yoi

20 | she/her | massive kny & specifically giyuu tomioka fan

[yoiiyoii]

the transparent world moment in infinity castle is legitimately crazy i can't believe it exists

everything from the actual animation to the compositing to the ost, and to learn it was done on paper rather than digitally...

[paracetamoladdict]

the fandom really went from seeing giyuu as a sad loser who is constantly bullied by the other pillars and useless by himself because it missed the point of his character to some loner who hates interacting with people and is naturally apathetic without realizing they returned back to square one and still are missing the point of his character but in a different font. not mischaracterizing him can't be that difficult man

[crayonarts]

There's a tendency in fandom to try and break gender stereotypes by feminising men but often times it ends up going so far left it goes right. There suddenly has to be a "man" in the relationship who is strong and level headed and the embodiment of masculinity. While there has to be a "woman" who is dainty and fragile and needs protection despite the ship being mlm. Yes it's fiction do whatever but when it's at the detriment of a characters characterization to the point of becoming the dominating fanon, then I just can't stand it. I also am not critiquing bl as a genre here because that's a whole other beast. Those are the only versions of those characters. I'm specifically referring to shonen slash ships. And more specifically sanegiyuu.

Giyuu is oftentimes shown as weak or portrayed as a stereotypical omega, or worst of all, as a helpless victim of Sanemi, Shinobu, and Obanai's bullying. He has no agency and is often reduced to a damsel in distress role in fics due to his perceived femininity. These roles are forced on him because he's physically smaller than the people's he's most shipped with (e.g. Sanemi) or his silent demeanor is seen as more submissive in comparison to the other characters' louder/'maler' personalities. But it's not a role that makes sense for him because if it weren't for his size, Giyuu would represent the stereotypical ideals of the silent and brooding top, especially in comparison to Sanemi. He's closed off, level-headed, incredibly skilled at his job, has a voracious appetite, and possesses an incredibly protective nature when it comes to the people he cares about, such as Tanjiro.

Narratively wise, the guilt he carries for being responsible for Sabito's death and his own lack of autonomy over his life means being a feminised bottom would probably be his worst hell. As someone who was continously protected by his sister, Sabito (even Urokodaki in the case of Tanjiro), he feels his life is governed and extended not by his own actions but by the sacrifices of those around him. He is someone who desires control over his life and being allowed to have that control as a top would offer him both the safe space and the catharsis he needs. Being penetrator is something that is so deeply personal because it is an invasive act. It requires a level of trust that Giyuu would be able to give up but would only reaffirm his fears that he's someone who needs to be 'taken care of' rather than someone who could be that for someone else.

For Sanemi, who spent his whole childhood being the protector. First, his family is against his father. Then, his siblings were against his mother. Then others would have been victims of the demons he spends the next several years fighting till sunrise. This all built up a saviour complex that came at the cost of his own body in the most blatant act of self-harm and low self-worth poorly disguised as anger. Anger, which being in the position of a hard dom top, would only be allowed to fester. Having that ability to release, to actually let someone in, and allow himself to be taken care of is what would suit him best, which are things that are often awarded to the bottom in fanfics. The vulnerability that is gained from letting someone inside your body both physically and mentally would directly rival the poor emotional regulation he's struggled with since childhood.

I also feel part of the problem is people only being able to view anger as a 'masculine' emotion. But the truth behind Sanemi's anger is that he's a very emotional person through and through. Vowing to follow his mother to hell, having poor emotional regulation and subsequently trying to blind his only remaining family member, feeding stray dogs and raising dung beetles, the self harm (of which this isn't necessarily a feminine trait but often internal suffering to the point of externally harming one self is often reserved for bottoms and subs in fics). Even Gyomei says it himself that Sanemi gets easily embarrassed, and it's due to the fact that he is an incredibly sensitive person. He's also deeply angry but it's clear still from his calm interactions with Kanae and the master that being angry is the only way he can prevent himself from confronting his feelings of inferiority for 1 being a murderer (in his eyes), 2 failing to protect his family, 3 having to fight tooth and nail for his spot as a hashira, and 4 his fear of being mocked which I went more into depth here.

Compared to Giyuu's more overtly cool and brooding character, Sanemi's character is more emotionally charged, and yet because Sanemi is bigger and stronger and angrier and scarier looking due to his scars, he is seen as a masculine character. But because Giyuu is the typical ikemen character type, without possession of the more overt traits stupidly associated with masculinity, he's reduced to a fragile baby who can't swim, can't cook, can't stand up for himself, needs to be saved. And yet the manga disproved every single one of these fanon tropes.

