Tomioka Giyu
He doesn't want to like you. (demon user)
Giyu is a fairly tall young man of a lean muscular stature and pale complexion, who is almost always seen wearing a serious and emotionless expression. He has unruly black hair of uneven lengths that sticks up in tufts around his head, which he wears tied back in a low messy ponytail at the base of his neck. His bangs fall over his eyes in an uneven fringe. His eyes are sharp and moderately large, their irises a deep sapphire that fades to a lighter blue and their pupils a bluish-black, and are framed by thin eyebrows.
Giyu wears a dark cyan-tinted version of the standard Demon Slayer uniform with buttoned white leg-wrapped kyahan and a pair of white zōri with dark blue straps and tabi socks underneath being the same cyan color as his uniform. Over this, Giyu wears a haori that's split down the middle into two different patterns: the right one a solid dark red, and the left one geometrically patterned with rhombi of green, orange, and yellow. These haori were later noted to have belonged to his late older sister, Tsutako Tomioka, and his deceased friend Sabito.
Giyu always wears a stoic and unbothered expression on his face. However, he has a reserved personality and a very strong sense of justice with no tolerance towards those who don't know their own limitations and throw away their lives.[9] Despite letting Nezuko Kamado live due to Tanjiro Kamado's persistence, he shows zero hesitation when killing other demons and has no respect or mercy towards them like most Demon Slayers.[10] Even so, Giyu violated the Demon Slayer Corps' code of conduct without hesitation to protect Nezuko during Shinobu's attempt to kill her. This implies that he doesn't completely despise demons as some other Hashira do, and is willing to make an exception for a demon by letting them live if they don't kill and eat humans. This shows that he is more pragmatic in dealing with demons rather letting his hatred cloud his judgement.
Giyu appears to have a complex with what others think of him and is shocked when Shinobu Kocho claims he is hated by many.[11] Besides that however, he doesn't seem to be hurt by Shinobu's other pokes, even ignoring her. Despite that, they are in fact friends with a good amount of history together. He is a man of very few words and has trouble interacting with others, so he usually keeps himself at a distance. He even goes out of his way to tell Akaza that he hates talking, and wants to keep his name to himself, as he thinks names are not meant to be shared, especially to demons.
Beneath his seemingly unemotional and aloof attitude, Giyu suffers from an inferiority complex which he developed since his participation in Final Selection. It gets severe to the point where he contemplates abandoning his position as the Water Hashira until Tanjiro helps him realize that instead of acting on his survivor's guilt, he should cherish his life and live on for the people who sacrificed their lives for him.[13] This feeling of survivor's guilt strikes again when he believes Tanjiro has died after the fight against Muzan. Giyu, while he sheds tears, admits how he is always the one who is saved.
Despite his stoic nature, Giyu is shown to be protective and caring towards those he is close to and considers his friends. This is first shown when he puts his life on the line for Tanjiro and Nezuko by vowing to commit seppuku if the latter were ever to eat a human.[14] Giyu has been shown to lose his composure and usual stoic demeanor when those he cares about are in danger, as seen when he is greatly angered by Akaza's attempt to kill Tanjiro and visibly shocked when he hears the news of Shinobu's death. This is further shown in the fact that he still wears half of Sabito, his late best friend's, and his older sister's haori as a memento of them. However, Giyu appears to be particular in who he shows emotions for, as he doesn't appear to react at all when informed of the passing of Genya Shinazugawa and Muichiro Tokito.
However, Giyu will not let his personal relationships get in the way of his duty. When Tanjiro begins his assault as a demon, Giyu is the first to announce that they need to take him down, despite his brotherly-type relationship with Tanjiro. Following the death of Muzan Kibutsuji and the eradication of demons for good, it is clear that Giyu has been able to embrace his happier side, shown by his smiles towards the Kamado siblings and even Sanemi, which shows how much their combative relationship has slowly developed into one of mutual respect.
Abilities
Overall Abilities: As a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Giyu is a very powerful and skilled combatant. From the beginning, Giyu showed how much he outclassed Tanjiro and his friends, being able to effortlessly capture Nezuko from him and later knocked him unconscious in a single blow. Later, he was able to easily defeat Father in his transformed state and Rui, Lower Rank Five,[18] something Tanjiro and Inosuke respectively failed to accomplish. He also fought equally against fellow Hashira Sanemi Shinazugawa in a sparring match. Giyu was also shown easily beating dozens of demons equal to that of the Lower Ranks of the Twelve Kizuki. On top of his incredible skills as a Demon Slayer, Giyu is also a very capable teammate, able to grasp their intentions and work in tandem with it.
