Tanjiro Kamado

Tanjiro Kamado (竈門かまど 炭たん治じ郎ろう|Kamado Tanjiro) is the main protagonist of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.

He is a Kanoe ranked Demon Slayer and a member of the Demon Slaying Corps. He is hunting down the Demon who is responsible for the murder of his family and his sister's transformation into one.

Appearance
Tanjiro is a young man who is short for his age, with rather tanned skin and an athletic physique. He possesses ruffled burgundy hair that casts notably dark shadows on itself, combed back to expose his forehead, and wide, dark eyes with white pupils that appear dark pink around the lower section of their irises. He also has a birthmark on the top left of his forehead, which originally looked somewhat like a graze until his fight with the Hand Demon during the Final Selection Arc, after which it appears more like a large, dark red scar. It is noted that his hands are visibly tougher than someone his age's should be as a result of his rigorous training under Sakonji Urokodaki.

Tanjiro wears a checkered dark turquoise and black patterned haori over the standard Demon Hunter uniform, which consists of a dark brown gakuran jacket, a white belt around his waist and baggy pants that extend into tabi socks, as well as zōri and bands of white cloth wrapped around his calves. He also wears a pair of hanafuda earrings, decorated by a red sun symbol and carries a large wooden box on his back, where his sister sleeps during the day.

Personality
Tanjiro is kind by nature and has been described by others as having very gentle eyes. He exhibits a great deal of determination and will not give up once he has a goal to achieve; the best example of this being his relentless quest to find a cure for Nezuko. Even though he is relatively strong on his own, Tanjiro isn't opposed to asking others for help when he needs it. He is very protective of his friends and even more so of his younger sister. However, despite his kind and understanding nature, Tanjiro does have a limit to his tolerance and has a distaste for rudeness, as he easily becomes annoyed by Zenitsu Agatsuma's constant whining, and angered by Inosuke Hashibira's barbaric actions.

Tanjiro's most notable attribute is his ability to empathize with anyone, even demons, which often made him hesitate before delivering the final blow. This moment of hesitation has a downside, as it has allowed some Demons to take advantage of Tanjiro's understanding nature to recover and continue the fight, though this occurs rarely. However, as Tanjiro gains experience over the years of his service, he becomes more calculating and strict in his decisions. His courage to protect the weak commits him to face his enemy with respect and dignity, whether versus good people or evil Demons.

Natural Abilities

 * Enhanced Sense of Smell: Tanjiro has had a heightened sense of smell even before he underwent sword training. It is strong enough for him to smell the 'line of interval' --the slight pause in an enemy's movement which allows him an opening in which to strike-- and distinguish between species, as well as their approximate position. After training this skill during his time as a Demon Hunter, Tanjiro has acquired the ability to smell emotions as well as track objects, humans and demons over long distances. During his training with Yoriichi Zeroshiki, Tanjiro awakened the ability to predict movements from his opponents through smell, which can be detected faster than the 'line of interval'.
 * Fighting ability: This trait of Tanjiro's was pointed out by Giyu Tomioka during their first encounter, in which Tanjiro skilfully laid out a plan to attack Giyu by surprise by charging towards him, not showing the Demon Hunter that he was unarmed, and bring down Giyu with an axe he had thrown in the air beforehand. The attack failed, but Giyu was still very impressed by Tanjiro's plan, especially considering he was a rookie at the time.
 * Enhanced strength: After his training at Sagiri Mountain, Tanjiro has gained immense strength and speed and has demonstrated a great use of it, as seen when he jumped twice his height over the Hand Demon, who killed Sakonji's disciples, during Final Selection. His forehead is noted to be unusually sturdy as well.
 * See-Through World: Like his father, he finally gained the ability to foresee the opponent's attack while showing no battle spirit and sense of blood-lust, gaining immunity from anyone who can sense these.
 * Demon Slayer Mark: Tanjiro awakened his mark for the first time while fighting Daki, an Upper Moon Six. He awakened it once again while fighting Akaza, an Upper Moon Three. This state increases his strength, speed and reaction time drastically. He becomes capable of easily dodging and countering Daki's attacks, without her being able to injure him at all. In his fight against Akaza, he is able to dodge Akaza's End Style: Chaotic Blue Metal Afterglow, which Giyu's Eleventh Style failed to counter. His speed becomes fast enough to cut off Akaza's head, without the latter being able to react and would have kill Akaza if he didn't overcome the weakness of being decapitated by a Nichirin Blade. The only drawback is that Tanjiro can only enter this state on rare occasions, and can only use it for a very short period of time since it causes exhaustion to his body, as shown in his battle against Akaza and Daki. Unlike all the other marks users, Tanjirou can only use the mark for only very short time while all others can use it far longer than him.

