Kanao Tsuyuri

Demon Slayer Corp

Tsugoku to Shinobu Kocho and is a Tsuchinoto

Appearance

Kanao is a short, young girl with large, gentle eyes of a dark lilac color that are framed by thick eyelashes. She has thin black hair, worn tied into a ponytail on the right side of her head and fastened by a pink and green butterfly ornament that once belonged to her adoptive sister, Kanae Kocho. She has a straight fringe and two loose, chin-length strands that curve downwards from above each of her ears. Kanao wears a slightly purple-tinted version of the standard Demon Slayer uniform, just with a knee-length pleated skirt in place of the usual tattsuke-hakama pants. Over this, she wears a short white cloak, fastened on one side by a dark pink triple knot, also sporting knee-high lace-up white boots with tan soles, heels and toes. Sometime between then and her next appearance in the Infinity Castle Arc, the color of Kanao's hair changes as the ends now appear tinted slightly purple before fading to a neon pink around halfway down her ponytail. After her battle with Doma, Kanao begins to wear Shinobu Kocho's hairpin rather than Kanae's, as hers was shattered during the battle. She also loses much of the vision of her right eye due to her using Flower Breathing's final form to take out the Upper Rank, with her eye gaining a defined pupil with a dark ring around it and becoming deprived of its gradient.

Personality

At first, Kanao was an indecisive and quiet girl due to the abuse she endured in her past before meeting the Kocho sisters. She became unable to make decisions by herself and repressed her emotions as a defense mechanism. In order to help rectify this, Kanae gave her a coin to flip to decide which path to follow when she didn't know what to do. For many years, Kanao continued to show little emotion or desire. Despite this, after seeing what Demons did to Aoi, Kiyo, and Shinobu's loved ones, Kanao developed a strong hatred against Demons directly from her own will. Shinobu, oblivious to this fact, was afraid that she wasn't acting on her own volition. Since Kanao couldn't do housework and nursing at the Butterfly Mansion like her colleagues, she opted to be a Demon Slayer. Without their knowledge, Kanao learned Flower Breathing by watching her sister Kanae. Despite her perceived lack of emotion or desire, Kanao took the Final Selection of her own volition, without consulting her superiors for permission, which would imply that her will had been strengthening all along. Initially, Shinobu instructed Kanao to simply cut off Demon heads without thinking, since Kanao seemingly had no will of her own. However, Kanao also eventually developed her own desire to fight.

Personality

Between Kanae's death and the Rehabilitation Training Arc, she recovers slightly but still relies on her coin to make decisions. She displays a somewhat mechanical response in conversations; when Tanjiro Kamado approaches her to bid to her farewell, she repeats "goodbye" when he attempts to continue the conversation. However, he eventually manages to start bringing her out of her shell, and she starts to make more of her own decisions, in turn relying less on her coin. She also gains the ability to speak unambiguously. Kanao gradually becomes able to express her emotions and wants more openly, as seen when Tanjiro recovers from his injuries and she displays relief, when she tells Shinobu that she wishes to train alongside her, and when she expresses shock and distress at Shinobu's plan to defeat Doma. In her battle against Doma, Kanao takes uncharacteristically sadistic glee in pointing out his own lack of emotions. Fueled by hatred and spite due to her sisters' deaths by his hand, she attacks him verbally to the point where he drops his normal carefree demeanor. Kanao also demonstrates extreme determination and a deep care for her family, crying for the first time in the wake of Shinobu's death, and expressing that she had wished to go home together with her elder sister. Kanao has also now been shown to express a greater sense of camaraderie and care for her fellow Demon Slayers other than Shinobu, as seen when she becomes visibly angry and sympathetic on Inosuke Hashibira's behalf when Doma begins gloating about his mother's death. She shows immense rage at the Demon's taunts, insulting him and telling him to shut up, which is a complete step up from the original emotionally distant relationship she had with her comrades.

