#ask mugen

[spmspam]

on your creative wip list- what's "introducing mugen"?

Holy wowie wow how DID I miss this ask from way back on... JANUARY THIRD?? I am so sorry, Anon! :( I just got another Ask Mugen--that's when I noticed this Ask gathering dust in my inbox--so I will be fulfilling that long awaited wip of Introducing Mugen and then I'll answer the new Ask! Anywho, Mugen is something of a mascot for the blog and they will be here to answer any questions about this fan project! I'm excited to show them off! ...as soon as I get over this current bout of Apparently-Not-Covid-Even-Though-My-Spouse-Tested-Positive... Stay tuned! <3

[xxlady-lunaxx]

hii!! i've read ur kamado siblings + giyuu stories on here and they are WOW amazing! if u can (dont feel rushed please!) could u write a little something with big brother rengoku (he lives!) and tanjiro (and nezuko if u like!) like a little aftermath of mugen train arc when they're like waking up, recovering, and dealing with like almost dying? thank u so much!!

awhh i'm so glad you like them!! and of course I can :D cw! spoilers, mentions of suicide?? (nobody died, js the reference to Tanjiro having to die to release Enmu's hold on his dreams) also totally didn't get carried away and included a lot of Kyojuro being big brother to Inosuke too 😭

Kyojuro had been the immediate concern when the Kakushi had arrived to find the survivors. There was, in fact, only survivors. But Kyojuro was so close to dying that there was a chance there may be one death. The others injured weren't in need of instant care except Tanjiro, though he would pull through as long as they made sure he didn't lose any more blood. But despite all of this, Kyojuro was the first to awake of the quintet—even Nezuko was still fast asleep, recharging after the amount of blood she had shed at the train. Kyojuro's mind was far from his own wounds, though he was not ignorant to them, and after undergoing Shinobu and Aoi's various tests and having another change of bandages, he requested to see the trio.

He was brought into the room with them, having been pronounced at least healed enough to be moved to a different room. He watched the sleeping figures of the children from his own bed, a crease of concern furrowing his eyebrows as he noticed the amount of bandages that peeked out from their clothing and the little signs of pain in their contorted expressions. He expressed his own worry, having Shinobu confirm that all three would heal just fine.

After he was quite sure that they would be fine, Kyojuro fell back into a deep but restless slumber. The next time he woke up, Zenitsu and Inosuke had awoken as well. Tanjiro had been injected with a sedative so he wouldn't wake up and accidentally worsen his stomach wound, but the other two were fine. In fact, they were the reason Kyojuro had woken up. They were loud. Enough to wake Kyojuro up even with his worse-for-wear hearing. Instead of chastising them for this, however, he simply laughed. He supposed it was nice to see them strong enough to get up and have shouting matches with each other. And he admired their ability to be so childish despite all the circumstances; this was why he kept fighting—to give children the childhoods they deserved.

He had to assure a fretting Zenitsu that he would be fine, especially with Aoi and Shinobu's quick thinking as they patched him all up. Of course, he was in no position to be back up and fighting any time soon, but he hoped that maybe he could find something to do to help.

As it turned out, he did find a way to help. In the Mugen Train, Zenitsu had been asleep most of the time and didn't remember most of what had happened, nor had he been there when Kyojuro had been fighting Akaza. But Inosuke had been awake and was now getting all fidgety, restless and constantly glancing over at Tanjiro. Eventually, Kyojuro asked what was wrong, having confirmed it as strange behavior even for Inosuke.

Of course, Inosuke was quite reluctant to spill the beans.

"I'm fine! I'm stronger than all of you! I woke up before Monitsu and Kentaro!! Don't be an idiot!!" he would gloat, crossing his arms and grinning proudly—his mask had been set aside to wash.

Kyojuro didn't press him, but he asked Inosuke how he was from time to time. Finally, Inosuke broke while they watched Aoi tend to Tanjiro's injuries. Tanjiro was prone to wake up soon and they had wanted him to be as healed as possible so he didn't attempt to move around too much.

There was no prompting to be needed this time, however. (Kyojuro had asked how Inosuke was earlier, only to recieve a "I'M GREATER THAN EVEN MISMATCHED HAORI"—whom he assumed meant Giyuu). Inosuke was staring at Tanjiro, uncharacteristically silent, when he started: "The dream things? With the ugly eye demon."

Kyojuro tilted his head. "The... Lowermoon?" he asked curiously. He scoot over a bit to give Inosuke room on his bed.

Inosuke shrugged, perching on the bed and turning to Kyojuro. "Gompanchiro said that to get out of the dreams you had to die," he explained. Then he huffed, glaring at the ground. "He was so stupid and kept getting reality and the dreams confused, it was annoying. He almost killed himself actually several times and it made fighting harder when I had to keep stopping him. This is why I'm way stronger than him, he's a big idiot."

Kyojuro nodded slowly, seeing where this was going. "But you did stop him! He's fine! See, young Aoi there said he'll be waking up any time now!" he encouraged, offering the boy a smile.

Inosuke grumbled. "Yeah, but he almost did it a lot. Too much. I thought he did it once. He also got stabbed right before so that was also annoying," he spat, turning to shoot daggers at Tanjiro's unconscious body. "I thought he died for a moment."

"Ah." Kyojuro's expression softened. Despite what Inosuke liked to claim, he really did care a lot. "Then it's good he has you by his side. You can help each other along the way."

Inosuke thought about this for a moment. "Yeah—he better be thanking me when he wakes up, it's all because of me he's fine!!" He cackled abruptly, placing his hands on his hips and opening his mouth to shout.

