Shinobu Kocho is one of the main characters in the manga and anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, created by Koyoharu Gotouge. She is a member of the Demon Slayer Corps, an organization that fights against demons who prey on humans. She holds the title of Insect Hashira (蟲むし柱ばしら Mushi Bashira?), which means she is one of the nine most powerful swordsmen in the corps.
Shinobu Kocho is also the younger sister of Kanae Kocho, who was the former Flower Hashira, and the adoptive sister of Kanao Tsuyuri, who is a fellow Demon Slayer. Shinobu joined the corps with her sister after their parents were killed by a demon, and vowed to protect others from suffering the same fate.
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| Shinobu Kocho |
Appearance and Personality
Shinobu is a petite young woman with a pale complexion and large, compound-like eyes that lack pupils, only a haze of gradient purple. She has black wavy hair that fades to dark purple, styled in a flat bun at the back of her head with a butterfly ornament. She has center-split bangs that flow down to frame her face, and two chin-length strands of hair in front of her ears. Shinobu is short and has a small and weak-looking build, which makes her unable to decapitate demons with brute force. According to Zenitsu Agatsuma, Shinobu is so cute that she could make a living on her looks alone.
Shinobu wears a dark purple Demon Slayer uniform with gold buttons, consisting of a jacket and hakama pants. Over her uniform, she wears a white haori that belonged to her sister, which has a butterfly wing pattern that fades into turquoise and pink on the sleeves and hem. She wears white sandals with purple straps for footwear, with a hidden blade in one of the heels.
Shinobu displays a bright, friendly and cheerful demeanor, always having an easygoing smile on her face regardless of the situation she is in. However, this is shown to be a façade that hides her true feelings. Shinobu enjoys teasing others, especially Giyu Tomioka, whom she often annoys with her sarcastic remarks. She can also be cruel and sadistic towards demons, as she kills them with false hope or without hesitation. She later reveals that she hates demons for killing her sister and many other people close to her, and that she wants to avenge them by exterminating all demons.
Shinobu also suffers from an inferiority complex due to her lack of physical strength compared to other Hashira. She envies them for having taller or more muscular bodies than her, and curses her own body for not developing further. She also feels guilty for not being able to fulfill her sister’s wish of living peacefully with demons.
Shinobu’s original personality was more brash, blunt and straightforward, as seen when she rescued Kanao Tsuyuri from slavery and adopted her as her sister. She was not very fond of raising Kanao and often scolded her for being indecisive. After her sister’s death, Shinobu decided to act more like her and adopted her positive attitude and mannerisms, while suppressing her anger and hatred.
Abilities and Fighting Style
As an Insect Hashira, Shinobu is a very powerful and skilled combatant. She has developed her own unique fighting style that compensates for her lack of physical strength to cut off a demon’s head. Instead of using a normal katana, Shinobu uses a modified one that resembles an insect’s stinger. She uses it to inject wisteria-based poison into demons, which can kill them within seconds or minutes depending on the dosage. Shinobu is also very fast and agile, allowing her to dodge attacks and strike before the enemy can react. She can also use medical skills to heal wounds or counteract poisons.
Shinobu also awakened her Demon Slayer Mark during her battle against Doma, the second strongest Upper Rank demon. The mark takes the form of three dots arranged in an equilateral triangle on both sides of her neck. The mark enhances Shinobu’s physical abilities and allows her to access the Transparent World, a state where she can see the muscles, veins, bones, and blood flow of living beings.
Shinobu created her own Breathing Style called Insect Breathing (蟲むしの呼こ吸きゅう Mushi no kokyū?), based on the movements and characteristics of insects. Her techniques are named after different types of insects and have various effects depending on the situation.
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| Shinobu Kocho vs Doma |
Some of Shinobu’s techniques are:
• Butterfly Dance: Caprice (蝶ちょうノ舞まい 戯たわむれ Chō no mai: Tawamure?) - The user leaps into the air and charges towards the opponent, stinging them multiple times with their blade to inject poison in just seemingly one strike.
• Dance of the Bee Sting: True Flutter (蜂ほう牙がノ舞まい 真ま靡なびき Hōga no mai: Manabiki?) - The user dashes at their target at blinding speeds and uses the momentum of their speed to then strengthen a single thrust into their opponent and inject poison into them.
• Dance of the Dragonfly: Compound Eye Hexagon (蜻せい蛉れいノ舞まい 複ふく眼がん六ろっ角かく Seirei no mai: Fukugan Rokkaku?) - A six strike attack with which the user aims to strike and inject their target with multiple doses of poison at the target’s weak spots (such as the neck, heart, torso, etc.) in order to kill them with a large dose of poison.
• Dance of the Centipede: Hundred-Legged Zigzag (蜈ご蚣こうノ舞まい 百ひゃく足そく蛇じゃ腹ばら Gokō no mai: Hyakusoku Jabara?) - An attack with which the user uses their full speed to run a zigzag pattern that confuses their opponent in order to create an opening for them to directly stab their opponent’s neck and inject poison to kill them, with the stab’s force and power being further enhanced by the momentum of their speed.
Shinobu also collaborated with Tamayo and Yushiro, two demons who are allies of the Demon Slayer Corps, to create a drug that can weaken or kill Muzan Kibutsuji, the first and strongest demon. The drug consists of four stages that can destroy Muzan’s cells, stop his regeneration, age him rapidly, and prevent him from creating new demons. Shinobu sacrificed her life to deliver the drug into Doma’s body, hoping that it would reach Muzan through him. Her sacrifice was not in vain, as the drug played a crucial role in the final battle against Muzan.
Trivia
• Shinobu’s name contains the kanji for “butterfly” (胡こ蝶ちょう), “fragrance” (香こう), and “dilute” (しのぶ).
• Shinobu’s favorite food is green tea.
• Shinobu’s birthday is February 24th, which makes her a Pisces.
• Shinobu likes lullabies, flower gardens, and demons who don’t harm humans.
• Shinobu dislikes demons who harm humans, bitter things, and physical labor.
