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| “ | DON'T GROVEL LIKE THAT AND GIVE YOUR ENEMIES THE CHANCE TO KILL YOU! All you're doing is making yourself vulnerable! If it were even a little bit effective, your family would still be alive right now! How can a weakling like you have any hope of finding a way to heal his sister? Or hunt down a demon? Don't be ridiculous! The weak have no rights! They don't get to make choices! All they can do is be relentlessly crushed by the strong! Now maybe the demons know of a way to cure your sister- maybe- but don't think for even a moment that any one of them is going to respect your wishes, just like I have no respect for you! That's reality. And why the hell did you throw yourself over her like that? Was that your way of protecting her? Why didn't you swing that hatchet? And why would you ever turn your back to me? Those mistakes are what led to her capture! I could've easily just skewered the both of you and been done with it! | „ |
| ~ Giyu purposely provoking Tanjiro to help him find his resolve to cure Nezuko, and become a Demon Slayer. |
Giyu Tomioka (冨岡 義勇, Tomioka Giyū) is a major character in the 2016-2020 action-adventure dark fantasy manga series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba and its 2019 anime television series adaptation.
He is a member of the Demon Slayer Corps and the current Water Hashira who is also the one who enlisted Tanjiro Kamado into becoming a Demon Slayer, while aiding his efforts on protecting Tanjrio's demonic sister, Nezuko. Giyu is known for his stoic and silent behavior, but harbors a strong sense of justice and is devoted on eradicating the demon race.
He is voiced by Takahiro Sakurai in Japanese and Johnny Yong Bosch in English.
Quick Answers
What role does Giyu Tomioka play in the Demon Slayer series?
How did Giyu Tomioka influence Tanjiro Kamado's journey as a Demon Slayer?
What is the significance of Giyu Tomioka's title as the Water Hashira?
How does Giyu Tomioka's stoic and silent behavior impact his character in Demon Slayer?
Appearance
Giyu is a tall young man with messy medium-length black hair that is tied back into a low ponytail, sharp dark-blue eyes, thin eyebrows and he always wears a serious expression on his face.
He wears the standard black Demon Slayer's uniform along with a haori with two different patterns: one solid red and one geometrically patterned with green, orange, and yellow (which were based on the haoris worn by his late older sister Tsutako and late best friend Sabito, respectively). During his battle with Muzan Kibutsuji, he lost his right arm.
Personality
Giyu has a reserved personality and a strong sense of justice with no tolerance towards those who don't know their own limitations and throw away their lives. While letting Nezuko Kamado live due to Tanjiro Kamado's persistence, he shows zero hesitation when killing other Demons and has no respect towards them like most Demon Slayers. Even so, Giyu violated the Demon Slayer Corps' code of conduct without hesitation to protect Nezuko, during Shinobu Kocho's attempt to kill her. This implies that he doesn't completely despise Demons as some other Hashira do, and is willing to make an exception for a Demon by letting them live if they don't kill and eat humans. This shows that he is more pragmatic in dealing with Demons rather than out of hatred for Demons like some other Hashira do.
Giyu appears to have a complex with what others think of him and is shocked when Shinobu claims he is hated by many.
He is a man of very few words and has trouble interacting with others, so he usually keeps himself at a distance. It is revealed later on that Giyu suffers from an inferiority complex which he developed since his participation in the Final Selection. It gets severe to the point where he contemplates abandoning his position as the Water Hashira until Tanjiro helps him realize that instead of acting on his survivor's guilt, he should cherish his life and live on for the people who sacrificed their lives for him.
Despite his aloof and stoic nature, Giyu is shown to be protective and caring towards those he is close to and considers his friends. This is first shown when he puts his life on the line for Tanjiro and Nezuko by vowing to commit Seppuku if the latter were ever to eat a human. Giyu has been shown to lose his composure and usual stoic demeanor when those he cares about are in danger, as seen when he is greatly angered by Akaza's attempt to kill Tanjiro and visibly shocked when he hears the news of Shinobu's death.
This is further shown in the fact that he still wears half of Sabito, his late best friend's, and his older sister's haori as a memento of them. However, Giyu appears to be particular in who he shows emotions for, as he doesn't appear to react at all when informed of the passing of Genya Shinazugawa, Muichiro Tokito and Kyojuro Rengoku.
Biography
Giyu developed a hatred for Demons after one of them killed his sister Tsutako and no one believed him. To avenge her, Giyu took up Water Breathing training under Sakonji Urokodaki alongside Sabito and Makomo.
