Sanemi Shinazugawa is one of the main supporting characters in the manga and anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. He is a Demon Slayer affiliated with the Demon Slayer Corps and currently holds the position of Wind Hashira (風柱 Kaze Bashira).
Sanemi is also the older brother of Genya Shinazugawa, a Demon Slayer who fights alongside Tanjiro Kamado and Nezuko Kamado. Before becoming a Hashira, Sanemi and his partner Masachika Kumeno managed to defeat the former Lower Rank One, Ubume, but Masachika died as a result of the battle.
Appearance
 |
| Sanemi |
Sanemi is a tall man with a slim and muscular physique. He has long jagged white hair and large pale purple eyes. His face and body are covered in scars accumulated over years of fighting demons. He cut his hair short between the Rehabilitation Training Arc and the Mugen Train Arc. He often wears an unbuttoned green version of the standard Demon Slayer uniform, revealing his muscular chest with a long-sleeved white shirt on top of it, with the kanji for "kill" (殺) engraved on the back, a white belt around his thighs, and tabi socks with a pair of white zōri sandals with green straps. During his battle with Kokushibo, he lost his right index and middle fingers.
Personality
Sanemi's fiery and reckless personality.
Sanemi is a rough, hot-headed, impulsive, and stubborn individual. He often acts on impulse and gets easily angered. He is indifferent to others and can be highly emotional. The only person Sanemi respects is Kagaya Ubuyashiki, and even then, only after realizing that there is more to him than meets the eye. Sanemi also displays a passion for fighting, hoping to encounter Upper Rank demons and expressing his excitement for fighting Upper Rank One, Kokushibo.
His cold, abrasive, and dismissive attitude is a result of losing too many people he cared about in the past. When he sees people he's lost, such as his mother, he can't help but give them a smile because he gets to see them again. When Genya joins the Demon Slayers to find him, Sanemi repeatedly rejects and explodes every time he sees him, but Tanjiro Kamado can tell that Sanemi doesn't truly hate him; he still holds the same feelings of love as when they were children. However, this is never openly expressed as he tries to distance Genya from himself and the Demon Slayers to keep him safe.
Due to all the people he's lost because of them, Sanemi harbors a deep hatred for demons and believes that humans and demons can never coexist. Once he decides on something, it's very difficult to sway him. He doesn't believe Tanjiro's belief that Nezuko Kamado won't eat humans and even goes so far as to test his own opinion by stabbing the box containing Nezuko. After baiting her, he even wounds his own arm to provoke her to attack him due to the effects of his rare blood. Even after she doesn't attack, and Kagaya uses this as evidence that Nezuko won't attack humans, Sanemi still doesn't fully accept the Kamado siblings.
Despite his mistreatment towards his younger brother Genya, Sanemi is indeed caring and loving towards him, admitting that he blames himself for not protecting him. He even expresses hope that Genya can settle down and have a family. After the battle with Upper Rank One ends with Genya's death, despite grieving for his beloved brother, Sanemi manages to set aside his sadness to confront Muzan shortly thereafter.
Sanemi also shows great anger and a certain emptiness towards Muzan but is also more cooperative with people like Giyu, someone he clearly had conflicts with in the past. Even when thrown out of the fight against Muzan, he shows unwavering courage and determination, akin to his fellow Hashira. After the final battle with Muzan concludes and time passes, Sanemi visibly softens. He can smile with Giyu, even after their past confrontations. Most surprisingly, he acknowledges his mistakes and apologizes to Nezuko for his actions. He even gives her a smile and a pat on the head, seeing Genya in the way she responds.
Abilities
As a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Sanemi is an extremely strong and skilled fighter. He has demonstrated exceptional combat abilities and skills on several occasions. During training with Giyu Tomioka, Sanemi was able to fight on par with the Water Hashira. In the battle at the Infinity Castle, Sanemi was seen obliterating dozens of demons equivalent to Lower Rank demons in strength and then holding his own against Upper Rank One, Kokushibo. According to Kokushibo, Sanemi's physical prowess and techniques have reached their peak. Kokushibo also commented that both Sanemi and Gyomei Himejima, who fought alongside him, were highly skilled even among the Hashira. After Kokushibo's defeat, Sanemi quickly recovers from his younger brother's death and continues to aid the Demon Slayers against the Demon King, Muzan Kibutsuji.