Aoi turned and snapped at him, telling him to sit back down and stop standing on beds.

Inosuke froze and instantly plopped down on the bed, stealing Kyojuro's blanket and covering himself with it to hide from Aoi.

Kyojuro chuckled. "I'm sure he'll thank you. He's a really kind boy."

"Well I'm better," came Inosuke's muffled response from below the sheets.

"You're both amazing."

"But I'm better!" Tufts of black and blue hair portruded from the blanket, followed by Inosuke's head. "I'm better than him!"

"Alright then," Kyojuro said, reaching forward and mussing Inosuke's hair.

Inosuke grinned triumphantly, batting away the hand and running off with Kyojuro's blanket to go laugh at Zenitsu. Kyojuro sighed. He would request a new blanket then.

×××

Tanjiro awoke the next day, delivering smiles brighter than the sun after he made sure everyone was okay. Kyojuro was finally up for getting up and out of his bed, though he was instructed to move slowly and deliberately. His body ached from not having moved much recently but he made do of what he could do, walking over to Tanjiro's bed to join Zenitsu, Inosuke, and Nezuko's box.

"I'm glad to see you awake!" Kyojuro said cheerfully.

Zenitsu shaded his eyes at the sunrays that seemed to emit from Tanjiro and Kyojuro's smiles.

"And it's good that you're going to be fine, I was really worried," Tanjiro fretted, fidgeting with his blanket. "I was sure you would die..."

Kyojuro chortled reassuringly. "I'm great! I'll admit that my injuries have made it a bit harder to move about freely, but I'm sure I'll be practically good as new! Except for my eye, of course," he said, waving a hand in front of his left eye, which he would no longer see from again.

Tanjiro nodded quickly. "I want to get better faster so I can fight a lot and be stronger! I could've helped you then..." he said, wilting. Apparently, it had been eating him alive even in his dreams with the fact that he had been unable to do anything in Kyojuro's fight with the Uppermoon.

"You'll get there! You persisted quite amazingly well against the Lowermoon!" Kyojuro assured him. "Not many people can do that!"

"I had a lot of help though," Tanjiro said, a frown slowly replacing his smile.

"Everyone needs help! You four helped me greatly!! By myself, it would've been endlessly harder and there would've been more casualties. But because the four of you were there and taking charge of the different parts of the train, it became endlessly easier. It also gave me the ability to save enough energy which I was able to channel later into fighting Akaza!" Kyojuro said, nodding to himself. "If it weren't for your help, I would've been more tired by the time Akaza had arrived."

"Don't say that... You still would've done really well," Tanjiro insisted.

"I'm only speaking facts, Kamado! Human beings rely on each other for help and support, it's natural! You needn't feel ashamed for something that everyone needs!" Kyojuro said, taking on a scolding tone. "You—and your sister, Agatsuma, and Hashibira—did really well!"

Tanjiro hesitated but reluctantly accepted the compliment. Inosuke, meanwhile, was off dashing through the Butterfly Estate again to say that a Hashira told him he was the best (although Kyojuro had not said anything of the sort).

Zenitsu perched himself on the edge of Tanjiro's bed. "I don't even remember doing anything, so just be glad," he huffed, flicking Tanjiro's forehead—then clutching his finger in pain.

Tanjiro laughed gently. "Well, I'm sure Nezuko can tell us how great of a job you did."

Zenitsu instantly brightened and went back to sit by Nezuko's box, murmuring to her, though no doubt she was fast asleep.

Kyojuro watched them for a moment, then turned back to Tanjiro. "I don't think I can take you three in as my Tsugoku because of my condition—Kocho says I may not be able to resume my work as a Hashira—but I certainly want to take you in as a family," he said with a pout.

Tanjiro, startled, stared at him for a moment. "Wha?-"

Kyojuro grinned. "I'll apologize to Tomioka later."

Tanjiro frowned, head spinning. "Giyuu-san? Apologize? Huh-??"

He recieved only a triumphant smile in return.

I'll be honest: I didn't know where I was going with this when I started so I'm unsure how to feel about it- anywayyss, hope it was ok tho!

[kankuroplease]

Since mugen and lee get along very well, could we see them together?

obviously if you are not busy

I know this ask is old but I finally got around to it! Lee is one of the few people Neji would trust with his 🖤

[jellytina]

opinions on best frenemies cheeky and bob ?

they're neat

[yanaleese]

Hello there! :D, Karma, would you be willing for me to caress your hair? It looks really cool and fluffy!

And please, tell us a little more about dark karma, even if it's a small one-shot or a headcanon or a drawing! (Dark karma's design is really great)

-🎀 Coquette Anon

Well...I'll try and do my best since I haven't gotten so deep into Dark Karma's story! Please note it's still in the works so I apologize for any mistakes here.

Translation: "What a mess..."

Translation: "Target [is] silenced."

SO as you may know from the previous post, this Karma had a lot of emotional baggage. However, he had his good moments such as meeting José and a servant girl named ██████ . He also strengthened his ties with his cousins named Jakuzure and Mugen. He also spent a lot of his time partnering up with brothers (especially with Kallisto), as the family needed a Plan B. So, Kallisto became super clingy and reliable pretty quickly.

In terms of romantic relationships, Karma was a no-go due to his status. He also didn't want another engagement since the relationship left a bad taste in his mouth. So, he was a loner similar to his T'Abuelo.

The difference between those two though, was that:

(1) T'Abuelo was an illegitimate ruler due to being an in-law. His wife was actually supposed to be the head (but she died earlier on). Additionally, this does not explain why his daughter did not take his place, causing serious controversy amongst half-bloods and pure-bloods.