During his fight against Upper Rank Three Akaza, he was able to hold on his own for some time and similarly with Kyojuro, Akaza is amazed by Giyu's skills to the point that he offers to transform the Hashira into demon, something Akaza only asks of the most worthy of his opponents. When he first awakened his mark, Giyu was able to momentarily overpower the Upper Rank demon as well, repeatedly cutting his arms, slicing his body and even cutting his neck. Akaza even states that he has not fought a Water Hashira as skilled as Giyu in fifty years. When he encountered the Demon King Muzan Kibutsuji, Giyu was able to hold him off for a considerable amount of time along with Tanjiro and later played a pivotal role in his defeat. Moreover, after Tanjiro became a demon, Giyu was the first to act and fend him off, defending Zenitsu and a Kakushi while fighting evenly with him, long enough for him to be turned back to a human.
Demon Slayer Mark: During his battle against Akaza, Giyu awakens his Demon Slayer Mark, appearing as a fluid-water like design on his left cheek, complementing his Breathing Style, Water Breathing. When activated, he gains a tremendous increase in speed, precision, and endurance to the point where he could engage in a long battle against the Upper Rank.
Bright Red Nichirin Sword: During the fight against Muzan, Sanemi forcefully clashes his sword together with Giyu's turning both of their blades temporarily red, which grants them the ability to hamper the enhanced regeneration of the Demon King, making their attacks much more effective and deadly.
Immense Speed & Reflexes: Giyu possesses inhuman speed and reflexes, as shown when he took Nezuko away from Tanjiro's grasps at blinding speeds, which took him several seconds to register. Later, he was able to hoist and tie Inosuke up to a tree before he even realized what happened, causing him to remark that he's extremely fast. Giyu also easily caught up to Shinobu when she was pursuing Tanjiro. In his battle with Lower Five, Giyu could cut all of Rui's threads so fast that it seemed like he didn't move his arms at all, and was later able to nonchalantly decapitate the demon in the moment he had blinked. He was also able to keep up with Upper Rank Three, Akaza, who is one of the fastest demons in existence and when he awakened his mark, Giyu managed to surprise him several times and appeared to "teleport" even to Akaza. Giyu also managed to evade many of Muzan's attacks and negate them with his form Dead Calm.
Immense Stamina & Endurance: Due to extremely harsh training, Giyu has attained incredible stamina and endurance. In his battle against Akaza, he managed to continue fighting even after sustaining dozens of injuries all over his body, severely weakening him, a feat which pleasantly surprised Akaza. During the final clash with the Demon King, Giyu managed to hold off Muzan despite initially being inflicted with his poisonous blood, and later still played a pivotal role in his defeat after his arm was cut off by helping Tanjiro turn his blade bright red. Even after the entire ordeal, when Tanjiro was transformed into a demon, Giyu still had enough energy left to fight him off for a brief period of time. Giyu was also one of only two Hashira to survive the final battle in the end.
Immense Strength: As a Hashira, Giyu has honed his physical strength to beyond what is conceivable for human. Even since the first encounter with Tanjiro and Nezuko, he has displayed impressive feats of strength, such as swinging his blade with so much force that he caused an enormous gust of wind that knocked both Tanjiro and Nezuko back a far distance, holding down a berserk Nezuko with one hand effortlessly, and later knocking her unconscious in one strike to the neck. In his spin-off story, he could break extremely strong ropes tied around his wrists with ease while nonchalantly talking to Shinobu Kocho.
In his battle with Rui, he could nonchalantly slice through the demon's threads no matter what attack he used, and later able to cut through the Lower Rank's neck with ease, something even Tanjiro could not accomplish. During his battle in the Infinity Castle, Giyu was able to cut Akaza's body and limbs during a multitude of occasions, despite the fact that Akaza possesses one of the highest levels of durability among all demons. He could also turn his Nichirin Sword bright red through sheer force with the assistance of Sanemi, a feat which requires an absurd amount of grip strength to accomplish.
Indomitable Will: Giyu possesses an undaunted will and indomitable will, never giving up despite suffering numerous injuries against Akaza, one of the strongest demons in existence and later on the Demon King, Muzan. Even when losing his arm, he still remained steadfast and managed to play an important role in defeating Muzan. When Tanjiro was turned into a demon, Giyu was the first to act in order to protect the survivors, and even when it seemed that Tanjiro was unable to be killed by any means, he was not phased and continued to fight.
Fighting Style
Master Swordsman: Being a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Giyu is one of the most powerful and skilled swordsman in the entire organization. Upper Rank Three, Akaza, who has fought countless swordsman in the past, was impressed with Giyu's skill, stating that he possesses finely developed swordsmanship.
