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Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is one of the most-loved stories by both avid anime-watchers and manga-readers. With its complex yet thrilling story, interesting characters, and the animation itself— it is a show that an adrenaline junkie would love.
In a nutshell, Japan has been infested with demons started by the demon king – whose wish is to become eternal and be immune to sunlight.
Enter the demon slayers, with their missions to protect the people, hunt demons, and put a stop to the Demon King Muzan’s wickedness. The demon slayers consist of a lot of characters. Notably, what caught my eye was this boar mask-wearing and the eccentric character named Inosuke Hashibira.
He is one of the most popular and unique demon slayers in the story. Inosuke is a boisterous type of character who is always on the go for challenges. I’m not even kidding.
Whenever someone approaches him, his instinct is to face the ‘challenge’, disregarding whether the person is stronger or weaker than him. I find him charming in his own way; taking note of his backstory and personality makes him an interesting character.
It is certain that he is such a memorable character. If you want to get to know Inosuke a little better, then this is the right blog for you. I will be discussing everything about him, from his backstory, personality, fighting style, and what is in store for him in the manga. Let me warn you first and expect that there will be spoilers ahead.
Bottom Line Up Front
Who is Inosuke?
Inosuke Hashibira (嘴 はし 平 びら 伊 い 之 の 助 すけ) is one of the members of the Demon Slayer Corps with the aim to put an end to demons along with their demon king. He is seen in the story as one of the main protagonists, along with other characters like Tanjiro Kamado, Nezuko Kamado, and Zenitsu Agatsuma. Inosuke is a human being who practically grew up and was raised by boars.
He is the type of character in the story that you would be amazed at how courageous and ‘on the moment’ he is with things. Inosuke has a love of taking on challenges. Fueled by this, he competed against a demon slayer he bumped into the mountains, which resulted in him wanting to join the corps.
Inosuke’ Backstory
Inosuke’s upbringing is quite heartbreaking. He came from an abusive family. While his mother was a caring and loving person, his father was the exact opposite. He is violent to the point of hurting his mother. Inosuke’s mother had the courage and left their home to escape, carrying him while he was still a baby.
Inosuke’s mother found a safe place, but it was composed of a cult. When his mother saw the cult leader named Doma killing the worshippers by eating them mercilessly, she then again tried to escape. But later on, Inosuke and his mother got lost in the mountains and eventually got cornered by the demon.
By then, coming to the point of last resort, she did what she could: throw Inosuke into a river hoping for her son to survive. The cult leader then killed Inosuke’s mother.
Luckily, Inosuke was taken care of by a family of boars. As stated in the plot, a mother boar’s child has died, and it came to a point that the mother boar decided to raise him as her own son. He then grew up in the forest ever since he was young with what he knew as his family of boars.
Inosuke: Appearance, Personality, Quotes, and More
Appearance
Inosuke is also most often seen shirtless and in baggy pants with animal fur wrapped around the waist. Also, he wears some furs around both his neck and his knees. He has a relatively fit body at such a young age of fifteen years old.
Inosuke is easily identifiable with the boar mask he almost always wears on any occasion. He usually covers his face with a boar head turned as a mask. This piece of headgear is hallowed on the inside, allowing Inosuke to see while wearing it. It is believed that the boar head was his adopted mother boar who raised him when he was at a very young age.
His hair is medium-length, just above Inosuke’s shoulders. His hair is in the color blue, and the color is mostly concentrated at the tips. He has pretty and feminine features resembling the beauty of his mother.
Inosuke has a fair complexion. He has an average height for a young boy, around the same height as his comrades Tanjiro and Zenitsu. He has a toned body with defined muscles most distinctive in his arms and stomach.
He is also seen carrying his two swords with him. The swords are jagged- which is Inosuke’s personal preference in his weapon of choice. He explains that he wanted his enemies to die slowly rather than kill them with a clean slice.
Personality
Having to grow up in a forest, being raised by boars, and having no human interaction are among the factors that made Inosuke unique. He has a bit of trouble understanding human interaction; he struggles with socializing with other people. Although later on, with the help of his beloved friends, he was able to adjust and follow the norm.
His background growing up in the wild has heightened his instincts. This became a key in developing his fighting techniques. His animal instincts became an advantageous ability for Inosuke as he adapted their habits during battles.
Inosuke is provocative and goading despite the possible dangers of the scenario he is in. He never backs down from a challenge or fights with anyone he comes in contact with. He faces them headstrong, not thinking about whether or not the opponent has an advantage.
