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As the younger sister of Tanjiro Kamado and the only other survivor of their family, Nezuko is an integral part of Demon Slayer. Even as she turned into a demon, she still retained her humanity.
Here are ten of the most interesting things about the half-demon, half-demon slayer Nezuko Kamado.
1. How Old Was Nezuko at the Start of Demon Slayer?
Before the demons attacked them, they lived a simple life. After their father passed away, the family survived by Tanjiro’s selling of coals. Tanjiro is the eldest among them at 15. Nezuko follows him at 14 at the start of Demon Slayer. She helps their mother, Kie, take care of their other siblings at home. They have four other siblings: Takeo, Shigeru, Hanako, and Rokuta.
2. Will Nezuko Return To Her Human Form?
Spoiler Alert: She does. Near the end of the fight with Muzan, Tamayo’s medicine has started to return her to being a human. The effect of the medicine returned one of her eyes to normal at first. After struggling with the demon inside her, she regained memories of what happened to her family.
She would later arrive at the scene and find Tanjiro fighting against the demon blood. In a scene reminiscent of the first episode, she tries to convince her brother to fight. Nezuko does not die, Tanjiro returns to being a human, and a partially happy ending ensues.
3. Is Nezuko Actually Cute or Pretty In-Series?
Tanjiro said that Nezuko was known as a great beauty in their home town. After eating at the udon stand, Yushiro picked up the siblings to bring them to Tamayo. The younger demon then called Nezuko a “brute” or an “eyesore,” depending on where you saw it. As the older brother, Tanjiro defended his sister.
Also, Zenitsu Agatsuma has always fawned over her ever since he saw her from the Wisteria house. While Zenitsu later calms down, he promises her that he will take her to a flower field. In Chapter 51, Zenitsu tells his story to the half-demon in the box. She responded by making sounds from her box. Which brings us to the next fan-favorite question:
4. Will Nezuko Marry Zenitsu?
Spoiler Alert: Yes – That’s what I believe and the finale of the manga supports it now. We see that the anime series never showed her returning Zenitsu’s affection. However, the last chapter strongly implied that they got together. Down the line, they had descendants who look like them. Agatsuma Touko appears and looks like Nezuko in Chapter 205 of the manga. She is the older sister of Agatsuma Yoshiteru who looks like Zenitsu before his hair turned yellow.
5. How Does She Fit Into The Box?
It was never shown if only Nezuko can do it but she can actually make herself smaller or return to her original adolescent size. During the Natagumo Mountain Arc, Kanao Tsuyuri tries to kill her since she is technically a demon. As she is about to slash Tanjiro’s sister, this happens:
This explains how she fits into the box Tanjiro carries all the time. Although, she stands at almost the same height as her brother, as shown during the very first episode of the anime. It was also in the first chapter of the manga included in the Demon Slayer Vol 1. manga.
6. How Does She Survive and What Does She Eat?
Both the anime and manga have never shown if Nezuko eats anything else. But as a demon, she has never eaten a human being. Instead, she seems to be able to recover energy and sustain herself simply by sleeping. This is why she is always asleep throughout the series. If she is not shown sleeping, she remains in the box Tanjiro carries.
In fact, Nezuko has slept the whole two years and more. For the entire time that Tanjiro spent training to slice the boulder and went off to take the Final Selection, she was asleep. Tanjiro left fearful and worried for his sister’s safety. Sakonji assured Tanjiro that he’ll take care of her in his place. It was only after Tanjiro returned as a Demon Slayer that Nezuko finally woke up.
Spoiler alert: In a very emotional bit of Chapter 204, she jokes about her two-year sleep with the Wind Pillar, Sanemi Shinazugawa. Sanemi remembered his younger brother Genya, who also loved sleeping, and pats Nezuko on the head. Zenitsu, watching from a corner, becomes enraged with jealousy.
Nezuko consciously abstaining from eating human flesh has earned the trust and care of both Urokodaki Sakonji and Giyuu Tomioka. Sakonji even wrote to the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps, Kagaya Ubuyashiki, that he and Giyuu would commit suicide should Nezuko succumb to her demon instincts.
