Inosuke Hashibira
Kanji
嘴平 伊之助
Rōmaji
Hashibira Inosuke
Characteristics
Race
Human
Gender
Male
Age
15
Affiliation
Affiliation
Demon Slayer Corps
Occupation
Demon Slayer
Combat Style
Beast Breathing
Debuts
Anime Debut
Episode 11
Manga Debut
Chapter 21
Portrayal
Japanese VA
Yoshitsugu Matsuoka
English VA
Bryce Papenbrook
"Don't cry even if you have regrets! No matter how pathetic or humiliated you feel, you still have to go on living!"
-Inosuke Hashibira to Tanjiro Kamado and Zenitsu Agatsuma in Kimetsu no Yaiba: The Movie - Mugen Train
Inosuke Hashibira (嘴平 伊之助Hashibira Inosuke)is one of the main protagonists of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba and along with Zenitsu Agatsuma, a traveling companion of Tanjiro Kamado and Nezuko Kamado. He is also a Demon Slayer in the Demon Slayer Corps.
Appearance
Inosuke is a young man of average height and pale complexion with an extremely toned and muscular build for his age, possessing large, defined muscles most notably over his stomach and arms. In sharp contrast to this, he has an incredibly pretty and feminine face,[3] with large, wide eyes that are framed by an array of long eyelashes, their irises a dark to soft pale green, thin eyebrows and what could be a small, well-mannered mouth. His thick, black hair reaches just past his shoulders, fading into blue at the tips and forming an unruly and uneven fringe that falls just above his eyes, puffing out before curving and thinning towards his forehead.
Inosuke wears his altered version of the standard Demon Slayer uniform, which consists only of the baggy hakama pants, his tinted a dark gray-blue, which he fastens around his hips with a thick belt of fluffy brown deer fur. Unlike his travelling companions, Inosuke does not wear a haori. The usual cloth leg-wraps are replaced with what appears to be knee-high socks of bear hide which expose his heels and toes, which also appear to be what fastens the sandal-bases he wears on his feet. His most defining feature is the gray, hollowed-out boar's head he wears as to mask his own, the eyes of which he has tampered with to allow himself vision while wearing it,[5] which has been revealed to have belonged to his late adoptive boar mother.
Personality
Inosuke is an extremely short-tempered and proud young man who always likes to think he is the strongest fighter in a situation, constantly challenging most people he comes across and wanting others to respect and praise him for his skill. This often leads him into unnecessary danger, since he tends to overestimate his abilities in comparison to who he's fighting and refuses to accept when he's been defeated, which can be seen when Giyu Tomioka has to tie him up after his fight with the Father Spider Demon to prevent him challenging the Hashira to a fight while still severely injured from his previous battle. This constant wanting to be the best can also cause Inosuke to be very provocative, as he often tries to goad others, most prominently Tanjiro Kamado, into fighting him, although in the case of the latter he usually fails due to Tanjiro's obliviously kind nature.
Inosuke possesses a rather vengeful side to his personality, especially when the people he cares about get harmed. He refused to help the injured train engineer who stabbed Tanjiro and was convinced he was right in letting him die, only helping him when Tanjiro begged Inosuke to do so and forgave the man. He immediately attacked Doma upon learning he killed and devoured Shinobu and he became truly angered when he found out Doma was also the one who orphaned him, challenging the Upper Moon by himself and declaring he would create hell for him. Most notably, he challenged Muzan directly and demanded he atone himself by dying for mutilating and nearly killing all the other Demon Slayers.
Due to him having been raised by boars, Inosuke has also been shown to possess little understanding of normal human interaction, at least at the time of his debut, as he seems to frequently assume that people who approach him want to attack him and doesn't appear to understand the kindness others show him. He can't read or write, and struggles to say peoples names right, saying Monchiro instead of Tanjiro, or Monitsu instead of Zenitsu. He can be very rude, without the intention, and treating everyone as an enemy at first.
