A Complete Timeline of Tanjiro's Life in Demon Slayer (2024)

Demon Slayer (2019)

A Complete Timeline of Tanjiro's Life in Demon Slayer (1)

By Louis Kemner

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A Complete Timeline of Tanjiro's Life in Demon Slayer (2)

The following contains spoilers for the Demon Slayer manga.

The story of Demon Slayer tells the broader tale of the Demon Slayer Corps' never-ending war against the demon king Muzan Kibutsuji, while the main narrative focuses on one particular hero: Tanjiro Kamado. Tanjiro wasn't there when Muzan rose to power and the Corps declared war on him, but Tanjiro did live to see the final battle against Muzan and the Upper Demons, and he was right there for all the biggest and best battles. At age 13, Tanjiro never would have expected to face the demon king himself, but just over two years later, that's exactly what he did.

Like many shonen heroes, Tanjiro Kamado had humble origins and trained hard to become the right kind of hero to save the world from certain doom, a great personal journey that involved hard work, bloody battles, meeting new friends, suffering horrible losses, and learning the full truth of his own family's lineage. In the span of two years, from 1913 to 1915, Tanjiro Kamado experienced a lifetime of adventure and battle, and it changed him forever.

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1

Tanjiro was born around the year 1900 in the rural Kamado family, the eldest child of Kie and Tanjuro Kamado. Tanjiro enjoyed growing up with his five brothers and sisters, being their best friend and sometimes babysitter as he helped his mother run the household. Tanjiro was content to live a peaceful and humble life as a charcoal seller, but all that changed one tragic night while Tanjiro was away on business in a nearby town in 1913. As Tanjiro slept away from home, Muzan arrived at the Kamado household and slaughtered them all, leaving a horrific crime scene for Tanjiro to return to the next day. To Tanjiro's relief, his sister Nezuko had actually survived the massacre, but when Tanjiro carried her to safety through the forest, Nezuko attacked.

Nezuko had become a demon, but she still retained some of her humanity, and she couldn't bring herself to harm her brother with fangs and claws. Fortunately for Tanjiro, the Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka arrived, and he and Tanjiro made sure Nezuko was pacified without anyone getting hurt. From there, Tanjiro would start a wandering adventure with his demon sister, weaving a basket for her to safely travel with him during the day. Then, after they narrowly survived a demon attack, Tanjiro was convinced to take up the way of the sword, training for two entire years with the masked man Sakonji Urokodaki. Tanjiro was determined to find a cure for Nezuko, and he would only survive to find it if he could fight demons as a proper demon slayer. He even hacked a boulder in half to prove his worth, and the final selection exam followed.

Tanjiro fought hard in the final selection exam, and he even slew the massive hand demon, a creature that had targeted and killed all of Sakonji's students in previous exams. Most significantly, Tanjiro actually showed compassion for the dying demon, recognizing its former human self buried deep within. That soon became a trend, with Tanjiro quietly crying for the demons he killed in the anime, but he would certainly not shed any tears for Muzan when the time came. In due time, Tanjiro passed the exam along with a few other students, including Genya Shinazugawa and Zenitsu Agatsuma, and Taniro was welcomed to the Demon Slayer Corps. He also had his Nichirin sword forged, and to everyone's surprise, the blade turned black, a rare color for demon slayers. From there, Tanjiro's true adventure began.

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The next major phase in Tanjiro Kamado's adventure introduced him to both the wonderful perks and the brutal realities of being a demon slayer. On the plus side, Tanjiro had access to all Corps resources, such as inns protected by wisteria and staffed by innkeepers who didn't charge slayers for staying. Tanjiro also made his first real friends on the road, starting with Zenitsu Agatsuma, whom he met one sunny afternoon. Zenitsu had passed final selection too, but he was too afraid to fight demons and put his Thunder Breathing style to use, so Zenitsu decided to follow Tanjiro for strength in numbers. Before long, the two of them came across Tsuzumi Mansion, where they met the boar-headed Inosuke Hashibira, who became their friend after they clashed with him a few times. Thus, Tanjiro formed his shonen-style trio, and the three of them would fight well together in many future battles.

