Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba ( English )

Premise
Tanjiro Kamado is a kind-hearted and intelligent boy who lives with his family in the mountains. He became his family’s breadwinner after his father’s death, making trips to the nearby village to sell charcoal. Everything changed when he came home one day to discover that his family was attacked and slaughtered by a demon. Tanjiro and his sister Nezuko were the sole survivors of the incident, with Nezuko being transformed into a demon, but still surprisingly showing signs of human emotion and thought. After an encounter with Giyū Tomioka, a demon slayer, Tanjiro is recruited by him and sent to be taught by Sakonji Urokodaki, a retired Demon Slayer, to become a demon slayer, and begins his quest to help his sister turn into human again and avenge the death of his family.

Main characters
Tanjiro Kamado
Main article: Tanjiro Kamado
Voiced by: Natsuki Hanae, Satomi Satō (child) (English)
Tanjiro Kamado (竈門 炭治郎, Kamado Tanjiro) is the oldest son of a charcoal-seller. His entire family was massacred by Muzan Kibutsuji while he was selling charcoal, with only his sister Nezuko surviving. His goal is to find a cure for her and turn her back into a human, and it is to this end that he decides to join the Demon Slayer Corps. He initially trained under Sakonji Urokodaki, learning the “Water Breathing” (水の呼吸, Mizu no kokyū) sword-style, but later he began to use his family’s “Hinokami Kagura” (ヒノカミ神楽, lit. “Dance of the Fire God”) technique, which itself is based on the original breath style, the “Sun Breathing” (日の呼吸, Hi no kokyū) merging both to create a more sustainable fighting style. His skull is extremely thick and his headbutts are often used as gags throughout the series. He is a kind-hearted boy and often feels sympathy for demons and their victims. His endless optimism and simple nature often have people enjoy his company, but at the same time, it also puts him at odds with certain personalities. Tanjiro has a heightened sense of smell which allows him to track down demons and evade their attacks; it also allows him to figure out people’s real emotions. Tanjiro’s sword is colored black, occasionally turning crimson red and becoming much stronger when combined with Nezuko’s “Blood Demon Art: Exploding Blood”, a technique he later learns to perform without her help. Though he eventually avenges his family during the final battle, losing his arm and eye in the process while being fatally wounded, both are restored during Muzan’s attempt to turn him into his successor by transforming him into a demon, but thanks to his friends’ efforts, he has been able to become human again.

Nezuko Kamado
Main article: Nezuko Kamado
Voiced by: Akari Kitō (English)
Nezuko Kamado (竈門 禰豆子, Kamado Nezuko) is the daughter of a charcoal-seller and Tanjiro’s younger sister who was turned into a demon. Despite Muzan’s assumption that he killed them all in his attempt to sire a sun-resistant demon, Nezuko survived as a demon with her mind mostly gone. However, she retained enough of her memories to keep herself from killing Tanjiro. Due to two years of hypnotic conditioning by Urokodaki, Nezuko regards all humans as her family and will mercilessly attack any demon that threatens them. Instead of consuming human flesh, Nezuko regains energy from sleep and tends to become unconscious for long periods of time after overexerting herself. Initially, she is unable to speak and must wear a bamboo gag to keep from biting anyone. However in later volumes, the muzzle is removed and she gains the power of speech, albeit very broken due to not speaking for more than two years. Nezuko has several powers, including regeneration, superhuman strength, growing and shrinking rapidly and a blood demon technique called “Exploding Blood” (爆血, Bakketsu) that causes her blood to burn once it leaves her body. Tanjiro generally carries her around in a wooden box (a gift from Urokodaki) until she develops the ability to survive exposure to sunlight, with Muzan targeting her soon after. Nezuko’s mind and humanity are eventually restored during the final battle against Muzan Kibutsuji, and it is implied that she helps Tanjiro recover from his demon transformation by allowing him to ingest her blood, which contains antibodies for Muzan’s demonic blood.

Zenitsu Agatsuma
Voiced by: Hiro Shimono (English)
An extremely cowardly boy who was forced to join the Demon Slayer Corps at around the same time as Tanjiro to pay for his debts, Zenitsu Agatsuma (我妻 善逸, Agatsuma Zen’itsu) trained in the “Thunder Breathing” (雷の呼吸, Kaminari no kokyū) style by the former Thunder Hashira, but was only able to learn the first technique, and because of this he often belittles himself, despite the fact that he is talented. He joins up with Tanjiro on a mission and since then, he has tagged along with him, partially out of his infatuation with Nezuko, but also due to recognizing how honest and kind he is. His cowardly personality initially hinders him and he is only able to fight when he is unconscious or asleep, but he later learns to push his fears aside and take action when needed, to the point of developing a new, exclusive thunder technique. Zenitsu’s sword is colored gold. He has a heightened sense of hearing which allows him to distinguish a person’s true character by the sound of their heartbeat and track demons.