Giyu is the current Water Hashira as well as the first Demon Slayer that Tanjiro Kamado comes across as he initially tries to kill Nezuko Kamado, but reconsiders after seeing her protect an unconscious Tanjiro as he sends them to his mentor Sakonji Urokodaki in the hopes that Tanjiro could succeed him and possibly cure Nezuko. He does not think of himself as a true Hashira, despite mastering Water Breathing as he considered his fellow apprentice Sabito, who died saving other Demon Slayers-in-training, more suited for the role. He has developed an additional technique to Water Breathing, which he alone knows. He loses an arm during the final battle against Muzan Kibutsuji, but survives after the demon is destroyed.
Abilities and Powers
As a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Giyu is a very powerful swordsman. He is able to easily defeat the Father Spider Demon in his transformed state, and Rui, Lower Rank Five of the Twelve Kizuki. During his fight against Akaza, Upper Rank Three, he was able to hold on his own for some time and like Kyojuro Rengoku, Akaza is amazed by Giyu's skills to the point that he offers to transform the Hashira into Demon, something Akaza only asks of the most worthy of his opponents. Akaza states that he has not fought a Water Hashira as skilled as Giyu in fifty years.
Natural Abilities
- Master Swordsman: Being a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Giyu is one of the most powerful and skilled swordsmen in the entire organization. Akaza, states that Giyu possesses finely developed swordsmanship.
- Enhanced Speed: Giyu is very fast, being able to tie up Inosuke Hashibira before he even realized what happened and he was able to cut off Rui's head in the blink of an eye.
- Enhanced Endurance: Giyu possesses great levels of endurance, as shown when he endures a powerful attack from Akaza, and continues to fight with only minor bruises. Although Giyu seemingly fell apart against Muzan Kibutsuji as compared to Obanai Iguro and some other Hashira and the demon king even knocked the sword off and cut his one hand. At most he could only support other Hashira.
- Crimson Red Nichirin Sword: During the fight against Muzan, Sanemi Shinazugawa forcefully clashes his sword together with Giyu's turning both of their blades temporarily red, which grants them the ability to hamper the enhanced regeneration of Demons.
- Demon Slayer Mark: During his battle against Akaza, Giyu awakens his Demon Slayer Mark, appearing as a fluid-water like design on his left cheek. When activated, he gains a tremendous increase in speed, precision, and endurance to the point where he could engage in a long battle against the Upper Rank demon on even ground. However, he was unable to come close to cutting Akaza's head, which ultimately led to his sword being broken and nearly fatally injured if it weren't for Tanjiro Kamado's intervention.
Swordsmanship
Water Breathing Style (水みずの呼こ吸きゅう, Mizu no Kokyū): Taught by Sakonji Urokodaki. The user can increase the amount of oxygen in one's blood by controlling his breathing pattern. This increases his strength and agility to equal a demon's. He has learned to do full focus breathing at all times as all Hashira have, further increasing his base strength, speed, and stamina. Not only does he know all of the Water Breathing techniques, but he's developed one additional style of his own.
- First Form: Water Surface Slash (壱いちノ型かた水みな面も斬ぎり, Ichi no Kata: Minamo Giri): A single concentrated slash.
- Second Form: Water Wheel (弐にノ型かた水みず車ぐるま, Ni no Kata: Mizu no Guruma): The user jumps and preforms a forward vertical 360 slash.
- Third Form: Flowing Dance (参さんノ型かた流りゅう流りゅう舞まい, San no Kata: Ryūryū no Mai): The user swings his blade at his opponent in a way that mimics the movement of waves on the surface of water.
- Fourth Form: Striking Tide (肆しノ型かた打うち潮しお, Shi no Kata: Uchishio): The user makes multiple consecutive slashes while twisting their body in a flowing fashion similar to a harsh tide.
- Fifth Form: Blessed Rain After the Drought (伍ごノ型かた干かん天てんの慈じ雨う, Go no Kata: Kanten no Jiu): A "sword strike of kindness" that kills the target with little to no pain. This style is used when the enemy surrenders.
- Sixth Form: Whirlpool (陸ろくノ型かたねじれ渦うず, Roku no Kata: Nejire Uzu): The user fiercely twists their upper and lower body, which creates a whirlpool that cuts anything caught in it.
- Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust (漆しちノ型かた雫しずく波は紋もん突づき, Shichi no Kata: Shizuku wa Mondzuki): A fast and accurate stab. The fastest Water Breathing technique.
- Eight Form: Waterfall Basin (捌はちノ型かた滝たき壷つぼ, Hachi no Kata: Takitsubo): The user cuts the target vertically.