(2) T'Abuelo ruled like an iron fist, whereas Karma ruled the system in a more balanced, collected manner. So where T'Abuelo was hot-headed, Karma remained incredibly calm.

(3) T'Abuelo caused chaos towards pure-bloods and family feuds outside of the immediate family. This made the Sangres infamous, and hated by many. So by Karma succeeding the throne, he brought peace and compromise to both sides.

[teamfreewill56-blog]

hey, its a silly ask but i've wanted to ask you this from quite a while bc you write about kyojuro really precisely with small details which are easy to miss ! so yeah what type of a person do you think kyojuro would naturally be attracted towards or want to be with ? do you think a contrasting personality partner would suit him? (its ok if you arent really comfortable writing about this but thank you for reading !)

Hello, its not a silly ask although I don't think there's really a super clear cut answer for this one. I talked with @demonslayedher about this a bit and while I won't repost the whole thing they made some good points and a couple of them are shippings are personal, and it comes down to what the creator personally enjoys and finds interesting. Kyojuro doesn't show any canon preferences to personality traits.

One of the great things about Kyojuro is because of his personality and upbringing he's capable of being compatible with most anyone. I say this because he gets along with every single Hashira and they're all wildly different from each other.

For him it's going to come down to what that person's views are on strong vs weak, the duty of the strong, their viewpoints on the weak and their relationship with their job/duties. And what their moral code is. It probably doesn't have to be quite as razor clear as his are, but they gotta have something. If they view themselves as strong and they don't care about weak people or view weak people as lesser then I can't see him becoming romantically interested/involved with them because that goes against everything that he is.

Sanemi and Iguro are a good example of people who come off as jerks but still have a semblance of "duty of the strong/strong protect the weak" they are both fairly polar to Kyojuro but they do care on some level about protecting others and Sanemi gets angry on behalf of members of the Corp and their sacrifice. Iguro protects people for somewhat selfish reasons but he still protects them. Kyojuro not only respects these two but gets along with them and accepts them because he knows and agrees with their values.

If they are a little rough around the edges but Kyojuro has seen that they'll protect and defend a weaker person, then he's gonna show them acceptance/friendship and it could develop into something more. If the person of interest is selfish or sarcastic he could still develop a romantic relationship with them but I feel it would be very hard for him and they're going to have a lot of conflict/high risk of break-up.

its also important to note that Kyojuro is so duty-focused that even if he develops feelings for somebody chances of him making the first move aren't high. He's too good at pushing his feelings and wants away and would rather wish that person happiness than try to pursue them.

[localhypnoarts]

A compilation of a bunch of Jinnie images. I hate this guy (affectionate).

[mugenfinder]

Is there a reason as to why is it sort of a meme to make so many edits of Melty Blood Len in Mugen?

I've actually been thinking about how I could talk about that so thanks for asking about it.

For those who don't know, Len is the female lead from Tsukihime's follow-up game, Kogetsu Tohya.

In Melty Blood, Tsukihime's effective sequel, "another version" of her appears called White Len who has an entirely different personality.

It's a long-running trend in MUGEN for people to make all kinds of versions of her with no real explanation why.

I haven't got into much Melty Blood or Type-Moon stuff, but I consulted the Nico Nico MUGEN wiki for answers.

Len and White Len have separate pages but there's 3rd page for listing unique versions of her in chronological order.

So to my understanding a factor in the idea is in the Type-Moon self-parodies, TAKE MOON and Carnival Phantasm, there's a scene involving 3 additional versions of Len as the 5 Len Sentai.

People thought it would be cool to recreate the group in MUGEN, and that's likely the start of it.

What's interesting is that apparently the first notably unique version and one of the more popular is Red Len or "Ren" by Lycoris.

From what I can tell she has the same backstory as Len, but she runs an antique shop. She learned to survive on her own and is adjusted to society, her favorite cigarette brand is Infiniti and she likes whiskey.

Ren is popular enough that she's commonly treated as an individual character rather than being a version of Len.

She's pretty unique for what she is, she sticks out among the Lens with crazier concepts like Football Len or ones that are based off of Mechas.

Among other things

[prinz-vassago]

Gou has an older brother, right? What happens to him later on? Did Gou ever resent him for insulting him and being cold to him?

First of all, I'm sorry for the delay in answering your questions. I'm busy with commissions and now my tablet cable is broken so I'm waiting for the new one to arrive. I did some drawings for this post, but they look ugly, I'm so rusty for traditional art so don't mind how weird they look!! Secondly, thank you for sending an ask about it, I struggle a bit to post details of my characters' stories, so this kind of question is very important to me.

Okay so, It's hard to explain correctly what will happen to him due to the lack of characters posted yet. (I ended up taking a break due to burnout and now my Mugen No Kagi stuff is late!! But I have tons of dudes and girls to post very soon.) Gou's brother is an antagonist that I created so that Gou's backstory wouldn't feel so empty. He doesn't have a name (and I don't intend to give him one); he simply serves to add depth and cause events that will impact the stories of the main characters. An abusive older brother who thinks he can do whatever he wants because he has a respected status in the Japanese imperial army (He's an Officer). In fact he is just very bitter about the things that have happened in his life and takes it out on people. He also feels very burdened having full responsibility for his younger brother, and knows that if Gou fails, it will be his fault. Regarding Gou's feelings towards him, I can say that Gou would definitely like to receive affection in some way, but as his life has been hard since his birth and he has practically never felt real affection from his family, he understands that his brother's way of demanding a lot from him is just a concern so he doesn't end up failing and ruining the family reputation.