Personality

Later, during the final battle against Muzan Kibutsuji, Kanao was shown to have completely regained the ability to properly express her emotions and make her own choices. Over the course of the battle, Kanao shows visible feelings of anger and terror towards the Demon progenitor as her and her fellow Demon Slayers take him on. Even after the battle is over she continues to show emotion, proving herself to genuinely love and care for both Tanjiro and Nezuko after watching the latter's desperate attempts to reach out to her now Demonized brother, which even reached the point of her sacrificing her one remaining eye to inject Tanjiro with Tamayo's humanization drug in an attempt to save him.

Abilities

Overall Abilities Kanao is the Tsuguko of Kanae and Shinobu and has been personally trained by the both of them in the art of combat. As such, Kanao possesses superhuman physical skills, abilities and prowess that potentially marks her as a future member of Demon Slayer Corps' Hashira. Tanjiro, another promising candidate, even states that, during their first meeting together, he could already sense that Kanao was the closest to the Hashira out of the existing Demon Slayers, just by smelling her scent and feeling her aura, which further confirms her skills. Indomitable Will: Like most Demon Slayers, Kanao possesses an undaunted will and spirit, refusing to give up and die when fighting even the most formidable foes that defeated her masters, Doma and later on, the Demon King, Muzan Kibutsuji.

Physical Abilities

Enhanced Strength: Kanao has attained incredible physical strength through harsh training. She can jump extremely high distances incredibly fast, showing her incredible leg strength. In terms of arm strength, she can swing her katana at subsonic speeds incessantly without tiring. Immense Speed and Reflexes: Kanao is extremely fast. In the Rehabilitation Training Arc, she can outspeed Tanjiro Kamado, Zenitsu Agatsuma and Inosuke Hashibira all at once before they mastered 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?). During her battle with Doma, she was capable of reacting and fighting on par with the Upper Rank during their fight. Doma noted that her body is similar to that of a spring, bouncing back from his attacks with her own high speed attacks and movements. She was also capable of dodging multiple of his Blood Demon Art techniques. In the final confrontation against Muzan Kibutsuji, she was able to attack him for several moments. Immense Stamina and Endurance: Kanao has incredible stamina and endurance. During her battle with Upper Rank Two, Doma, Kanao is able to exert herself even farther than her limits and fight against the demon, being able to endure numerous attacks. She is able to keep fighting despite the injuries that she had suffered from the fight and recover enough to then confront Muzan shortly afterwards.

Supernatural Abilities

Enhanced Vision: Kanao possesses extremely sharp eyesight, being able to accurately predict her opponent's next attack and movements by simply observing the subtle shifts of their muscles, joints and the slight movements of their eyes. This allows her to make effective counterattacks and dodges and stay ahead of her opponents. The Upper Rank Two, Doma, comments on this feat and remarks that due to this skill, Kanao may be more skilled than Shinobu. This ability is enhanced with the Flower Breathing, Final Form: Equinoctial Vermilion Eye.

Fighting Style

Master Swordswoman: As an immensely gifted individual, Kanao is an incredible swordswoman, to the point even Doma thought that she was more talented than Shinobu Kocho.

Breathing Style

Flower Breathing (花はなの呼こ吸きゅう, Hana no kokyū?): A Breathing Style Kanao learnt and later mastered by simply observing Kanae Kocho.