This was also the first phase in Tanjiro's life when he had to fight demons for real as a swordsman, with no exam rules or mentors to save him from trouble in most cases. For example, Tanjiro needed all his wits and best techniques to defeat the swamp demon, who could split his body into three and ambush his prey from swampy holes in the ground when Tanjiro fought him in a town. Tanjiro also faced his first named opponents, those being the partnered demons Susamaru and Yahaba,who attacked the Kamados in Tokyo one night near lady Tamayo's clinic. Tanjiro even faced a fallen Kizuki, a drum-wielding demon named Kyogai, who had once been the Lower Moon 6. Tanjiro even faced an actual Lower Moon in this phase of his life, but he wasn't fully prepared for that challenge just yet. Even with the benefit of the Hinokami Kagura technique, Tanjiro needed timely Giyu's help to defeat the Lower Moon 5, Rui.

Tanjiro also met two of the oldest demons in the series in this phase, those being lady Tamayo the demon doctor and Muzan Kibutsuji himself, both of whom Tanjiro met in Tokyo at night. Tanjiro's encounter with Muzan helped make this quest feel even more real for him, since he met the monster who killed his family and turned Nezuko into a demon. Fortunately, Tamayo was much friendlier, and she even offered to help Tanjiro synthesize a cure for Nezuko if Tanjiro could send back enough blood samples from sufficiently powerful demons.

This phase of Tanjiro's adventure concluded when he met the elites of the Demon Slayer Corps, including the boss Kagaya Ubuyashiki and his most powerful warriors, the nine Hashira. Tanjiro could only watch as Nezuko resisted the temptation of Sanemi's blood in that tense encounter, and to Tanjiro's relief, Nezuko was welcomed as a guest after all. Tanjiro and his friends Inosuke and Zenitsu also trained at the Butterfly Estate to hone their skills and enhance their breathing, preparing them for the tough battles that lay ahead. That was when Tanjiro met Kanao Tsuyuri, who soon became one of his best friends.

Tanjiro's High-Stakes Battles Alongside the Hashira

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The third major phase of Tanjiro Kamado's demon-slaying adventure upped the ante in big ways. By then, he was already used to wielding a sword in battle against demons in the line of duty, but this time, he would fight alongside the elite Hashira and face off against the Lower Moon 1 and a few Upper Moons. To meet that challenge, Tanjiro would push himself like never before, including yet more training and enhancing his use of Hinokami Kagura.

Tanjiro first teamed up with the Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku, to deal with Enmu and the Mugen Train. By then, Enmu had become quite powerful as the Lower Moon 1, and Tanjiro fell victim to Enmu's dream-based abilities until the team awoke to resume the fight in the physical world. In that battle, Tanjiro pushed his teamwork to the next level, and he and Inosuke eventually claimed victory when they hacked off Enmu's head and derailed the entire Mugen Train. Tanjiro's victory soon turned sour when the Upper Moon 3, Akaza, arrived to take over the fight, and disaster followed. Tanjiro was forced to stand back and watch as Kyojuro fought heroically and desperately against Akaza, only to lose his life in the process. Akaza fled, and an outraged Tanjiro shouted at him, claiming a moral victory for the fallen Flame Hashira.

After that, Tanjiro accompanied the Sound Hashira, Tengen Uzui, on a mission to the entertainment district to find a powerful demon lurking there. Tanjiro's trio got their first true taste of an Upper Moon's formidable power, fighting the Upper Moon 6 herself by nightfall. Daki had been hiding in plain sight as a spider-themed villain, but when Tanjiro's team cornered her, Daki had no choice but to fight to the death. Tanjiro fought well with Hinokami Kagura, and he even helped restrain Nezuko after she went berserk with her adult demon form in the battle. Then, things got more personal when Daki's brother Gyutaro arrived and mocked Tanjiro for being unable to protect his own little sister. Although injured and weary, Tanjiro pushed himself and decapitated Gyutaro, wielding his demon slayer mark in the process. With both Gyutaro and Daki decapited together, the battle was won, and Tanjiro moved on.