- Ninth Form: Splashing Water Flow (玖くノ型かた水すい流りゅう飛沫しぶきKu no Kata: Suiryū Shibuki): Minimizes the landing time and surface needed when landing, allowing the user to move without limits. Ideal when fighting in a place with no solid foothold.
- Tenth Form: Constant Flux (拾じゅうノ型かた生せい生せい流る転てん, Jū no Kata: Seisei Ruten): A continuous attack that increases in power with each rotation, creating a strong slash. The attack takes the form of a Japanese water dragon.
- Eleventh Form: Dead Calm (拾じゅう壱いちノ型かた凪なぎ, Jū Ichi no Kata: Nagi): A technique created by Giyu himself. Giyu engages a skill that disables and nullifies incoming attacks. However, its effectiveness is limited as fast and numerous attacks can break through it.
Quotes
- "Don't cry. Don't succumb to sorrow. This isn't the time to despair. I know you're devastated right now. Your family massacred, your sister's a demon. I know it hurts. I know you wanna scream. I understand. If only I had gotten here a half a day sooner, maybe then your family would still be alive. However, there's no way to turn back time. So feel it... feel the pure rage of being unable to forgive... let it be what gives you the strength to take action. With that fragile resolve of yours, you can't protect your sister or heal her, and you'll never get revenge for what happened to your family!"
- (To himself) "She must've been craving a feast right from the start, even her own brother. But she protected him and turned her attention to me. I wonder if... just maybe... these two are different."
- (To Shinobu Kocho) "I'm not disliked by people."
- (To Akaza) "If you want to kill Tanjiro, you'll have to get through me first!"
Etymology
- The name Giyu means "volunteer, heroism, loyalty, courage" (義ぎ勇ゆう).
- Giyu's surname Tomioka means "enrich, wealthy, abundant" (冨) (tomi) and "ridge, hill" (岡) (oka).
Trivia
- Giyu was ranked in 4th place as of the first character popularity poll with 2,190 votes.
- His Kasugai crow is very old, so it tends to make mistakes when giving messages and he is said to also make Giyu very nervous.
- His is one of only 4 Hashira that use a standard Nichirin Katana. The other 3 are Kyojuro Rengoku, Sanemi Shinazugawa, and Muichiro Tokito.
- His is the first student of Sakonji Urokodaki who wasn't killed by the Hand Demon. As he's the first student who didn't battle the Hand Demon.
- His Japanese voice actor, Takahiro Sakurai and his English voice actor Johnny Yong Bosch both share the role of Sasori in Naruto: Shippuden and Trevor Cook/Yuuichirou Mansaku in Inazuma Eleven Ares.
- Johnny has also voiced Zhang Bao from Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Ichigo Kurosaki from Bleach, Adam Park from Power Rangers, Shotaro Kaneda from Akira, Lelouch vi Britannia from Code Geass, Kiba from Wolf's Rain, Makoto Tachibana from Free!, T.K. Takaishi from Digimon Adventure tri. and Last Evolution Kizuna, Vash the Stampede from Trigun, Kung Jin from Mortal Kombat, Nero from Devil May Cry, Zero from Mega Man X, Yukio Okumura from Blue Exorcist, Renton Thurston from Eureka Seven, Orga Itsuka from Mobile Suit Gundam: IRON-BLOODED ORPHANS, Eriol Hiiragizawa from Cardcaptor Sakura, Nathan Adams from Yo-Kai Watch, Nobita Nobi from Doraemon, Hajime Hinata from Danganronpa 2, Yu Narukami from Persona 4, Kei Nagai from Ajin: Demi-Human
- His favorite food is simmered salmon with winter radish. Seeing a fresh plate made Giyu smile, a sight which impressed and also disgusted Shinobu Kocho.
- His is the only character who has his own spin-off where the spin-off is a two-part story depicting events after Giyu’s encounter with Tanjiro Kamado and Nezuko Kamado called Giyu Tomioka's Story: Part 1.
- Koyoharu Gotouge's initial design for Giyu was roughly the same as the official design except it featured him with finger-less sleeves, a cloth that tied the ends of his haori around his waist and looser hakama pants.
- Giyu and Zenitsu Agatsuma are the only two characters in Demon Slayer who have create a new original form in a Breathing Style with multiple users.
- This fact could be considered invalid if Kyojuro and Shinjuro Rengoku are counted since the 9th form of Flame Breathing is exclusive to the Rengoku clan.
External Links
- Giyu Tomioka on the Near Pure Good Wiki
- Giyu Tomioka on the Kimetsu no Yaiba Wiki
- Giyu Tomioka on the Love Exalted Wiki
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