(The blade cuts on Gou's face were actually made during katana training with his brother) the cut is also mirrored, but who cares?

Gou see his brother as an extremely exemplary person, and want to be an officer like him, or at least an important soldier. If his brother is mad at him for any reason, he understands that there is something wrong with himself, so he is always trying to be the "perfect young brother". His brother imposes a lot of rules in the house, so Gou's routine boils down to: going to school, returning home, taking care of the corpses and doing daily chores. When he's done he spends the rest of the afternoon and night doing his stuff and reuniting with the club.

Gou's brother knows that he has a girlfriend (wait for her), and also knows that he is a strange child, but he doesn't really care about it at first and have no idea what really happens. (When he's off work, he basically watches television and listens to the radio all day while Gou does his chores. Sometimes he spends the day with a woman he has romantic interests in.) Eventually, Gou will start to disobey some rules and return to the house after days and this will greatly irritate his brother who will be bothered by Gou's strange behavior. He will also notice strange smells on him, and will soon discover a pile of stolen skulls and creepy stuff Inside Gou's room. He will then start following Gou to find out what he is doing while outside, and will find out about the occult club and the graves desecration.

What I plan for him is an unexpected encounter with Akumu during a fucked up moment, and Akumu ends up killing him (Eventually this will be clearer?? I don't have many details about what his end will be as I might change my mind, so take this with a grain of salt! ) You can actually read more about Gou in his Toyhouse page.

btw bonus

[rebisrot]

mujin headcanons mayhaps.... (looks at you with my big eyes

HI!!! LOOKS BACK AT YOU!!! WITH MY BIG OL EYES!!!!

um here’s just a few off the top of my head eeee

-post-disorder diaries, Jin reads to Mugen a lot. He's not even sure if Mugen's listening at first, he just starts reading aloud more or less. Mugen tries not to be obvious with the fact he’s listening until something happens and Mugen references the text Jin read. I think Jin would generally lean more towards poetry but he starts to look for things he thinks Mugen would like after a while.

-I think in a modern au Jin writes his name with its kanji, as is pretty common, but Mugen writes his in katakana ‘because it looks cool’ (also his name kanji has so many strokes and he ain't got time for all that)

-Jin’s awful at cooking, as we know, but I think Mugen just assumes he’d be good at it (“thank god you can cook because I can’t” “...”)

-autism be damned my boy can't work a grill for shit

-^^Mugen can actually cook he just doesn’t want to

-Instead of rings, Jin pierces an ear and Mugen gives him one of his earrings. I don’t think either of them would like having stuff on their hands. (headcanon brought to you by Zoro One Piece)

-Jin stops to pet stray cats. Mugen does not get along with cats.

-Mugen the type of guy to show Jin cool rocks and Jin the type of guy to keep them

-Jin says Mugen’s scruff annoys him (he is lying)

[yami-yomiel]

all 4 hours of my life went down into making this a reality - uhhh it’s mugen stuff - well not that i have mugen but like;;; uhh is based off it .. uh yeah,

Story is called tower of babel, feel free to ask about it or something 0u0

Im not doing this again for the other teams or haveer they just get doodles n thats it brah im not redering for another 4 -5 hours [it;s my favorite thing rn] also sorry for not posting much i judt dont have any energy to be on social media other than discord

[junksatellites]

HUSH . raise a finger in a gesture to silence my muse . (zoro @ mugen) @eleutheriya

❝ make me, bitch. ❞ mugen fires off in return, flipping him the bird.

[kankuroplease]

Can I have Michi and Neji with their baby? I like the hair. By the way, what is the academy you mentioned?

The Ōtsutsuki Academy is a private school for the elite with a long waiting list (helps when your cousin/aunt is with the headmaster). They expect academic excellence from their students and little Mugen would attend it once he starts his academic career 🖤

[malewifehenrycooldown]

you know, i still haven't sent that email to that one mugen creator yet asking if i can self ship with one of their ocs :v

[drainbangle]

May I ask what is Hikari’s team for the Pokémon au?

Of course!

From left to right: Suiren (Samurott), Aylin (Mega Sceptile), Haruto (Gallade), Chizu (Skarmory), Hazuki (Leafeon), and Shimo (Electivire)

I also have Mugen's team on hand:

Details under the cut, has endgame spoilers!

Hikari

(M) Samurott

Suiren: Japanese, "water lily"

First Pokémon alongside his Sceptile, it evolved into a Dewott when Hikari and Kura were attacked. Due to the stress of its evolution, it prematurely has some elements of its eventual Hisuian evolution.

It evolves into a Samurott during the final battle with Mugen.

(F) Sceptile

Aylin: Turkish, "light of the moon". Kura named it as a Treecko before her death. I chose a Turkish name since Kura's name works both in Japanese and Turkish + the game implies Hikari is mixed Hinoeuman and from whichever branch of the lineage of light Kura is from.

Mostly chosen because Hikari reminds me a lot of Grovyle from PMD2. Also Leaf Blade, Night Slash, etc.

Evolves into a Sceptile during the fight with Rai Mei, having the Mega Evolution + Mega Stone meant Hikari was able to counter her Electric-types with Sceptile's Lightning Rod.

(M) Gallade

Haruto: Japanese, "sunlight".

Caught during the war, has stayed by Hikari's side ever since due to his compassionate nature.

(F) Skarmory

Chizu: Japanese, "a thousand cranes"

Caught while first fleeing Ku, it saw that Hikari and his borrowed Mudsdale were lost + scared and guided them to Ryu.