Even if we go by physical attributes alone, the two of them fall comically so into typical female/male character designs we see in shonen animes. Sanemi's long lashes, his styled hair that swoops fashionably over his forehead, the soft design of his face (when he isn't looking murderously insane), and most importantly, his uniform. The only other person to get the same uniform treatment that Mitsuri does in the anime is Sanemi, and yet only one of them is seen as 'gooner bait'. Mitsuri is the most feminine and femme character within the series and her and Sanemi's uniforms are the samr in different fonts and yet even after drawing that very obvious and direct parallel between the two of them, people still fail to it. It's even funnier when you consider the fact that Sanemi chooses to walk around with his titties out 'for better fighting' (female gooner bait character excuses 101) while Mitsuri ends up with that uniform due to a shit perverted tailor. But looking at Giyuu's character, we never see him take his shirt off once (which I'll count as a sorta physical attribute because his body doesn't get open to sexualization in the same way Mitsuri or Sanemi's do). His hair keeps a very rigid messy and hasn't-been-brushed-in-weeks sort of structure, which reflects his internal suffering-in-silence character. His eyes are nowhere near as rounded as Sanemi's, especially when he's first introduced. They maintain this icy calculating kind of aura while Sanemi's take on the more feminine attribute of the extremely long eyelashes.

The thing with feminising characters is it's fun until you realize everyone is doing it to one character continuously to the point of changing their personality just because they want them to be the uke/bottom in the relationship. It erases sooo much of his character and ignores his character arc entirely.

Giyuu being feminised so often especially in comparison to Sanemi, to the point of Giyuu being well known as the fandom bicycle and yet somehow almost never being a top or in any dominating role in majority of the ships just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Everything about him that is perceived as being feminine and inherently equated with being weak is simply misogyny and homophobia in an ugly trench coat and yes I will die on that hill.

[crayonarts]

There's a tendency in fandom to try and break gender stereotypes by feminising men but often times it ends up going so far left it goes right. There suddenly has to be a "man" in the relationship who is strong and level headed and the embodiment of masculinity. While there has to be a "woman" who is dainty and fragile and needs protection despite the ship being mlm. Yes it's fiction do whatever but when it's at the detriment of a characters characterization to the point of becoming the dominating fanon, then I just can't stand it. I also am not critiquing bl as a genre here because that's a whole other beast. Those are the only versions of those characters. I'm specifically referring to shonen slash ships. And more specifically sanegiyuu.

Giyuu is oftentimes shown as weak or portrayed as a stereotypical omega, or worst of all, as a helpless victim of Sanemi, Shinobu, and Obanai's bullying. He has no agency and is often reduced to a damsel in distress role in fics due to his perceived femininity. These roles are forced on him because he's physically smaller than the people's he's most shipped with (e.g. Sanemi) or his silent demeanor is seen as more submissive in comparison to the other characters' louder/'maler' personalities. But it's not a role that makes sense for him because if it weren't for his size, Giyuu would represent the stereotypical ideals of the silent and brooding top, especially in comparison to Sanemi. He's closed off, level-headed, incredibly skilled at his job, has a voracious appetite, and possesses an incredibly protective nature when it comes to the people he cares about, such as Tanjiro.

Narratively wise, the guilt he carries for being responsible for Sabito's death and his own lack of autonomy over his life means being a feminised bottom would probably be his worst hell. As someone who was continously protected by his sister, Sabito (even Urokodaki in the case of Tanjiro), he feels his life is governed and extended not by his own actions but by the sacrifices of those around him. He is someone who desires control over his life and being allowed to have that control as a top would offer him both the safe space and the catharsis he needs. Being penetrator is something that is so deeply personal because it is an invasive act. It requires a level of trust that Giyuu would be able to give up but would only reaffirm his fears that he's someone who needs to be 'taken care of' rather than someone who could be that for someone else.

For Sanemi, who spent his whole childhood being the protector. First, his family is against his father. Then, his siblings were against his mother. Then others would have been victims of the demons he spends the next several years fighting till sunrise. This all built up a saviour complex that came at the cost of his own body in the most blatant act of self-harm and low self-worth poorly disguised as anger. Anger, which being in the position of a hard dom top, would only be allowed to fester. Having that ability to release, to actually let someone in, and allow himself to be taken care of is what would suit him best, which are things that are often awarded to the bottom in fanfics. The vulnerability that is gained from letting someone inside your body both physically and mentally would directly rival the poor emotional regulation he's struggled with since childhood.

