Within Demon Slayer’s cast of colorful characters, fans get to meet many eccentric personalities. One of the hardest to ignore is Zenitsu Agatsuma, who despite his negative reputation, has actually grown a lot as a character.
Zenitsu is well known by Demon Slayer fans for his unpleasant personality. In his first meeting with Zenitsu, even the usually polite Tanjiro couldn’t help but scowl in disgust at the boy’s antics. His defining traits of cowardice and womanizing have been core parts of his identity ever since, despite his more likable traits. Some fans would even consider him the most annoying character in the series. As the best characters do though, Zenitsu has grown since his initial appearance. It’s just a matter of asking in what ways he’s done so.
How He's Changed
The most obvious difference in Zenitsu’s character is his relationship with his friends, Tanjiro and Inosuke. Originally, he was only around them due to his own fear of loneliness, and even then he often expressed disdain for Inosuke, especially. By the start of season 2 though, the 3 of them had grown quite close, with Zenitsu even stealing food to give to Tanjiro to help him recover. Their coordination has also improved dramatically. Gone are the days of them acting as 3 uncooperative swordsmen. As their fight with Daki showed, they are now capable of acting as a polished unit.
Something else you may have noticed about him is the gradual decline in his self consciousness. Back in season 1, he was so easily convinced of his own worthlessness, that he believed a random child was stronger than him and refused to leave the boy’s side.
After surviving the encounter with the spider demons and the subsequent recovery and training, he’s now become much more assertive. In season 2, he chooses to directly confront both Uzui, a Hashira, and Daki, a high ranking demon. He also openly speaks his mind about people to their faces, even if he gets reprimanded for it.
His womanizing itself has also taken on a different form. While he was originally dedicated to finding a wife to take care of him, his newly supportive environment has managed to mellow him out to the point where his main concern with women is defending them, as opposed to flirting with them. Both his confrontations with Uzui and Daki were due to their mistreatment of young girls, with Zenitsu even forcefully grabbing Daki’s hand to stop her from harming a girl he had only just met.
How He's Stayed The Same
Sadly, his newfound confidence has not extended to his combat abilities. While he does have formal training in thunder breathing and at least as much skill as Tanjiro and Inosuke, it seems like he still struggles to put that training into action. While it wasn’t out of fear, he still fell asleep at the start of season 2’s climactic battle and continued to sleep the entire fight, only waking up at the end to cry for Tanjiro’s help as fans hadn’t seen him do since season 1.
His persistent narcolepsy isn’t the only personality trait he hasn’t let go of. Despite his fearful, self-conscious personality, he always had quite the temper. Some might remember that his first meeting with Nezuko ended in him attacking Tanjiro in a rage, thinking that she was Tanjiro’s secret girlfriend. In season 2, this temper is on full display in his exchanges with Uzui. Zenitsu finds himself enraged by everything Uzui does, from his plan to disguise and sell them as girls, to the revelations that he is not only extremely attractive but also has 3 wives.
It’s fortunate then, that his good traits haven’t left him either. While his screaming fits are what he’s best known for, fans should remember that even in season 1, he was kind enough to share food with Tanjiro, as well as protect Nezuko’s box from Inosuke’s attempts to attack it. Under the bluster, Zenitsu has always been a kind-hearted boy, and thankfully he has continued to be so.
What to Expect Going Forward
Taking a look at the trajectory of Zenitsu’s growth, it seems like his changes and consistencies might lead to a much more impressive character. While his short temper and love of women are unlikely to change, neither is his core desire to help his friends and those in need. More excitingly though, is his growth as a fighter. In only 1 season, he’s managed to do away with much of his aversion for conflict.
As he continues to train with Tanjiro and Inosuke, it’s likely that fans will soon see him fighting near the power of a Hashira, finally making his adoptive grandfather’s wishes come true. The day might even soon come that he will be able to go an entire fight with his eyes open.