Sanemi Shinazugawa

Wind Breathing: A Breathing Style that Sanemi learned and mastered with Masachika Kumeno after tutelage from an unknown cultivator. As the Wind Hashira, Sanemi is considered to be the most skilled Wind Breathing user of his generation. His level of skill with Wind Breathing reminded Kokushibo of the first Wind Hashira during the Sengoku Era, the Golden Age of Demon Slayers.

Techniques First Form: Dust Whirlwind Cutter - The user dashes forward at blinding speeds and slashes continuously in a horizontal cyclone pattern. Second Form: Claws, Purifying Wind - The user lifts the sword upwards towards the right, above their head and unleashes four vertical slashes at once down on the enemy resembling claws. Third Form: Clear Storm Wind Tree - The user unleashes a whirlwind of slashes around their body that can defend them from incoming attacks and slice up their surroundings. Fourth Form: Rising Dust Storm - The user releases several slashes above them from below their target. Fifth Form: Cold Mountain Wind- The user leaps up and charges their target in a swirling motion before swinging their sword in a horizontal sweep, creating several circular arched slashes that increase in size from above their target. Sixth Form: Black Wind Mountain Mist- The user rotates their body in an uppercut movement, creating a tornado of slashes. Seventh Form: Gale, Sudden Gusts - The user leaps into the air while swinging their blade which generates gale-force winds to shred their opponent apart. Eighth Form: Primary Gale Slash (捌はちノ型かた　初しょ烈れっ風かざ斬きり, Hachi no kata: Sho Rekkaza Kiri?)[21] - The user leaps into the air and swings their blade horizontally, creating circular torrents of wind that slice up the opponent instantly. Ninth Form: Idaten Typhoon (玖くノ型かた　韋い駄だ天てん台たい風ふう, Ku no kata: Idaten Taifū?)[22] - The user backflips into the air and while upside-down, unleashes a powerful gust of circular wind that slashes apart anything below.

Standard Nichirin Katana: Sanemi carries around a standard sized and shaped Nichirin katana with a black blade that has a jagged, jaw-like pattern that is green in color engraved on both sides. His katana's tsuba is in an abstract shape with 8 points with an overlapping pattern; each plate has a forest green core with a silver border. His katana's handle is two toned in color, with white cord covering its upper and lower thirds, and dark green that is wrapped with a green cord in the middle, capped with a dark green kashira. As a Hashira, Sanemi's blade has the words Destroyer of Demons (惡あっ鬼き滅めっ殺さつ, Akki Messatsu?) engraved on the side. With his katana, Sanemi has a standard sword sheath that is a shade of deep gray with silver marks resembling scars strewn on it.

His given name, Sanemi, is composed of the Kun'yomi reading of the kanji for "seed (of a fruit), core" (実さね, sane?) and the Go-on'yomi for "all the more, increasingly" (弥み, mi?). Sanemi's surname has the Nanori "immortality river" (不死川しなずがわ, shinazugawa?). Sanemi's rankings in the popularity polls are as follows: Sanemi ranked 15th place in the first popularity poll with 207 votes. Sanemi ranked 9th place in the second popularity poll with 5,716 votes. Sanemi was born in the Chuo ward in Kyōbashi, Tokyo.[24] As revealed during his bout against Giyu, Sanemi loves Ohagi and considers it his favorite thing,[24] frequently cooking it. However, his pride refuses him from saying anything about it. Like Kiyoshi, Sanemi is a marechi, but his blood is considered rarer than the average marechi. Because of this, the smell of it can intoxicate demons and disrupt their senses and movement speed. Sanemi always keeps his uniform open, as he is proud of his muscles.[24] Sanemi shares the same listed height and weight as Muzan Kibutsuji.[24] Sanemi's hobby is raising Japanese rhinoceros beetles.[25] Sanemi’s favorite food is red bean mochi, as he enjoys eating it along with matcha tea.[25] Sanemi viewed the other Hashira as follows:[26] "I talk to her fairly often (because she's Kanae's sister)." - Insect Hashira "I guess he's alright. Sometimes he acts big brotherish to me." - Sound Hashira "I don't care for her. (I can't stand ditzes.)" - Love Hashira "I respect that guy." - Stone Hashira "I can't stand him! (It ticks me off how he holds himself aloof.)" - Water Hashira "I like 'im. He's a good guy." - Flame Hashira "We've barely spoken." - Mist Hashira "I get along with him the best." - Serpent Hashira Sanemi's level of openness is ranked at 60%.[26] Sanemi is one of the only four Hashira who use a normal Nichirin Katana. The other three are Kyojuro Rengoku, Giyu Tomioka, and Muichiro Tokito. Sanemi is the only person shown to actively hunt for and kill demons before DS-HQ