Skarmory are common in Hinoeuma, but Hikari's definitely looks more like those found in Sai versus Mugen's which is probably like... purebred and very much from the Ku part of the region.

(M) Leafeon

Hazuki: Japanese, "eighth moon", August, month of leaves

Caught near Wellgrove. It found Hikari after he wandered away from the other travelers in a really bad state after the events of CH3, and stuck around and comforted him.

Hikari was really confused at the time, not to mention unconfident in taking in a new Pokémon after what happened, but he appreciates his Leafeon's kindness a lot looking back on it.

(F) Electivire

Shimo: Japanese, "frost"

Caught on the way to Stormhail, provides Hikari's team well-needed Water-type and Fighting-type coverage.

An Alpha Pokémon, Hikari calmed it down after the group accidentally angered it wandering into its territory + in an Alpha frenzy due to whatever messed up shit's going on in the world.

As an endgame spoiler note: while I don't have all of his team picked out yet, Oboro is like BW1 Ghetsis in the way that his team counters Hikari's as Ghetsis does N. Not the same relationship of course, I just really liked that gameplay storytelling.

Mugen's team is primarily Pokémon that are either very territorial/violent or in Ceruledge's case, fit his whole situation with the Darkblood Blade. I still feel like this list could use some tweaking to make the typings more balanced (though IDT there's any saving his aces from being quad weak to Fighting), but they're powerful enough to pose a challenge so I'm happy with that.

[teamfreewill56-blog]

Can you rank the hashiras and reasons why?

This ask took way longer than I thought it would, I believe I overthought the question and then it took me a while to really think over the hashira and choose. And putting it into words took longer than I expected.

@plutonianmoons I interpreted this question as who do I rank in terms of favorites and why, if you meant it in another way shoot me another ask and I’ll respond. I’m going to start with the list so that those who don’t want to know my reasons don’t have to go hunting for where their favorite hashira is. 

Kyojuro Rengoku

Uzui Tengen

Mitsuri Kanroji

Muichiro 

Shinobu

Sanemi

Iguro

Giyuu

Gyomei

Kyojuro Rengoku

I feel like this will come as a surprise to absolutely nobody lol. He’s my favorite character after all and probably my favorite of all time. I hopefully have been able to sprinkle my reasoning of why I love Kyojuro so much throughout my posts so I will try not to ramble too much. Though, not repeating myself is kinda impossible haha.  

Kyojuro resonates with me so deeply, and even I don’t fully understand why. One reason I think is because he makes me feel���.seen. His struggles and grief and pain, and how it came about, a lot of it I can relate to, it hits very close to home for me. And seeing what he goes through and how he dealt with it, its helped me to see and realize that my own experiences and feelings are valid, and its helped me process things I haven’t been able to, even with years of therapy. He isn’t just a ball of sunshine who hides his pain, that’s such a gloss over. He IS a flame, all his feelings make him burn, his anger, righteous and otherwise, his love of his family, his comrades, of his hobbies, the way he devotes his all into everything he does and how so many of his actions are driven by love and compassion and that that’s what drives him to be so duty-bound. He’s someone like many of us, has gone through grief and pain and so much and because of his situation didn’t get to have it addressed or dealt with, he just figured out how to live with it. I love how he isn’t Mr. Positive, if he is confronted by something negative, by someone’s hurt feelings he addresses it, he validates, and yet he’s not perfect in doing that either, because with some people he can’t address it even though he wants to. I love brave he is, standing up for others but also facing criticism and cynicism and hatred again and again and being so certain of his creed and who he is that he doesn’t let those things infest him, he burns them up immediately. I love how much he loves Ruka, how even though he lost her at such a young age he never resented her but kept her with him always. He thought of her, shared his memories of her, she touched every aspect of who he grew up to be and he never forgot that. I love that even though he is stubborn he isn’t unyielding where it matters. If he makes a snap judgment and realizes it he will change it, will he always? No probably not because just like everyone else that’s going to be different from situation to situation. I love how even though he was told he could never be a Hashira and that he should abandon it, that he didn’t. He worked and worked and worked and he accomplished it. I love how warm and welcoming he is to others, that even though he can sit there stiff as a board he does things that make you know he’s paying attention, the way he invites the Corp member from Mugen Train episode 1 to join him, the way he pats the seat indicating he wants Tanjiro to sit right next to him. The way he gives Senjuro his complete attention and focus when they are talking about emotionally difficult topics. I love how he is honest when he easily could lie to try to spare feelings and yet he is so careful and mindful during those times too. I love how freaking intelligent he is, and that it’s subtle. That it’s not just book intelligence but he’s just actually intelligent. The conversations he has, the way he breaks down what’s going on around him, the choices he makes when he acts. The questions he ponders and asks himself and tries to figure out the answer to. The fact that when Shinjuro told him he didn’t have what it takes to become a Hashira, the way that he thought about that question and pondered it and came to his answer---he could have just got upset and hurt and focused on those feelings, but he didn’t, he delved into it and found his answer. I love his expressions, and I know people joke that sometimes there’s not a thought going on behind his eyes but I disagree, I think he looks like that cause his brain is thinking of so much at once. I love how he has a bunch of shared traits with the other Hashira but in a way that’s uniquely him. I will cut myself off here because if I don’t I’m never gonna stop lol. 

