The countdown to the final installments in the Demon Slayer anime adaptation continues, and the official X (formerly Twitter) account promoting the series isn’t slowing down with their special promotional illustrations to hype up the Infinity Castle trilogy. Their latest illustration features an absolutely gorgeous illustration of Giyu Tomioka, the Water Hashira, against a reddish beige background that perfectly fits the glimpse of Muzan’s Infinity Castle that was teased at the end of Season 4 and in the trailers for the first film. While he isn’t beloved among his fellow Hashira, Giyu is a fan-favorite, and has consistently ranked highly in popularity polls for the manga. That said, his inclusion in these promo illustrations shouldn’t be a huge surprise for fans.
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Giyu’s place in the overarching story of Demon Slayer is critical to its final arc, too. Initially introduced in the first chapter of the manga, Giyu is a seemingly stoic young man who, despite allowing Nezuko to live after meeting the Kamado siblings, is a ruthless demon slayer. Of course, thanks to his early introduction to the series and the impact he’s had teaching Tanjiro how to fight demons, Giyu is given a surprising amount of development compared to some of the other Hashira featured throughout the series, and becomes a core part of Nezuko and Tanjiro’s journey despite his in-universe reputation.
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Demon Slayer‘s Hashira Play a Key Role In the Series’ Narrative For More Than Just Their Strength
While Demon Slayer is a relatively short series compared to other Shonen Jump giants, one of its strongest selling points is how well it balances such a large supporting cast of characters – many of which are only featured in isolated story arcs. Obviously, one of the best examples of this is Rengoku, the Flame Hashira who was spotlighted in the Mugen Train arc of the series. Narratively, Rengoku’s status as the Flame Hashira hinted at his heroically tragic fate, going out in a literal blaze of glory when facing off against Akaza, an Upper Rank Three demon. Despite the character only really being prevalent for a single arc, his death left a lasting impact on the story. Not only did his sacrifice embolden Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke to truly begin taking their jobs as demon slayers seriously, but it also sent a disruptive wave through the rest of the Hashira.
The other Hashira are treated similarly throughout the story, and while not all of them get a “blaze of glory” moment like what Rengoku had, they are each given a moment in the spotlight to help push Tanjiro forward in his quest to defeat Muzan. It’s an interesting use of a fairly common character trope seen in shonen anime, wherein there’s an elite group of supporting characters that act as mentors or rivals to the protagonist. Tanjiro, and especially his sister, Nezuko, are seen as underdogs throughout much of demon slayers story, with Tanjiro’s mission to avenge his family and turn his sister back into a human being viewed as frivolous by the people around him. However, the Hashira’s presence in the story and their willingness to hear out Tanjiro’s plight to save his sister, coupled with each of them receiving their time in the spotlight to explore the why and how their unique fighting styles make each of them extremely compelling and lovable to fans.
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The poster for Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