I also feel part of the problem is people only being able to view anger as a 'masculine' emotion. But the truth behind Sanemi's anger is that he's a very emotional person through and through. Vowing to follow his mother to hell, having poor emotional regulation and subsequently trying to blind his only remaining family member, feeding stray dogs and raising dung beetles, the self harm (of which this isn't necessarily a feminine trait but often internal suffering to the point of externally harming one self is often reserved for bottoms and subs in fics). Even Gyomei says it himself that Sanemi gets easily embarrassed, and it's due to the fact that he is an incredibly sensitive person. He's also deeply angry but it's clear still from his calm interactions with Kanae and the master that being angry is the only way he can prevent himself from confronting his feelings of inferiority for 1 being a murderer (in his eyes), 2 failing to protect his family, 3 having to fight tooth and nail for his spot as a hashira, and 4 his fear of being mocked which I went more into depth here.

Compared to Giyuu's more overtly cool and brooding character, Sanemi's character is more emotionally charged, and yet because Sanemi is bigger and stronger and angrier and scarier looking due to his scars, he is seen as a masculine character. But because Giyuu is the typical ikemen character type, without possession of the more overt traits stupidly associated with masculinity, he's reduced to a fragile baby who can't swim, can't cook, can't stand up for himself, needs to be saved. And yet the manga disproved every single one of these fanon tropes.

Even if we go by physical attributes alone, the two of them fall comically so into typical female/male character designs we see in shonen animes. Sanemi's long lashes, his styled hair that swoops fashionably over his forehead, the soft design of his face (when he isn't looking murderously insane), and most importantly, his uniform. The only other person to get the same uniform treatment that Mitsuri does in the anime is Sanemi, and yet only one of them is seen as 'gooner bait'. Mitsuri is the most feminine and femme character within the series and her and Sanemi's uniforms are the samr in different fonts and yet even after drawing that very obvious and direct parallel between the two of them, people still fail to it. It's even funnier when you consider the fact that Sanemi chooses to walk around with his titties out 'for better fighting' (female gooner bait character excuses 101) while Mitsuri ends up with that uniform due to a shit perverted tailor. But looking at Giyuu's character, we never see him take his shirt off once (which I'll count as a sorta physical attribute because his body doesn't get open to sexualization in the same way Mitsuri or Sanemi's do). His hair keeps a very rigid messy and hasn't-been-brushed-in-weeks sort of structure, which reflects his internal suffering-in-silence character. His eyes are nowhere near as rounded as Sanemi's, especially when he's first introduced. They maintain this icy calculating kind of aura while Sanemi's take on the more feminine attribute of the extremely long eyelashes.

The thing with feminising characters is it's fun until you realize everyone is doing it to one character continuously to the point of changing their personality just because they want them to be the uke/bottom in the relationship. It erases sooo much of his character and ignores his character arc entirely.

Giyuu being feminised so often especially in comparison to Sanemi, to the point of Giyuu being well known as the fandom bicycle and yet somehow almost never being a top or in any dominating role in majority of the ships just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Everything about him that is perceived as being feminine and inherently equated with being weak is simply misogyny and homophobia in an ugly trench coat and yes I will die on that hill.

[demonslayedher]

You know how Giyuu and Tanjiro both have really good aim when yeeting swords around? Yeah.

[yoiiyoii]

genuinely how do you get through college without wanting to die oh my goddddddddd

[yoiiyoii]

generally speaking i prefer ufotable to adapt the manga as-is rather than try to expand things and inevitably muddy the central messages of the manga. this is also true for giyuu's backstory episode. in fact, the framing of scenes that are taken directly from the manga are ALSO affected, which i heavily blame the storyboards, because they play a big part in taking attention away from giyuu and favour the visual theatrics: scale, composition, that CGI water.

but let me be clear, i am fully against "anime should copy and paste the manga panels" as well. i think everyone will agree that a good adaptation takes the strengths of the manga's messages and combines it with the strengths of anime as a medium.

the issue with hta2 is that, hta was obviously rushed, and thus nothing in the storyboard is meaningful to the actual story. there are ways to scale out of giyuu (& tanjirou) in scenes while keeping the core of their conversation in tact which clearly did not happen. that's why we end up with things like this:

the manga tells us a lot, while the anime... is cinematic, i guess?

and more importantly, the plastic expressions:

i consider hta2 to be subpar. muichiro's episode in ssv had given me lots of hope lol.

though the irony is that i fell in love with the aoi addition at the start. it makes so much sense to me that tanjirou would ask aoi over everyone else about "how to comfort a person who doesn't think highly of themselves".

this combined with aoi giving tanjirou food for giyuu is suchhhhhhhhh a nice addition.

later on, the taisho secret is just as good, with giyuu wanting to spend MORE time with tanjirou ("no contest this time").

essentially the writing for this episode holds up for me but definitely not the execution.

