Every shonen anime series puts a massive emphasis on fighting, and many have a power system that exists as the central tenet of combat. Demon Slayer is no exception to this rule, as the power system is built around the Breathing Styles of the Demon Slayer Corps and the Blood Demon Arts of the Demons.
As for the Breathing Styles, they are fairly straightforward in terms of how they operate, with the real difference being in what they prioritize over the other styles. As such, there are quite a few of these in Demon Slayer, though there are some that are entirely unique to one specific user.
7
Insect Breathing Relies on Subtlety and Poison
User: Shinobu Kocho
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Credit to Ufotable -
Image by Madhouse
Although Shinobu was a Hashira, she was very frail, which is why she was always unable to utilize her sister’s Flower Breathing or any other Breathing Style. However, she was incredibly nimble, which is why she created her own Breathing Style that made use of her diminutive stature, of which she is the only user.
Due to her lacking strength, Shinobu instead relied on poison to deal the most damage to her targets instead of traditional slashes. This poison was administered through her unique Nichirin Katana, which was thinned out to only be used as a thrusting weapon to deliver the poison in place of a normal sword.
6
Serpent Breathing Was an Offshoot of Water Breathing
User: Obanai Iguro
Obanai’s physical stature and presence was very similar to Shinobu’s, in that he was notably small and weak compared to most other Hashira. However, he dealt with this through his Serpent Breathing style, which was derived from Water Breathing and put a special emphasis on agility and the user’s own movement.
Because of this, Serpent Breathing allowed the user to expertly weave through hordes of enemies, much like how a serpent moves across land. To make full use of this, Obanai used a Nichirin sword with a special blade, which allowed him to better twist and bend the sword to release fast and deadly strikes, much like a snake.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Easy (5)Medium (7)Hard (10)
5
Beast Breathing Is the Most Unique of Them All
User: Inosuke Hashibira
Although these unique Breathing Styles have only one user, they are still directly derived from one of the original five styles. The reason why Beast Breathing is so special within the larger context of the series is that it is entirely self-made by Inosuke, only having a distant and faint lineage achieved through Wind Breathing.
Due to him being brought up by boars with no formal training, Inosuke created this style by himself as a means of mimicking the unpredictability and wild nature of animals, which is reflected in his techniques. Although straightforward for the most part, these techniques make full use of the user’s primal abilities and senses, making this a deadly style that utilizes unique, serrated blades and Inosuke’s extremely flexible and agile body in order to deliver attacks that are almost impossible to predict.
4
Love Breathing Is Incredibly Versatile
User: Mitsuri Kanroji
As an offshoot of Flame Breathing, Love Breathing was a style that showed a lot of promise, but could only really ever be used by Mitsuri. Born with exceptional strength and acrobatic agility, Mitsuri was able to move and fight in a way that most others simply couldn’t keep up with.
With her unique physical gifts, Mitsuri used the most unconventional Nichirin weapon of them all in order to make the most of Love Breathing. The Nichirin was stretched to be ultra-thin and long, making it act like a whip rather than a sword, which made it the perfect pairing for Love Breathing’s fluid and high-speed techniques, as well as giving it exceptional reach.
3
Mist Breathing Obscures the User’s Movements
User: Muichiro Tokito
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image via ufotable -
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As another Breathing Style derived from Wind Breathing, Mist Breathing is unique to Muichiro. In essence, the entire point of this Breathing Style is to disorient the target, which the user does by obscuring their movements and using fast, precise strikes. Unlike the other Breathing Styles, the clothing of the user also plays a role in the overall combat utility of this style.
This is because Muichiro was stated to explicitly wear large, baggy clothes in order to obscure his limbs so that his subsequent strike could not be predicted by his enemy. Of all the unique Breathing Styles, Mist Breathing is the only one that uses a standard Nichirin Katana, primarily because the goal of this style is to confuse and strike at the most convenient time rather than standard dueling.
2
Sound Breathing Is the Fastest of Them All
User: Tengen Uzui
Of the original five Breathing Styles, Thunder Breathing is the fastest and most explosive. However, Uzui took its speed to an entirely new level when he created Sound Breathing, which is a style that prioritizes speed over all else. Utilizing his superhuman hearing and experience as a ninja, Uzui uses this Breathing Style alongside explosives to deal immense damage.
As the fastest Hashira, Uzui could fight faster than the blink of an eye, and his ability to liken a fight to a musical score allows him to utilize Sound Breathing to predict his opponents’ attacks. Sound Breathing is best utilized with dual Nichirin cleavers which are connected to one another with a little chain, allowing the user to deal powerful and explosive attacks at blinding speeds.
1
Moon Breathing Is the Deadliest of Them All
User: Kokushibo
Ever since Yoriichi created Sun Breathing, he was the only one capable of using it, which led to the derived Breathing Styles. His twin brother, Michikatsu, created Moon Breathing in his attempt to learn his brother’s style, which he later perfected after being turned into a demon. He eventually became known as Upper Moon 1, Kokushibo.
Moon Breathing is the style with the most techniques and forms, all of which are described as being incredibly deadly. Kokushibo can send out massive waves from quite far away that easily slice everything in their path. The weapon he uses originally starts off as a Katana but later morphs into a giant flesh-sword with multiple extended blades, giving him exceptional reach and making Moon Breathing the strongest in the series after Sun Breathing itself.
Demon Slayer can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
