Demon Slayer has a great cast of characters, but the main protagonist, Tanjiro stands out from the rest. Unlike some other anime where the supporting cast supplants the main protagonist, in Demon Slayer, Tanjiro is at the center of things. Tanjiro has certain qualities that separate him from the rest of the anime protagonists.
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Tanjiro Kamado lived a happy life with the rest of his family in the woods. He would sell charcoal to raise money for his family, and all of them were content with what they had. But one disastrous incident changed his entire life.
When a demon attacked his home, he lost all of his family members with the sole exception of his younger sister, Nezuko, who managed to survive, but unfortunately, she was turned into a demon. Tanjiro had to care for her and protect her from the rest of the Demon Slayers. Tanjiro took it upon himself to find the solution for Nezuko’s condition, and he set out to become one of the Demon Slayers.
Tanjiro has several qualities that separate him from the rest of the shonen protagonists. First of all, Tanjiro had to fight not just for his own life but for the life of his sister as well. Nezuko being a demon complicated things as normally demons eat humans to live. Tanjiro had to convince everyone that he met of Nezuko’s behavior. He had to assure them that Nezuko was incapable of hurting any person, and she was not a threat to the people around her. Tanjiro went as far as to get beaten by other members of the Demon Corps for his decision. At a young age, Tanjiro not only had to take care of himself but also of his younger sister. Since Tanjiro knows that he cannot protect his sister without getting stronger.
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Another special quality about Tanjiro is he is not afraid of facing opponents who are stronger than him. Tanjiro has shown that he does not lack the courage to confront demons, who have better physical abilities. On several occasions, Tanjiro has just started chasing demons, even when he knows that he would be better off by letting them get away. Also, Tanjiro is not afraid to speak his mind even when he is facing his superiors. In the past, he has shown that he is ready to stand up to the Pillars and even attack them.
Finally, Tanjiro’s most noticeable quality is that he is exceptionally nice. Before he became a member of the Demon Slayer Corps, Tanjiro was kind to the people that he would meet and if there was a possible way of helping them, he would go out of his way to do so. Surprisingly, this quality did not change even after he became a Demon Slayer. Whenever he faces a new opponent, he knows that they are demons, and they probably have killed countless humans, however, Tanjiro still manages to find the slightest shred of humanity in them.
Demon Slayer follows Tanjiro’s adventures as he sets out to try to take control of his destiny and revert his sister back to normal. If Tanjiro mercilessly slaughtered every demon that he encountered, no one would bat an eye since they took everything away from him.
Despite their misdeeds, Tanjiro is still able to think that the demons have a dab of humanity left in them. Originally, Tanjiro was reluctant to even kill a demon, who tried to attack him, but he found the will in his heart to finally kill it. Tanjiro’s behavior purports an important point which is that even inside the most evil demons, there is a human side. It takes serious strength to overlook the damage that the demons have done, and it just shows Tanjiro’s immense mental power as a person. Every demon that he kills, he hopes that their death puts them at ease, and he tries to make them experience their humanity once again even if it is in the dying hours.
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Tanjiro’s behavior shows that one cannot start hating everyone for the wrongs of another especially without any reason. This is very important to the story, and it allows the fans to have a broader outlook towards the story. Tanjiro has the perfect balance as a character, as he is not a pushover because of his kindness.
Without a doubt, Tanjiro plays a very important role in the series, and his ability to not react violently whenever he meets a demon is very underappreciated by some fans. If he was a mindless killer of demons, who enjoyed hunting them without showing any kind of hesitation, he would be a “monster” like the demons in one way. So, it is extremely crucial to the success of the story that he remains the kind-hearted boy.
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