Iguro Obanai²

personality

Obanai is a very harsh and strict individual who shows no concern for those who do not abide by the rules of the Demon Slayer Corps. His expectations for his fellow Demon Slayers are rather unrealistic, as he was seen berating Tengen Uzui for suffering grievous injuries against the "weaker" upper rank and telling him to "fight to the death" when Tengen insists on retreating. Tengen's retreat also highlights Obanai's devotion to the future of the Demon Slayer Corps, often at the expense of others, such as when he ties up lower-ranking Demon Slayers and uses them as obstacles during Hashira training for relatively petty reasons. He also views new Demon Slayer recruits as weak and incapable of improvement, and expresses surprise when Tengen informs him that Tanjiro Kamado survived the battle with Daki and Gyutaro. Obanai has a rather prominent habit of pointing his finger at people in an accusatory manner while berating them or speaking badly about someone. Despite his ruthless personality, there are two people he cares deeply about: Kagaya Ubuyashiki and Mitsuri Kanroji. He has a crush on Mitsuri, as he often lets his feelings shine through by sharing meals with her and giving her gifts, such as the signature green socks she wears with her uniform. Obanai seems to show his overprotectiveness towards Mitsuri at times, such as when he threatens Tanjiro for getting too close to her. [7] It was implied that he has a crush on Mitsuri due to her cheerful personality that didn't let any of the hellish training she had been through radiate in the slightest. Talking to her also made him forget all the struggles and conflicts he had encountered during his past and made him feel as if he was just an ordinary young man. [8] Like all the Hashira, Obanai also has great respect for Kagaya.

personality

Obanai is also noted to possess an immense sense of self-loathing due to the fact that he was born into a selfish and immoral clan who would mercilessly sacrifice even newborn children to a demon for their own monetary gain. Obanai considers himself and his family so tainted that years after his death, he still felt as if his family was digging their nails into his skin to ensure he could go nowhere. [9] He even goes so far as to believe that in order to be worthy of Mitsuri, he would first have to die and be cleansed of her tainted blood before confessing his feelings to her. [9] His upbringing also seems to be the cause of his gynophobia, as he was born into an all-female family who treated him like a tool. The trauma of his past can also be seen in the form of the facial bandages he puts on to cover up the terrible scars he received and never removes them until the final battle. Obanai has an incredible sense of determination and continues the fight against Muzan even after he is completely blinded and covered in wounds. His ability to protect Giyu and Tanjiro throughout the fight, as well as thanking Tanjiro for helping him and then even taking a hit for him, shows that Obanai was able to let go of his initial grudges and become more open with the people he was previously rude to.

appearance

Obanai is a young man of short stature, pale complexion, and rather muscular build. He has straight black hair of varying lengths, the longest reaching his shoulders and the shortest stopping at his cheekbones, which he wears loose with two shorter strands hanging between his eyes. His eyes are almond-shaped and slant upwards on the far sides, and have a unique color due to Obanai possessing heterochromia: his right eye is yellow and his left eye is turquoise. He is partially blind and can barely see out of his right eye. [4] Obanai's mouth is usually hidden by the bandage he wears on his lower face to hide his large facial scars, which were the result of his family horribly opening his mouth to resemble that of a snake. [5] He wears a navy blue version of the standard Demon Slayer uniform, along with a black and white striped haori, the hem and cuffs of which have longitudinal rather than vertical stripes, which covers his hands. Obanai also wears bandages in place of the wraps around his calves that give him the resemblance of kyahan, as well as another set of bandages covering his mouth and white with zori with blue straps on his feet. He is also always seen with his white snake, Kaburamaru, draped over his shoulders. During the battle with Muzan, Obanai and the other remaining Hashira are attacked by the demon's whips, and Obanai is left with three long slanted scratches over his eyes, leaving him completely blind. [6] As a child, Obanai had waist-length hair tied behind his back with a long white bandage and a regular-looking mouth before his family cut it. He also wore a plain white kimono.

skills

During the events at the Infinity Castle, Obanai was able to swiftly decapitate numerous demons on par with lower-rankers with ease and restrain the newly appointed Upper Rank Four, Nakime. Upon engaging in battle with the Demon King, Muzan Kibutsuji, Obanai was able to land a large number of blows against him, severing limbs and nearly decapitating him over the course of the battle. After Obanai, Giyu, Sanemi, Gyomei, Zenitsu, Inosuke, and Kanao were severely injured by Muzan's attack, Obanai was the first to regain consciousness and aid Tanjiro despite having his eyes gouged out during the previous attack. While it should be noted that Muzan was severely weakened by the drugs in his body, he and Tanjiro managed to hold their own and corner the Demon King by themselves, displaying incredible resilience and stamina. After being directly hit by Muzan's Shockwave Energy Blast technique, he was still struck by Tanjiro as Muzan was about to bite his head off. As the Demon King bloated his flesh and grew exponentially in size, Obanai still possessed enough stamina to unleash a technique that helped slow Muzan down. Although Obanai lost his life at the end of the battle, he was arguably one of the biggest contributors to subduing the Demon King until the coming of dawn. Kaburamaru (鏑かぶら丸まる Kaburamaru? ): Obanai, who had always been partially blind in his right eye, developed a fighting technique using his snake Kaburamaru. Kaburamaru possesses a unique ability that allows him to read and predict a target's attacks and then relay that information back to Obanai. [11] The full extent of this technique is demonstrated when Obanai is completely blinded by Muzan, yet is still able to continue fighting effectively. [12] Kaburamaru also appears to be able to understand human speech and emotions, as he understood instructions from his own eyes.