[noctilin]

i drew this because i got so excited about getting a copy of the latest movie but it was apparently also her birthday the same night i drew this and i wasn't even aware LMAO happy birthday to my girlfriend

[theeldritchbatreads]

This is what 205 chapters of Demon Slayer looks like all collaged together.

I did a similar thing for Naruto when I read through all of that in 2020, so wanted to do it for Demon Slayer, too.

[hermusicpersona]

Giyuu risking getting pummeled to death by Akaza just so he didn't get to Tanjiro makes me go insane because not even Giyuu was certain he could block it with Dead Calm but he risked it anyway

All so Akaza wouldn't get to Tanjiro

[koumystic]

Sakonji Urokodaki (attempt at) timeline

This is a self-indulgent post where I just try to figure out when Sakonji became a Hashira in the canon timeline and what he did after retiring—so maybe there are a few mistakes, but I tried to check every source material I'm aware of as much as possible. With that said, let's begin:

—Establishing the main story's timeline:

In Chapter 7, the Hand Demon states he was captured by Sakonji Urokodaki during the Keiō era (between 1865 and 1868). Although Tanjiro never specifies the year they're in (the Taishō era goes from 1912 to 1926), the Hand Demon mentions he's been trapped in Mt. Fujikasane for 47 years. From this, we can conclude that the story at that point takes place between 1912 and 1915.

If the story (Chapter 1) started when the Taishō era began (1912), and considering that it took Tanjiro 2 years to train for the Final Selection, his encounter with the Hand Demon most likely occurred in 1914 or 1915, placing the Hand Demon's capture around 1867 or 1868. 

—Sakonji's Hashirahood:

At the 2021 art exhibition, it was revealed that Sakonji started wearing his Tengu mask at the next Hashira meeting after Jigoro Kuwajima (Zenitsu's Cultivator and previous Rumble Hashira) jokingly suggested it. Because Sakonji is shown wearing the mask in the Chapter 8 flashback, this means he was already the Water Hashira at that time when he captured the Hand Demon (around 1867–1868). 

In Chapter 46, Kagaya states that Hashira meetings are held twice a year. Even though the art exposition doesn’t specify which meeting Sakonji first wore the mask to, if we go back to Chapter 46 again, we can have a small glimpse of Sakonji’s letter that begins with the phrase 新緑の候 (“the season of fresh greenery”), which is a traditional Japanese seasonal greeting used in May. Considering that the Hashiras held another meeting after Nezuko’s trial (stated in Chapter 46, Chapter 47, and Chapter 48), one of the biannual Hashira meetings and Nezuko’s trial overlapped, so the scheduled Hashira meetings take place roughly six months apart—in May and November. Taking all of this into account, Sakonji likely showed up at the next Hashira meeting wearing his Tengu mask either in May or November of that year.

While the art exhibition doesn’t clarify how long he has been in that position or if that was his first Hashira meeting, he might have become a Hashira 1 or 2 years before capturing the Hand Demon—perhaps around 1865–1866.

—Sakonji's predecessor:

My reasoning for placing his promotion 1 or 2 years before the Hand Demon encounter comes from Chapter 148, where Akaza states that it's been 50 years since he last encountered a Water Hashira. Based on the timeline established above, Akaza must’ve fought Sakonji's predecessor, and even though he doesn't explicitly state that he killed the previous Water Hashira, it's reasonable to assume so (additionally, in Chapter 63, Akaza mentions that the other Hashiras he's killed didn't use Flame Breathing, and all of them refused his proposal to become a demon).

To expand Sakonji’s predecessor's identity, and considering he was killed by Akaza—someone who doesn’t kill women (not even Corps members) as per Douma’s statement in Chapter 157 and Akaza’s Fanbook 2 Taishō secret—that would make him a man. Considering the estimated capture of the Hand Demon, the previous Water Hashira’s death likely took place around 1864–1865, during the Genji era.

