Tanjiro Kamado is the protagonist of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. He is a Demon Slayer in the Demon Slayer Corps, who joined to find a remedy to turn his sister, Nezuko Kamado, back into a human and to hunt down and kill demons, and later swore to defeat Muzan Kibutsuji, the King of Demons, in order to prevent others from suffering the same fate as him.

Before he became a Demon Slayer, Tanjiro was a coal burner before his entire family was slaughtered by Muzan while his younger sister, Nezuko, was turned into a demon.

Fighting Style

Tanjiro was always shown to be a sword-fighting prodigy, starting out with skill rivaling Sabito, one of Sakonji Urokodaki's strongest students and surpassing him in half a year's time and avenging his death by defeating the Hand Demon. Despite being Mizunoto-ranked, his skill with the sword was superior to many of his seniors, even to the point of defeating two Lower Ranked members of the Twelve Kizuki. His improvement in swordsmanship is also exceptional, shown when he could take on Upper Rank demons months after recovering from injuries and not having experience in fighting enemies of that caliber in the past. This is evident as he managed to keep up and defend from Daki's fierce onslaught of sash attacks as well as Gyutaro's attacks, despite the latter being immensely skilled in wielding his pair of Kama and posessing over a century of experience in wielding it. Mitsuri Kanroji commented that accomplishing such feat was equivalent to 5 to 10 years of harsh training.

With intensive training in the Swordsmith Village, his skills and prowess with the blade could match that of the Hashira, the most powerful sword wielders in the entirety of the Demon Slayer Corps. Tanjiro later managed to match and surpass Akaza, who is a martial arts prodigy with over a century worth of experience in hand-to-hand combat. Despite not being as skilled as Yoriichi Tsugikuni, he was still able to fight on equal ground with Muzan, showing his immense proficiency in the blade, thus making him one of the strongest swordsmen of the current generation.

Breathing Style

Water Breathing: Taught to him by Sakonji Urokodaki, a previous Water Hashira and Water Breathing Cultivator, this was Tanjiro's initial Breathing Style. He became extremely proficient in it, enabling him to take on two members of the Twelve Kizuki, namely Rui and Enmu. However, due to his body not being suited to Water Breathing's techniques, Tanjiro decided to switch to the Hinokami Kagura as his main Breathing Style. Despite this, Tanjiro has not abandoned what he was taught, combining Water Breathing with the Hinokami Kagura, due to the strain Hinokami Kagura placed on his body, in order to have stronger strikes than when he used Water Breathing alone and move for longer periods than if he used Hinokami Kagura alone. He did this to save Hinatsuru from Gyutaro, and later used it once again during the Infinity Castle Arc to slay dozens of demons.

Hinokami Kagura: During his near-death experience in his battle with Rui, Tanjiro awakened this in a memory of his father teaching him this Breathing Style. As his body was more suited to the Hinokami Kagura, he quickly overpowered the Lower Rank demon. However, the sheer force and fatigue it place on his untrained body caused him to collapse and weaken significantly when using it, thus he only saved it for last ditch attempts to beat his adversaries.

After the Mugen Train Arc, Tanjiro trained more so that his body could take the strain of its techniques, and was capable of using multiple forms in succession in his battle against Daki, although the whiplash from doing so became quickly apparent. Still, through battling Hantengu and undergoing intense training during the Swordsmith Village Arc and the Hashira Training Arc, Tanjiro finally managed to master all the forms in the Hinokami Kagura, using it to its full potential against Akaza. When Tanjiro fully witnessed all the forms performed by Yoriichi Tsugikuni, he realized his own Hinokami Kagura had unncessary movements, different wrist angles, footwork and breathing rhythm. Removing them enabled him to awaken the legendary Sun Breathing, and he was able to temporarily battle on equal grounds with the Demon King, Muzan Kibutsuji, to the point that Muzan saw Yoriichi's visage overlapping with Tanjiro's own when he was performing the techniques against him.