Inosuke Hashibira
Voiced by: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (English)
A young boy who was raised by his mother Kotoha Hashibira for a short time until she was murdered by the Upper Moon Two, Doma. After she sacrificed herself to save his life, he was raised by wild boars. Inosuke Hashibira (嘴平 伊之助, Hashibira Inosuke) uses a self-taught style called “Beast Breathing” (獣の呼吸, Kedamono no kokyū), along with two serrated swords in battle. When he gets new swords, he purposely makes them serrated in order to match his preference and fighting style (much to the swordsmith’s anger). He is brash and prone to reacting violently, and while he appears dim, he has proven himself in battle time after time. He is extremely muscular and rugged, which contrasts with his oddly effeminate face, which he normally hides under a boar’s head mask. This mask was actually made from the head of his deceased boar mother, and he wears it in memory of her. When Inosuke first meets Tanjiro, he treats him as an enemy, but they quickly become friends as they fight together. He often challenges Tanjiro to competitions that are accepted in good spirit. He took the test at the same time as Tanjiro and Zenitsu and was apparently the first to clear it. Inosuke’s swords are colored blue-grey. He has a heightened sense of touch, being able to locate enemies by feeling the vibrations in the air.

Kanao Tsuyuri
Voiced by: Reina Ueda (Japanese); Brianna Knickerbocker (English)
Kanao Tsuyuri (栗花落 カナヲ, Tsuyuri Kanao) is a Demon Slayer who joins at the same time as Tanjiro, Zenitsu and Genya. She is the protegé of Shinobu Kochō, the current Insect Hashira, and is being trained as a Tsuguko, or successor to the Hashira – however, it doesn’t necessarily mean that she’s an insect pillar nor has the same “breathing technique” as Shinobu. She uses the “Flower Breathing” (花の呼吸, Hana no kokyū) style and is a highly-skilled fighter, but has difficulty functioning without being directly told what to do. She grew up in a poor, abusive household and was sold as a slave, leading her to shut off her emotions as a way to cope. Even after being rescued and taken in by Shinobu and Kanae, she would never do anything unless ordered, so Kanae gave her a coin to flip which she could use whenever she had trouble making decisions. She relies heavily on her coin flipping to make decisions until Tanjiro becomes friendly with her, which convinces her to use the coin less often and stick to her own intuition. It’s also implied that she may have feelings for Tanjiro, to the point of risking her life to help save him when he was turned into a demon. Later in the series, it has been shown that she and Tanjiro had descendants, thus confirming her romantic relationship with Tanjiro. Kanao’s sword is colored pink and her heightened sense of sight allows her to easily dodge enemy attacks, but she strains herself by overusing this ability during her fight with Doma, to the point of becoming blind in one eye. She is later revealed to have married Tanjiro, having two great-great-grandsons named Kanata Kamado and Sumihiko Kamado between them.

Genya Shinazugawa
Voiced by: Nobuhiko Okamoto (English)
A Demon Slayer who joins at the same time as Tanjiro Kamado and Zenitsu Agatsuma. Genya Shinazugawa (不死川 玄弥, Shinazugawa Gen’ya) is a harsh and foul-mouthed individual obsessed with nothing beyond demon killing. His personality later changes after he fights beside Tanjiro to save the Hidden Swordsmith Village. Unlike most other Demon Slayers, he is unable to use Breaths or most sword fighting styles. Instead, he eats parts of the demons he fights, and through his special digestive system, he temporarily gains demonic powers. His powers can be greater depending on the strength and the amount of the demon he devourers. When he devours part of a demon, he is also susceptible to a demon’s weaknesses. He also carries a gun that shoots specialized bullets that are made of the same material as the Demon Slayers’ Nichirin blades. He is the younger brother of Sanemi Shinazugawa, the current Wind Hashira, who always avoids him, unaware that his older brother wants him to have a normal life. Genya is mortally wounded while assisting the Hashira against Kokushibo, reconciling with his brother before passing away.