2. Uzui Tengen

One of the reasons I love Tengen is I was so surprised by him, I thought I was going to hate this man’s guts--especially after his introduction to the boys. But instead it was just character beat after character beat of why I would and do like him. You look at him and its like “oh he’s the wild one” but he actually isn’t. He had a lapse of judgment and was rushing when he kidnapped Aoi and wasn’t thinking straight but he also got talked out of taking her pretty easily. I don’t like that he slapped her butt, and I think its still a weird thing for him to do but its in there and I’m sure his wives and Shinobu got on him for that whole incident. But after that we see quickly that he’s one of the responsible ones, and like Kyojuro he really really cares about people and their safety, he sees and acknowledges the boys as boys and does his best to take care of them and watch over them while at the District. Of course, he doesn’t do it perfectly, but he does a pretty damn good job. I love that he actually verbally acknowledges to them that he made mistakes and he put them in danger and owns his poor behavior and decisions. I love that once Zenitsu gets taken he instructs Tanjiro and Inosuke to leave and gives them that important wisdom that surviving isn’t a loss and it isn’t failing. I love that he doesn’t try to shoo the boys off once they are in the fight, he adapts and lets them help him. And even though he lets them stay he consistently is making moves to protect them during the fight and trying to take as much weight off them as he can. He is aware of what the boys’ states are in the midst of the fight and tries to finish things quickly and change the battle to keep them safe. I also love his dynamic with them--he absolutely understands how teenage boys are and how they work and he lets them be boys in his presence without letting them do something terrible. Inosuke gets overwhelmed and starts trying to headbutt people and just rampage in his anxiety? No you don’t boar boy back over here with me. Zenitsu wanders off and starts getting enticed by the women? Boy don’t you even think about going in there I will carry you by the collar through the whole place. His dynamic with Zenitsu is so fun, because they bicker at each other and he teases him like a guy who is 10+ years older than their younger brother would. I love how Tengen truly loves his wives, and that he doesn’t love them all in the same way or show love in the same way to them all. He knows his wives and treats them as his individual partners. I love how calculating but also wild he is in his fighting. His fight with Gyutaro and Daki was such fun to watch. 

3. Mitsuri Kanroji

I love how Mitsuri allows herself to feel all her feelings, how once she stops pretending to be who and what she isn’t, our Love Hashira wears herself completely on her sleeve. And she isn’t ashamed of it or prideful about it. In her fight against Zohakuten she starts out confidently attacking him, jumps right in there and saves Tanjiro and her character beats are so good, she’s freaked out about how big Zohakuten’s dragons are and yet immediately turns her attention to Tanjiro with a smile, confidence and warmth. She sets him down and tells him to take a break, praises him and tells him she’ll take care of it. When Zohakuten calls her a “shameless tramp” she shows such a genuine reaction of shock and upset and I can’t help but adore how honest she is in showing her feelings and being able to show multiple feelings at once. She isn’t arrogant when confronting Zohakuten that first time, but even then, she doesn’t stay dwelling on the fact that he insults her she is ready to go and move to attack once Zohakuten strikes at her. When the dragons start dodging her and moving faster she doesn’t hide her feelings of nervousness, she shows her panic but she doesn’t stop attacking or give up, she just freaking adapts and keeps going, seriously goes “can I take on this many at once?” AND THEN JUST DOES IT. She gets smacked point blank in the face with a sonic blast and instinctively defends her whole body by tensing it up. I love how her confidence isn’t iron-clad, insults, harsh words and reactions, they all hurt her and she doesn’t ignore them but tries to deal with them the best way she can, even if sometimes its the wrong way like she does when she becomes more reserved after finding out Shinobu’s reason for being a Slayer. I love that instead of being ugly or mean to the person who is ugly or mean to her, she honestly defends herself and feels her feelings without trying to hurt the other person. I love how she wants to have a husband but also wants to help people love themselves and once she becomes a slayer these two things no longer conflict for her. She loves people and trusts that one day she’ll find a good man in the Corp to marry. I love how genuine she is with her acceptance of people. She genuinely accepts Tanjiro and Nezuko and treats Nezuko like a younger sister, hugging her, singing with her, playing with her, and protecting her. The fact that she sheds tears of joy seeing not only that Nezuko is alive but also talking--there’s no doubt she loves these kids. Her love for people as individuals is so strong:  even though Genya is mean to her she wanted to talk to him, when she saves the Village leader and he makes a flirty comment she teasingly chides him. And in both instances she could have gotten really angry but didn’t. Nor does she call Genya names or anything, and she talks about him kindly when he’s brought up later. I love how Mitsuri actually is willing to do the tough things, but isn’t shy about saying how she feels about it. I love how she never actually hated the things that made her different, she always cherished them, but it just took her a little while to reach her full acceptance. I love how much she has in common with Kyojuro and that in some instances you can see it and it doesn’t have to be brought up. Mitsuri reminds me a lot of Sailor Moon’s Usagi and I kind of love that. 

4. Tokito Muichiro

Muichiro is part of my little brother baby trio. Comprised of Muichiro, Genya and Senjuro. I love how well this amnesic child does deadpan humor and yet in the same breath can be so RELENTLESSLY sassy. Like I’m sure Tengen thinks he is the sass master but Muichiro would DEVESTATE HIM. His sass is sharp and clever and our little Mist Hashira knows how to time his humor beats perfectly and in the optimal way to jab his opponent. The way that he’s passive-aggressive while he has amnesia, without meaning to be is also really funny. Karate-chopping Tanjiro, holding his nose to make him wake up, like Muichiro really is going for the fastest route here. 

I also love how fierce he is, like yes Muichiro was taunting Gyokko but he was not messing around in his fighting and you could see it in how he moved. Plus the way that he came at Gyokko from within the mist and then minced him into sushi? So hardcore.