If Akaza killed the previous Water Hashira about 50 years before the main story, and the Hand Demon was captured 47 years ago when Tanjiro was taking his Final Selection, that creates a three-year gap between the previous Water Hashira’s death and Sakonji’s promotion. Since Sakonji’s already wearing the Tengu mask during the Hand Demon flashback—and we know he began wearing it as a Hashira—it supports the idea that he had already assumed the position by that time.

Moreover, considering Water Breathing swordsmen have always been present among the Hashira (said by Kyojuro in Chapter 54) and also being the most common Breathing Style among Demon Slayers (Volume 17 extra page), it’s highly likely that they filled the vacant Water Hashira spot in no time, so Sakonji ascending to Hashirahood, again, could’ve been easily done in just 1 or 2 years, or even less. 

—Post-Hashirahood:

Even though we don't exactly know when he retired, he settled himself in Mt. Sagiri and still kept in touch with the Demon Slayer Corps by starting to train students to become Water Breathing swordsmen as a Cultivator, his current job (said in Chapter 4, for which he receives money from the Master himself, as stated in Fanbook 1 Q&A, but never spends it unless he has to feed his students or pay his hunter friends). He trained a total of 15 students—and only 2 passed the Final Selection.

The only ones introduced in canon are Makomo, Sabito & Giyuu, and Tanjiro—we don't know when Makomo started training under Sakonji nor how old she would be in the current canon, but since Giyuu was the only student who passed the Final Selection before Tanjiro appeared (because the Hand Demon made sure to kill all his students, as per Chapter 7*), she must've taken her exam before Sabito and Giyuu took theirs.

*Keep in mind that the Hand Demon never encountered Giyuu, so he only counted 13 students (excluding Tanjiro) when he was bragging about how many of Sakonji's students he had killed.

Returning to the Taishō era timeline: based on Tanjiro and Hand Demon’s exchange, the canon takes place between 1912 and 1915, most likely 1914 or 1915, due to Tanjiro’s two-year training period. So, that would mean Giyuu and Sabito entered the Final Selection around 1906–1907 when they were 13 years old, as Giyuu mentions in Chapter 130. Since the average training period time for the Final Selection is 1 year (as stated in Fanbook 1 Q&A), Sakonji trained them around 1905–1906, during the Meiji era. (Back to Makomo—taking into account that the average training is 1 year and that she seemed around Tanjiro's age [13yo] or a bit younger, it's highly likely that she would be older than Giyuu and Sabito in canon, so her meeting and training under Sakonji must've happened before 1905).

—Post-canon:

In Chapter 204, Tanjiro notes that the cherry blossom trees are in full bloom, and in Japan that happens in late March or early April. Since the Demon Slayer Corps is officially disbanded not long after he says that, and the main story spans roughly a year, Chapter 204 likely takes place in late March of 1915 or 1916 (it's been 3 months since the war ended, meaning that they defeated Muzan around late December or early January).

This would make Sakonji the eldest (former) Hashira and Corps member overall (affiliated as a Cultivator). 

In the post-canon, we can see him living a peaceful life much like the other surviving characters. In Chapter 204, his only appearances are alongside Giyuu, indicating the closeness of their relationship. Additionally, he participates in the group photo for the final panel of the manga in Chapter 205 (before Volume 23's release). Meanwhile, his (official) final appearance in the manga is in the pictures from the extended ending in Volume 23, depicting him taking off his mask with a smile on his face, further emphasizing his sense of comfort and contentment of living in a world free of demons. Finally, in Tanjiro's report, it is mentioned that he visits the Kamado household frequently (and in the same report, it's implied that he still spends time with Giyuu too—if that wasn't already made evident in Chapter 204—assuming the hand shown in the panel is his).

Again, in Chapter 205, we also get to see him in the modern-day time skip as an elderly man playing shogi with Jigoro. Although the character chart doesn't explicitly state it, it seems more like his reincarnation—much like Jigoro's since he actually dies in the canon—because it's very unlikely for him to leave offspring at his advanced age.

—Now, speculation time:

An issue is that we don't have Sakonji's canonical age, so we cannot determine precisely how old he was when he became a Hashira. Nevertheless, we can assume he’s in his sixties (just because it makes sense lol), but if he’s exactly 60, that would mean he was 13 when he met the Hand Demon, which age-wise doesn’t make that much sense, and also because of his looks. My guess is that he’s in his mid-sixties during the main story, making him in his late teens (around 18 or 19) when he captured the Hand Demon, far more plausible than the first option. 

