Sanemi Shinazugawa ⁶

Sanemi Shinazugawa (不死しなず川がわ 実さね弥み,, Shinazugawa Sanemi?), Genya's older brother, is one of the strongest and most agile Demon Hunters, standing out as such within the elite group as a Pillar being the current Wind Pillar (風かぜ柱ばしら,, Kaze Bashira?).

He is a man of average height, with light skin and gray eyes. He has a sharp look and no eyebrows, his hair color is a warm gray which he keeps short. He has his bangs divided parallel to his forehead into two thick strands, one in the center and the other on the left side of his head. One of Sanemi's most prominent features is his remarkable physique and the numerous scars that mark his face, chest and arms which he does not hide and maintains as a reminder of how hard his job is of which he feels proud. .

Regarding his clothing, this consists of the Demon Hunters' uniform, in his case being a personalized version of his uniform which is black dyed green, having the upper part of it unbuttoned, exhibiting his torso and his multiple scars. He also has a white jacket, as well as keeps his Nichirin sword on his belt. The latter in turn holds his Hakama which remains attached to each of his ankles thanks to two pairs of thick straps. Later between the arcs of the Functional Recovery Training Arc and the Pillar Training Arc, Sanemi cut his hair, leaving only the center bangs.

Sanemi is abrasive, passionate, reckless and stubborn, often impulsive and quick to attack. He is usually indifferent towards others and can get angry very easily. The only person Sanemi showed reverence to was Kagaya Ubuyashiki, and this was only after realizing that the man was much more than his outward appearance suggested. Sanemi has also shown a hunger for battle, wishing he could encounter the Demons that are part of the Twelve Demon Moons and proclaiming his eagerness in fighting Kokushibo, the Upper First Moon.

Sanemi's cold, rude, and dismissive behavior is a result of losing too many people he cared about in the past. Later, when he sees those people who have passed away, like his mother, he can't help but give her a smile so he can see her again. When Genya joins the Demon Hunters in searching for him, Sanemi repeatedly ignores him and lashes out at any chance of seeing him, but Tanjiro Kamado is able to tell him that Sanemi didn't really hate him; and in fact he still felt the same brotherly love that he had for her in childhood. However, this was never openly expressed as he tried to get Genya away from him and the Hunters so as not to be exposed to danger.

Due to all the losses he suffered in his childhood, Sanemi holds a deep hatred towards Devils and everything they stand for, holding a strong belief that humans and Devils do not deserve to peacefully coexist. When he makes up his mind on this matter, it is extremely difficult for even his fellow Pillars to change his mind. In order to prove his point, he ignored Tanjiro's words regarding the fact that his sister Nezuko was incapable of feeding on humans and in order to prove his point, he risked his physicality by injuring Nezuko inside her wooden box[5] and even taunting her with his blood to invite her to attack him[6]. Even after she does not do so, and Kagaya uses this as proof that Nezuko will not attack humans, Sanemi does not truly accept the Kamado siblings.
Sanemi has shown to be quite flexible in his use of weapons, being able to use Genya's sword and shotgun along with his own Nichirin sword in a high-speed battle against Kokushibo. Also, when he fought Muzan, he utilized fire by pouring oil on the demon and lighting it with a match.

As the Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Sanemi is a very powerful and skilled combatant. [5] He has demonstrated his extraordinary abilities and proficiency in combat on multiple occasions. By training under Giyu Tomioka, Sanemi was able to fight on equal terms 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 Rankers in strength. In particular, he was able to hold his own against the Upper Ranker One, Kokushibo. According to the demon, Sanemi's physical and technical abilities have reached their peak. [6] Kokushibo also commented that Sanemi and companion Gyomei Himejima stood out as highly skilled even among the ranks of the already powerful Hashira. [7] After the Upper Ranker was defeated, Sanemi quickly recovered from his brother's death and proceeded to aid the Demon Slayers against the Demon King, Muzan Kibutsuji. He played a pivotal role in damaging the demon along with the other combatants' attacks and was one of two Hashira who survived to see the end of the monumental battle.