Indomitable Will:
Sanemi possesses an unwavering spirit and remarkable determination. In his clash with Kokushibo, the second-strongest demon in existence, he repeatedly demonstrated his refusal to give up, despite seemingly impossible odds against such a formidable foe and the severe injuries he sustained. Sanemi even directly confronted the demon, fighting against Kokushibo alone for an extended period and firmly stating his intent to kill him for hurting Genya. After the battle ends with Genya's death, despite mourning his beloved brother, Sanemi manages to push aside his grief to face Muzan shortly thereafter.
Tactical Intelligence:
Despite appearing rough and impulsive on the surface, Sanemi possesses impressive observation and understanding in battle, particularly through action-based thinking. He showcased this when he deduced the threat of Kokushibo's crescent moon attacks and again when he quickly grasped the capabilities of Yushiro's talisman despite never having used it or been informed of its nature.
Combat Intuition:
Sanemi has remarkable on-the-fly thinking and planning. He is capable of swiftly dispatching multiple demons on his own even without knowledge of the Demon Slayer Corps or Nichirin swords, creating elaborate ways to capture them by arming himself with various garden tools and a long chain. He would then locate and bind the demons to expose them to sunlight and burn them to death.
 |
| Sanemi |
Physical Abilities
Remarkable Speed & Reflexes: Sanemi possesses exceptional speed and reflexes. He is the second fastest runner among the Hashira. During the Hashira Training, when he clashed with Tanjiro over Genya, Sanemi moved so quickly that he appeared to teleport according to some observers. Later, Sanemi displayed a level of speed on par with Giyu's when training with him. When faced with demons equivalent to Lower Rank demons, Sanemi effortlessly slices them into pieces while still seated. Sanemi is seen to be considerably faster than Muichiro in his battle against Upper Rank 1, Kokushibo, as the former is able to keep up with the demon's techniques while the latter is easily defeated despite being marked. After awakening his Demon Slayer Mark, Sanemi is able to compete with and briefly overwhelm Kokushibo. Additionally, he is also able to keep up with a weakened Muzan, with assistance from other Hashira, for a considerable amount of time.
Extraordinary Stamina & Endurance:
Despite bearing numerous scars and gashes all over his body, Sanemi never shows signs of pain or suffering, even going so far as to cut himself with a sword to test Nezuko Kamado: furthermore, he doesn't even flinch while doing so. His exceptional stamina and pain endurance shine during his battle with Kokushibo, where he is able to hold his own against an Upper Rank demon for an extended period of time without using his Demon Slayer Mark and even after sustaining severe injuries from one of Kokushibo's techniques, he continues to fight, surprising the demon. During the final confrontation with Muzan, he is able to fight against the Demon King for approximately half an hour without rest, pushing his physical and mental capabilities to their limits without tiring. When Muzan is cornered, he is among the first to take action, still having enough energy to unleash two more Wind Breathing techniques.
Immense Strength:
Due to years of rigorous training, Sanemi possesses extraordinary physical strength. He can lift Nezuko Kamado in her box with one hand effortlessly, knock Zenitsu Agatsuma unconscious with a casual punch, break wooden swords due to swinging them with excessive force, and even slice Tanjiro Kamado's ear with a single kick. He is also briefly able to contend with Kokushibo, one of the physically strongest demons in existence, in their sword battle.
Supernatural Abilities
Marechi Blood:
Sanemi's blood is revealed to be a rare type of blood, making it highly intoxicating and appealing to demons. He is also unique in that his blood's potency is so intense that even the slightest scent of it causes demons to drool and lose focus, as demonstrated when his blood affects the strongest Upper Rank demon, Kokushibo. However, its effect diminishes after a while and proves to be completely ineffective against both Kokushibo after he becomes accustomed to it and Muzan. Despite its potency, Nezuko is able to resist it due to her own conviction and willpower not to consume humans, which is further reinforced and amplified by the hypnosis implanted in her brain by Sakonji Urokodaki. In addition to its effects on demon senses, Sanemi's blood is able to freeze through his mastery of Total Concentration Breathing, allowing him to halt his bleeding completely and continue fighting even when severely wounded.