Based on the ages at which other Hashira achieved their rank in the main story, promotion typically appears to occur in the mid-to-late teens—around 15 to 18—with the likes of Tengen, Giyuu, Kanae, Sanemi, Shinobu, etc., as an example. Therefore, it’s reasonable to speculate that Sakonji became a Hashira within that age range.

The other bad thing is that Jigoro's age is also unknown. However, considering all things, it's likely these two were around the same age, if not just a little older or younger than Sakonji when they were active Hashiras. Fanbook 1’s Q&A confirms that Jigoro retired at 35 after losing his leg in battle, and since Sakonji doesn’t present any physical disability that prevents him from demon slaying, he could’ve remained active way longer—until his forties if he wanted. 

If these speculations/estimations are correct, Sakonji may have served as Water Hashira for 20 to (almost) 30 years before retiring, showing an outstanding and enviable longevity (that would also mean he wore the Tengu mask for several decades, oof).

An approximate but general and summarized canon-compatible timeline (without specifying as much as I did before): 

•  1864–1865 (Genji era): An unnamed male Water Hashira is killed by Akaza. 

• 1865–1866 (Keiō era): Sakonji Urokodaki becomes the new Water Hashira. He starts wearing his Tengu mask. 

• 1867–1868 (late Keiō era): Sakonji captures the Hand Demon and sends him to Mt. Fujikasane.

• Post-1868 (Meiji era): Sakonji continues serving as a Hashira for many years before retiring and becoming a Cultivator.

• 1905–1907 (Meiji era): Sakonji trains Giyuu and Sabito for a year, and they enter the Final Selection at age 13, with only Giyuu surviving. Sakonji has trained 14 students by now.

• 1912–1916 (Taishō era, main story): He remains active as a Cultivator (Tanjiro being his last student) until the Demon Slayer Corps is officially disbanded, having trained 15 students in total. 

• Post-1916 (Taishō era onward, post-canon): With no more demons around, he lives a peaceful life until his death. He's seen in the modern-day time skip, most likely as a reincarnation.

This places Sakonji as a Hashira who served from the Keiō era to the Meiji era (Genji era at the earliest if Tanjiro’s Final Selection didn't take place around 1914–1915 but earlier, as I estimated). 

[demonslayedher]

Wind down doodle

[rioriin]

contrary to popular opinion of how Giyuu as a partner is considered to be a man of few words and lets their partner do most of the talking, I think he's the yapper in the relationship. Like canonically the dude doesn't hesitate to talk when he's with his close ones, he becomes very comfortable with his significant other to talk about the most mundane things like the fluctuating prices of fish or groceries around them or some random anecdotes about Tsutako and his future brother-in-law when they were dating.

He's also very clingy and affectionate. Yes he will hold hands in public. Yes he demands kisses with his puppy dog eyes reserved for them. He grips onto his partner like a vise when he's tired or that they did not spend like 2 minutes with him /lh. Will mope around like a sad cat otherwise and the only form of apology he will accept is a minimum of 50 kisses and cuddles and a salmon daikon private meal.

Off topic but I wanted to find an excuse to ramble about this frame a little - the fact that he's saying "No contest this time" with that soft smile and voice and tone drives me so insane like this is the closest we'll get to how Giyuu would be in a relationship probably. Like in a modern au he's deciding the future date ideas and everything. Being so enthusiastic about it. WHAT WAS UFO COOKING WITH THIS THEY WERE EXTRA HORNY ABOUT THIS MAN IN THE STUDIO I SWEAR (I don't blame them but yeah).

Anyway tldr; Giyuu is a professional yapper when he's with his partner, he's affectionate as hell, proactive and bold despite not verbalizing a lot of his words.

[rosemaryduexx]

Silly doodles :3!

[rioriin]

I've said this before on my twitter too but it's funny how ppl don't realise that giyuu essentially is quite an unreliable and biased narrator like some others in the story. And they genuinely take his words as fact when it's obvious that's coming from a place of self hatred and judgement that's clouding his actual objective judgement on himself.

He views Sabito via rose tinted glasses not only because he renewed his will to live somewhat (by reminding him to value Tsutako's love and sacrifice for him and not to wallow in self pity) but also Sabito saved his life physically too. Final selection objectively speaking, doesn't really determine all the time how skilled or strong you are. You could keep on hiding from demons and survive the few days if you have that skill. But Giyuu who has been blinded by that guilt and grief genuinely now keeps thinking he's incompetent and doesn't deserve to live or gain something that should've been Sabito's. Without realising that no he hasn't taken any opportunity away from Sabito, his place in the corps belongs to him too.