Breathing Style
Water Breathing (水みずの呼こ吸きゅう Mizu no kokyū?): A Breathing Style taught to him by the Water Hashira before him, Sakonji Urokodaki. As the Water Hashira, Giyu is his generation's most skilled Water Breathing user. Giyu has completely mastered this swordsmanship style, to the point that he created an entirely new technique within the Breathing Style and impressed Akaza who had fought Water Hashira in the past.
Techniques
First Form: Water Surface Slash (壱いちノ型かた 水みな面も斬ぎり Ichi no kata: Minamo Giri?)- The user generates enough momentum to create a powerful single concentrated slash.
Second Form: Water Wheel (弐にノ型かた 水みず車ぐるま Ni no kata: Mizu Guruma?)- The user leaps and vertically spins forward in the air while releasing a flowing attack in a circular motion.
Third Form: Flowing Dance (参さんノ型かた 流りゅう流りゅう舞まい San no kata: Ryūryū Mai?)- The user swings and bends their blade in a winding motion along with their body and dances in a flowing pattern, slicing everything in its path.
Fourth Form: Striking Tide (肆しノ型かた 打うち潮しお Shi no kata: Uchishio?)- The user makes multiple consecutive slashes while twisting their body and sword in a flowing fashion to deliver multiple blows simultaneously.
Fifth Form: Blessed Rain After the Drought (伍ごノ型かた 干かん天てんの慈じ雨う Go no kata: Kanten no Jiu?)- The user changes the grip on their sword and decapitates the opponent in a single flowing strike that causes little to no pain. It is a “sword strike of kindness” used when the enemy willingly surrenders.
Sixth Form: Whirlpool (陸ろくノ型かた ねじれ渦うず Roku no kata: Nejire Uzu?)- The user fiercely twists their upper and lower body, creating a whirlpool of air that cuts anything caught in it. Its effect and efficiently is enhanced underwater, where the user can draw water around their weapon to enhance their slashes.
Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust (漆しちノ型かた 雫しずく波は紋もん突づき Shichi no kata: Shizuku Hamon Tsuki?)- The user performs a fast and accurate stab, capable of reducing the impact of a moving target.
Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin (捌はちノ型かた 滝たき壼つぼ Hachi no kata: Takitsubo?)- The user cuts the target vertically in a flowing motion which is most effective when they are falling downward.
Ninth Form: Splashing Water Flow (玖くノ型かた 水すい流りゅう飛沫しぶき Ku no kata: Suiryū Shibuki?)- The user changes their footwork in a way that minimizes the landing time and surface needed when landing, allowing the user to move without limits. Ideal when fighting in a place with no solid foothold.
Tenth Form: Constant Flux (拾じゅうノ型かた 生せい生せい流る転てん Jū no kata: Seisei Ruten?)- The user performs a continuous flowing attack which seemingly takes the form of a water dragon that increases in strength and power with each rotation due to momentum.
Eleventh Form: Dead Calm (拾じゅう壱いちノ型かた 凪なぎ Jū Ichi no kata: Nagi?)- A form of his own personal creation, the user ceases all body movements and enters a state of complete tranquility, deflecting, blocking and cutting any incoming attacks with imperceptible speed with his blade. However, its effectiveness is limited as fast and numerous attacks can break through.
Equipment
Standard Nichirin Katana: Giyu carries around a standard sized and shaped Nichirin katana with a black blade that has a deep blue outline. His katana's handguard is hexagonal shaped with a bronze core and with an overlapping red fuschia border. As a Hashira, Giyu's blade has the words Destroyer of Demons (惡あっ鬼き滅めっ殺さつ Akki Messatsu?) engraved on the side. Along with his katana, Giyu has a standard sword sheath that is deep black in color.
During his battle against Akaza, Giyu's katana is broken by the Upper Rank. Subsequently, during the final battle against Muzan, he loses his katana and is thrown another by Sanemi Shinazugawa which supposedly belonged to a deceased Water Breathing Demon Slayer that had a deep blue blade and a bronze-coloured handguard which resembled a whirlpool in appearance.
Giyu grew up alongside his older sister, Tsutako Tomioka. When he was still a child, his sister sacrificed herself to protect him from the Demons.
After the death of Tsutako, Giyu tried to tell others that she was killed by a Demon, however, he was labeled as mentally ill and was sent away to one of his relatives, a doctor. Giyu ran away during the journey there and almost died on a mountain, but he was rescued and became apprenticed under Sakonji Urokodaki.
Giyu was 13 years old when he met Sabito while training under Sakonji, and they became good friends due to their similar pasts and age. Together, they entered the Final Selection on Mount Fujikasane. Giyu was injured after a Demon's attack and was saved by Sabito, who defeated nearly every Demon on the mountain. However, after the week went by, it was revealed to Giyu that Sabito was the only one who died during their selection. As a result of this, Giyu started developing a doubt for the authenticity of his position after becoming the Water Hashira.