A couple of times, he comes off as an aggressive and short-tempered person. Despite having a low tolerance for patience, he cherishes the friends he made along the way. He is very much willing to sacrifice even his life for his comrades.
In line with his relationship with his friends, he is loyal. He became the person that his friends could trust with their lives. Even during battles and on the verge of death, he is always there, giving his all in the name of friendship.
Quotes
Inosuke is frankly seen as a proud and rough guy. However, I find him cool and soft-hearted when it comes to his loved ones. He is a type of character that can be misunderstood, but you will surely be in awe when you connect his past to what he is now.
He may be the type of character who immediately jumps into anything without taking note of the consequences. I think of him as courageous. Take a look at some of Inosuke’s interesting and candid quotes from the series:
- “Fate bringing us together really is a miracle. After all, the demon who killed my mother and my friend is right before my eyes! You have my gratitude for making me remember.”
- “You’ve really done it now! And I won’t stand up for it! They protected us! The old guy with the rosary lost his leg! And the guys with the half-and-half Haori lost his arm! All the bodies lying around here belong to comrades I shared my meals with! Give them back! Their leg and their arms! Their lives! Everything! Give them back! If you can’t do that, then you’ll pay for it with a million deaths!”
- “There are no shortcuts. Only hard work. Train hard and be patient. It will pay off.”
- “When you lose to someone smaller than you, it destroys your soul!”
- “It’s not about going first, it’s about the overall flow.”
- “Don’t cry, even if you feel regret! No matter how miserable you are, how embarrassed you are; you just have to keep living!”
- “We’re comrades and like brothers, so if someone starts to stray from the path, we all stop him. No matter how hard or painful it is, we walk the right path.”
The last quote showcases how Inosuke treasures his friends. Despite the tough first impression, he had learned to love his friends and establish a deeper relationship with them. It is quite impressive how he was able to turn from being an extremely short-tempered young man into a lovable and quirky person.
Abilities
Total Concentration Breathing
To its simplest meaning, total concentration breathing is a type of method that optimizes both the mental and physical state of a person. He was taught this ability together with Tanjiro and Zenitsu and achieved constant concentration breathing. Inosuke then mastered this during their rehabilitation training, all thanks to Shinobu, Aoi, and Kanao.
Beast Breathing Style Swordsmanship
Inosuke developed his ability all by himself and even created eleven known techniques. Using his two katanas with ragged edges as weapons, he developed his own unique swordsmanship.
The katanas serve like tusks of a boar. This was heavily influenced when he was spending his time in the wild. Inosuke was able to develop this all on his own. As a result, he was able to fully optimize his methods during his battles against all kinds of demons even without formal training.
Rapid Recovery
Despite the deep wounds Inosuke got from enemies, he recovers quickly. After a few days, even though he is still not fully healed yet, he will be back with his training. Hard-headed as he is, even though the guardians or even the doctors warn him to refrain from straining his body, he would be strong enough to undergo training together with his friends.
Flexibility
Inosuke’s flexibility through acrobatic attacks was first seen during their fight with Tanjiro. He has also showcased his flexibility to Tanjiro and Zenitsu on their very first meeting by having to reach his ankles by bending backward. Also, as equally important to note, Inosuke can also dislocate, rearrange and reattach his joints whenever he wishes to.
Can Relocate His Organs
Inosuke can also rearrange his organs anywhere in his body. One noteworthy scenario was during the Entertainment District Arc when he and his companions were fighting against Daki and Gyutaro, who were known upper-rank demons. He was able to escape death by rearranging the position of his heart when he was stabbed in the chest.
Poison Resistance
Although Inosuke is known for exaggerating things, it is still pretty impressive that he has strong resistance to poisons. He had even survived the effect of the Upper Moon Six poison of Gyutaro. This is considered lethal to any human being.
Animal Senses
Inosuke, like an animal, has developed a deeper awareness of his surroundings. He can sense if the people near him are planning to attack. Another instance was when he needed to face Doma; he made use of his sensitive skin to detect the slightest chill in the air while having to escape the demon’s blood demon art that has the ability to freeze Inosuke’s heart.
Heightened Sense of Touch
He can detect any threat using the vibrations in the air. His heightened sense of touch has helped during the part where Inosuke and his friends faced off controlled demon slayers. He uses his senses to locate where the Spider demon is. He then manages to find the demon and proceed with the fight. This is also associated with him having to live in the forest with animals.
Great Physical Strength
Just by his chiseled body, you can confirm that he is a strong person. He is able to use two katanas simultaneously at immense speed. When faced with the Father Spider Demon, Inosuke manages to cut through the demon’s arm by hitting down his blade with the other- something that even Tanjiro was not able to do.
