7 characters who fought Tanjiro and should have won

The fact that Tanjiro Kamado escapes a difficulty that seems impossible every minute is part of the fun of it Demon Slayerbut the series would have ended the credits long ago, if it had followed its own logic. Even if the main character is a person with a good heart and a head of stone, the difference in power between a novice slayer and a hundred-year-old demon is usually too wide to be closed by being nice alone. Many fans have pointed out how a world as evil as this requires Tanjiro to have a guardian angel (or a very kind mangaka) constantly looking over his shoulder.

These posts discuss the villains who almost had victory before some plot twist changed the plan, or a last-minute save changed the series. These characters not only pushed the hero to his limits; they completely destroyed them, starting with the threats faced early in the anime, and ending with the final boss. These are the seven cases where, for viewers who love a good what-if scenario, the bad guys really should have won.

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7

Yahaba

The fight against Tamayo at her house was a literal headache for the fandom as it forced Tanjiro to fight the invisible forces of physics. The arrows used by Yahaba as vectors gave him the ability to toss the main character around like a rag doll without ever having to get close enough to strike with his sword, and it's a nightmare for any melee fighter. Since the hero was already dealing with a number of broken ribs, any landing was a possible game-breaker, and since the demon could change the direction in which the power was found, the use of the foot was practically useless.

Generally speaking, the protagonist of the story only managed to escape this mess due to Yahaba's arrogance and some desperate means used to dampen the force of such violent darts. Instead of trying to be a little creative in his manipulation of vectors, the demon could have just twisted the hero into a pretzel and made him belatedly realize how to counter the Blood Demon Art. It was the near-death experience that showed society how dangerous demons can be when they stop participating in a fair fight and start disrupting the environment.

6

Enmu

The Mugen Train arc is a fan favorite, but it also holds one of the scariest close-up moments in the series. Enmu is able to put Tanjiro in a dream reality where the only way out is by committing suicide and creating a deadly mental cycle. The dreams were so fast that Tanjiro couldn't even determine what reality was. In reality, he almost hit his own neck with his sword. Had he hit, the saga would have been closed by a self-inflicted death blow before the train could have reached its destination.

This is when the fandom credits All with the fact that Inosuke physically deflected Tanjiro's blade. Inosuke's boar mask and wild instincts allow him to see through Enmu's tricks. He came in and yelled at Tanjiro to come to his senses, even as the sword blade was about to enter his throat. Tanjiro would have been a sitting duck without Inosuke and the help of Nezuko using her Blood Burst to remove the influence of the demon. Enmu had won the battle of the mind; Tanjiro was still alive because he had a team to look at his blind spots.

5

Hantengu

The battle with the Upper Moon Four was a very tough test of patience, which Tanjiro couldn't possibly pull off on his own. The Zohakiten clone was a huge multi-headed dragon that dominated the battlefield with sonic screams and wood manipulation. Tanjiro was so overwhelmed by the scale of the attacks that he was pinned down and nearly crushed several times. The manga depicts his stamina as almost zero, as he was only able to keep going due to the fear of the Upper Moon keeping him moving.

The fandom knows that Mitsuri Kanroji, Love Hashira, is the real hero of this fight. She came in at the right place at the right time to take on a massive shockwave that would have instantly killed Tanjiro. When Mitsuri got the main body, Tanjiro continued to have trouble finding the actual Hantengu, a mouse-sized animal lurking in the grass. The time limit of the day was the rising sun in lore; had they been in Infinity Castle or a gloomy cave, Hantengu would have eventually worn Tanjiro down.

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4

Rui

Mt. The Natagumo Arc has been regarded as the point at which power scaling off Demon Slayer became a reality. Even after Tanjiro unlocks “Hinokami Kagura” in a stunning display of fire and determination, the manga reveals a brutal truth: it didn't work. Rui used his Cutting Thread Cage to cut off his own head before Tanjiro could attack, thus still existing and controlling the demon. The enormous energy drain of the fire dance had left Tanjiro face down in the dirt, unable to move.

It's the most popular clutch moment in this series: if Giyu Tomioka hadn't appeared with Eleventh Form: Dead Calm, Rui would have killed Tanjiro in seconds. It is argued among fans that Rui technically won that exchange, as he played out Tanjiro's biggest moves and had plenty of Blood Demon Art left to transition. For Tanjiro, this is a big wake-up call.

3

Daki and Gyutaro

The fight in the entertainment district was a bloody battle that Tanjiro felt had broken him. The Flying Blood Sickles that Gyutaro used were covered in poisonous blood that would trigger the death of a normal human in several minutes and Tanjiro was hit more than once during the fight. Fans remember how helpless Tanjiro felt during the fight. If it wasn't for Tengen and the support of Inosuke and Zenitsu, Tanjiro would never have been able to beat an Upper Rank all by himself at this point. Gyutaro was an experienced assassin, having killed fifteen Hashiras, and there was no way he could lose to a team of rookies.

The only reason Tanjiro is still around is due to Nezuko's “Blood Burst” removing the poison and Tengen Uzui's “Musical Score” technique buying enough time for a final opening. Tanjiro was practically a corpse even after victory; without Nezuko setting fire to his blood he would have died right then and there. Based solely on the knowledge of the Upper Moon's mortality, Gyutaro had the kill confirmed, and only a series of 'miracle' saves kept Tanjiro's heart beating.

2

Akaza

Tanjiro had just beaten Akaza with his decapitation due to his selfless state, which allowed him to avoid Akaza's “Compass Needle”, but legend shows that Akaza was the better fighter. Akaza, after losing his head, did not want to die as, in a terrifying shift, he grew it back through sheer force as Tanjiro lay helpless and unconscious. At this point the fight was over. In a single attack, Tanjiro had given his last gasp of soul, but this was not enough to stop the massacre of the Upper Moon Three.

The community understands that Tanjiro never defeated Akaza; Akaza defeated himself. When Akaza regained his memories of Hakuji and Koyuki, he killed himself with his own technique. The demon would have taken another five minutes to remain as a monster and Tanjiro and Giyu would have been no more. It is also among the few shōnen cases where the antagonist was much stronger than the protagonist and had to resolve the situation based on a moral experience instead of a physical victory.

1

Muzan Kibutsuji

The final battle with the Demon King turned into a game of desperate survival, which Tanjiro actually lost on several occasions. Muzan was so fast and strong that he smeared all the assassins on the ground with a poisonous blood that instantly disintegrated their cells. Tanjiro had been hit so hard that half his face had swollen into a giant tumor, and he was technically dead at one point in the battle. It only took a high stakes medical cocktail by Tamayo to get him back on his feet.

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More precise details show that Muzan fought when he was 9,000 years old in a single night with four different poisons, but he still almost won. Well, technically he did. Had the Demon Slayer Corps not been there to protect him and the sun to take the blow, Tanjiro would have died in vain along with everyone else. It took everything that had survived, a massive drug dose, and the souls of the deceased Hashira to barely pull Muzan into the light. In the case of Tanjiro, this was not a duel that he won but a disaster that he managed to survive because other people were ready to die on his behalf.

Release date

April 6, 2019

Network

Swimming for adults