Giyū Tomioka

Appearance

Giyu is a fairly tall young man of a lean muscular stature and pale complexion, who is almost always seen wearing a stoic expression. He has choppy raven-black hair of uneven lengths, with jaw length side-bangs, a low messy ponytail at the base of his neck, and bangs falling over his eyes in an choppy fringe. His eyes are sharp and moderately large, having irises a lapis blue color, and their pupils a navy blue, sometimes having his irises completely opaque and empty, just in lapis blue color, and are framed by thin eyebrows. Giyu wears a black standard Demon Slayer uniform, tinted in charcoal color in the anime, consisting on a button-up jacket with golden buttons, stand collar and long sleeves, a white belt, and a tattsuke hakama pants wrapped by white kyahan, having a pair of white zōri with dark blue straps and tabi socks underneath being the same color as his uniform. Over this, Giyu wears a haori that's split down the middle into two different halves: the right one in a carmine color, and the left one in a geometrically patterned rhombi prints, in green, dark green, orange, and yellow. These haori were later noted to have belonged to his late older sister, Tsutako Tomioka, and his deceased friend Sabito.

personality

Giyu is a man of strong equanimity, always wearing a calm and stern expression on his face. Having a stoic personality, and possessing a very strong sense of justice and responsability, he had no tolerance towards those who don't know their own limitations and throw away their lives. Despite letting Nezuko Kamado live due to Tanjiro Kamado's determination, he shows zero hesitation when killing other demons and has no respect or mercy towards them like most Demon Slayers. Even so, Giyu violated the Demon Slayer Corps' code of conduct without hesitation to protect Nezuko during Shinobu's attempt to kill her. This implies that he doesn't completely despise demons as some other Hashira do, and is willing to make an exception for a demon by letting them live if they don't kill and eat humans. This shows that he is more pragmatic and impartial in dealing with demons rather letting his hatred cloud his judgement.

Relationships

Due to his aloof personality, Giyu is not close to his fellow Hashira. While some are on even terms but emotionally distant from him, others view him with apathy, or even disdain; Sanemi Shinazugawa and Obanai Iguro were particularly contemptuous of the Water Hashira due to unfoundedly misreading his aloofness as arrogance. Giyu also expressed surprise when Shinobu Kocho mentioned that he is hated by the others; despite this, he remains on good terms with her, with both having a great deal of history together. He is of very few words and isn't very good interacting with others, choosing to observe from a distance quietly. Beneath his seemingly unemotional and aloof attitude, Giyu suffers from an inferiority complex which he developed since his participation in Final Selection. Despite his stoic nature, Giyu is shown to be protective and caring towards those he is close to and considers his friends. This is first shown when he puts his life on the line for Tanjiro and Nezuko by vowing to commit seppuku if the latter were ever to eat a human.

habilities

As a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Giyu is a very powerful and skilled combatant. From the beginning, Giyu showed how much he outclassed Tanjiro and his friends, being able to effortlessly capture Nezuko from him and later knocked both of them unconscious in a single blow. Later, he was able to easily defeat Father in his transformed state and Rui, Lower Rank Five, something Tanjiro and Inosuke respectively failed to accomplish. He also fought equally against fellow Hashira Sanemi Shinazugawa in a sparring match. Giyu was also shown easily beating dozens of demons equal to that of the Lower Ranks of the Twelve Kizuki. On top of his incredible skills as a Demon Slayer, Giyu is also a very capable teammate, able to grasp their intentions and work in tandem with it.

Water Breathing

As the Water Hashira, Giyu is his generation's most skilled Water Breathing user. Giyu has completely mastered this swordsmanship style, to the point that he created an entirely new technique within the Breathing Style and impressed Akaza who had fought Water Hashira in the past.

Techniques of Water Breathing

First Form: Water Surface Slash - The user generates enough momentum to create a powerful single concentrated slash. Second Form: Water Wheel - The user leaps and vertically spins forward in the air while releasing a flowing attack in a circular motion. Third Form: Flowing Dance- The user swings and bends their blade in a winding motion along with their body and dances in a flowing pattern, slicing everything in its path Fourth Form: Striking Tide- The user makes multiple consecutive slashes while twisting their body and sword in a flowing fashion to deliver multiple blows simultaneously. Fifth Form: Blessed Rain After the Drought- The user changes the grip on their sword and decapitates the opponent in a single flowing strike that causes little to no pain. It is a “sword strike of kindness” used when the enemy willingly surrenders. Sixth Form: Whirlpool- The user fiercely twists their upper and lower body, creating a whirlpool of air that cuts anything caught in it. Its effect and efficiently is enhanced underwater, where the user can draw water around their weapon to enhance their slashes. Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust- The user performs a fast and accurate stab, capable of reducing the impact of a moving target. Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin- The user cuts the target vertically in a flowing motion which is most effective when they are falling downward. Ninth Form: Splashing Water Flow- The user changes their footwork in a way that minimizes the landing time and surface needed when landing, allowing the user to move without limits. Ideal when fighting in a place with no solid foothold. Tenth Form: Constant Flux- The user performs a continuous flowing attack which seemingly takes the form of a water dragon that increases in strength and power with each rotation due to momentum. Eleventh Form: Dead Calm- A form of his own personal creation, the user ceases all body movements and enters a state of complete tranquility, deflecting, blocking and cutting any attacks.