Techniques

Second Form: Honorable Shadow Plum (弐にノ型かた　御み影かげ梅うめ, Ni no kata: Mikage Ume?) - The user releases several rotating sword slashes that deflects incoming physical attacks. Fourth Form: Crimson Hanagoromo (肆しノ型かた　紅べに花はな衣ごろも, Shi no kata: Beni Hanagoromo?) - The user unleashes single sword slash that curves and twists gracefully. Fifth Form: Peonies of Futility (伍ごノ型かた　徒あだの芍しゃく薬やく, Go no kata: Ada no Shakuyaku ?) - The user unleashes a flurry of nine consecutive attacks that flow and weave in on themselves. Sixth Form: Whirling Peach (陸ろくノ型かた　渦うず桃もも, Roku no kata: Uzumomo?) - A technique used after or during evasion, the user spins around moving with their body weight to deliver an attack. Final Form: Equinoctial Vermilion Eye (終ついノ型かた　彼ひ岸がん朱しゅ眼がん, Tsui no kata: Higan Shugan?) - A focusing technique that raises the user's kinetic vision to its maximum, while using this technique the user perceives the world as if it were in slow motion. Usage of the technique, however, is highly dangerous, as the tremendous strain on the eyes could cause blood vessels to rupture and lead to partial or complete blindness. This technique is still usable even if the user only has one fully functional eye.

Equipment

Standard Nichirin Katana: Kanao carries around a standard sized and shaped Nichirin katana which is light pink in color. The katana's handguard is circular shaped with a light pastel blue center and border, filled 3 red five-leafed flowers and a winding pattern that is light green in color. Along with her katana, she also has a standard sword sheath that is black in color.

Relationship

When Kanao first saw Tanjiro at the Final Selection, they did not have any sort of interaction as she remained aloof and quiet at the end of the ceremony. Later on in the series, when they meet again on Mount Natagumo, Kanao gets into a physical altercation with Tanjiro as he tries to protect his sister from getting killed and as result gets knocked out cold by Kanao. Tanjiro is brought to the Butterfly Mansion to recover and sees her in the garden, he immediately recognizes her as one of the survivors from the Final Selection but fails to recognize her as his assailant. Later on when they begin to train, Tanjiro struggles to beat Kanao in all of the tasks due to her advanced abilities but he is able to adapt and beat her. During one of the games; the task is to splash the opponent with a strong smelling tea, however, instead of dumping it on Kanao, Tanjiro instead places the cup on her head to avoid splashing her, thinking it would be cruel to splash her with something so foul-smelling. When he bids her farewell after recovering, Tanjiro encourages her to be optimistic and for her to open her heart, and flashes her a smile as he bids her farewell. Kanao is seen holding her hands close to her chest and slightly blushing, and falls flat on her face when Kiyo unexpectedly calls out to her from behind. It is implied in an extra chapter following the end of the Functional Recovery Training Arc that she may have had a crush on Tanjiro.

Relationship

As the story progresses, Kanao starts showing more emotion and decisiveness, especially when Tanjiro is brought back to recover at the Butterfly Mansion following the battles in the Entertainment District. Upon discovering that he had awaken, she drops the flower vase on the floor and tears up while telling him she's glad he had awoken. When the other inhabitants of the Mansion begin to bicker while visiting Tanjiro, she tries to get everyone to quiet down but ultimately ends up yelling at everyone after he falls asleep again. During the battle against Muzan Kibutsuji, Kanao is left as the only conscious Demon Slayer left and tries to will herself to continue fighting. As Muzan is about to deliver the final blow, Tanjiro momentarily immobilizes Muzan and manages to carry Kanao to safety. Realizing that he has awaken, Kanao sheds tears as she repeatedly calls out his name and he responds to her by apologizing for being late. After Tanjiro turns into a Demon, Kanao cries when seeing Nezuko trying to calm her brother. Her sympathy for the siblings leads to her once again using Flower Breathing Final Form: Equinoctial Vermilion Eye and create an opening to inject the Demon-to-human cure into Tanjiro, putting her own safety at risk and showing how much she cares for them. After Tanjiro successfully returns to his human form, she cries of happiness and is visibly relieved to see him safely back as a human, the two exchanging tearful smiles as they lie across from each other. Kanao and Tanjiro would eventually marry and start a family, having two great-great-grandchildren by the names of Kanata Kamado and Sumihiko Kamado between them.