7. What Is The Bamboo Thing in Nezuko’s Mouth?
It is a bamboo gag to help prevent her from biting another person. In the very first episode of the anime, Giyuu knocked out the rampaging Nezuko in the middle of the snow. When Tanjiro woke up, he saw his sister beside her, with the bamboo gag tied by a red cloth. While this is not confirmed, note that the color of Nezuko’s gag matches the red-brown half of Giyuu’s haori (coat).
Aside from Nezuko’s willpower and Giyuu’s bamboo gag, Urokodaki Sakonji also placed a form of hypnosis on her. During their stay at the former pillar’s home, she considers every human being as a member of her family. That is why she protects them.
However, during their battle with Daki, younger sister and half of the Upper Moon Six, Nezuko removed her bamboo gag and transformed into a demon. Her body is visibly more mature in this form, with her demon marks taking the form of vines. She also has a single horn on the right side of her forehead.
8. Why is Nezuko So Strong?
This was never directly explained. The most common theory, however, is that Nezuko’s blood as a heir to the Breath of the Sun style. The Hinokami Kagura, which is actually a sequence of Breath of the Sun forms, have given members of the Kamado family an innate strength. This was shown when their sickly father, Tanjuro, was able to kill a bear with a single swing of an axe, despite his frail-looking body.
Although the dance is only passed on to the sons of the family, like the Hanafuda earrings, having it practiced for generations would definitely benefit their offspring down the line, regardless of whether they will inherit the Hinokami Kagura later.
Nezuko never received any training in combat. She also appeared to be a normal human before she was converted. However, she is insanely strong, being able to adapt immediately to Susamaru’s temari balls. She was able to kick the balls that shattered her leg the first time. Nezuko even overwhelmed Daki, Upper Moon Six, with a kick that sent her to the ground. Curious? Read how Nezuko overpowers an Upper Moon Demon in the Demon Slayer Vol 10. manga.
9. What Makes Nezuko Different From The Other Demons?
What makes Nezuko special in the Kimetsu no Yaiba series is that, as a demon, she has a couple of traits uncommon to demons aside from number 8.
First, Nezuko is among the handful of demons not under the control of Kibutsuji Muzan. It has been established that Muzan sees and knows everything about the demons he created – from their location to their thoughts. However, Nezuko is free from Muzan’s control. Aside from her, Tamayo is the only other demon to escape Muzan’s grasp. By extension, Yushiro is also free from Muzan since Tamayo was the one who turned him. These are explained in Chapter 15 of the manga.
Lastly, Nezuko has immunity to sunlight. Aside from the Blue Spider Lily, immunity to sunlight appears to be the last piece of the puzzle for Muzan’s immortality. As Tanjiro finally defeats Hantengu, Upper Moon Four, Nezuko was out in the fields and seemingly burning from the sunrise. A few moments later, she returns completely safe and greets her brother “morning.”
10. Why Did Muzan Turn Nezuko Into a Demon?
The same chapter where she regained her humanity answered this very question. She saw the rest of her family die because Muzan Kibutsuji attempted to create “a demon who can conquer the sun.” It was not clarified, though, whether Muzan actually killed the rest of her family. It is also possible that Nezuko, after being turned into a demon, killed them instead.
Note that it was never clarified whether Muzan actually targeted their family. It never said if Muzan knew that they are the holders of the Hanafuda earrings. Consequently, we don’t know if Muzan is aware that they are the heirs to the Breath of the Sun Techniques.
Bonus: Nezuko’s Voice Actress Akari Kito
A fan-favorite seiyuu is behind Nezuko Kamado’s voice in the Demon Slayer anime series. Nezuko’s voice actress is none other than Akari Kito. Since she debuted in 2014, the 25-year-old actress has been behind most of our favorite shoujo characters including:
- Hiromi Sugita, child version, from Erased
- Calen from Time Bokan 24 and Time Bokan 24: The Villains’ Strike Back
- Momo Chiyoda from The Demon Girl Next Door
- Hass from SSSS.Gridman
- Sayu Tsukisaki from Re: Stage! Dream Days
- Rinna Shinkai from Aikatsu on Parade!
- Nagara, Isuzu, Abukuma in the Azur Lane video games
- Erice Utsumi in the Fate/ Grand Order video game
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