However, as the story goes on, Inosuke is influenced more and more by Tanjiro's ways and becomes more accustomed to affection and generosity, learning to also acknowledge the strength of people besides himself and develop feelings of friendship towards him and Zenitsu Agatsuma, although he does still retain his proud nature and constant want for praise. He also begins to think more strategically when engaging in combat, using smarter tactics he has picked up from more experienced Demon Slayers and not just rushing into fights head-on without thinking. Inosuke's sense of camaraderie drastically improves, best evidenced when he lunged at Muzan Kibutsuji, while mourning the scores of Demon Slayers killed and maimed by the Demon King and demanding he returns everything he took from them, or else to die as retribution for his crimes.
Abilities
Overall Abilities: Inosuke is a very skilled and talented swordsman as he was able to learn Total Concentration Breathing on his own and develop his very own Breathing Style known as Beast Breathing based on his own instincts and upbringing in the mountains by wild boars and passed Final Selection to become a Demon Slayer all without formal training. Inosuke is more than capable of hunting and slaying demons on his own, as he easily killed the Horned Demon without any trouble. He has shown on multiple occasions to be able to hold his own and contribute in fights against Upper Rank demons of the Twelve Kizuki, including Upper Rank Six, Gyutaro and Daki as well as the much stronger Upper Rank Two, Doma. He is also incredibly gifted, possessing inhuman senses and superhuman flexibility, as well as natural aptitude in combat. Most impressively, Inosuke was able to fend off the Demon King, Muzan, along with his fellow comrades, boasting the same combat proficiency as even the Hashira, the strongest swordsman among all the Demon Slayers.
Animal Imitation: Due to growing up with boars in the mountains, Inosuke adopted their habits and started incorporating it into his fighting styles. As a result, both his hand-to-hand combat style and swordsmanship style are very reminiscent of animals and beasts. Tanjiro Kamado noted that his unnatural fighting style which resembles that of a "four legged beast" due to how his attacks come from an extremely low angle while also being very ferocious and utilizing other unorthodox movements, thus making him very unpredictable and vicious.
Enhanced Flexibility: Inosuke is extremely flexible to the point where he can bend backwards so far that his head reaches between his feet. He later displays the ability to dislocate his arm to extend his reach[ and dislocate any of the joints in his body at will. This flexibility additionally extends to his internal organs, as he was able to shift his heart and avoid it being pierced in the fight against Daki and Gyutaro.
Enhanced Strength: As suggested by his incredibly toned muscles and physique, Inosuke possesses superhuman physical strength, being able to dual wield two katanas as opposed to one, even swinging them at super speeds. He was able to slice up the parts of Enmu's body that had engulfed one of the train cabins. During the Hashira Training Arc, he even managed to move a boulder nearly twice his size with his bare hands. He was able to damage Doma's neck and throw his swords with such strength, the force on impact was enough to drive Kanao's sword through his neck.
Enhanced Touch: After growing up in the mountains, Inosuke developed a sharp and incredibly sensitive sense of touch. His skin can even feel the small vibrations in the air. Inosuke incorporated this ability into his Spatial Awareness technique, where he uses his acute sense of touch to locate all the demons spread out across a giant mountain and later used it to detect the location of the Spider Demon (Father). By using this ability, he can tell if anyone is looking at him, especially if they have any hostile intentions. He can even pinpoint the exact location they are looking at, which gives him an edge in combat. His sensitive skin also gave him an edge against Doma, as his sense of touch naturally steered him away from inhaling his dangerous ice powder.
Extrasensory Perception: Inosuke's senses are honed to such extremes that he possesses a form of extrasensory perception that allows him to detect things outside the normal range of perception. Inosuke can sense how serious his opponent's are, seen when we sensed that Daki's sash attacks were relaxing a little bit, which gave him an opening to attack and how strong Akaza and Kyojuro Rengoku were. He was also able to sense a person's malice and intent to kill even when they are outside his range of sight, which prevented him from getting killed by Gyutaro's scythe attack. Inosuke was also able to sense that Daki's obi had living people trapped inside it, which prevented him from accidentally harming them when fighting.