Tanjiro's final adventure in this phase took him to the hidden swordsmith village, where he teamed up with the Love Hashira, Mitsuri Kanroji, and the Mist Hashira, Muichiro Tokito. Tanjiro also trained with a training dummy modeled after Yoriichi Tsugikuni, boosting his skills just in time for the Upper Moons 4 and 5 to attack the village one night. Tanjiro leaped into action alongside Nezuko and Genya Shinazugawa against Hantengu, who could split his body into several personas, and Muichiro fought Gyokko elsewhere. In the fight, Tanjiro thought he'd have to sacrifice Nezuko to the morning sun as he chased Hantengu and finished him off, but to Tanjiro's shock and relief, Nezuko survived the morning rays after all. Tanjiro was overjoyed that his side won the battle without losing anyone, so he departed in high spirits, but his greatest challenges still lay ahead.

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The fourth and final phase of Tanjiro's journey in Demon Slayer involved another training arc, this one far more vigorous and creative than any that came before. Tanjiro was subjected to the all-new Hashira training regimen, challenging him to enhance his swordplay by borrowing techniques from the remaining Hashiras' own styles. Tanjiro trained indoors to emulate Serpent Breathing while facing Obanai Iguro, for example, and he did ballet with Mitsuri Kanroji to enhance his flexibility, too. He also trained hard against Sanemi Shinazugawa, but that training got cut short when Tanjiro intervened in a sudden fistfight between Sanemi and his brother, Genya. Finally, Tanjiro trained with Gyomei Himejima to start using Repetitive Action to push a heavy boulder. Tanjiro actually mastered that move before Inosuke and Zenitsu did, which fired up Inosuke's competitive spirit.

One night, the final showdown began, and Tanjiro arrived on the scene as soon as he could. Muzan Kibutsuji arrived to confront Kagaya and his family, only for the Ubuyashikis to catch Muzan in a fierce explosion, and even lady Tamayo herself arrived to try and finish off Muzan. Tanjiro, his friends, and the Hashira showed up to back up Tamayo, only for Muzan to use Nakime's power to send everyone to the Infinity Castle and scatter them. That was the most recent thing to happen to Tanjiro in the Demon Slayer anime, while the completed manga showed fans what happened next.

Tanjiro and Giyu Tomioka both took on the Upper Moon 3, Akaza, which was just as well since Tanjiro and Akaza had become unfriendly rivals by then. Tanjiro very nearly lost that fight, only for him to tap into the "transparent world" that his father Tanjiro had once told him about, which allowed Tanjiro to turn the tide in that bitter fight. After that, Tanjiro took on Muzan himself, the last fight Tanjiro would ever experience as a demon slayer. In that endgame clash, Muzan showed off his full power and all but defeated Tanjiro, only for Tanjiro to witness a vision of his long-lost ancestor, helping him stave off utter defeat. Finally, in a bizarre twist of fate, Tanjiro actually became a demon himself at Muzan's hands and attacked his fellow slayers until everyone got him under control.

At long last, Muzan was defeated once and for all, and Tanjiro could rest easy knowing that the war was over and Nezuko had reclaimed her humanity. The rest of Tanjiro's life was totally open, since his goals had already been achieved, and his successors woudld go on to live peaceful lives in a demon-free Japan across the decades. Tanjiro Kamado had fought so hard and given everything not just to fix his remaining family, but to also make sure no family would have to suffer like his did ever again.

A Complete Timeline of Tanjiro's Life in Demon Slayer (7)
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

TV-MA

Animation

Action

Adventure

Release Date
April 6, 2019

Cast
Natsuki Hanae , Zach Aguilar , Abby Trott , Akari Kitō , Yoshitsugu Matsuoka
Main Genre
Animation

Seasons
5
  • Anime
  • Demon Slayer (2019)
  • anime

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