In the cruel world where we are living, we tend to act too strong but deep inside, we just wanted to be acknowledged. When we do good things, we just want to be recognized like Inosuke Hashibira, one of the main characters in the anime and manga series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.
Pig assault
Inosuke was raised by his mother, Kotoha Hashibira, and an abusive father until his mother decided to run away with Inosuke. They later met Doma, the leader of the Paradise Faith cult, who sheltered them and killed his father.
After a while, Kotoha suspected that Doma was a demon and was just tricking his followers and devouring them. Kotoha tried to run away again but both of them were trapped between a cliff and a river. In an effort to save her son, Kotoha tossed Inosuke to the river. Her mother was then killed and eaten by Doma, who was later revealed to be one of the Upper Six Moons and part of the Twelve Moon Demons (Twelve Kizuki). Inosuke was then found and raised by two wild boars.
He is a man of average height and muscular built but has a feminine face behind the gray boar’s head mask he wears. The boar’s head was of Inosuke’s late adoptive boar mother. The eyes of the mask were fixed in order for him to see.
Just like his headgear, Inosuke is hard-headed and has a very short temper. Given that he was really raised by boars or wild pigs, he does not understand much how humans interact, thinking that when people approach him, he would be attacked. During the first few episodes of the anime and manga series, Inosuke does not really know what kindness means.
He really is wild as a boar and wants to challenge every person he meets because he wants to get respect. He wants people to praise him for his fighting skills. Inosuke thinks he is the best.
He even had a fight with Zenitsu Agatsuma when they first met outside the Drum House. Zenitsu is guarding Tanjiro Kamado‘s box where Nezuko is, Tanjiro’s sister, but Inosuke wants to get it. Zenitsu protected the box because he knows it is valuable to Tanjiro even though Inosuke keeps on hitting him, almost starting a fight.
When Tanjiro came out of the Drum House after defeating Kyogai, part of the Lower Six Demons, he witnessed Inosuke beating Zenitsu while hugging the box. Tanjiro dashed towards Inosuke and punched him in the abdomen, which cracked his right rib and caused him to fall on the ground. Inosuke laughed, got up, and started a fistfight with Tanjiro.
Zenitsu and Tanjiro later discovered that Inosuke is also a demon slayer and they all became friends. However, during the later parts of the story, Inosuke became more aware of how things work as a normal human. He started to learn how to interact with other people with Tanjiro’s help.
During their missions together, Inosuke encounters different people including the Pillars who are a lot stronger than him. He starts to accept the strength of other people even though he knows that they do not look that capable. Apart from Tanjiro, his encounter with Giyu Tomioka, the water pillar, was the second time he realized he is not the strongest human being.
Beast breathing technique
Inosuke mastered the beast breathing technique after living in the mountains and trying to survive. Therefore, this technique is based on the use of instinct. It is said that the beast breathing technique was drawn from the wind breathing technique.
Inosuke is very proficient when using two swords and prefers swords that have jagged edges. He commonly uses the following forms of the beast breathing technique:
- First Fang : Pierce – Inosuke uses both of his swords to stab the enemy through the throat.
- Third Fang : Devour – Inosuke uses his swords to slash towards the target’s throat with the goal of removing the head.
- Seventh Form : Spatial Awareness – Inosuke stabs both of his swords on the ground and uses his senses to detect movement all around him.
- Sudden Throwing Strike : Inosuke throws both of his swords at an enemy.
A beast like skills and abilities
Since Inosuke was raised by two boars from the mountains, he was taught how to move and fight in an animalistic way. His fighting style utilizes low angled attacks which resembles a four-legged beast. Inosuke attacks ferociously and relentlessly without thinking, similar to an animal only reacting to instinct. He is also very agile like a boar in the wilds.
His way of living also caused Inosuke to develop a sharp and extremely sensible sense of touch. He uses this unique ability that allows him to sense where movements are at a very large area around him. He can tell if someone is looking at him, especially if they have any malicious intentions.
Inosuke can also detect slight vibrations in the air and can locate the exact position of an enemy they are looking at, which gives him an advantage in the battle. He exhibited this skill when he and Tanjiro fought with the demons in Natagumo Mountain, looking for the Mother Spider Demon who made the other demon slayers her puppet. Once he was able to locate her, he asked Tanjiro to go to her and so Inosuke can fight the Father Spider Demon, a demon that has the blood of Rui, part of the Lower Moon Demons.
Just like a beast, Inosuke is flexible and durable in terms of taking hits from enemies. When he and Tanjiro fought, Tanjiro was able to crack his rib but Inosuke still managed to move very quickly. He also survived a lot of hits from the Father Spider Demon but barely survived after the encounter. Thanks to Giyu, Inosuke was saved. Giyu killed the Father Spider Demon as Inosuke failed to do so because of his broken swords.
Alongside Tanjiro and Zenitsu, Inosuke managed to master the Total Concentration Breathing which requires a demon slayer to always use it even when they are sleeping. This greatly increased their strength, fighting ability, and toughness.
Just like what other people wanted, Inosuke then earned the respect he wanted. His skills and bravery were recognized by the Demon Slayer Corps.