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“	PIG ASSAULT!!	”
	— Inosuke Hashibira's catchphrase

Inosuke Hashibira (嘴 (はし) 平 (びら) 伊 (い) 之 (の) 助 (すけ) , Hashibira Inosuke^?) is one of the main protagonists of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba and a traveling companion of Tanjiro Kamado. He is also a Demon Slayer in the Demon Slayer Corps.

Appearance

Inosuke is a young man of average height and pale complexion with an extremely toned and muscular build for his age, possessing large, defined muscles most notably over his stomach and arms. In sharp contrast to this, he has an incredibly pretty and feminine face,^[3] with large, wide eyes that are framed by an array of long eyelashes, their irises a dark to soft pale green, thin eyebrows and what could be a small, well-mannered mouth. His thick, black hair reaches just past his shoulders, fading into blue at the tips and forming an unruly and uneven fringe that falls just above his eyes, puffing out before curving and thinning towards his forehead.

Inosuke wears his altered version of the standard Demon Slayer uniform, which consists only of the baggy hakama pants, his tinted a dark gray-blue, which he fastens around his hips with a thick belt of fluffy brown animal fur. The usual cloth leg-wraps are replaced with what appears to be knee-high socks of a furry hide which expose his heels and toes, which also appear to be what fastens the sandal-bases he wears on his feet. His most defining feature is the gray, hollowed-out boar's head he wears as to mask his own, the eyes of which he has tampered with to allow himself vision while wearing it,^[4] which has been revealed to have belonged to his late adoptive boar mother.

Gallery

Personality

Inosuke is an extremely short-tempered and proud young man who always likes to think he is the strongest fighter in a situation, constantly challenging most people he comes across and wanting others to respect and praise him for his skill. This often leads him into unnecessary danger, since he tends to overestimate his abilities in comparison to who it is he's fighting and refuses to accept when he's been defeated, which can be seen when Giyu Tomioka has to tie him up after his fight with the Father Spider Demon to prevent him challenging the Hashira to a fight while still severely injured from his previous battle.^[5] This constant wanting to be the best can also cause Inosuke to be very provocative, as he often tries to goad others, most prominently Tanjiro Kamado, into fighting him, although in the case of the latter he usually fails due to Tanjiro's obliviously kind nature.^[6]

Due to him having been raised by boars, Inosuke has also been shown to possess little understanding of normal human interaction, at least at the time of his debut, as he seems to frequently assume that people who approach him want to attack him and doesn't appear to understand the kindness others show him.^[7]

However, as the story goes on, Inosuke is influenced more and more by Tanjiro's ways and becomes more accustomed to affection and generosity, learning to also acknowledge the strength of people besides himself and develop feelings of friendship towards him and Zenitsu Agatsuma, although he does still retain his proud nature and constant want for praise. He also begins to think more strategically when engaging in combat, using smarter tactics he has picked up from more experienced Demon Slayers and not just rushing into fights head-on without thinking.

Inosuke's sense of camaraderie drastically improves, best evidenced when he lunged at Muzan Kibutsuji, while mourning the scores of Demon Slayers killed and maimed by the Demon Lord and demanding he returns everything he took from them, or else to die as retribution for his crimes.

Abilities and Powers

Natural Abilities

• Dual Saw-Sword Proficiency: Although originally normal swords, he used a rock to shape his swords to have a jagged edge, perfect for tearing through flesh, which is more to his liking.

• Enhanced Touch: After growing up in the mountains, Inosuke developed a sharp and incredibly sensitive sense of touch. He can even feel small vibrations in the air. By using this ability, he can tell if anyone is looking at him, especially if they have any hostile intentions. He can even pinpoint the exact location they are looking at, which gives him an edge in combat.^[8]

• Animalistic Combat: Due to growing up with boars in the mountains, Inosuke adopted their habits. This both his hand-to-hand combat style and swordsmanship very reminiscent of animals and beasts. Tanjiro Kamado noted that his unnatural fighting style which reassembles that of a "four legged beast" due to how his attacks come from an extremely low angle while also being very ferocious and incorporating other unorthodox movements, thus making him very unpredictable and very viscous.

