These Demon Slayer Characters Endured The Hardest Training in Modern Anime (2024)

It's a classic shonen anime narrative for the protagonist to put in some serious effort to get stronger and wiser as a person. This leads to countless training arcs, and sometimes, the heroes even learn something new on the fly while fighting a serious battle. Such is the case for a variety of Demon Slayer characters, all of them 100% human.

In this anime world, there is a stark divide between humanity and demonkind. Demons are those who cheated to gain power, using their supernatural strength and blood demon arts to defeat their enemies and live forever, while human demon slayers have no choice but to train hard to become worthy fighters. And even among the humans, there is some variance, since some members of the nine Hashira evidently had an easy time becoming elite warriors, while other Demon Slayer Corps members had to train long and hard to get ahead. In fact, that's the central focus of a few character arcs, because for some characters, relying on talent is never an option.

10 Tanjiro Kamado Trained Until His Hands Were Raw

Debut Episode: "Cruelty"

Unsurprisingly, the shonen lead himself, Tanjiro Kamado, is the very embodiment of getting ahead thanks to hard work and perseverance. Until age 13, Tanjiro had probably never even seen a sword, and after Muzan slaughtered his family, Tanjiro knew that becoming a demon slayer was his destiny. Thus, he left his home forever and started training once he met Sakonji Urokodaki.

In a two-year montage, Tanjiro trained until he was worn down to a nub, his hands chafed from the strain of wielding practice swords for so long. That was how he sliced a boulder and passed final selection, and after that, he still kept up the training with mentors ranging from Hashira to the Yoriichi Type Zero training doll.

9 Inosuke Is a Self-Taught Swordsman With a Killer Instinct

Debut Episode: "Tsuzumi Mansion"

Not much was seen of Inosuke Hashibira's upbringing, but Demon Slayer fans do know that Inosuke grew up alone in the wild. With sheer exposure and training, he learned to attune to his instincts on an incredible level, and he even taught himself swordsmanship, inventing Beast Breathing in the process.

Inosuke didn't need any master or mentor to become worthy, though he was still smart enough and humble enough to undergo more training when it was offered. He gladly took part in the Hashira training story arc to keep boosting his skills, though he hit a wall with Gyomei's training until Tanjiro set a good example with his Repetitive Action to move that boulder.

8 Zenitsu Agatsuma Didn't Enjoy Training, But it Paid Off

Debut Episode: "Final Selection"

Demon Slayer fans only saw snippets of Zenitsu's prior training, but fans still got the point. Zenitsu knew what he was doing, but didn't have any over-the-top talent, so he had to train long and hard to get a firm grip on Thunder Breathing. His main problem wasn't his strength, but his fear in battle, something he had to overcome on his own.

Zenitsu's training finally paid off when he started going to sleep in battle to use Thunder Breathing, and he pushed himself to use it in ever-greater ways. He had only himself to thank when he used an astonishing zig-zag pattern to fight Daki, something he no doubt practiced hard to do, and he did his best in the Hashira training, despite his typical complaining and worrying.

7 Gyomei Himejima Pushed Himself to Become the #1 Hashira

Debut Episode: "Against Corps Rules"

Some of the Hashira are implied to have immense talent, such as Muichiro Tokito and Kyojuro Rengoku, so it seems they didn't have to train that hard to become the Corps' best fighters. Becoming the best of the best seemed to come easy to them, but that's not true for all Hashira. Such seems to be the case for Gyomei Himejima the Stone Hashira, for example.

Based on the training Gyomei made his students do, it seems he spent a long time pushing his body to become stronger and more reslient, tough as the stones that he emulates. It must have taken some grueling work to become the kind of swordsman who can peacefully pray under a thundering waterfall and push boulders with such ease.

6 Sabito Trained Well Under Sakonji Urokodaki

Debut Episode: "Sabito and Makomo"

Not much was seen of Sabito's training, but in that flashback sequence he shared with Giyu, it was clear that Sabito was a fine student. He was evidently Sakonji's best student at the time, though fans wouldn't quite call him a prodigy, nor did his training neceessarily come easy to him. The same seemed true for his fellow student, Makomo.

