In the eponymous manga and anime, Demon Slayers are tasked with the responsibility of fighting against dangerous demons. While most of them have received extensive physical training and are quite strong, these traits do not matter when they are confronted by their ruthless adversaries. In order to fight on the same ground as demons, the demon slayers have utilized Total Concentration Breathing to develop a plethora of breathing styles.
Sun Breathing is the first swordsmanship style, and was created by Yoriichi Tsugikuni during the Sengoku era. All other breathing styles are technically derivations of Yoriichi's fighting style. Over the centuries, demon slayers have evolved several breathing styles that suit their upbringings, innate talents, and unique combat needs.
Demon Slayer: The History of the Hashira, Explained
The Hashira are the foremost defense against the threat of the Demons. So, how exactly did they get their start in the world of Demon Slayer?
5 Serpent Breathing
Created by Serpent Hashira Obanai Iguro
Serpent Breathing is an offshoot of Water Breathing, and was created by the Serpent Hashira Obanai Iguro himself. The swordsmanship style is inspired by snakes, and incorporates their natural slithering motions and unnoticeable fast attacks. Iguro uses the Twisted Nichirin Katana, which looks like the traditional Indonesian Kris Sword. It is designed in a manner that makes the five forms of Serpent Breathing extremely lethal.
Serpent Breathing is an unpredictable fighting style that strikes the enemy at counterintuitive angles, making it extremely difficult to defend against. A skilled user can even take down multiple targets with one attack. Overall, Serpent Breathing is an efficient swordsmanship style that has its strengths. But since it only has five forms, the attacks can become predictable for a strong enemy with a mind for strategy. Unfortunately, when pitted against other breathing styles, Serpent Hashira is underwhelming and underpowered.
4 Beast Breathing
Used only by Inosuke Hashibira
After tragic circumstances led to his abandonment, Inosuke Hashibira grew up around wild boars in the mountains. The unique circumstances led to the development of heightened instincts, enhanced flexibility, and inhuman strength. This environment eventually pushed him to develop Beast Breathing, which was inspired by the unpredictable and vicious nature of wild animals he was raised alongside.
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Inosuke wields dual Nichirin katanas to effectively utilize eleven forms of the swordsmanship style. Most of the attacks are animalistic and unpredictable, and can unleash significant damage. Although Beast Breathing offers the user a wide range of offensive moves to choose from, its weakness lies in how new it is. It simply hasn't had as much time to evolve as other swordsmanship styles, and is not as refined.
3 Love Breathing
Created by Love Hashira Mitsuri Kanroji
Mitsuri Kanroji was born with extraordinary muscle density, providing her with superhuman power. She could take down even the most well-trained arm-wrestlers with relative ease. She is also surprisingly flexible for someone so strong, which gives her a unique advantage as a demon slayer. While training under her mentor, the Flame Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku, she used her understanding of his swordsmanship style to develop Love Breathing, which beautifully utilizes her strength and flexibility.
Love Breathing has five known techniques that provide the user with a combination of mid-to-long-range attacks using a whip-like katana. Although the swordsmanship style is unique, it is not as efficient compared to other fighting techniques used by the Hashiras. In the Swordsmith Village arc, while Mist Hashira single-handedly kills Gyokko, Kanroji struggles to even restrain Zohakuten. Her techniques do not necessarily fail in the battle, but they also do not give her a resounding victory. This speaks volumes about the underwhelming nature of Love Breathing.
2 Flower Breathing
Used by Kanae Kocho and Her Sisters
Derived from Water Breathing, Flower Breathing was presumably created sometime after the Sengoku era. The swordsmanship style primarily relies on the user's agility to execute graceful attacks that could overwhelm even the strongest enemies. It has five known techniques that give the demon slayer a range of aggressive offensive moves to choose from. Flower Breathing also enhances the user's vision by helping them see things in slow motion. Although Final Form: Equinoctial Vermilion Eye does bestow critical combat advantage, it is also dangerous, as it can also cause the rupturing of the blood vessels in the eyes. In the worst cases, the user can suffer complete blindness.
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Flower Breathing is undoubtedly a good swordsmanship style with its own set of strengths. However, some of its techniques are underpowered, and do not cause significant damage. The added risk of complete or partial blindness while using the final form makes Flower Breathing a less efficient combat technique when compared to others.
1 Insect Breathing
Created by Insect Hashira Shinobu Kocho
As the name suggests, Insect Breathing emulates insects' movements and stings to give the user a unique set of offensive strikes to kill a demon. The swordsmanship technique was developed by the Insect Hashira and is derived directly from Flower Breathing. Since the Insect Hashira Shinobu lacks the physical power to decapitate a demon, this fighting style makes her more effective, leveraging her swordsmanship talent to poison the adversary after perforating their body with cuts.
Since Insect Breathing utilises lethal wisteria-based poisons, Shinobu has designed her blade sheath as a portable poison mixer to help her outsmart her enemies. But the swordsmanship style has just four techniques, and since it was created in the present era, it has not undergone extensive refinement like other breathing styles. Furthermore, the lack of raw strength makes Insect Breathing users vulnerable against strong demons. In some circumstances, it can be dangerously unreliable.
Demon Slayer
- Release Date
- April 6, 2019
- Studio
- ufotable
- Creator
- Koyoharu Gotoge
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll , Hulu , Netflix