It's interesting that in the Akaza vs Giyuu/Tanjirou fight, Giyuu does say how he doesn't need to use his skills to his full potential until that very moment (right before he unlocks his mark) but he doesn't connect the dots 😭 he's speaking an objective fact about himself of how strong he is, but at the same time, if you tell him he's strong and deserving of his position, for the longest time he'll keep denying it.

It's kind of the same thing for Genya's bias towards Sanemi and Shinobu's views on Kanae too (for the shinobu and kanae part I'm planning to talk separately). That's their loved ones so obviously they will hold that level of idolization and bias for them. But it doesn't mean we're supposed to always believe what the characters are saying, it's important to notice where the bias lies and that involves actually understanding the characters objectively.

[paracetamoladdict]

I'm aware that I rambled about giyuu's past before but allow me to add two more cents to the conversation. I'm not confident enough in this to call it canon so bear with me. I find the way tomioka "I'll never get that mark" giyuu phrases his sentences strange. a specific detail which I haven't seen pointed out is how he chooses to focus the spotlight on his late best friend instead of himself even when opening up to tanjiro. he starts off with introducing sabito and makes sure to emphasize how great he and his potential were, going as far to claim that he would've unlocked the mark. he never centers the conversation around or share details about himself unless it's something he has in common with sabito (eg: his age and losing his 'family' to demons) giyuu narrates his backstory on such a shallow level, it has to be intentional. literally EVERY other character in kny explains their past on a deeper level than he does. hell, even the ONE significant thing he does reveal to us (his family's death) ISN'T EVEN ACCURATE. he implies to tanjiro that demons killed his ENTIRE family "there was a boy (sabito) whose family got killed by demons, just like me" when NONE of them died because of demons with the exception of tsutako (can't even blame him. she was the only family he had growing up and he must've loved her that much if this is how he sees her) I'm understanding where the "giyuu's past isn't that sad compared to others" crowd are coming from. when the narrator himself disgustingly oversimplifies his past in favor of speaking about someone else and doesn't even bother mentioning a good chunk of lore, guessing that there is more to it is just... not possible. what I'm trying to say is that giyuu isn't the most- how do I say it? factual narrator iykwim. he'll say and believe things that are objectively just not true if they feel right to him. this is where his survivor's guilt really bleeds into his perception of events and himself. even though he DID pass the final selection according to the rules, giyuu refuses to accept it. despite not being even present when the latter died, giyuu still blamed himself for sabito's death. this is why I think giyuu chose to focus on sabito and ignored his own backstory so much. giyuu believes that he's an imposter among pillars who worked hard to earn their postions and made it to the top because of others' sacrificing their lives for his sake. he doesn't see himself as someone who ever suffered enough to deserve anything. he has it easy because he's saved so often. this becomes painfully evident when he confesses to a supposedly dead tanjiro "I failed to protect you. I'm always the one being protected by others". this is why his past doesn't feel "as depressing". he doesn't narrate it believing that he ever truly suffered enough. but in contrast to himself, giyuu admires sabito. he sees him as more talented, skilled and certainly more deserving of the water pillar title than he ever will be. he chooses to focus on telling the latter's story instead. I think this all boils down to two things: giyuu hating himself just as much as he loves sabito and blocking out his memories because of how remorseful he was. giyuu, your survivor's guilt is so amusing pls don't go bald.

[jumexju]

understanding Michikatsu/Kokushibo ( a very long rant )

i think many people are more susceptible to seeing michikatsu/kokushibo as just a jealous character simply because of his relationship with his brother (or lack thereof) but in my opinion, i feel its unfair to him as a person because while jealousy is a huge part of his character, thats not all he is. to understand his character, we have to first understand the conditions in which he grew up (no this is not to justify his attitude as an adult, but it does correlate with it).

michikatsu grew up with an abusive father, a sick mother and a 'frail' (as described by him) younger brother. from this we can learn that michikatsu's presumed role in the family was to protect his mother and brother because he was the older sibling/child ( bc usually they are seen as 'second parents').

his status, to him, was everything because that's what his father engraved into him (i'm assuming this because they seemed to be a respectable/wealthy family + his father beat him). he was forced to listen to his father tell him that he was 'different', that he was some sort of chosen one instead of receiving unconditional love like he should have. his clothes were different from that of his younger brother's, his food was different, their living conditions were different, even the way they were treated was different. every single one of these differences served to subconsciously tell michikatsu that he was somehow more 'worthy' than his younger brother.