Sabito knew how tough it was to train until a swordsman could slice that boulder, which was why Sabito was the right person to coach and motivate Tanjiro Kamado to do just that. By then, Sabito and Makomo were already dead, but their spirits lingered to nudge Tanjiro a little further in his own grueling training regimen.

5 Kanao Tsuyuri Embraced the Ways of Flower Breathing

Debut Episode: "Final Selection"

Fans didn't see a whole lot of Kanao Tsuyur's training, but they can still infer that while Kanao is a capable fighter, she was not a prodigy, so she neede good old-fashioned effort and discipline to become a worthy member of the Demon Slayer Corps. In particular, Kanao trained to use Flower Breathing, the same style that Kanae Kocho once used.

Kanao's years of training and hard work paid off, making her skilled enough to train Tanjiro's own trio of heroes at the Butterfly Estate and take their own techniques to the next level. However, fans haven't yet seen Kanao wield the fruits of her training in a serious battle against demons, so that may have to wait for the final trio of Demon Slayer movies.

4 Giyu Tomioka Trained Alongside Sabito to Master Water Breathing

Debut Episode: "Cruelty"

In some ways, Giyu Tomioka deconstructed the awe and glamor that surrounds the nine Hashira. Though he holds this elite rank, Giyu wasn't a true prodigy of the blade, as opposed to Muichiro, who obtained that rank in an incredibly short time. Most likely, Giyu had to work the hardest out of the nine Hashira to become a fighter of that level.

Giyu trained hard under Sakonji to master the ways of Water Breathing, and since he borderline cheated to enter the Corps, Giyu made sure to keep training thoroughly to enhance his skills and prove his worth. It was personal for Giyu, since he was struggling with both survivor's guilt and imposter syndrome, to the point he still doesn't feel worthy of the title of Hashira, no matter his hard work.

3 Genya Shinazugawa Went Plus Ultra to Prove Himself as a Demon Slayer

Debut Episode: "Final Selection"

Genya Shinazugawa soon became the very embodiment of hard working making up for a lack of raw talent, even more so than Tanjiro himself. Other demon slayers all relied on particular breathing techniques, but for whatever reason, Genya proved incapable of using a single breathing style, so he turned to Gyomei Himejima for help.

Through sheer effort, Genya mastered the ways of Repetitive Action, which boosted his power and even granted him a half-other fighting style. That helped him stand a chance against the likes of Hantengu, but despite that progress, his big brother Sanemi was still not impressed. That, or Sanemi worried that Genya would get himself killed one day, thus Sanemi's constant pressure for Genya to quit the Corps entirely.

2 Murata is a Fine Example of Hard Work For Ordinary Demon Slayers

Debut Episode: "Mount Natagumo"

Demon Slayer fans might say that Murata is a stock character who is simply there to make the main characters look good by comparison. Murata is pretty ordinary overall, from his appearance and personality to his fighting style, and he hasn't accomplished much of note. In fact, he's lucky to have survived up to this point.

Then again, perhaps Murata deserves a bit more credit than to say he lucked his way through everything. Plot armor may have played a role, but there's also little doubt that his own rigorous training and sheer grit played a role as well. For example, fans saw Murata hard at work in the Hashira training arc, though like Zenitsu, he felt overwhelmed by it all.

1 Shinobu Kocho Invented Her Own Breathing Style and Developed Potent Poisons

Debut Episode: "Mount Natagumo"

Shinobu Kocho and Genya both had unique deficiencies as demon slayers, so they each turned to resourceful solutions. While Genya used Repetitive Action and a shotgun to fight in place of a breathing style, Shinobu invented Insect Breathing because she was physically too weak to chop off demon heads.

Shinobu must have trained exhaustively to invent and master her own breathing style, and there's still more. Shinobu's fighting style revolves around powerful anti-demon poisons, which she invented herself to use in battle on her sword's tip. That's a distinct way for Shinobu to push herself and overcome the odds as one of the tiniest demon slayers of all.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

TV-MA

Animation

Action

Adventure

Release Date

January 22, 2021

Cast

Natsuki Hanae , Zach Aguilar , Abby Trott , Akari Kitō , Yosh*tsugu Matsuoka

Main Genre

Animation

Seasons

4