Hello everyone, been a while, hasn’t it? Well, today I’m here to talk about Demon Slayer, specifically, Giyu Tomioka. So, why Mr. Tomioka? What’s so special about the “most boring” hashira? Well, that’s what we’ll be discussing today.

First, before we get started, if you’re new to the anime world, welcome in! We’re always happy to have new fans here! There’ll be a brief explanation as to what Demon Slayer is, just an overview, but please watch the anime, or at least read the manga. Let’s start talking, shall we?

What is Demon Slayer?

Demon Slayer, also referred to as Kimetsu No Yaiba by some people, is an anime, obviously. It’s has 5 seasons on Netflix and two movies, (we talk about the movies here) Now, Demon Slayer’s about this boy, Tanjiro Kamado and his sister, Nezuko Kamado. The Kamado family is attacked by a demon in the very first episode, the only survivors being Tanjiro and Nezuko. Nezuko is transformed into a demon though, unfortunately…

Then, together, they travel Taisho-era Japan to try and cure Nezuko, then the mission becomes killing Muzan Kibutsuji, the main villain who looks like Michael Jackson. So, how does Giyu play into this? Well, let’s talk about that next. I might as well give y’all some context to understand why Giyu Tomioka deserves so much better.

Who is Giyu Tomioka in Deamon Slayer?

Giyu Tomioka is the water hashira. The hashira are the highest ranking Demon Slayers. We’re introduced to Giyu in the first episode. When Nezuko is transformed into a demon, Giyu shows up to kill her. Giyu and Tanjiro fight since Tanjiro is just trying to protect and help his sister. Then, Tanjiro nearly kills Giyu with a hatchet and Nezuko tries to protect Tanjiro.

Once Giyu realizes there’s something different about the Kamados, he knocks out Nezuko instead of killing her and straps a piece of bamboo to her mouth as a muzzle to keep her from eating humans. Giyu then directs Tanjiro to Giyu’s sensei, Sakonji Urokodaki. That’s basically the start of the series. So, let’s talk about Giyu’s backstory and why he deserves so much better.

Why Giyu Tomioka Deserved Better

Giyu’s backstory is tragic (you can read more in-depth about it here) he first starts out life with his parents and an older sister. His parents die of illness and his sister, Tsutako, cares for Giyu. Then, Tsutako dies protecting Giyu from a demon. What’s even worse is that she dies the day before her wedding. After that, he tries telling people about it but they don’t believe him, label him as mentally ill and send him to live with relatives.

Giyu runs away and ends up at Sakonji Urokodaki’s house. It’s there that he starts to train under Urokodaki’s watch. When Giyu was 13, he meets Sabito. Why does Sabito not have a last name? I don’t know, honestly. Anyway, Sabito and Giyu become fast friends and enter final selection together. At the end of final selection, Sabito is killed by the hand demon and Giyu’s already existing survivors guilt is worsened.

After all of that, Giyu trains and trains and eventually becomes a hashira. The main problem is that he has such extreme imposters syndrome and survivors guilt, he doesn’t feel like he belongs as a hashira. Instead of expressing it properly, he only says, “I’m not like the rest of you.” Thus leading to the other hashira viewing him as arrogant and self-centered. It’s sad, really, dealing with all of that to barely even have anyone to get along with.

So, why does this matter? He has a tragic backstory, so do most of the other hashira’s. Well, it matters because he basically has nobody. Sure, Tanjiro and Nezuko are nice to him, but that’s about it. He has no support system, nobody to lean on.

Now, that’s all I really have to give to you today. Was this just an excuse to ramble about Giyu? No comment, but I hope you enjoyed anyway and enjoy the Demon Slayer movies!