Gyomei Himejima

appearance

Gyomei is a towering figure among the Demon Slayers. He is one of the tallest characters in the series, easily towering over his fellow Hashira. He is strongly built and extremely muscular. He has spiky black hair and a prominent scar that runs horizontally across his forehead. Having been blind since childhood, he has white eyes with no visible irises or pupils. His eyes frequently fill with tears when he becomes excited. Gyomei wears a typical black and white Demon Slayer uniform, with bandages over his shins resembling kyahan and a white zōri with an olive-green happi over his shoulders. The happi's collar-like frame contains the kanji for the Japanese chant Nianfo/Shin Buddha (南無阿Yo陀AsiYa, Namu Amida Butsu?) from top to bottom, along with separate kanji across the back. He also sports a necklace of large beads around his neck, and carries a set of ojuzu beads when not in combat. He has a scar on his forehead after being cut by Kokushibo's crescent sword. [5] His left leg from the knee down was later severed during the battle against Muzan. [6]

personality

Gyomei embodies the gentle giant archetype, being surprisingly sensitive and soft-spoken, despite his intimidating appearance. He is also shown to be quite pious, carrying his rosary at all times and offering prayers in touching situations. In particular, Gyomei easily cries over the most insignificant things, accentuating his rather gentle nature. This could be due to his love for all living creatures brought on by his religious upbringing, and hinted at when he felt so disgusted by beating up a demon that he would never forget that feeling for the rest of his life. Much like the rest of the Hashira, Gyomei holds a great deal of respect for Kagaya Ubuyashiki, no small part of which is due to the Oyakata saving his life. He is also one of the most respected individuals amongst the Demon Slayer Corps, not only due to being a member of the Hashira but because he serves as a symbol of hope due to his immense strength: Shinobu Kocho had once stated that when Gyomei fights, he reassures everyone around him. [7] Furthermore, Gyomei serves as a leader to them, as seen when he would sit up front during Hashira meetings and was often asked for his word and opinion. [8] He was entrusted by Kagaya to give them orders, due to Gyomei being the eldest and because Kagaya had known him longer than anyone outside of his own family. Although he maintains a rather reserved disposition, Gyomei has a very objective and somewhat suspicious view of the people around him, due to his experiences before becoming a Demon Slayer. He is always aware of what others, particularly children or those younger than him, are capable of if given the chance. Due to his doubtful nature, Gyomei can take a while to fully accept and trust others. When he does open up and let others in, he is unwavering in his commitment to them.

personality

Gyomei greatly values ​​the principles that allowed him to achieve his status as a Hashira, rejecting Kokushibo's notion that he must become a Demon Slayer in order to preserve the physical skills and prowess he had dedicated himself to, and retorts his statement by saying that being a Demon Slayer means accepting the fact that seeing tomorrow is not guaranteed, and that no one can become a Hashira with Kokushibo's half-hearted resolve. Much like with Kyojuro Rengoku, the Stone Hashira also believes that living and dying as a human preserves one's dignity, and even took the Upper Rank's statement as an insult and demanded that the Demon not force his self-righteous belief upon him, further accentuating how tightly he holds onto his values. Furthermore, despite his generally reserved and polite disposition, at that moment, angered by Kokushibo's outright rejection of his humanity, Gyomei mocked him for lying about the fate of those who obtained the Demon Slayer Marks, prompting the demon to hide the fact that someone had likely lived past the age of 25 and laughing at his visible apprehension. [9]

As the Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Gyomei is a very powerful and skilled combatant. [10] Both Tanjiro Kamado and Inosuke Hashibira claim that he is the strongest Demon Slayer in the entire Demon Slayer Corps. [11] Furthermore, Tengen Uzui had once called Gyomei "a complete enigma", which may refer to his incredible physical prowess or his tremendous ability despite his blindness. [12] This is further believable by Kokushibo, who noted that Gyomei's natural physical abilities have been trained to their peak and had stated that in the past three hundred years, he has not encountered a warrior of Gyomei's caliber. [13] He was also able to fight the strongest Upper Ranker for a brief time without the use of his Demon Slayer Mark, further proving the extent of his skill. [14] Furthermore, Kokushibo noted that Gyomei and Sanemi were two of the most skilled fighters even among the ranks of the already powerful Hashira. [15] After the fight, Gyomei, who was wounded and slightly fatigued, was able to greatly contribute to cornering Muzan Kibutsuji, the Demon King.