Fighting Style
Swordsmanship Expert: As a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Sanemi is one of the strongest and most skilled swordsmen in the entire organization. His sword skills are on par with those of Giyu Tomioka, another highly skilled swordsman, as they trained together during their Hashira training. Sanemi's swordsmanship prowess allows him to hold his own against Upper Rank One, Kokushibo, a demon with centuries of swordsmanship experience under his belt.
Breath Styles
Wind Breathing (風の呼吸 Kaze no kokyū): The Breath Style learned and mastered by Sanemi alongside Masachika Kumeno under the guidance of an unknown cultivator. As the Wind Hashira, Sanemi is considered the most skilled user of Wind Breathing in his generation. His level of mastery with Wind Breathing is reminiscent of the first Wind Hashira during the Sengoku Era, the Golden Age of the Demon Slayer Corps.
 |
| Sanemi |
Techniques
First Form:
Storm Gust Dust Cutter (壱ノ型 鹿旋風・削ぎ Ichi no kata: Jin Senpū - Sogi?) - The user rushes forward at a blind speed and continuously slashes in a horizontal cyclone pattern.
Second Form:
Claw, Wind Purification (弐ノ型 爪・科戸風 Ni no kata: Sō - Shinato Kaze?) - The user lifts their sword up to the right above their head and releases four simultaneous vertical slashes downwards onto their opponent, resembling a claw.
Third Form:
Clear Wind Storm Cleanse Tree (参ノ型 晴嵐風樹 San no kata: Seiran Fūju?) - The user releases a swirling pattern of slashes around their body, which can both defend against oncoming attacks and slice their surroundings.
Fourth Form:
Rising Wind Gust of Dust (肆ノ型 昇砂塵 Shi no kata: Shōjō Sajinran?) - The user releases multiple upward slashes from beneath their target.
Fifth Form:
Cold Wind Mountain Wind (伍ノ型 木枯らし颪 Go no kata: Kogarashi Oroshi?) - The user creates multiple looping circular slashes that increase in size from above their target.
Sixth Form:
Black Wind Mountain Mist (陸ノ型 黒風烟嵐 Roku no kata: Kokufū Enran?) - The user rotates their body in an uppercut motion, creating a tornado-like slash.
Seventh Form:
Strong Wind, Sudden Gust (漆ノ型 頸風・天狗風 Shichi no kata: Keifū - Tengu Kaze?) - The user leaps into the air while swinging their sword to produce a strong wind gust that tears apart their opponent.
Eighth Form:
First Wind Slash (捌ノ型 初烈風斬 Hachi no kata: Sho Rekkaza Kiri?) - The user jumps into the air and swings their sword horizontally, creating a circular wind vortex that instantly cuts down opponents.
Ninth Form:
Typhoon Idaten (玖ノ型 韋駄台風 Ku no kata: Idaten Taifū?) - The user performs a backflip into the air and while upside-down, releases a powerful circular wind gust that cuts through anything beneath it.
Equipment
Standard Nichirin Katana: Sanemi carries a standard-sized and shaped Nichirin katana with a black blade engraved with a jagged jaw-like pattern that's green in color on both sides. His katana's handguard has an abstract shape with eight points that overlap, with each plate having a forest green core with silver edges. As a Hashira, his sword bears the words "Destroy Demons" (惡鬼滅殺 Akki Messatsu) engraved on its side. With his katana, Sanemi possesses a standard dark gray sword sheath with silver marks resembling scattered scars spread across it.
As the Fearless Wind Hashira, Sanemi Shinazugawa is one of the most powerful and influential characters in the world of Demon Slayer. With extraordinary physical abilities, high combat skills, and the use of the Total Concentration Breathing Style, he is a terrifying adversary for demons and a valuable asset in the fight against darkness. Despite his rough nature, Sanemi also has a softer side and cares deeply for the people he loves, making him a complex and intriguing character in the story of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.
