Demon Slayer: How Did Gen’ya Survive Being Pierced by Aizetsu’s Blood Demon Art?

When discussing Demon Slayer, one usually talks about the demon slayers themselves or the demons. And while the series has offered us a variety of other intriguing characters, we will talk about one specific Demon Slayer – Gen’ya Shinazugawa, Sanemi’s brother – in this particular article. Gen’ya is a very interesting character because of his unlikable personality and how it reflects his relationship with the Demon Slayer Corps. He also has a very specific set of powers and abilities. The recent episodes of Demon Slayer showed us that the “demonic” Gen’ya could survive being pierced by Aizetu’s Weeping Spears, something wholly unusual for a non-Demon. That is why we are going to dedicate this article to explaining how he was able to do it.

Gen’ya Shinazugawa can temporarily take on demonic traits, which helps him in more ways than one. As it is known, Gen’ya has a specific ability that allows him to temporarily turn into a Demon after consuming demonic flesh directly. In such a state, he gains a significant power boost but does not succumb to his demonic urges and remains rational. This ability also allows him to regenerate like a Demon, which is why he survived Aizetsu’s attack.

The article will further elaborate on the answer we have given you and will explain, in detail, what Gen’ya’s powers and abilities are and how he survived being attacked by Aizetsu’s Blood Demon Art. The rest of this article will further explain all those details as we will dig deeper into the essence of his powers and abilities in the Demon Slayer manga and anime. This article might contain some spoilers, so we just wanted to give you a heads-up before you start reading.

Gen’ya Shinazugawa is not a Demon, but he can turn into one

As far as Gen’ya is concerned, we have to state here that he is a very peculiar character in terms of his fighting skills and abilities. Namely, every major member of the Corps has been shown to use one or more Breathing Styles. He might not be an experienced master or a Hashira, but each Demon Slayer can use one Breathing Style. Gen’ya Shinazugawa is an exception, as he is a character who does not have his own Breathing Style, as he was simply unable to master any, despite working with Gyōmei at one point. What he does have is a special ability to turn into a Demon for a short period of time.

As stated, Gen’ya can momentarily take on demonic traits by eating a demon’s living flesh. Depending on his strength, he might get regeneration and physical strength equivalent to one. Gen’ya is temporarily able to defeat Aizetsu in this form. After devouring the wood that Zohakuten had produced, Gen’ya was strong and swift enough to toss three trees at once.

Gen’ya’s demonization at its fullest was shown in his conflict with Kokushibō since he could only be put to death by being beheaded. Gen’ya’s demonic talents were strengthened by consuming Kokushibō’s hair, as evidenced by the fact that he could quickly rejoin his severed body and even listen in on Muzan Kibutsuji’s telepathic dialogue.

Later, the entire scope of Gen’ya’s heightened demonic talents are revealed, proving that even after having his head cleanly cut in half and being bifurcated, he was still alive and awake and had the power to use his Demon Blood Art. In addition, Gen’ya has demonstrated the capacity to separate his cells and combine them with his weapons.

At least two Upper Ranks (Hantengu and, later, Kokushibō) had their flesh and cells consumed by Gen’ya, who reportedly created his personal Blood Demon Art. Gen’ya’s Blood Power was intended to combat and harm other demons, the same as Nezuko’s. Gen’ya’s special technique combines his demon-turned cells with his solar steel balls and weapon, allowing him to easily control the direction and speed of the bullets as they are fired.

This was demonstrated when his bullets easily navigated around Kokushibo’s sword and sank right into his body. While inside the designated target, the bullets can instantly develop into a massive tree that resembles the higher rank four Zohakuten form tree animals before entangling and wrapping around the target to render it paralyzed. Gen’ya could modify his inserted flesh balls even further by making them penetrate his target’s body and absorb demon blood, stopping them from using their own Blood Demon Art.

An important thing to note before we finish, aside from the fact that we have explained how Gen’ya’s demonization works, is that Gen’ya never gives in to his demonic urges. He retains his regular perception, and while he is stronger and fiercer, he is not a Demon and knows his enemies from his allies, which is a fact that is definitely worth mentioning. And this concludes our analysis of Gen’ya’s powers and abilities. Now, while his powers are not completely unique, they are unique as far as the current slate of the Corps is concerned, and that is what made him a very valuable ally in the fight against Muzan’s Demons throughout the story.

Ultimately, Gen’ya managed to use his abilities for good, as he, as we are about to see in the next section, used these abilities to save Tanjirō’s life and to help him defeat Hantengu, the Upper-Rank Four, something that Tanjirō would not have been able to do without his assistance.

His demonic abilities allow him to regenerate

In the previous section of this article, we have provided you with a detailed explanation of Gen’ya’s powers and abilities. When Tanjirō first saw Gen’ya in this state, he was afraid that his friend had turned into a Demon, but he soon observed that Gen’ya was able to control himself; his unique ability allowed him to temporarily become a Demon while retaining his humanity, which was somewhat similar to Nezuko’s ability, but with Gen’ya’s being temporary, while Nezuko’s transformation was permanent in nature.

We have explained how these powers manifested in Gen’ya’s case, bringing us to the Swordsmith Village Arc. Namely, after failing to kill Hantengu, Gen’ya became a target of Sekido’s attack and was almost killed as Sekido was aiming for his neck; Gen’ya knew that he could not regenerate his head, so he was ready to die after going down memory lane and remembering his past. But, at that moment, Tanjirō entered and saved him, thus allowing him to survive.

Aizetsu would soon approach the battle, and he used his Blood Demon Art, Weeping Spears, to attack Tanjirō. The attack would certainly have killed him, but Gen’ya jumped right in front of him and was pierced by the spears. Still, he managed to regenerate and continued to fight. This is a direct result of his special ability. Namely, in his demonic form, not only does Gen’ya gain a significant power boost, but he also gains a Demon’s regenerative abilities. So, as long as his neck is not cut, he will be able to regenerate his wounds, which is how he managed to survive this attack as well, and how he managed to survive the whole attack on the Swordsmith Village.