The Five Best of Tanjiro’s Friendships in Demon Slayer!

Aside from Nezuko who is undoubtedly Tanjiro’s main priority throughout the course of the series, he also forms very precious bonds with many other characters. Here is our list of the five closest friendships Tanjiro encounters in his journey as a demon slayer.

Zenitsu Agatsuma

We know that Tanjiro can sometimes get annoyed by Zenitsu’s whiny tantrums and his desperation over girls. During their first meeting itself, Tanjiro had to physically pull Zenitsu away when he witnessed him bothering a girl. But, at the end of the day, it is clear that both share a very close bond.

Zenitsu has proven himself to be a good friend to Tanjiro on many occasions and has helped Tanjiro during his moments of naivety and lack of social skills. Zenitsu is also very patient with Tanjiro at times when he has to deal with informing a clueless Tanjiro about how city life works.

Tanjiro recognizes Zenitsu’s strength and the way they could work together in battle. No doubt though, Zenitsu also may have an ulterior motive as he really wants Tanjiro to acknowledge him as a potential future brother-in-law owing to his crush on Nezuko.

Inosuke Hashibira

In Inksuke’s case too, though Tanjiro may get annoyed sometimes with the way Inosuke constantly insists on challenging him to a fight, we can obviously see their close friendship, especially as the series progresses. The very reason Inosuke challenges him is also because he recognizes Tanjiro’s strength and potential, from their very first encounter itself.

Eventually, Tanjiro’s kindness and influence actually gets through to Inosuke and he becomes a better fighter because of it. Later, the two become incredibly close friends who have each other’s backs and gradually even come to see each other as brothers.

When Tanjiro transforms into a demon, Inosuke decides to kill him before he eats someone, keeping true to the promise they both made about preventing each other from going down a dark path. But Inosuke is unable to kill Tanjiro and instead gets bombarded with all of Tanjiro’s incredible kindness, which makes him break down in tears and stop mid battle as he’s incapable of harming someone who he considers his brother.

Read this: Demon Slayer: Inosuke and His Love Interest!

Muichiro Tokito

In their first few encounters, Tanjiro and Muichiro initially have a strained relationship, especially considering the one time that Muichiro threw a stone at Tanjiro’s head. We also know how Tanjiro didn’t appreciate Muichiro’s rude treatment of Kotetsu at the Swordsmith Village. But their relationship transforms after Muichiro gets inspired by Tanjiro’s selfless philosophy about helping others.

Muichiro then changes his mindset and saves Kotetsu and Kozo Kanamori. When he regains his memories and his emotions, Muichiro and Tanjiro become such good friends that Muichiro even heavily favors Tanjiro during their Hashira training session. Tanjiro cries over the loss of his dear friend when he hears about Muichiro’s death at Kokushibo’s hands and vows to himself that he would continue to fight hard.

Kanao Tsuyuri

Though the beginning of their bond doesn’t really start off with an instant hit, their friendship gradually blooms, with the first telling moment being when she drops a flower vase and cries with relief when he wakes up after the battle in the Entertainment District.

That one time when Tanjiro manages to save her from Muzan Kibutsuji at the last minute is also another important moment in their friendship journey. It is clear they both really care and are willing to go out of their way to protect and offer selfless support to each other. Kanao also sacrifices her own safety when she uses the Flower Breathing Final Form: Equinoctial Vermilion Eyed to help cure Tanjiro when he becomes a Demon.

After Tanjiro successfully returns to his human form, she cries happy tears and is visibly relieved to see him safely back as a human. They exchange tearful smiles as they lie across from each other. Later on, Tanjiro and Kanao would eventually go on to marry and start a family, having two great-grandchildren by the names of Kanata Kamado and Sumihiko Kamado.

Also read: Demon Slayer: Flame Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku’s Incredible Abilities

Kyojuro Rengoku

Kyojuro is initially turned off by Tanjiro’s loyalty to his demon sister. But that negative first impression doesn’t last as the two of them form a good bond and become close after spending only a few hours working together to defeat Enmu. This bond is what makes Kyojuro offer to take Tanjiro as his Tsuguko.

Kyojuro’s last dying words after his intense battle with Akaza have such a deep impact on Tanjiro, that Tanjiro remains always inspired by it for a long time. Even later on in the series, it is the memory Kyojuro’s words that motivate him in his battle against Daki. Tanjiro forever continues to deeply respect and admire Kyojuro, defending his memory against anyone who dare speak ill about him.