Techniques

• First Form: Water Surface Slash - The user generates enough momentum to create a powerful single concentrated slash.
• Second Form: Improved, Lateral Water Wheel - An alternate variation of Second Form: Water Wheel created by Tanjiro Kamado that unleashes a horizontal spin instead of a vertical one.
• Third Form: Flowing Dance - The user swings and bends their blade in a winding motion along with their body and dances in a flowing pattern, slicing everything in its path.
• Fourth Form: Striking Tide - The user makes multiple consecutive slashes while twisting their body and sword in a flowing fashion to deliver multiple blows simultaneously.
• Fifth Form: Blessed Rain After the Drought - The user changes the grip on their sword and decapitates the opponent in a single flowing strike that causes little to no pain. It is a “sword strike of kindness” used when the enemy willingly surrenders.
• Sixth Form: Whirlpool - The user fiercely twists their upper and lower body, creating a whirlpool of air that cuts anything caught in it. Its effect and efficiently is enhanced underwater, where the user can draw water around their weapon to enhance their slashes.
• Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust - The user performs a fast and accurate stab, capable of reducing the impact of a moving target.
• Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin - The user cuts the target vertically in a flowing motion which is most effective when they are falling downward.
• Ninth Form: Splashing Water Flow, Turbulent - The user changes their footwork in a way that minimizes the landing time and surface needed when landing, allowing the user to move without limits. Ideal when fighting in a place with no solid foothold.
• Tenth Form: Constant Flux - The user performs a continuous flowing attack which seemingly takes the form of a water dragon that increases in strength and power with each rotation due to momentum.
• Dance - The user delivers a single high-powered vertical slash.
• Clear Blue Sky - The user spins their body horizontally to deliver a 360° slash.
• Raging Sun - The user unleashes two horizontal slashes to hit or defend from incoming attacks.
• Burning Bones, Summer Sun - The user unleashes a large circular slash that defends from imminent frontal attacks.
• Setting Sun Transformation - The user backflips into the air to deliver a powerful upended sword slash that aims to decapitate their target.
• Solar Heat Haze - The user charges towards the target, unleashing a horizontal slash seemingly covered in haze that fails to land, but actually does hit the target.
• Beneficent Radiance - The user spirals into the air and delivers a powerful slash that surrounds the enemy.
• Sunflower Thrust - The user unleashes a single thrust attack with the point of the blade.
• Dragon Sun Halo Head Dance - The user unleashes a continuous fast and powerful sword attack that seemingly takes the form of a Japanese dragon made of solar flames. This technique is capable of decapitating multiple targets at once.
• Fire Wheel - The user leaps behind the opponent and spins in the air downward, releasing a sword attack in a circular motion.
• Fake Rainbow - The user performs high-speed twists and rotations, thus creating afterimages used mostly to evade attacks. The afterimages work most effectively on enemies with good vision.
• Flame Dance - A two-combo strike which starts with a vertical slash and then a horizontal one right after.
• Thirteenth Form - The user continuously performs all twelve forms of Sun Breathing in repetitive succession to increase the accuracy and agility of his movements while reducing fatigue. This form was created solely for the purpose of killing Muzan Kibutsuji, since the repetition of all twelve forms aims to destroy Muzan's twelve vital organs (seven hearts and five brains) that move freely inside his body.

Abilities (Demon)

Overall Abilities: Tanjiro is later transformed into a demon by Muzan Kibutsuji as his last-ditch attempt at living on even after being killed by the Demon Slayer Corps; Muzan hoped to pass his feelings and abilities onto Tanjiro, deeming him capable of fulfilling his legacy and becoming the next Demon King.

It was later stated by Yushiro that Tanjiro's potential to evolve as a demon was a lot higher than his sister's, who was the first demon to develop a resistance to sunlight, and even Muzan's, the progenitor of all demons. This suggests that if Tanjiro reached his fullest potential, he would grow into a being stronger than the Demon King himself. And when combined with Sun Breathing, Tanjiro could possibly match Yoriichi Tsugikuni, the strongest Demon Slayer in existence.

Nigh-Absolute Regeneration: Upon assimilating the blood of the Demon King, a being who possesses the fastest and most powerful regenerative power out of all demons, Tanjiro's regenerative abilities surpassed that of all other demons that existed. Even Giyu Tomioka noted that this ability, coupled with his immunity to sunlight, makes him a being who is practically invincible to all forms of physical harm.

Sunlight Resistance: After he first transforms, Tanjiro is initially affected by sunlight as any normal demon would be, however he quickly develops a resistance to it and is soon able to move around in broad daylight without taking any damage. It's possible that he's able to do this because, as noted by Muzan right before his death, Tanjiro is of the same blood of Nezuko who overcame her weakness to sunlight as a demon. Due to his resistance to sunlight, all Nichirin weapons and even Bright Red Nichirin swords lose their effectiveness. Giyu claimed that, with his immunity to the sun, along with his enhanced regeneration, Tanjiro is practically invincible.

Unlimited Stamina & Endurance: All demons have a shared physical trait of endless and limitless stamina and vitality, simply being unable to accumulate fatigue or get tired no matter how hard they try to exert themselves. Demons can also endure pain and discomfort much better than humans and even the likes of Hashira, taking on onslaught of attacks as if they were nothing, such that a severed arm or slashed neck wouldn't even bother them. It is also revealed that demons don't need to sleep. Giyu Tomioka stated that demons don't feel pain or exhaustion.

Fighting Style (Demon)

Short-to-Mid Ranged Combatant: With Tanjiro's Blood Demon Art, Tanjiro's fighting style focuses on unleashing attacks from a distance similar to Muzan Kibutsuji. Had Tanjiro used Sun Breathing along with his Blood Demon Art, like Muzan suggests he would, Tanjiro's fighting style would be a combination of melee ranged sword attacks as well as mid-ranged whip attacks similar to Muzan.

As Tanjiro assimilated Muzan's blood, he subsequently gained his Blood Demon Art which allows him to control various properties and aspects of his body. Tanjiro first displays this by protruding bladed bone-like whips and appendages from his back which he uses to extend his attack range. However, due to his feral state, Tanjiro hasn't displayed the same skill at wielding them as Muzan.

Techniques (Demon)

Shockwave Energy Blast: Similar to Muzan, Tanjiro can project a ball of lightning-like energy from his mouth that prouduces shockwaves strong enough to create craters on the ground where it was released. The technique is powerful enough to blow away Zenitsu, Inosuke, and Goto while they tried to restrain him, with only Nezuko able to hold on. Even then, Nezuko's arm was damaged to the point her nails and flesh were destroyed from the blast.