Rengoku Kyojuro - the blazing heart of the hashira
In today’s Character talk Rengoku Kyojuro will be our very guest to analyze. Not only is he full of passion, one of a kind you do not see often.
But also the blazing heart of the hashira who didn’t fill us only with great joy and laughter, but also a heavy burden.
The flame that lights the way but also darkens all around when gone.
The man sets the hearts ablaze, we shall look into the Flame Hashira’s character and learn a little bit more of how much he impacted the series.
Which means, this post will contain major spoilers for both the anime and movie.
Introduction
Rengoku with his hair looking like blazing flames and eyes burning with passion fits the title of the Flame Hashira very well even appearance-wise.
A loud and firm voice that cannot be overheard.
Tall and well-built he strolls and patrols in order to guarantee the safety of many.
No wonder that he is not only keen but wanted for the role of a big brother, aside from being a genuine big brother to his real one.
With a short appearance in the first season towards the end of Episode 21 there was not much to see of the energetic and justice-driven young man.
Still with the release of the Mugen Train movie, Rengoku shortly after conquered the audience's hearts as well as the rest of the movie’s cast, living up to his title until the very end.
Fire and flame, optimistic and enthusiastic until his justice’s flame extinguished with a final smile.
The Character
Since Rengoku isn’t seen as much at first in the anime the first impression he gives off is rather strict and we immediately get to see how much he values his own morals. In the bat of an eye he rejects Nezuko simply because she is a demon and cannot let slip any other argument that could prove him wrong.
That is until he saw with his own eyes how Nezuko protected humans, risking her own life in the Mugen Train movie, which is also the only reason he made an exception to change his rather biased first impression of her. The ones fitting his morales and values are openly accepted, making him even clingy and overbearing once he sets his eyes on someone he sees worthy of his attention.
No wonder that he enthusiastically suggests Tanjiro to become his apprentice, despite Tanjiro not reacting too positively on that Rengoku already sat his heart and mind to it, to train the young Kamado into someone he sees great potential in.
Even when seen as an idealistic and almost pushy young man, Rengoku is quick-witted and uses his techniques wisely in battle, making him not only confident in his skills but also a reliable ally who knows how to stand against an opponent as well as being passionate about every action he proceeds to do.
Like his hair and eyes, flames fill not only his character theme but also the passion and justice that linger deep inside Rengoku. From a firm and loud way of speaking to the way he eats, every action is filled with energy and optimism.
A pure heart filled with the strong will of a great man, yet with the curiosity and hope of a child that made him not only care deeply for his brother until his very death, but also for the young Demon Slayer Corps member he already embraced as his apprentices, with a little dream that they might have called him aniki (big brother) one day.
The duality of strict morals and a big heart like the beautiful yet scorching flames
Core role as a character
Rengoku did not only wield the title of the Flame Hashira, but had many other roles that might or might not have been noticed by some.
Since the Hashira are overall eccentric characters, Rengoku is still one of the few who showed consistency in his pure hearted intentions of wanting to save the weak in every occasion and strictly following the rules, making home the most justice-oriented of the ton and giving him a bit of the playing straight man role.
We also see that in many other occasions of the Mugen Train movie and the Mugen Train anime arc in which he is easily irritated or not welcoming the idea that clashes with the usual norm.
Still overall his heart seems to be touched easily when he sees with his own eyes that someone is in dire need and may have acted in certain ways because they saw no other choice.
Which brings us to our next role, big brother.
At first Rengoku may not come off as one until we see that his intentions for Inosuke, Tanjiro and Zenitsu are pure and genuine, as his dream right before the deeper one of his family was about being acknowledged as their older brother.
Not only that, we also come to know that Rengoku actually has a younger brother he is very protective of, Senjuro Rengoku. As Rengoku grew up under strict conditions and a heavy pressure of his father to pursue a role that was determined for him he instead wanted to shield his brother from a similar fate as we also get to know from his last words shortly before his death.
That trait we see when he interacts with the young Kamado, as he sees potential in him but does not want to force him into taking action right now as he is and take things at his own pace, if even so he sees it an obligation to protect him and the others including Nezuko he was first wary of and Tanjiro he disliked for breaking the rules of the Demon Corps, and stops them with interfering in most of the battles we see.