Swordsmanship
Breath of Water (の): Taught to him by Sakonji, the Water Pillar before Giyu. The user can increase the amount of oxygen in one's blood by controlling his breathing pattern, which increases his strength and agility to equal that of a Demon. Tanjiro has now learned to do full focus breaths at all times, further increasing his base strength, speed and stamina. By focusing and accuracy breathing, he is capable of stopping bleeding from injuries. With this enhanced strength and ability to find the 'line of interval,' Tanjiro can utilise ten different moves: Dance of the Fire God (ヒノカミ): Taught to him by his father. A breathing technique that increases the user's strength and endurance.
 * First Style: Water Surface Slice (ノ り): A single concentrated slash.
 * Second Style: Water Wheel (ノ): Tanjiro jumps and spins his body while slashing.
 * Second Style Modified: Horizontal Water Wheel (ノ・)
 * Third Style: Dance of the Rapid Current (ノ い): Tanjiro swings his blade at his opponent in a way that mimics the movement of waves on the surface of water.
 * Fourth Style: Striking Tide (ノ ち): Tanjiro makes multiple consecutive slashes, while twisting his body in a flowing fashion similar to a harsh tide.
 * Fifth Style: The Merciful Rain of a Dry Day/Blessed Rain After the Drought (ノ の): A "sword strike of kindness" that beheads the target with little to no pain. Tanjiro uses this when the enemy surrenders him/herself willingly.
 * Sixth Style: Twisting Whirpool (ノ ねじれ): Tanjiro fiercely twists his upper and lower body, which creates a whirlpool that cuts anything caught in it.
 * Sixth Style: Twisting Whirpool - Current (ノ ねじれ・)
 * Seventh Style: Piercing Rain Drop (ノ き): A fast and accurate stab. The fastest Breath of Water technique.
 * Seventh Style: Piercing Rain Drop - Curve (ノ き・)
 * Eight Style: Waterfall Jar (ノ): Tanjiro cuts the target vertically.
 * Ninth Style: Water Splash (ノ): This move minimizes the landing time and surface needed when landing, allowing Tanjiro to move without limits. It is ideal when fighting in a place with no solid foothold.
 * Ninth Style: Water Splash - Chaos (ノ ・)
 * Tenth Style: The Dragon of Change (ノ): A constant attack that increases in power with each rotation, creating a strong slash.
 * Waltz: A single concentrated slash.
 * Blue Heaven (の): A similar attack to "Water Wheel" in which Tanjiro spins his body to create a 360-degree slash.
 * Scorching Crimson Mirror: Tanjiro unleashes two horizontal slashes that defends him from attacks from the front or the side.
 * Flame Waltz: A two-combo strike which starts with a vertical slash and then a horizontal one right after.
 * Parhelion Rainbow: Tanjiro uses this technique to evade techniques using high-speed twists and rotations. It works most effectively on enemies with good vision, as they will attack an afterimage of him and not his actual body.
 * Fire Chariot: Tanjiro uses this technique in quick succession with Parhelion Rainbow and attacks the enemy while they are distracted.
 * Burning Sun: A circular slash that defends from imminent frontal attacks.
 * Shining Sun Stab: A single thrust attack with the sharp blade.
 * Solar Halo Dragon Dance (の い): A combination attack utilising Nezuko's Blood Burst, Tanjiro's sword adopts a red color and is coated in flames. While in this state, he circles the enemy in a pattern resembling a flaming dragon and slashes them multiple times, ultimately beheading them.
 * Waltz Flash: Tanjiro utilises Zenitsu Agatsuma's Thunderclap Flash and combines it with his Flame Waltz by pumping air through his entire body, focusing it on the legs, and releasing it all, while ending with a flaming slash. The technique was capable of out-speeding Genya Shinazugawa and Nezuko, as well as the fleeing Hantengu, although it is still slower than Zenitsu's Thunderclap Flash.
 * Soaring Flame Haze
 * The Setting Sun

Trivia

 * Kamado, without the second kanji (竈, かまど) is a traditional Japanese wood or charcoal-fueled cook stove/furnace.
 * Do, the second kanji of his family name, (門, ど) means door.
 * Tan (炭, たん) means charcoal.
 * Ji (治, じ) can mean 'to heal'.
 * Rō (郎, ろう) is a common Japanese name suffix for boys. It also means male.
 * Tanjiro was ranked in 1st place as of the first character popularity poll with 6,742 votes.

Quotes

 * (To Muzan Kibutsuji) "Muzan Kibutsuji! No matter where you go, you're not getting away! I'll follow you to the ends of Hell, and I swear I'll slice off your head with my blade! I'll never forgive you no matter what!"
 * (To Giyu Tomioka) "To dispel the regrets of those killed, to stop anymore victims from appearing, I will relentlessly wield my blade against the Demons, and that's a fact. But I will not trample on the pains of being a Demon. Nor on those who regret their own actions. Because demons were humans. Because they were humans like me."
 * (To Sanemi Shinazugawa) "If you can't differentiate the good Demons from the bad ones, you should quit being a Pillar!!"