It’s more complicated than it might appear.
Warning: Spoilers for Demon Slayer season 3 and the Demon Slayer manga ahead.
Genya Shinazugawa is quickly emerging as one of the most interesting and important characters in Demon Slayer season 3, the Swordsmith Village Arc.
The foul-mouthed swordsman is drawn in to the Upper Rank Demon attack on the village, and finds himself begrudgingly helping Tanjiro and his companions in defending the swordsmith village.
From the beginning of season 3, Demon Slayer has been planting certain seeds about Genya: he avoids other demon slayers, he never seems to eat the food that’s given to him and, most importantly, the tooth that Tanjiro once knocked out of his mouth seems to grow back. These three things have left a question hanging over Genya’s head: could he be a demon?
The answer to this question is complicated, shining a light on both Genya himself and the ways in which the idea of what a demon is in Demon Slayer isn’t as simple as it might initially seem.
Is Genya a demon?
!["Genya]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2023/05/Genya-2-Cropped-66e99e2.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"Genya")
Between the events in episode 5 and episode 6 of the Swordsmith Village Arc, with Genya impaled and cut to ribbons by the attacks of demons but still being able to stand, alongside the veins on his face and fangs in place of teeth, the question of whether or not Genya is a demon is one that demands an answer. And for those who want to know, the answer lies in the manga, the source material for the Demon Slayer anime.
Through this, it becomes clear that appearances can be deceiving and Genya is not a demon. However, he does have certain unique powers that allows him to temporarily take on the appearance of a demon, along with gaining some of their powers. Genya has abnormally strong jaws and with this, he’s able to consume the flesh of demons. When he does this, he takes on their appearance and sometimes parts of their abilities as well.
This ability is something that Genya uses instead of the Breathing Styles that are normally associated with demon slayers — like Tanjiro’s water or sun style, Tokito’s mist style, or Mitsuri’s love style — alongside a technique called a Repetitive Action, in which Genya repeats word like a mantra in order to calm and steel his mind, as a replacement for the Breathing Style that he’s unable to use.
Why can’t Genya use Breathing Styles?
Again, this is a question that can’t be answered through the anime alone, but between the fact that Genya uses a Repetitive Action and information from a Demon Slayer fan book from 2019 considered to be canon, it’s something that we’re able to find an answer for.
In the simplest terms, the reason that Genya can’t use Breathing Styles stems from his inability to achieve the total concentration breathing that other demon slayers use in order to access their abilities. This inability to use Breathing Styles not only explains why Genya needed to find another way to fight demons through his enhanced sense of taste, but also shines a light on why he is the way he is.
There’s a level of insecurity in Genya, and his ability to absorb the powers of demons can offer him a way to deflect the criticism that he’s unable to be a demon slayer (he’s also one of the only demon slayers that doesn’t use a traditional sword), something that’s compounded by the relationship that Genya has with his brother.
Who is Genya’s brother?
!["Sanemi]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2023/05/Sanemi-Cropped-2faea09.jpg?quality=90&resize=540%2C360" "\"Sanemi")
Genya’s brother and, as revealed in episode 6 of season 3, his only sibling to survive a demon attack, is Sanemi Shinazugawa, the current Wind Hashira in the Demon Slayer Corps. The Hashira are the highest ranking members of the Corps, and each possesses a distinct breathing style.
Sanemi killed his mother when she became a demon, and the fallout from this — in which Genya called him a murderer — creates a chasm between the two brothers, one that Genya is constantly trying to cross. This fraught relationship is instrumental to Genya joining the Demon Slayer Corps; he did so in search of his brother.
Both Genya and Sanemi share similar personality traits. They’re each lone wolves in their way, and continue to push away others before getting too close to them – something that Sanemi himself did with a young Genya in an attempt to keep him safe from harm in the wake of killing their mother. But this dismissiveness compounds Genya’s insecurity among demon slayers, creating the feeling that he’s weaker and less capable than his comrades in arms.
Does Genya like Tanjiro?
!["Demon]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2021/09/Demon-Slayer-c3c75cc-e1639400747883.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"Demon")
Genya has a combative relationship with Tanjiro, just as he does with seemingly everyone that crosses his path, and so it might be a stretch to say that Genya likes him. It seems that in recent episodes, a begrudging respect is forming.
When Genya and Tanjiro fight the Upper Rank Demons that lay siege to the swordsmith village, the former insists that he’ll be the one to win the fight, in the hopes that this will allow him to become a Hashira and be reunited with his brother again.
Tanjiro’s relationship to Genya is similar to that between, for example, Tanjiro and Tokito, the Mist Hashira. Tanjiro seems able to thaw the icy exteriors of these swordsmen, helping them through feelings of loneliness, isolation, or insecurity.
Demon Slayer season 3 is available to stream on Crunchyroll with new episodes dropping weekly. Check out more of our Anime coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on.
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