Demon Slayer Editor Saved One of Tanjiro’s Best Attacks

When Tanjiro made his debut in this world, manga readers did not know what to expect from the hero. Demon Slayer went on to position the hero as a top-tier fighter, but that only came around after he began mastering his breathing techniques. But as it turns out, the manga almost referred to Water Breathing by a very different name.

The update comes straight from a recent chat with the editorial crew at Shonen Jump. It was there fans were given a bunch of behind-the-scenes details on Demon Slayer. As it turns out, the technique was going to go by a different name, but one of the manga’s editors convinced the creator to change it last minute.

The tidbit was translated for fans on Twitter thanks to the user edomonogatari. The translator made a point to praise the editorial team because their work on manga goes overlooked more often than not by readers. “The importance of good manga editors cannot be overstated. For example, Demon Slayer‘s “Water Breathing” was known as “Urokodaki-style Breathing Technique” before Gotouge-sensei’s editor advised them to make it snappier.”

As you can see, the original name of the style had less to do with water and more to do with who honed the technique. After all, the progenitor was none other than Sakonji Urokodaki. The masked fighter is introduced to Demon Slayer fans at an older age, but his power cannot be denied. As the former Water Hashira, Urokodaki refined the technique and ultimately taught it to others like Giyu and Tanjiro. But when it came to Sun Breathing as a whole, well – it took some time to convince creator Koyoharu Gotouge a name swap was for the best.

What do you think of this Tanjiro tidbit? Can you imagine a world where this Demon Slayer edit wasn’t made…? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.