Tactical Intellect: Gyomei has shown keen intellect and judgment skills while fighting. When he fought Kokushibo, he realized that the Upper Rank was overpowering him in a way that was supernatural but could still be obtained or countered somehow. [16] When he gained access to the Transparent World, he assumed that his eyes also gave him the ability to access this special world and instinctively learned to use this to his advantage, even going so far as to manipulate his own blood flow and breathing to disrupt Kokushibo's attacks. [17] Seeing Muzan's special constitution, he immediately deduced that he needed to attack all twelve vital organs simultaneously in order to cause significant damage to him. [18] Demon Hunter Skills Demon Slayer Mark: Later, during his battle against Upper Rank One, Gyomei showed that he too had awakened his mark, appearing as fissure patterns of cracked earth on both of his forearms. [19] When activated, it drastically increases his physical abilities, such as his strength, speed, and stamina, allowing him to fight Upper Rank One for an extended period of time. [20] Bright Red Nichirin - During the battle against Kokushibo, Sanemi hits Gyomei's spiked flail with his sword, briefly turning them bright red, allowing him to destroy Kokushibo's head. [21] Later in the battle against Muzan, Gyomei again made his weapons turn bright red by hitting them together. [22]

Transparent World: Despite being blind, Gyomei gained the ability to access the Transparent World and can predict his opponent's movements and sense them naturally. [23] Repetitive Action - Created by Gyomei, this is a technique that maximizes concentration, similar to Total Concentration Breathing, when recalling a painful memory. Gyomei has been shown to utilize it extensively during his training, and presumably during combat as well. Immense Speed ​​and Reflexes - Despite Gyomei's large build, he possesses tremendous speed and reflexes. He is said to be the third fastest runner among the Hashira. Gyomei's incredible speed was put on display during his fight against Kokushibo, where he was able to easily move his body to avoid all of his attacks, the Upper Ranker even commenting that the ease and grace with which he moved was almost too absurd to believe. [24] Gyomei was also able to keep up with Kokushibo for the entire duration of the fight, pressuring him with the help of Sanemi, Muichiro, and Genya. Later, he was able to keep up with the blistering movement speeds of the Demon King himself, Muzan, for a good portion of the fight.

Immense Stamina and Endurance: Gyomei possesses tremendous levels of physical stamina and endurance, so much so that his training during Hashira Training was focused on stamina. He was able to nonchalantly stand on the ground that was on fire while carrying two massive logs that were further weighted down by four large rocks, even calmly explaining the details of his training to Tanjiro and Zenitsu as he did so. He also displayed his superhuman levels of stamina and endurance during the fight against Kokushibo, where he was able to hold off the Upper Ranker for the entire duration of the fight without significantly tiring outside of suffering deep cuts across his body. [25][26] After having his leg severed by Muzan, Gyomei was able to persist and continue contributing to the fight against the Demon King.

Immense Strength: Gyomei possesses the highest level of physical strength in the entire Demon Slayer Corps, most notably displayed when he can easily lift and swing his massive spiked flail and axe constructed of pure iron at speeds faster than the eye can see incessantly to thwart Kokushibo's attacks. He was also able to push a large boulder larger than himself across a city with his bare hands. [27] Gyomei also nonchalantly endured the weight of two massive logs on his back further weighed down with four large rocks. According to Gyomei, he was naturally born with the gift of incredible physical strength, as shown when he subdued a demon that attacked him as a skinny teenager by beating it to a bloody pulp with nothing but his bare hands before joining the Demon Slayer Corps and undergoing training. [28] Supernatural abilities Enhanced Hearing: Due to his blindness, Gyomei has compensated and alternated his senses to accommodate his condition, effectively developing a superhuman sense of hearing. His sense of hearing was so acute that Gyomei can accurately discern and interact with his surroundings normally, even engaging in high-speed combat with demons without issue. More impressively, Gyomei was able to hear the sound of Muzan Kibutsuji's flesh regenerating during their brief confrontation and used this to determine that he is unlike any demon he has ever faced based solely on the sound the Demon King made. [29] Later, during his battle with Upper Rank One, Kokushibo noticed that Gyomei uses the sound of his chains rattling to indicate the exact position the chain is in and uses it to guide his axe and flail during combat. [30] As seen during his conversation with Kokushibo regarding the Demon Slayer Mark, Gyomei was able to accurately tell that he was lying to the