skills

Demon Slayer Mark: During the final battle against Muzan, Obanai awakened his own Demon Slayer Mark, which took the form of three snake-like tattoo patterns with large dots, extending from his left arm to the left side of his chest. [16] The Mark greatly enhanced all of Obanai's physical abilities, as seen when he was able to deliver powerful sword slashes against Muzan, swiftly dodge and maneuver to avoid all of his immensely fast attacks, and increased his physical stamina and durability, allowing him to fight despite being heavily injured. Bright Red Nichirin Blade - After recalling how Muichiro Tokito turned his sword red, Obanai puts all his strength into gripping his sword, turning it bright red. [17] However, he put too much force into his grip and nearly fainted due to lack of oxygen. [18] Turning his Nichirin Blade bright red proved to be extremely effective against Muzan, allowing his attacks to hinder his immediate regeneration and giving the other Demon Slayers the opportunity to turn their swords bright red as well to increase their offensive performance. Transparent World: Although briefly, Obanai managed to access the Transparent World and see Muzan's twelve vital organs (seven hearts and five brains) for a split second after Gyomei ordered everyone to try to do so.

skills

As a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Obanai is a very powerful and skilled combatant. [10] It was revealed that he was more or less blind in his right eye, meaning he rose to the highest rank in the Demon Slayer Corps with one functioning eye. This, in addition to his small physique and lesser physical strength compared to his peers, makes it especially impressive that Obanai managed to achieve the title of Hashira.

skills

Enhanced Strength: Despite his short stature and lower physical strength due to his upbringing, especially compared to the other Hashira, Obanai still possesses a great amount of physical strength, as shown when he pins Tanjiro to the ground so hard that he is unable to move or breathe. [20] He was also able to slash through Muzan Kibutsuji's body on a multitude of occasions. Obanai was also one of the only Demon Slayers capable of causing his Nichirin Blade to turn bright red through sheer grip strength, the other being Muichiro Tokito. Immense Speed ​​and Reflexes: As a Hashira, Obanai possesses superhuman levels of speed and reflexes. When Tanjiro was about to be struck by what would likely have been a fatal blow from Muzan, Obanai managed to jump in and save him in time. He was able to keep up with Muzan Kibutsuji's whip attacks for an extended period of time without the boost granted by the Demon Slayer Mark and still managed to land many blows on the Demon King. After awakening the mark, Obanai was fast enough to sever both of Muzan's limbs. Even when completely blinded, Obanai was able to evade many of Muzan's attacks, corner him, catch up to him, and pierce him through his body as he fled,[21] though Muzan was severely weakened at the time. Obanai placed seventh in a race against his fellow Hashira.[22] Immense Stamina and Endurance: Obanai has demonstrated his phenomenal stamina and endurance on multiple occasions during the events within the Infinity Castle and the final battle. Obanai, along with Mitsuri, were able to play a grueling game of cat-and-mouse with the upper-rank-four Nakime for an extended period of time and still have enough energy left to come to Tanjiro and Giyu's aid. On the surface, Obanai and his allies were able to hold off Muzan for roughly half an hour, suffering

skills

Master Swordsman: As the Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Obanai was one of the most powerful and skilled swordsmen in the entire organization. [23] This was shown during the Hashira's training, where he was tasked with teaching all the other Demon Slayers swordsmanship techniques. Obanai makes use of a unique style of swordsmanship that utilizes sliding motions to bend his blade and attacks in impossible ways, allowing him to pass through narrow openings with ease despite wielding a standard wooden sword. [24] His prowess with the sword allowed him to kill hordes of Demons with ease and keep up with the Demon King himself, Muzan Kibutsuji. Breathing style Snake Breathing (蛇へびの呼こ吸きゅう, Hebi no kokyū?): A breathing style that Obanai created and mastered. This style of swordsmanship uses twists and turns similar to how a snake slithers to attack in strange ways. Obanai also learned to incorporate his pet snake, Kaburamaru (鏑かぶら丸まる, Kaburamaru?), into this breathing style, making it extremely effective in combat, as seen in the final battle where he was able to keep up with a weakened Muzan while completely blinded and still manage to corner him.

skills

First Form: Winding Snake Slash (壱いちノ型かた 委い蛇だ斬ぎり, Ichi no kata: Idagiri ? ) [25] - The user moves like a slithering snake and launches several slashes in a sinuous pattern. Second Form: Narrow-Headed Poison Fangs (弐にノ型かた 狭きょう頭ずの毒どく牙が, Ni no kata: Kyōzu no Dokuga ? ) [26] - The user runs behind his opponent at blinding speed and aims to quickly cut off his head. Third Form: Coil Strangler (参さんノ型かた 塒とぐろ締じめ, San no kata: Toguro Jime ? ) [27] - The user surrounds his opponent while using his sword to slash them from all directions. Fourth Form: Two-Headed Reptile (Shi no kata: Keija Sōsei?) [28] - The user leaps forward and performs a horizontal slash that passes through the target. Fifth Form: Slithering Snake (伍ごノ型かた 蜿えん蜿えん長ちょう蛇だ, Ir no kata: En'en Chōda ? ) [29] - The user curves his sword in multiple directions and slashes his opponent, making him capable of decapitating multiple enemies at once.