Giyu Tomioka is one of the main supporting characters in Demon Slayer and is a key character in the developing story. Giyu is also a member of the Demon Slayer corps and is the Water Hashira. He is seen as a powerful swordsman who supports and guides Tanjiro on his journey to power while also believing in Nezuko's ability to not harm humans even though she is a demon.
Although his personality comes off as reserved and to himself, Giyu is one of the most strongest demon slayers to be featured in the series. But who is he really?
The Man, The Myth, The Legend
A stoic and expressionless young swordsman with messy hair, Giyu is seen wearing a haori which is split in the middle with two different patterns on either side and underneath that he wears the standard demon slayer uniform. The history behind his haori is that one side which is patterned with squares of green, yellow and orange belonged to his best friend who passed, Sabito and the other side which was a solid red belonged to his late elder sister, Tsutako Tomioka who sacrificed herself to save Giyu from a demon.
Apart from this Giyu also possesses a white kitsune mask with blue eyes, a gift that he received from the master swordsman Sakonji from when he was training under him. Giyu is known to have a reserved personality with a strong sense of justice, and hates those who are weak at heart and do not live up to their potential. Although Giyu despises demons he still allowed Nezuko to live because of the persistence he saw from Tanjiro, this shows although he is expressionless on the outside his true feelings is that he is a compassionate person with the ability to pass clear judgement based on situations.
Giyu is also someone who seems to be unaware what others think of him and is shocked to find out that he is hated by many, when he first finds this out from Shinobu Kocho he is unable to believe it. He is also seen to be a more introverted type of person and keeps to himself most of the time. Giyu also suffers from an inferiority complex which he developed when his best friend Sabito sacrificed himself to save him, ever since then Giyu has been living with the guilt of not being able to do anything while his best friend sacrificed himself for him, this drives him to believe that he is not competent to be the Water Hashira, Tanjiro however talks him out of this and pushes him to cherish his life and live on for those who sacrificed themselves for him, so he could live on.
Although Giyu is seen to be an emotionless person, he still put his life on the line to protect Tanjiro and Nezuko by vowing to commit ritual suicide if Nezuko ate a human. He has a brotherly type relationship with Tanjiro and is seen to constantly support Tanjiro as he grows in his abilities and strength.
Abilities And Strengths
Giyu's combat skills and swordsmanship are of the highest order, as a Water Hashira, Giyu can easily defeat lower and middle rank demons and is extremely smooth with his combat skills. He is also able to keep up with stronger upper rank demons as this is seen during his fight with Akaza, an upper-rank three demon. Giyu also possesses a demon slayer mark that when activated he is able to gain an immense amount of power. This also causes his blade to turn red. When attacking a demon with a red blade, a demon slayer is able to stop the regeneration of an injured demon.
Giyu's reflexes and speed knows no bounds as he is quick on his feet and has amazing reflexes. He is able to use his sword at lightning speed and cut down enemies while it seems like he didn't move his sword at all. He also has immense stamina to keep up with battles against stronger demons such as Akaza. He was constantly able to hold his ground while battling the demon even after sustaining multiple injuries. Giyu also possesses immense strength at extreme levels and is able to cause powerful winds by just a swing of his blade. Giyu's will and determination is also similar to Tanjiro's as he is also someone who never gives up despite being heavily injured.
As a Hashira, Giyu is a master swordsman and one of the most powerful in the entire demon slayer corps. His breathing style revolves around water breathing which was taught to him by the previous water Hashira, Sakonji Urokodaki. He has mastered the water breathing technique to the extent that he was able to create his own technique. His moves and techniques are so good that he was even able to keep up with Akaza, one of the most fastest demons in existence. During his battle with Akaza, Giyu also surprised the demon with his remarkable skills and attacks while also evading blows from the demon. Also, during his final fight with Muzan, he was able to keep up with the extremely powerful demon and block the attacks with pure calmness.