Kusarigamajutsu - Unlike ordinary Demon Slayers who use swords in combat, Gyomei uses a spiked flail and an axe reminiscent of a Kusarigama, a weapon consisting of a scythe and a heavy iron weight connected with a metal chain, and thus would use a similar fighting style known as Kusarigamajutsu. As a Hashira, Gyomei is extremely proficient in combat and one of the most skilled combatants in the entire Demon Slayer Corps, particularly in this fighting style able to briefly match the likes of the Upper Rank One, Kokushibo, a Demon Swordsman who has nearly five centuries of experience in swordsmanship. Furthermore, he was also shown to be able to restrain Muzan and his incredibly fast whips for an extended period of time, using his spiked flail to deal powerful blows to the Demon King.

Stone Breathing (SiYoYo呼Yo吸きゅう, Iwa no kokyū?): A breathing style that Gyomei either mastered on his own or learned from a cultivator. In his own version of this breathing style, Gyomei incorporates his superhuman sense of hearing and physical strength to utilize a spiked flail and an axe to use his techniques. As a Stone Hashira, Gyomei is the most skilled Stone Breathing user of his generation. He displayed mastery in Stone Breathing in his battle against Kokushibo, where he was able to unleash attacks that could match the demon's Moon Breathing.

First Form: Bipolar Serpentine (壱YesTheGoodYes 蛇じゃ紋MoreYesI・GoodYesbutきょく, Ichi no kata: Jamongan - Sōkyoku ? ) [31] - The user throws the flail and axe towards their target and manipulates the chain by spinning it, causing the axe and flail to also spin to pierce and grind straight through their target. Second Form: Upper Smash (GoodMeTheGoodYesMeMorePleaseMe砕Yesき, Ni no kata: Tenmen Kudaki ? ) [32] - The user throws their axe and spiked flail in a pincer motion before slamming into the chain to cause the flail to rebound and crush its target from afar. Third Form: Stone Skin (参YoElBuenoSí SíYo軀YoYo膚Sí, San no kata: Ganku no Hadae ? ) [33] - The user launches a series of slashes with his axe that deflect nearby attacks. Fourth Form: Volcanic Rock, Quick Conquest (肆ElElBuenoSí butりゅう紋MásSíYo・速SíBuenoSí, Shi no kata: Ryūmongan - Sokusei ? ) [34] - The user manipulates both the flail and the axe on both ends of the chain by swinging the chain on both sides to strike their opponent using a wide-range, two-pronged attack. Fifth Form: Arcs of Justice (To Me, The Good, Yes 瓦Me輪MoreMeぎょうPleaseMe, Go no kata: Garin Gyōbu ? ) [35] - The user utilizes a powerful attack with their flail and axe, causing a large amount of damage. The axe is meant to strike first with the flail's trajectory following from the opposite side and striking the opponent.

Nichirin Chained Flail and Axe - Instead of a Nichirin katana, Gyomei wields a weapon similar to a Kusarigama, consisting of an Ono (axe) attached to a Chigiriki (flail) via a long chain. Still, the weapon is forged from the same steel used in the creation of Nichirin swords. Its craftsmanship in particular is noted for being incredibly high class, being made from pure iron that has absorbed so much sunlight, that it was considered even superior to the iron used to forge swords during the Sengoku period, when blacksmithing was at the peak of development. [36] Even the Upper Rank One, Kokushibo, was unable to cut through the chain, and was forced to resort to long-range combat. As noted by Kokushibo, this weapon is very well thought out, as the vibrations created by the chain can be picked up by Gyomei's keen sense of hearing to accurately grasp the space and movements around him, further enhancing his effectiveness in battle. [30] On the hilt of his axe, the words Demon Destroyer (butYaWho? YobutYo殺YaAkki Messatsu?) are carved. [37]