• Enhanced Physical Prowess: Inosuke's physical prowess is incredible, being able to hold his own against a weakened Muzan and Doma which can match the likes of the Hashira when combined with the use of the Total Concentration Breathing (全 (ぜん) 集 (しゅう) 中 (ちゅう) の呼 (こ) 吸 (きゅう) , Zen Shūchū no Kokyū^?) and soon the Total Concentration: Constant (全 (ぜん) 集 (しゅう) 中 (ちゅう) ・常 (じょう) 中 (ちゅう) , Zen Shūchū Jōchū^?) after the events of the Rehabilitation Training Arc. The members of the Hashira in general have incredible movement speed, all of them have displayed the capability to use blinding bursts of speed that make it seem like they teleported to even talented swordsman like Tanjiro Kamado. The Hashira also possess incredible physical strength, shown when a severely weakened Kyojuro Rengoku could hold down a an Upper Rank Demon with his bare hands, Giyu Tomioka and Shinobu Kocho who can leap great distances effortlessly and Gyomei Himejima who can move gigantic boulders with his bare hands. They also possess superhuman stamina and durability, being able to fight for nearly hours with severe injuries.
  • Enhanced Flexibility: Inosuke is extremely flexible to the point where he can bend backwards so far that his head reaches between his feet.^[9] He later displays the ability to dislocate his arm to extend his reach^[10] and dislocate any of the joints in his body at will.^[11] This flexibility additionally extends to his internal organs, as he was able to shift his heart and avoid it being pierced in the fight against Daki and Gyutaro.^[12]
  • Poison Resistance: Inosuke was able to resist and survive the effect of Upper Rank 6's poison although it was considered incredibly deadly, which suggests that he may have complete immunity to some poisonous substances. However, as stated by Aoi Kanzaki, this also means that none of Shinobu Kocho's medicines will work on him, so, if he is exposed to a stronger poison than that of Gyutaro or one that he has not developed a resistance to, they cannot be used as a remedy and he is in greater danger of death.^[13]

• Enhanced Mental Prowess: As a seasoned swordsman who underwent incredibly harsh and intense training, Inosuke possesses above average mental capabilities. He could process information and think clearly at supernatural speeds, proven by fighting Upper Rank Demons, who can think at equally or slightly faster speeds. As another testament to his mental capabilities, he has incredible concentration abilities and wits. With an arsenal of techniques at his disposal, Inosuke has to be really decisive and sagacious when using them, proven when he could hold his own against Muzan Kibutsuji and several other opponents.

Swordsmanship

Beast Breathing (獣 (けだもの) の呼 (こ) 吸 (きゅう) , Kedamono no kokyū^?): A Breathing Style personally created and self-taught by Inosuke Hashibira after living in the mountains and fighting for survival. It is said to be distantly derived from the Wind Breathing. The Beast Breathing enhances a user's sense of touch, and is a combination of a myriad of wild attacks that resemble the claws of a beast.

1. First Fang: Pierce (壱 (いち) ノ牙 (きば) 穿 (うがち) 抜 (ぬき) , Ichi no kiba: Ugachi Nuki^?) - Inosuke stabs the target's neck with both blades.^[14]
2. Second Fang: Rip and Tear (弐 (に) ノ牙 (きば) 切 (きり) 裂 (さき) , Ni no kiba: Kirisaki^?) - A double X-shaped slash with his two blades in both diagonals.^[15]

• Third Fang: Devour (参 (さん) ノ牙 (きば) 喰 (くい) 裂 (ざき) , San no kiba: Kuizaki^?) - Simultaneous horizontal slashes towards the target's throat.^[16]
• Fourth Fang: Slice 'n' Dice (肆 (し) ノ牙 (きば) 切 (きり) 細 (こま) 裂 (ざき) , Shi no kiba: Kiri Komazaki^?) - A multiple diagonal double slashes with both swords.^[17]
• Fifth Fang: Crazy Cutting (伍 (ご) ノ牙 (きば) 狂 (くる) い裂 (ざ) き, Go no kiba: Kuruizaki^?) - The 'Crazy Cutting' is a technique which slices everything in all directions.^[18]
• Sixth Fang: Palisade Bite (陸 (ろく) ノ牙 (きば) 乱 (らん) 杭 (ぐい) 咬 (が) み, Roku no kiba: Ranguigami^?) - A simultaneous decapitation with his two swords from both directions.^[19]

• Seventh Form: Spatial Awareness (漆 (しち) ノ型 (かた) 空 (くう) 間 (かん) 識 (しき) 覚 (かく) , Shichi no Kata: Kūkan Shikikaku^?) - Inosuke can identify the position of enemies by feeling small disturbances in the air. He usually plunges both of his Nichirin blades into the ground to utilize this technique.^[20]