his mother was sick and couldn't tend to him much so it makes sense that michikatsu would grow up feeling as if he was only worth what he could give while also feeling inadequate and neglected (at his age you don't really realize it until you get older, in his case, i don't think he acknowledges this at all which is why i'm pointing it out).

so, what we know so far is that michikatsu grew up with a warped sense of how the world works and how people should be treated and internalized a lot of it. this is concrete.

in michikatsu's head: a person is only worth what they can give, we already established this. so when he sees that his brother, yoriichi, is not only exceptional with a katana but also very knowledgeable in human anatomy and combat despite being the younger twin and not having any experience, michikatsu is at a loss which he expresses as being disgusted; i think he's not actually disgusted, he just didn't know how to accurate verbalize his feelings, i believe he felt angered, betrayed and confused.

but i digress.

after seeing that, michikatsu knew for sure that the roles would be reversed because of the type of man that his father was. michikatsu then becomes aware that because yoriichi could give more to his father than he could, he was worth more. michikatsu in this moment probably felt uneasy and desolate because he knew that he could not measure up to his brother ー he would be cast aside like an afterthought.

and when his mother dies, the relationship between them is even more strained because yoriichi tells michikatsu (indirectly) that their mother was sick (michikatsu didn't know, most likely because he was pushed to do other things by his father or sth else; this is just my opinion). michikatsu realizes that yoriichi wasn't 'clinging' onto his mother, he was helping her.

and remember michikatsu's identity as a protector? Yeah, that crumbles. as an older sibling and child, he probably felt that he had failed his mother and was a mediocre excuse for a brother because 1. he didn't realize that his mother was sick and yoriichi didn't even have to be told to know about her condition 2. his brother was stronger than him in the area michikatsu sought to succeed in.

in short: he felt worthless, because he could not give all that yoriichi could.

when yoriichi runs away, i think michikatsu feels that he was saved the fate that surely awaited him had he stayed. so while he felt worthless, he was able to feel like he could overcome it because the person that made him feel that way (albeit without meaning to; none of what michikatsu feels is yoriichi's fault) was gone.

michikatsu continued up into his adult life as a (probably very respectable and confident) person. so much so that he seemed to be well off with a wife and children and a good enough samurai to the point he had his own subordinates. by this time, he probably felt wistful about his brother but he wasn't feeling those strong feelings of jealousy like he was when he was younger.

..until yoriichi came back and outclassed him in the one area michikatsu sought to succeed in.

michikatsu wanted to be like yoriichi, to be powerful like him with his a good heart free of envy. but he felt that he would be unable to reach his level no matter how much he tried. and try he did; so much so to the point he left his family and became consumed by the intense envy and drive to want to succeed his brother.

michikatsu is a selfish individual, this is seen through his action. he trained and fought to become a slayer, not because he abhorred demons or because he wanted to save people, but because he wanted to surpass his brother.

he wanted the power yoriichi had because if he did, it would mean he was worthy.

of what?

not even he knew, because he regretted it in the end.

and this leads us to why he became a demon. michikatsu, seeing that all the slayers of their time were dying due to the curse mark, knew that he would soon die because he also bore the mark of the slayer. expressing these beliefs, yoriichi would tell his brother that the slayers would keep getting stronger and that they would adapt ー something that michikatsu feared because to him, to be strong was to have worth and if the slayers of his time grew to be stronger than yoriichi and himself, that ー in his mind ー translates to: they would have no worth.

so, when muzan comes with an offer to extend his desire, knowing michikatsu's inner desire to hone his strength and be on par with his brother if not better, michikatsu finds it hard to deny him.

i think that his desperation led him to accepting the offer because 1. he didn't want to die and 2. it offered him a better chance at success and knew that his skills as a slayer paired with the strengths of a demon would surely be more than enough to surpass yoriichi.

but this is where the lines between weakness and strength blurred for michikatsu, because in turning into a demon he had damned himself; he became the thing that his brother could slay without any trouble (as seen when they met about 60-70 years later). he mistook his human limits for weaknesses and sought strength that was not his own. as a demon, he would never have been satisfied with his strength and we saw this when he eventually died.

michikatsu's humanity was his strength and because of his own jealousy, he turned into a being weak and consumed by his own selfishness and envy.

and despite all this, he was never cocky about his own strength either. he was humble, knew his strengths and knew when to admit his faults. his only mistake was thinking that he was never enough as a person and thinking that his human limits were something he needed to correct.

feel free to add ur two cents :)