Thanks to the efforts of Koyoharu Gotouge and Ufotable, Demon Slayer’s anime has managed to put out some of the most flashy and exciting fight scenes of any anime in recent years. The series sets up the conflict between humans and vampire-esque demons who come out at night and feed on humans. Due to the demon’s insane powers, the only thing standing in their way are demon slayers, a special organization of warriors who use swords and special ‘breathing styles’ to give them a chance at defeating the demons.
These breathing styles vary from well-known elements like water and wind, to more unusual styles like love and sound. They’re all presented in the anime and manga with eye-catching attack effects, especially the more elemental styles. However, it isn’t fully clear whether or not these effects are actually happening, or are just a visual treat for the audience.
The Case For
In a story like Demon Slayer that deals in supernatural elements, giving the protagonists some supernatural powers to battle the demons makes perfect sense. Series with similar plots like Jujutsu Kiasen and Chainsaw Man certainly doesn’t draw any questions to how real their protagonists' abilities are. It makes perfect sense that if the audience is shown something, it is actually happening within the story.
There are also some feats the characters perform that seem impossible without the use of these elemental powers. Sun breathing for example, is implied to be the most effective breathing style against demons, as it was designed to kill the head demon himself, Muzan Kibutsuji. In this way, it mimics the sun’s effectiveness against demons. Zenitsu’s ‘thunder breathing’ is also said to create sonic booms, as though thunder was actually striking. In the fight against the upper 6 moon, Zenitsu was even portrayed flying across the sky like a lightning bolt.
When it comes to the details of the fights, the effects also seem to matter. In his fight against Akaza, The flames from Kyojuro Rengoku’s ‘fire breathing’ are shown being used to block some of the demon’s punches. In the fight against Kokushibo, Sanemi Shinazugawa unleashes a ‘wind breathing’ technique that is presented as a horizontal cyclone that even rips through several pillars.
The Case Against
Despite how clear-cut this may seem, the details of the series don’t actually support the effects being real. For one, at no point do the characters actually acknowledge them. If their swords could actually create water or fire, that would be an important factor they could use in battle. Despite this, nobody ever offers any advice or combat instruction that relies on these effects. No demon ever even mentions having to dodge these effects, despite how vital that would be if they were actually there.
Also consider that Tanjiro Kamado and Giyu Tomioka’s water attacks never actually leave anything wet, and Rengoku’s fire never actually sets anything ablaze. Even though Inosuke’s ‘beast breathing’ forms are portrayed like claw slashes, he doesn’t ever actually leave several cuts in something. Sanemi’s ‘wind breathing’ is probably the closest style to having real elemental effects, as strong enough movement can actually create strong gusts of wind. As a result, some of his attacks likely do actually create some aerial blowback, but the other styles would likely do so as well.
Also, not all the breathing styles create effects to begin with. Mitsuri Kanroji’s ‘love breathing’ for example, is only ever portrayed with long, curving pink slashes, which could easily just be the actual curls of her whip-like sword. Gyomei Himejima’s ‘stone breathing’ also doesn’t have any rock-like effects.
So What Is Really Happening?
Sometimes the simplest answer is the most reasonable answer. Demon Slayer’s swordsmen are gaining enhanced abilities from their breathing styles, but these are purely physical. Proper breath control can actually affect physical performance in the real world, and the series just turns up this phenomenon. The characters are indeed performing great feats of strength and speed, but this is purely off physical enhancement.
Zenitsu’s ‘thunderclap and flash’ mimics the speed of thunder and lightning, but in actuality it is simply a very fast strike from a very strong body. Tengen Uzui’s ‘sound breathing’ effects are not explosions caused by some supernatural power, but simply his ability to toss and detonate small explosives while fighting. And while Rengoku looks like he’s blocked Akaza’s blows with fire, he’s actually just blocking it with his sword.
So Why Does It Look Like That?
Despite not actually being a real element within Demon Slayer’s fights, these effects are actually a very clever move by Gotouge, and are likely responsible for a lot of Demon Slayer’s fame. A lot of fighting techniques in human history are named after things they aim to imitate. There are martial arts styles named after animals like snakes, and tigers after all. Just like these, the breathing styles are designed to emulate how something moves, like the fluidity of water or the speed of lightning.
However, in a visual medium like manga, simply presenting normal sword techniques isn’t the most attention grabbing. By adding these effects, Gotouge was able to make the visuals much more interesting, without sacrificing the swordsmanship for big balls of fire or water. This also allowed the team at Ufotable to use the effects to do things like affect the lighting of a scene, helping to make the anime as visually stunning as it is.