Relationship - Kanae Kocho

Kanae took an interest in Kanao when she saw her being led away as a slave on the bridge. Along with her sister Shinobu, they purchased Kanao from her master and trained her within the Butterfly Mansion. Kanae defended Kanao when Shinobu worried about her indecisiveness and said that if given time, Kanao's heart could blossom. She was the person who gave Kanao the coin she uses to make decisions whenever she is unable to decide things for herself. After Kanae's death, Kanao found herself unable to cry at the funeral, but wears one of Kanae's hairpins as a memento of her. She remembers Kanae's advice in times of trouble, and thinks highly of her. She expresses deep remorse at the fact that she could not cry during Kanae's funeral.

Relationship - Shinobu Kocho

Shinobu was the one who snatched Kanao away from the slave driver and, along with Kanae, rescued Kanao from her captive lifestyle. Despite being the one to impulsively buy her, she quickly became frustrated when Kanao could not make her own decisions, declaring that she was dangerous to herself and others. Over time however, Shinobu warmed up to her, eventually even making Kanao her Tsuguko. She is very happy when Kanao expresses her wish to train beside her, and the two have a strong sisterly relationship. Before the decisive battle in the Infinity Castle, Shinobu entrusted Kanao with avenging Kanae's death while she used herself as a sacrifice. Even though their revenge goes as planned, Kanao is nonetheless filled with hatred and spite towards Doma. After she and Inosuke kill Doma for good, she fishes through the water to find Shinobu's hairpin as a keepsake of her departed sister. Kanao cries for the first time in the wake of Shinobu's death.

Relationship - Aoi Kanzaki

How close they are is somewhat uncertain, but the two get along and seem to have a somewhat sisterly relationship. Kanao attempts to stop Tengen from taking Aoi with him at a time when it was highly unusual for Kanao to make her own decisions or go against her orders. As seen in the novel, Aoi previously thought of Kanao as difficult to deal with, since she never showed her own emotions. She also felt inferior to Kanao, since Kanao could fight demons and Aoi could not. However, once Kanao starts to open up and make her own decisions, Aoi and her begin to grow closer. Eventually their friendship grows strong enough that, next to Shinobu, Aoi becomes the closest person to Kanao and one of the people she cares for the most, even considering her something akin to another sister. Kanao in particular comes to enjoy eating every single dish Aoi cooks for her and considers them all her favorites. Aoi in turn is shown to truly love Kanao and has come to genuinely see her as a sister. So much so that during the time it was Kanao’s decision to chose a last name for herself, Aoi attempted to discreetly convince her to take her last name to make them as close as genuine sisters.

Relationship - Inosuke Hashibira

Kanao interacts minimally with Inosuke throughout training. Sometimes, his actions make her see him as a weirdo e.g. - wall-crawling or dislocating all the joints in his arm and relocating them. However, the two end up forming an unlikely duo in the battle against Doma, each fueled by a desire for revenge. During the course of their battle against Doma, Kanao comes to genuinely emphasize and care for Inosuke. After the Upper Rank's retelling of Kotoha Hashibira's death in which he happily insults and mocks her for her "stupidity," Kanao becomes visibly angry, showing a strong degree of camaraderie and friendship between the two. They make for an effective team against Doma, aided as well by Shinobu's poison, and are able to decapitate the Upper Rank 2 despite neither human combatant even being a Hashira. After the battle, Kanao and Inosuke do not seem to share any dialogue, but quietly grieve their respective and shared losses. When they return to fight Muzan, they exchange some brief banter, and seem to work well together.

Relationship - Doma

Much like Shinobu, Kanao holds a strong resentment and hatred towards the Upper Rank for killing Kanae. This grudge grows even deeper after Doma devours Shinobu following their duel, even if it was part of their plan for revenge. Kanao takes immense pleasure and satisfaction at calling Doma out on his inner "emptiness" and non-existent emotions, taunting him by asking him why he was even born and why he continued to bother living if he couldn't feel anything like a normal person would. She eventually kills him with the help of Inosuke and Shinobu's poison.

Love Interest

Massive crush on Tanjiro Kamado. But she's too quiet to let anyone know and keeps to herself about it.