High Pain Tolerance
Even though he has been badly hurt due to the attacks from his enemies, Inosuke has proved that he can still function despite this dilemma. When Tanjiro has broken four of Inosuke’s ribs, he still manages to bend backward to show his flexibility. This shows how he is able to tolerate pain no matter how badly he is injured in any situation.
Relationships
Tanjiro
Inosuke and Tanjiro met when the latter was sent on a mission to kill a demon in Tokyo. Due to Inosuke’s lack of ability to be calm, he sensed a demon inside of a basket Zenitsu carried and wanted to kill what was inside of the basket—which was Nezuko, Tanjiro’s sister.
Inosuke and Tanjiro fought. Eventually, the two settled in and quickly became good friends. Inosuke first thought of Tanjiro as a rival and did not stop challenging him in a fight.
Over the time they spent together, Inosuke got a positive influence from him, ever since meeting Tanjiro. Inosuke has been more open-minded about how others are strong or even stronger than him. In addition, when both of them had to face Muzan in the Final Battle Arc, Inosuke was willing to protect his friend Tanjiro at all costs.
Zenitsu Agatsuma
Inosuke and Zenitsu are like the sun and moon when it comes to their personalities. Inosuke is the courageous one. Meanwhile, Zenitsu has a tendency to be cowardly. However, they became close friends and had the opportunity to fight powerful demons, such as when they encountered Daki in the Entertainment District.
Nezuko
There were only a few moments in the story between Nezuko and Inosuke. They first met each other in the same timeline as Tanjiro and Inosuke.
During their first meeting, he wanted to kill her because she was simply a demon. However, also worth mentioning in line with their improved relationship was the time when Nezuko helped heal poor Inosuke during the time when he suffered the poison from the demon after getting stabbed.
Doma
As mentioned earlier, we just learned that Doma was the demon who heartlessly killed Inosuke’s mother. Doma and Inosuke came face to face with each other in the story, which resulted in a very clenching fight. At first, Inosuke can be seen as less than Doma. Yet after he found out about the culprit behind his mother’s death, this became Inosuke’s strength to continue fighting.
Shinobu Kocho
Shinobu Kocho is one of the supporting characters that immensely helped Inosuke with his skills. Inosuke and Shinobu met each other while he was recovering at the Butterfly Estate. She helped him with his training by mocking him for his lack of ability to do simple tasks.
During the fight against Doma, Shinobu was killed, which made Inosuke furious. He then proceeded to go all in to defeat the demon with Kanao- another supporting character. They both emerged victoriously.
Kanao Tsuyuri
Kanao falls as a successor of the insect breathing of Shinobu. She and Inosuke also met each other during the time when Inosuke and his friends went to the Butterfly Estate after injuries during the fight on Mount Natagumo. Both had then established their teamwork and defeated Doma.
Aoi Kanazaki
Aoi and Inosuke both met each other at the Butterfly Estate. At first, They would bicker at each other; Aoi is always commenting on Inosuke’s forgetfulness and him calling her ‘pipsqueak’. In the long run, one thing worth noting is that Inosuke had developed a soft heart for Aoi.
Kotoha Hashibira
Kotoha Hashibira is Inosuke’s biological mother. She was very kind and loving to her son. When her husband was getting abusive, she went looking for ways to run away for the sake of their safety. Having to escape from the violent hands of her husband, Kotoha did her best to protect her son, even with the exchange of her very own life.
Interesting Trivia Facts about Inosuke
Inosuke does Not Like Wearing Shirts
The demon slayer corps uniform makers dislike Inosuke since he always rips his uniform. He likes wearing only baggy Hakama pants along with his signature boar headgear. Inosuke is almost always seen by everyone shirtless. Anyone who tries to put on clothes for Inosuke will end up being frustrated because he will always rip them off from his body.
He has a Feminine Face
Contrary to his manly physique, his real face is beautiful- with feminine features. Inosuke has long eyelashes and large wide eyes. He tends to look just like Kotoha- his mother, and sometimes is mistaken as a girl.
There came a time when Inosuke, together with Tanjiro and Zenitsu had to disguise themselves as girls because of a mission to find the missing wives of Tengun Uzui. Then, Inosuke perfectly blends in without detection from the staff.
Inosuke Refers to “Torture” as a Form of Workout
Other members of the demon slayer corps hated rigorous training exercises but not Inosuke. He sees it as fun and considers torture as a method of working out. In the Hashira Training Arc, Inosuke underwent training under a freezing waterfall, carried three logs on his shoulders, and finally pushed a huge boulder.