Immense Speed & Reflexes: Inosuke is an incredibly fast individual, as seen when he rushed through the Tsuzumi Mansion at super speeds and managed to evade the Horned Demon's attacks in the nick of time, displaying his honed reflexes and movement speed. A few months later, his speed and reflexes have further improved, to the point he could fend off Daki's sentient Obi sash while protecting the humans trapped inside them, and later managed to go toe-to-toe with the Upper Rank herself. With the help of Zenitsu and Tanjiro, Inosuke was able to run up to Daki and decapitate her before she could react. As further credence to his superhuman speed, Inosuke can keep up with Upper Rank Two, Doma, with varying degrees of success, sometimes being able to land some hits on him and steal Kanao's katana away from him without Doma noticing despite the sword being next to him. Even while he was enervated and injured, Inosuke could still match Muzan and later demon Tanjiro in speed.
Immense Stamina & Endurance: Due to enduring harsh training as a Demon Slayer, Insouke has built up great endurance and stamina, which he displayed on multiple occasions. Inosuke, along with Zenitsu, were capable of keeping up with an awakened Daki and lasted long enough to cut off her head despite suffering multiple injuries. Furthermore, Inosuke still played a pivotal role in the Upper Rank's defeat despite getting stabbed in the chest while being inflicted with deadly poison. Later on, Inosuke lasted impressively long against the second strongest Upper Rank demon and endured countless attacks from him. During his battle with Muzan, he suffered a multitude of minor and severe injuries but still persisted in order to defeat the Demon King and later on fend off demon Tanjiro.
Indomitable Will: Inosuke possesses an incredible and undaunted will and spirit, never faltering and remaining steadfast and courageous in the face of any foe, to the point where it endangers himself. His willpower was best displayed during his battle against Upper Rank Two, Doma, where despite sustaining dozens of injuries, he refused to give up and continued to fight the demon despite his overwhelming power. Even in the face of the Demon King, Inosuke remained steadfast and never gave up.
Poison Resistance: Inosuke was able to resist and survive the effect of Upper Rank Six's poison to a certain extent although it was considered incredibly deadly, which suggests that he may have complete immunity to some poisonous substances. However, as stated by Aoi Kanzaki, this also means that none of Shinobu Kocho's medicines will work on him, so if he is exposed to a stronger poison than that of Gyutaro or one that he has not developed a resistance to, they cannot be used as a remedy and he is in greater danger of death.
Repetitive Action: A technique practiced by few members in the Corps, it allow a person to achieve the same effects as Total Concentration Breathing by using repeating pre-set movements or remembering intense feelings to open the five senses and raise their concentration, drawing out the physical powers of the body for an long extended period. It is possible to use both Repetitive Action and Total Concentration Breathing simultaneously, granting the user immense strength able to rival Upper Rank demons. Inosuke quickly mastered this technique after watching Tanjiro and likes to rephrase "Boar Rush!" while doing so.
Fighting Style
Master Swordsman: Inosuke has displayed exemplary skill in dual wielding his Nichirin katanas, allowing him to take on and defeat demons in various occasions, even enabling him to match members of the Twelve Kizuki. Nearing the Infinity Castle Arc, Inosuke has undeniably polished his swordsmanship skill to the level of a Hashira, allowing him to keep up and go toe-to-toe with Upper Rank Two, Doma.
Breathing Style
Beast Breathing: (獣の呼吸 Kedamono no kokyū): A Breathing Style distantly derived from Wind Breathing and the personal creation of Inosuke Hashibira himself after living in the mountains and fighting for survival. It also seems to take inspirations from the wild boars that he grew up with.
TechniquesEquipment
Dual Nichirin Katanas: Unlike most Demon Slayers, Inosuke wields two Nichirin katanas. They are chipped with numerous gashes within the blade's edge, allowing the swords to rip and tear demonic flesh, rather than cause a clean slice, which he prefers. His dual blades are indigo-gray in color. Unlike his fellow Demon Slayers, Inosuke doesn't have a hilt or a sword sheath, but rather uses bandages to improve his grip. In addition, his blades don't have words engraved on it.