Master Swordsman: Being a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Sanemi is one of the most powerful and skilled swordsmen in the entire organization.[12] His swordsmanship skills matched that of Giyu Tomioka's, a fellow Hashira and master swordsman, during their sparring match while undergoing Hashira Training. Sanemi's skills with the sword allowed him to keep up with and impress Upper Rank One, Kokushibo, a demon with centuries of swordsmanship skill under his belt.[13] Sanemi could also adapt and work with Gyomei's Stone Breathing techniques to push back Kokushibo.

Marechi Blood: Sanemi's blood was revealed to be one of the rarest blood types, making it incredibly intoxicating and mouth watering to demons. It is also unique due to its intense potency that the smallest whiff of his blood immediately causes demons to salivate and lose focus, as his blood was able to affect the strongest of the Upper Ranks, Kokushibo. However, its effect waned after a while and was proven to completely ineffective against Kokushibo after being accustomed to it and Muzan. Despite his blood's potency, Nezuko was shown to be able to resist it due to her own strong conviction and will not to eat humans, which is even further cemented and strengthened by the hypnosis planted in her brain by Sakonji Urokodaki. In addition to its potency against a demon's senses, Sanemi's blood was able to coagulate through his mastery of Total Concentration Breathing, which enabled him to stop his bleeding entirely and continue fighting even when cut.

Immense Speed & Reflexes: Sanemi possesses tremendous speed and reflexes. He is said to be the second fastest runner among the Hashira. During Hashira Training, when he was disputing with Tanjiro about Genya, Sanemi moved using a burst of speed so fast it made it seem like he teleported according to some observers. Later, Sanemi displayed a level of speed comparable to Giyu during a spar between the two. Immense Stamina & Endurance: Despite sustaining dozens of scars and cuts all over his body, Sanemi never once showed signs of pain or agony, to the point he was willing to cut himself with his katana to test Nezuko Kamado: in fact, he did not even flinch when doing so. His incredible stamina and pain endurance also shone through during his battle with Kokushibo, where he could keep up with the Upper Rank demon for an extended period of time by himself without the Demon Slayer Mark, and despite upon receiving numerous severe injuries from one of Kokushibo's techniques, he still continued to fight, which shocked even Kokushibo. During the final confrontation with Muzan, he could fight the Demon King for roughly half an hour straight without rest, exerting his physical and mental capabilities to its limit without tiring out. When Muzan was cornered, he was one of the first ones to take action, having enough energy to unleash two more Wind Breathing techniques.

Immense Strength: Due to years of harsh training, Sanemi possesses incredible physical strength. He could lift Nezuko Kamado in her box with a single hand without effort, knock out Zenitsu Agatsuma with a casual strike, break a wooden sword because he swung it with too much force, and cut Tanjiro Kamado's ear with a single kick even though that kick just grazed him. He was also able to briefly contend with Kokushibo, one of the physically strongest demons in existence in a sword fight, and was even able to push the demon's blade down by parrying the blow with his own.

As a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Sanemi is a very powerful and skilled combatant.[5] He has displayed his extraordinary abilities and proficiency in combat on multiple occasions. When sparring with Giyu Tomioka, Sanemi was able to fight on equal grounds with the Water Hashira. In the battle within the Infinity Castle, Sanemi was shown to be capable of instantly annihilating hordes of demons that were comparable to the Lower Ranks in strength. Most notably, he was able to hold his own against Upper Rank One, Kokushibo. According to the demon, Sanemi's physical abilities and techniques have reached their peak.[6] Kokushibo also commented that Sanemi and the accompanying Gyomei Himejima stood out as highly skilled even among the ranks of the already powerful Hashira.[7] After the Upper Rank was defeated, Sanemi was very quick to recover from the death of his brother and proceeded to assist the Demon Slayers against the Demon King, Muzan Kibutsuji. He played pivotal roles in damaging the demon in conjunction with the attacks of the other combatants and was one of the two Hashira to survive to see the end of the monumental battle.