• Eighth Fang: Explosive Rush (捌 (はち) ノ型 (かた) 爆 (ばく) 裂 (れつ) 猛 (もう) 進 (しん) , Hachi no kiba: Bakuretsu Mōshin^?) - Inosuke makes a mad dash at his opponent, not even paying attention to defending himself along the way.^[21]

• Ninth Fang: Extending Bendy Slash (玖 (く) ノ牙 (きば) 伸 (しん) うねり裂 (ざ) き, Ku no kiba: Shin - Unerizaki^?) - Inosuke dislocates the joints of his arm to increase the range of his attack.^[10]
• Tenth Fang: Whirling Fangs (拾 (じゅう) ノ牙 (きば) 円 (えん) 転 (てん) 旋 (せん) 牙 (が) , Jū no kiba: Enten Senga^?) - Inosuke spins his swords in a circular motion. He used this attack to blow away Doma's Freezing Clouds.^[22]
• Sudden Throwing Strike (思 (おも) いつきの 投 (な) げ裂 (さ) き, Omoitsuki no Nagesaki^?)^[23] - Inosuke throws both of his blades at an enemy.

Battles

Trivia

• Inosuke's surname contains the kanji for "beak, bill" (嘴, hashi^?) and "broad, flat" (平, bira^?), and his first name contains a common abbreviation of the word for "Italy" (伊, i^?), "of, this" (之, no^?) and "assistance, help" (助, suke^?).
  • The "ino" in his first name sounds similar to the first part of the Japanese word for "boar" (猪, inoshishi^?).
• Inosuke's rankings in the popularity polls are as follows:
  • Inosuke ranked 5th place in the first popularity poll with 1,977 votes.
  • Inosuke ranked 6th place in the second popularity poll with 8,750 votes.^[24]
• Inosuke doesn't care to remember other people's names and usually gets it right every seven attempts (referring to Tanjiro as Gonpachiro (権 (ごん) 捌 (ぱち) 郎 (ろう) , Gonpachirō^?), Kentaro (健 (けん) 太 (た) 郎 (ろう) , Kentarō^?), Monjiro (紋 (もん) 治 (じ) 郎 (ろう) , Monjirō^?), Santaro (参 (さん) 太 (た) 郎 (ろう) , Santarō^?), etc.).^[25]
• Both of Inosuke's voice actors, Yoshisugu Matsuoka and Bryce Papenbrook, also share the role of Kirito from Sword Art Online.
• It is stated during an interview that the reincarnated adult Inosuke is married to Mae.
• Inosuke appears to enjoy eating tempura, as shown when he rests at the Wisteria mansion and when he uses it as motivation during training.
• His swords are different from the other Demon Slayers in that he purposefully chips them himself to give them jagged edges.^[26]
• Inosuke used boars, bears and wolves as references when creating Beast Breathing.^[27]
• He is hated by the uniform-makers of the Demon Slayer Corps because he always tears apart the top part of his uniform.^[27]
• Inosuke is a member of "Stylish Scruffy Democracy" band together with Tanjiro (Vocals), Zenitsu (Shamizen and Song writer), and Tengen (Harmonica). Inosuke is the Taiko Drummer of the band. "Exploding skin and the melancholy of modern smell" is their debut song that made everyone who heard it feel dizzy and vomit non-stop.
• Inosuke is tone deaf, along with Tanjiro.

Quotes

• (First on-screen words) "(Maniacal laughter) Better watch out! Cuz ready or not, HERE I COME!!"
• (To Doma) "It truly is a miracle, meeting you here. The Demon who killed my mother and my friends is right before my eyes! Allow me to thank you for making me remember, but I won't just cut off your head now! I'll show you what true hell is like!"^[28]
• (To Doma) "If there isn't a hell, then I'll make one God damn it! Just shut the hell up already! Don't talk about my mom as if she was unhappy, you bastard!"^[29]
• (To Muzan) "You sure got me back there. You're dead. They protected us. That ball ball old man's leg and the hanhan baori guy's arm got cut off. All those corpses everywhere are the buddies I ate my food with. Give 'em back. The leg, the arm, the lives. Give them back. If you can't do that... Then you'll die a million times over to make up for it!!"^[30]
• (About Tanjiro Kamado) "We're comrades... And like brothers... So if someone starts to stray from the path, we all stop him. No matter how hard or painful it is... We walk the right path."^[31]

References