Inosuke even invited Tanjiro to join him in training. The two quickly jump into torturous exercises, and they both weirdly have fun with it.
He Made his Own Eleven Forms of Attacks
As he learned total concentration, he made eleven forms of fighting techniques using his dual blades. Here are as follows:
- First Fang: Pierce- Inosuke stabs the opponent using his two swords.
- Second Fang: Slice – Inosuke slices the opponent shaped like an X
- Third Fang: Devour- Simultaneous duo slashes horizontally with both blades
- Fourth Fang: Slice’ n’ Dice- Inosuke holds his swords upside down, doing multiple slashes in double diagonals.
- Fifth Fang: Crazy Cutting- Rapidly cuts everything all over the place to hit multiple enemies
- Sixth Fang: Palisade Bite- Simultaneous slashed in both directions of the enemy
- Seventh Form: Spatial Awareness- Inosuke can locate the position of his enemies by sensing any disturbances in the wind
- Eighth Fang: Explosive Rush- Inosuke quickly charges at his opponent while swinging his swords.
- Ninth Fang: Extending Bendy Slash- Inosuke dislocates his arm joints to increase his striking distance to throw off an enemy.
- Tenth Fang: Whirling Fangs- Inosuke swings both of his swords in a circular motion.
- Sudden Throwing Strike: Inosuke tosses his two swords toward the opponent.
He is so Bad at Remembering Names
He easily forgets people’s names that it comes to a point wherein he mumbles any random name in his mouth. He usually calls Tanjiro Monjiro, Kamaboko Gonpachiro, Shakariki Gengorou, Itadaki Tontarou, etc. This brings a comedic essence to Inosuke’s character that I even find pretty funny.
He is Awkward at Socializing
Growing up with no human interaction and living together with literal boars resulted in Inosuke being socially awkward. He had no knowledge of dealing with other human beings or how to act when it involves human emotions.
He Slashed Doma’s Eyes
In the Final Arc, Inosuke had to face Doma. He was able to use his form, Breath of the Beast, and attacked the demon. However, Inosuke miscalculates his attack, and he ends up cutting Doma’s eye instead.
FAQs
Question: Why is Inosuke Always Wearing a Boar Mask?
Answer: The boar mask actually belongs to his adoptive boar mother. You can view it as some sort of memorabilia for Inosuke. Through this, the boar mask adds a bit of personality to the character- and highlights Inosuke’s upbringing in the wild.
Question: Will Inosuke be Able to Reach Hashira Level?
Answer: No, Inosuke is not able to reach Hashira level, sadly. However, his skills come close to demon slayer corps with Hashira level. Spoiler Alert: Inosuke and his friends will never reach the Hashira level due to the requirements needed.
Question: Was Inosuke able to Defeat Doma?
Answer: Eventually, yes. He was able to kill Doma. With the sacrifice of Shinobu and being of aid to Kanao, Inosuke was able to use his sword to slice off Doma’s neck. We can conclude that he was able to avenge his mother’s very tragic death.
Question: Why does Inosuke Prefer Serrated Swords?
Answer: Inosuke preferred his swords to be ragged. This is because he wants his enemies to suffer slowly and does not want to have a quick death. When the swordsmith fixes his swords after having his weapons broken during the fight, Inosuke immediately grabs a rock and ultimately adjusts his weapons to his liking. This made the swordsmith fume with rage, while Inosuke did not have a care in the world.
Question: How Did Inosuke Become a Demon Slayer?
Answer: Inosuke did not undergo the same training procedure as the others. He found out about the Demon Slayer corps by accident. What actually happened was he came in contact with a Demon Slayer in a forest.
Then, he picked up a fight with the said demon slayer, which led to him being victorious, and he also stole the slayer’s swords. He had a curious mindset about dealing with demons that could provide the challenge he longed for.
Inosuke Demon Slayer Guide: Final Thoughts
Unconventional as he is, Inosuke became a key character in Demon Slayer. His short outbursts bring comic relief to this action-packed horror anime and manga. Sure, he lacks tactical abilities to assess the situation, but his promptness to just go and charge is what makes him stand out against the other demon slayers he is with.
Demon Slayer showcases morals in line with heartwarming family love, comedy, intense thrills, and chilling horror. You can see how Inosuke evolved as a character up until he became one of the main characters as well. This shows how the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba garnered attention and fans from all over the world.
I really admire how Inosuke grew up from being a reckless fighter and a bit of a thoughtless young man into a caring and tactical character. Are you now warming up to Inosuke after reading this blog?