Indomitable Will: Sanemi possesses an undaunted spirit and incredible willpower. In his clash with Kokushibo, the second most powerful demon in existence, he has displayed on numerous occasions his utter refusal to give up, despite the seemingly impossible odds against the demon and the numerous severe wounds he received. Sanemi goes so far as to directly battle the demon head-on, actively fighting Kokushibo by himself for an extended amount of time and flatly declaring he would kill him for injuring Genya. After the battle ended with Genya's death, despite mourning his beloved brother, Sanemi was able to push aside his grief to confront Muzan shortly after.

Tactical Intellect: Despite coming across as outwardly brash and impulsive, Sanemi boasts impressive observation and comprehension in battle, particularly through action-based.

Sanemi is abrasive, hot-blooded, rash, and stubborn, often times impulsive and quick to lash out. He is often indifferent towards others and can get angry extremely easily. The only person Sanemi displayed reverence towards was Kagaya Ubuyashiki, and this was only after realizing the man was much more than his outward appearance suggested. Sanemi has also displayed a hunger for battle. Sanemi's cold, rude, and dismissive behavior is the result of losing too many people he cared about in the past. Later, when he sees those people who have passed, such as his mother, he can't help but give her a smile to be able to see her again. When Genya joins the Demon Slayers in search of him, Sanemi repeatedly dismisses and lashes out during any chance of seeing him, but Tanjiro Kamado is able to tell Sanemi didn't truly hate him; and in fact still bore the same brotherly love he had for him in childhood. This was however never expressed outwardly as he tried to push Genya away from him and the Demon Slayers so he wouldn't be exposed to danger. He only revealed his care for Genya during the battle against Kokushibo, enraged by the demon's maiming of his younger brother. He sorely grieved Genya's death after the battle, proving that he truly loved his brother. Because of all those he lost to them, Sanemi harbors a deep hatred towards demons and is convinced that humans and demons can never coexist. Sanemi still doesn't truly accept the Kamado siblings. Tanjiro is ultimately right about Sanemi. Despite his poor treatment of his brother, Genya, Sanemi truly did love and care for his brother, admitting that he blames himself for not protecting him. He even expresses that he wished that Genya would settle down and have a family. Following the battle with Upper Rank One, Sanemi shows not only great anger and a certain emptiness towards Muzan, but more cooperation with the likes of Giyu, someone he clearly did not get along with in the past. He can be nice sometimes.

Appearance Sanemi is a tall, very muscular young man with a light skin tone, and long, spiky, ruffled white hair, featuring two large bangs on the left and middle side of his face, which he cuts short somewhere in between the events of the Hashira meeting and the Mugen Train incident. He has large almond-shaped eyes, long eyelashes. and small, pale purple irises with dark swirls, which turn bloodshot whenever he's angry. He also has dark patches beneath his eyes, making him appear perpetually tired or restless, giving him a crazed expression on his face.

Sanemi's appearance is notable for his many scars. A large, jagged scar runs across the upper right side of his forehead toward the center, accompanied by an X-shaped scar that cuts across his right temple and extends down through his right brow, lying just beneath the first. Another prominent, uneven scar goes over his right cheekbone and across the bridge of his nose — which came from an injury he sustained as a child when his transformed mother attacked him. He has another X-shaped scar on his chest, and a large, diagonal scar across his abdomen. He has four, smaller scars on both his hands and forearms, which he sustained from past battles with demons.

Sanemi wears the standard Demon Slayer Corps uniform, which is black in the manga and tinted a dark green in the anime. His uniform consists of a button-up jacket with a stand-up collar and long sleeves, featuring gold buttons and a shirt pocket on the left breast, with the kanji for Destroy (滅めつ, Metsu?) engraved on the back of the uniform. Beneath his uniform, he wears a white long-sleeved collared undershirt. Unlike the typical wear, Sanemi’s jacket and undershirt is left almost entirely unbuttoned, exposing his chest and toned abs, with only the lowest button fastened. The sleeves of his jacket and undershirt are rolled up to his elbows. He completes his outfit with a pair of matching tattsuke-hakama pants, fastened with a white belt. And a white short haori

Sanemi Shinazugawa (不死しなず川がわ 実さね弥み, Shinazugawa Sanemi?) is a major supporting character of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. He is a Demon Slayer of the Demon Slayer Corps and the Wind Hashira (風かぜ柱ばしら, Kaze Bashira?) of the Taisho era.[2]

Sanemi is also the older brother of Genya Shinazugawa, a Demon Slayer who fought alongside Tanjiro Kamado and Nezuko Kamado.