The deep care and pride he took in training his brother as well as trying to make Tanjiro his apprentice leads us to our next role Mentor.
Rengoku may not be the one who taught Tanjiro his breathing technique nor did they spend much time together due to his death, but we see that Rengoku respected Tanjiro which the latter reciprocated. Tanjiro as well as Inosuke who were present when Rengoku fought saw how much they had to learn and that what they had achieved was still far from what they imagined of the definition, strong. Which even left Inosuke in awe and weeping at Rengoku’s death.
Still Rengoku left a mark, an inspiration that will live in the hearts of each person he met as we see the different grieving reactions of the people who received the message of his death. Because even after his death the role of being an inspiration, someone who followed passion, worked hard and still had a pure heart is what keeps the hearts burning of those left behind.
Importance in series
Overlapping with the last paragraph Rengoku’s importance in the series is mostly the role model figure he sets for Senjuro and Tanjiro, and even the rest of the younger Demon Slayer Corps members.
A man who didn’t simply try to kill demons because of his personal feelings, but someone who adhered to rules, who passionately did what he at first was forced to do by his father but didn’t proceed in doing it with hate.
Instead Rengoku turned it into something he wanted to dedicate his life to, and in the end even died for that very purpose. A setting example that might have opened the eyes for some other people.
He also represents a figure of security and protection compared to all the other Hashira which is why he fits into the mentor and big brother role so well. Someone who might be overbearing at times but is still reliable showing the younger members that it is not only about swordsmanship alone but also about how to use it, the tactician side of it and the emotions that are connected.
Since Tanjiro and Rengoku share a lot of similarities, the former is probably the one who is a lot more impacted by the way Rengoku handled things, his morals and also the pure heart that never wavered for a moment. Rengoku, who didn’t have an easy life with his mother who was his biggest inspiration, still worked hard to live up to his father’s high expectations that seemed far over the top. And still he was happy, content, and took on a burning passion.
A very important lesson not only for Tanjiro but also for some of us who might feel like the situations we find ourselves in are not favorable at all but might benefit or make us more passionate as times pass by, giving us a bigger purpose in the future.
Last but not least, Rengoku who was clearly about to win against Akaza lost because of the Demon escaping due to his weakness to the sun. A scene that was heart-wrecking as we see Tanjiro cry and follow the demon who has long escaped like a coward.
The unfairness between the differences in that fight have been made clear, a death that could have been prevented if they had fought under fair circumstances.
But it is the first time we are confronted with the fact that there is a fundamental disadvantage, that was made clear because Rengoku died despite the fact that he was very capable of killing that demon. He didn’t grieve over his lost fight nor did he show any regret instead he fueled Tanjiro with an important message that would stick to him on his continuing journey, showing that Rengoku cared much more what would befall the young man instead of caring about his own state of body and mind.
What makes the character so interesting?
Rengoku was someone who first went against Tanjiro and his sister, appearing like someone strict and uptight, probably who would cause even more trouble in the future.
Yet in the Mugen Train arc that first impression was immediately discarded by his lovable personality and him actually just being someone who clearly likes his sets of rules.
Which shows that despite his love for morales and policies, he still reconsiders what is around him making his duality of being overly naive or narrow-minded but as well very attentive and accepting of new perspective.
In those very few moments we got to experience this character he impacted a whole series and audience in those, sadly short scenes that in the end lead to his end.
Not only did he die with a smile but with an even bigger message that left so many people pondering what it means to be strong, what it means to protect and how to deal with responsibility that was given to one.
He didn't just move our hearts only, but also those of the characters around him showing us various emotions of people like Inosuke that we would never have expected within the few minutes he appeared compared to other characters.
It shows how much these characters wanted people to be happy and feel like if they worked hard enough with pride they could reach lengths, not being determined what other people may think about them.
The feelings he desperately wanted to show his younger brother that seeped into the viewers hearts as well.
Making him the one and only blazing heart of the hashira, the passion and love within.
-Makii