 I adore how he isn’t bitter about having amnesia, like, he could very easily and rightfully be angry and upset and hold those feelings but he doesn’t. Instead, he focuses on trying to remember things but also not let it stress him out if he can’t. I love how truly kind and gentle he is, even when Yuichiro was being mean to him and aggressive, Muichiro didn’t return that. He loved and cared and respected every member of his family. He admired all of them.

I love how his motives to originally become a swordsman were so pure and kind-hearted and that he wanted to help people the way their parents taught them. I love how when he regained his memories he was able to revisit those memories and realize that his brother did love him, that he was worried and scared and just a 10-year old trying to take care of his only remaining family. I admire so much that he was able and willing to think about his past and realize that the way he thought about his brother was wrong and not the truth. His relationship with Tanjiro is so adorable, like hands down Tanjiro is his favorite person and the favoritism and kindness he shows Tanjiro after he gets his memories back is so cute it’s like that aggressive best friend who is nice only to their bestie and just a terror to everyone else. 

5. Shinazugawa Sanemi 

There are so many wonderful, devoted big brothers in Demon Slayer and Sanemi is one of the top for me. We can tell in Genya’s flashbacks that Sanemi was completely committed to his role as provider and caretaker for their family. He loved and respected his mother and he loved his siblings and Genya trying to support him and stand with him back then meant so much to him and you can tell. Even after what happened to their siblings and mother, that devotion stayed, Sanemi just had to go about it differently.

I think the way he acts towards people is understandable although not justified, like many other characters he was completely unaware of demons before his family got slaughtered and unlike Gyomei, Giyuu and Tanjiro his family got slaughtered by his own mother and he killed her not realizing it was her until too late, and then had to deal with the realization that he killed his mother as well as having the brother he fought tooth and nail to protect curse him and things just got worse from there. Yes, Sanemi isn’t the only one who has lost comrades but he is one of the few slayers who has to wonder if a demon showing up is because of him and not the other way around. He never hated Genya for the things he said when their mom died, he was never bitter towards him. He loved him and knew his little brother well enough to know how kind hearted and sensitive Genya was and that’s why he was so harsh because he was so scared of losing Genya too and of Genya going through the traumas he had. Scared enough that he was willing to maim him if it meant getting him out of the Corp. And more than willing to let Genya hate him forever. I mean seriously, think about the mental and emotional will power you’d have to conjure up to be able to look at your younger brother who is pleading to talk to you and make the decision to try and blind him and keep insisting you’re not family. I don’t agree it was the right thing to do but the fact that he could even bring himself to attempt that geez. 

 Not to mention hearing Genya had eaten demon flesh probably scared him because that kind of makes Genya a demon and if he goes out of control someone would have to kill him. I think his rage is understandable, I think his anger initially at Nezuko and Tanjiro is very understandable and it’s shown on his face when he looks down after Nezuko rejects his blood. This demon rejects human flesh, why couldn’t my mom? Why did I have to kill my mom, lose all my siblings and lose my remaining brother, lose my best friend, but this kid gets to keep his sister who is a demon? Would anyone else in his shoes respond differently? I really doubt it. 

 I love how he’s like the unexpected wild child of the Hashira---not completely unexpected I mean look at him--but the fact that he just pulls an Inosuke and just picks fights with people left and right and he really seems to enjoy his fights but he’s also not ignorant about it. He is aware of what’s going on and he is calculating and strategizing and he’s so -adaptive- like Sanemi will try literally anything in battle if he thinks there’s even a hint it might work. The fact that he knows how to be annoying and cocky to his opponent but isn’t arrogant in his fighting (exception being his fights with Giyuu I think) is a refreshing take on this type of character. Sanemi doesn’t think he can beat everybody, he doesn’t think he’s invincible but that’s okay with him because he still wants to try it regardless. And like Muichiro he knows how to push those buttons and he has such fun doing it and honestly, I have so much fun watching him antagonize his opponents. 

6. Obanai Iguro

I love Iguro’s design. I love that he could have just hated people and cursed them because that’s kind of what you’d expect from someone who’s own family treated them the way the Iguro clan did to Obanai. His family sliced open his face, tried to sacrifice him to a demon and then cursed him for surviving when it backfired on them. He had no social interaction until he was friggin 11 with anyone outside of his messed up family. I appreciate how honest he is about his reasons for being a demon slayer. He isn’t doing this to be noble or because its the right thing. He wants to try to purge his family’s tainted blood from himself by killing demons for others, knowing he can never truly purge that blood but at least its -something-. I love how even though he was hurt all for the sake of a snake demon that he doesn’t hate Kabamaru (check spelling) and he treats that precious white snake so well and that Kabamaru isn’t just a decoration but his partner. I appreciate how even though he doesn’t know how to tell Mitsuri he loves her verbally---he’s constantly showing it. Writing letters back and forth with her, sitting with her and just letting her eat as much as she wants, giving her socks that match her eyes because he knew she was uncomfortable at first with her uniform. When she starts trying to explain how she got the Demon Slayer Mark and its all gibberish and he just face palms---not even upset just like “my poor wife she’s doing her best”. The way that he gets jealous of Tanjiro being buddy buddy with Mitsuri is so funny because its so stupid and yet he has Muichiiro’s petty streak, just listing off all the Corp members “crimes” when Tanjiro is like “did these people commit some sort of crime?” I love how he changed his mind about Tanjiro and he was -such- a good battle partner with Tanjiro when it was just the two of them for a bit. The fact that he got right between Tanjiro and Muzan’s Akira-like jaws knowing that would definitely kill him, he didn’t go to pin Muzan he went directly to save Tanjiro from getting swallowed.To me it seemed so clear that in this final battle Iguro accepted Tanjiro and supported him, they worked as a team and Loner Iguro is good at it I can’t wait to see him in the new anime content. 

