkable odds and evolved into an independent combatant capable of even taking on the members of the Twelve Kizuki.

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Kanao Tsuyuri's Surprisingly Overwhelming Physical Prowess

Despite Her Fragile Appearance, Kanao Possesses Frightening Strength

In order to analyze and truly appreciate how strong Kanao Tsuyuri is, it's critical to understand where she comes from. As mentioned earlier, she was born to abusive parents who neglected her from a young age. The trauma that she had to endure led to an emotional stunting that had far-reaching consequences. In a final act of betrayal, her parents went as far as selling her to a man and her life could have turned into an even more terrible nightmare if not for the brave actions of the Kocho sisters.

Shinobu and Kanae Kocho rescued Kanao before she faced further abuse and brought her back to the Butterfly mansion. But the years of psychological trauma had already left a deep impression and Kanao had to be instructed to even perform basic tasks. Shinobu brought Kanae's attention to Kanao's inability to act on her own volition and the latter gave her a coin to flip whenever she needed to make a choice. This brought some normalcy to Kanao's life and paved the way for her psychological healing.

Kanao became a demon slayer as she was not able to do nursing and housework in the Butterfly mansion. Her recovery is directly related to her evolution as a member of the Demon Slayer Corps. Sometime after getting adopted by the Kocho sisters, Kanao became Shinobu's Tsuguko. She observed Kanae closely and somehow remarkably managed to learn Flower Breathing without formal training from either one of her adoptive sisters. This achievement was a testament to her intelligence and illustrated that she was extremely smart in spite of the emotional stunting she was struggling with.

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Tsuyuri's indecisive and quiet nature did not prevent her from training relentlessly and becoming a skilled swordswoman. Because of her hard work, she managed to gain incredible strength that frequently surprised her adversaries. Kanao relies on a pink-colored standard Nichirin Katana in combat and is strong enough to swing it consistently at high speeds. Her short stature frequently fools her foes into underestimating her power, which acts as an advantage during fights.

Apart from surprising strength, Kanao also possesses the supernatural ability of enhanced vision that comes in handy in combat. She can look at the muscles and joint movements of her adversaries to accurately predict when her opponent is going to attack next. Her extremely sharp eyesight allows her to effectively manoeuvre attacks and unleash an unexpected counterattack to surprise her enemies. When enhanced with Flower Breathing, her supernatural vision becomes even more efficient giving Tsuyuri a scary advantage in combat.

As mentioned earlier, Kanao's past shaped her personality to the point that it hindered her progress. But after she arrived in the Butterfly Mansion, she slowly healed and became more aware of her free will. Interestingly, she took the Final Selection without anyone's permission, which demonstrates that she was becoming conscious of her ability to make decisions on her own. Tanjiro later convinced her to live life following her heart overcoming her over-dependence on the coin. Their discussion had a fruitful impact on Kanao's life as it eventually pushed her to overcome the emotional stunting and indecisiveness.

Kanao's life experiences slowly made her develop a deep hatred for demons. This hatred then evolved into an indomitable spirit that helped her continue fighting despite sustaining nearly fatal injuries. The most dramatic demonstration of this was during the battle with Doma and Muzan. Tsuyuri not only fought against the two most powerful beings in existence one after another but also contributed to their defeat.

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In addition to remarkable strength, supernatural vision, and indomitable spirit, Kanao also relies on immense speed and reflexes. During the Rehabilitation Training, she works with Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Zenitsu helping the trio improve their instincts. Initially, there is such an immense mismatch in their reflexes and speed that Tanjiro and his friends feel overwhelmed. Although they eventually catch up to her through rigorous training, Tsuyuri goes on to improve dramatically as well by getting even more precise and flawless in her attacks. The credit for her speed and reflexes primarily goes to the mastery of the Total Concentration Breathing technique.

Kanao's Incredible Swordsmanship Talent

Shinobu's Tsuguko is One of the Best Combatants in the Demon Slayer Corps

Kanao Tsuyuri is not only physically strong but is also a seriously talented swordswoman. As mentioned earlier, she managed to learn Flower Breathing merely by observing Kanae Kocho and went on to become one of its most accomplished users. It appears that Kanao is naturally gifted and extremely intelligent as mastering a breathing style without any formal instruction is a rare feat. Her talent is so unique that she is even praised by the Upper-Rank Two Doma when they have a confrontation. He even went as far as claiming that Kanao is more talented than Shinobu.

Now, Flower Breathing is derived from Water Breathing which in turn is one of the five main derivations of Sun Breathing. Out of the seven techniques of the Flower Breathing, five are currently known and Kanao has mastered all of them. When she confronts Doma and is overcome by the desire for vengeance and hatred, she unleashes a plethora of attacks. One of them is Second Form: Honorable Shadow Plum (also known as Plum Spirit) which is used primarily for defensive purposes and requires users to unleash rotating sword slashes.

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In the Fourth Form: Crimson Hanagoromo, a demon slayer targets their adversary with a graceful single sword slash. Kanao uses it as a desperate measure to save Shinobu who is being absorbed alive by Doma. Fifth Form: Peonies of Futility is used to hurt the enemy with a series of nine consecutive attacks while in Sixth Form: Whirling Peach the user primarily unleashes a single attack by rapidly spinning their body weight.

Final Form: Equinoctial Vermilion Eye is probably the most powerful but dangerous technique of Flower Breathing. It maximises the user's kinetic vision allowing them to see their enemies moving in slow motion. Unfortunately, this also comes with the added risk that the user's blood vessels in the eyes can rupture at any moment.

Kanao uses all of these techniques quite efficiently when she confronts Doma and Muzan. While her physical prowess coupled with swordsmanship mastery does play a huge role in her success as a demon slayer, what truly sets her apart is her brave action in dangerous circumstances when she puts her own life on the line for the greater good.

Demon Slayer

Action

Adventure

Release Date

April 6, 2019

Studio

ufotable

Creator

Koyoharu Gotoge

Streaming Service(s)

Crunchyroll , Hulu , Netflix