Indomitable Will: Sanemi possesses an unbreakable spirit and incredible willpower. In his confrontation with Kokushibo, the second most powerful demon in existence, he has shown on numerous occasions his utter refusal to give up, despite the seemingly impossible odds against the demon and the numerous grievous injuries he received. Sanemi goes so far as to directly fight the demon, actively fighting Kokushibo alone for a long period of time and flat-out declaring that he would kill him for injuring Genya. After the battle ended with Genya's death, despite mourning his beloved brother, Sanemi was able to put aside his grief to face Muzan soon after.

Tactical Intellect: Despite appearing impulsive and reckless, Sanemi boasts an impressive ability to observe and understand in battle, particularly through action-based thinking. This was demonstrated when he deduced the threat of Kokushibo's miniature moon-shaped attacks, and again when he instantly grasped the abilities of Yushiro's talismans despite never having used them or been informed of their properties.
Combat Intuition: Sanemi possesses incredible split-second thinking and planning capabilities. He was able to catch and kill countless demons on his own despite having no knowledge of the Demon Slayer Corps or Nichirin Swords, creating elaborate ways to capture them by arming himself in any way he could and using his Marechi blood.
Weapon Versatility:
Sanemi almost stabs Kokushibo with Genya's Nichirin sword.

Supernatural abilities
Marechi Blood: Sanemi's blood was revealed to be one of the rarest types of blood, making it incredibly intoxicating and delicious to demons. It is also unique due to its intense potency that the slightest scent of her blood causes demons to immediately salivate and lose concentration, as her blood was able to affect the strongest of the upper ranks, Kokushibo. However, its effect wore off after a while and was shown to be completely ineffective against Kokushibo after getting used to him and Muzan. Despite the potency of her blood, Nezuko was shown to be able to resist it due to her own strong conviction and will to not eat humans, which is 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 clot through his mastery of Total Concentration Breathing, allowing him to stop his bleeding completely and continue fighting even when cut.

Standard Nichirin Katana: Sanemi carries with him a standard-sized and shaped Nichirin katana with a black blade that has an irregular green jaw-like pattern etched into both sides. The tsuba of his katana is in an abstract shape with 8 points with an overlaid pattern; each plate has a forest green core with a silver rim. The hilt of his katana is two-toned, with a white cord covering its upper and lower thirds and a green cord running down the middle. As a Hashira, Sanemi's blade has the words Demon Destroyer (butYaWho? YobutYo殺Ya, Akki Messatsu? ) etched into the side. With his katana, Sanemi has a standard sword scabbard that is a dark shade of grey with silver markings resembling scars scattered over it.

Personality
Since his first appearance, he was a temperamental and rude young man, grabbing Kanata Ubuyashiki by the hair without showing any kind of remorse. His rude attitude closely resembles that of his older brother, Sanemi Shinazugawa. Much later, having the opportunity to interact with other Hunters and Tanjiro Kamado, he began to show himself to be more sociable and charismatic, but still retaining some of his bad temper. Being unable to use a breathing technique like the rest of the Hunters, he felt insecure about his abilities especially after seeing his older brother's negativity towards his desire to join the Demon Extermination Corps. After this event, he decided to participate in the Final Selection in order to gain his brother's acceptance.

The relationship between Sanemi and Genya took an unexpected turn when Genya made the mistake of calling his brother a murderer for defending himself and ending the life of his mother, who had become a demon on what was the most complicated night for the Shinazugawa brothers.

From that moment on, Sanemi and Genya began to grow increasingly distant. Genya regretted inwardly having called Sanemi a murderer at a time when the latter was particularly emotionally fragile. To top it off, Sanemi's character became much sourer, he began to hate Muzan's demons more and more and tried to convince Genya that he was not talented enough to become a demon hunter like him. Sanemi also burst into anger when he learned that Genya had started eating demons to become more powerful.
It is at this point that we must move on to chapter 166 of the manga. It is revealed in it that Sanemi does not actually hate his brother, he simply wanted him to live a quiet life and raise a family while he took care of defeating Muzan. Because of this, Sanemi also underestimated Genya's abilities as a Demon Slayer several times. His idea was to discourage his brother until he made the decision to leave the Demon Extermination Corps on his own.