7. Kocho Shinobu 

Shinobu is also kind of a typical anime girl but I still like her. Short angry girl is a pretty common trope but she does it well. I love that she is biting and vicious with a smile on her face, kind of like what you expect from the stereotypical mean rich girl, but you can tell that’s also not Shinobu because she will -actually- mess you up in a heartbeat. I love that she’s not a “mean girl”, she loves her friends and her butterfly girls and she cares a lot about people and she’s not ashamed of being a “healer”. I love that instead of writing herself off, “I’m small and therefore can’t fight the same as everyone else” she figured out a method that worked for her, and it is probably one of the worst ways a demon can die---it’s definitely the most painful. I love how one way she showed Kanae her love for her was choosing to always smile even though she’s never actually happy. That it’s not forced positivity, and Kanae wasn’t asking that of her. But it was “My sister loved my smile, so I will continue to smile for her.” I love how she is constantly stepping in to show support to the characters. Talking to Kyojuro before he left, confronting Mitsuri about her starving herself once she found out about it, encouraging and showing happiness for Kanao starting to speak up for herself and being a sort of mother figure for Inosuke where she cared for him but was also able to discipline him in a way that no one else really could. I do feel like her best interactions are when she’s with Zenitsu, Douma and Giyuu but it could just be that I find those moments with her to be the most fun and entertaining. 

8. Tokito Giyuu

Giyuu’s is kinda funny because he’s typically the type of anime character who is my favorite in a series but compared to the previous 7, yeah he’s here. I do love that he’s a tried and true introvert, like he is a devoted Hashira but at the same time gives off the Shikamaru vibe of “Gosh I’d rather be at home”. I enjoy that even though he has a bond with Tanjiro that doesn’t like cure him of his introvertness, he still gets overwhelmed by Tanjiro sometimes and is just like “no, not today” and tries to split. I love that that’s not really attempted to get fixed, that’s just how Giyuu is and that’s okay. He still has moments of joy and sass and all the other feelings but there’s no “we need to heal Giyuu” thread in the story besides the side story of everyone trying to get him smile/laugh.  I will always be saddened by the fact that he for the longest time didn’t feel like he was a Hashira and just wrote himself off but I also kind of like how the Hashira weren’t suddenly like, “That’s crazy, we love and accept you Giyuu!” But by the end I feel like he was mostly accepted, particularly by Sanemi which was nice since those two were almost like unspoken rivals it felt like. His scenes with Tanjiro and Shinobu are the best to me, because he obviously cares about Tanjiro a lot while he simultaneously just has no idea what to do with this kid unless he’s fighting alongside him. I  love his dynamic with Shinobu, its not one I usually love a lot but theirs is so much fun and Shinobu really brings out Giyuu’s sass and sarcasm which is fun to see especially with him doing it deadpan. I appreciate Giyuu’s struggle as a character because I feel like its one that a lot of us can relate to and its nice to see him accept and grow comfortable with himself as the story progresses. 

9. Himejima Gyomei

I will probably get a lot of hate for this one, but oh well. Unlike the other Hashira where I do like them on some level, I don’t like Gyomei at all. If you pushed me I guess I would say his extremely impractical weapon? But like, that’s really reaching. I feel like the only reason I don’t immediately forget about him is because he’s massive and is always crying with his hands in prayer stance. He’s a monk but like in name only. Maybe its just because there wasn’t enough time but I can’t think of a single time where Gyomei showed monk behavior besides saying “Namu Amida Butsu” and Genya mentions that the mantra he used fighting the Emotion Demons was something he learned from Gyomei but nothing past that. Even his crying seems to be more of an at-random thing and not a “he’s feeling deep or spiritual emotions”. We never get an explanaton for why he cries all the time and then suddenly doesn’t cry during his fighting and gets all….macho? I guess I would call it. But yeah look at that conversation between him and Tanjiro at the boulder, if those are spiritual teachings they are not good ones…so to me he doesn’t practice what he preaches, but we also aren’t really shown what he believes spiritually. 

My biggest issue with him is his attitude towards children. He was bitter and mistrustful towards children after the demon attack because the TRAUMATIZED FOUR YEAR OLD didn’t express gratitude for him saving her life. Children struggle with expressing gratitude period, especially that young, they definitely aren’t going to be thinking about expressing gratitude after going through watching you bash another adult’s skull in. 

And because of this he believes that children “Are pure and innocent. Weak. They lie easily…are casually cruel…and selfish.” Children are this way unless they are taught correctly, adults are this way even if they ARE taught correctly. Children’s brains aren’t fully developed at four years old, and yeah, Gyomei doesn’t know that science but seeing as he was raising other kids there, he should understand kids better than he does. Children lie easily because at that young of an age the worst thing that can happen to you is getting in trouble, so you lie to avoid it. You have to be taught how to deal with that properly. Children are not “casually cruel”, they don’t understand that their words and actions impact other people’s emotions and feelings the way that adults do they have to be shown and taught it, just like everyone else. That’s not something that just comes from predisposition. Children are selfish? So are adults, and children don’t become selfless unless they are shown and taught it. Gyomei went through this trauma too, so I don’t blame him for his knee jerk reaction being upset at the child, but the fact that afterwards he stayed upset and decided that children are all these things, and staying upset that she didn’t show gratitude? That’s ridiculous.