Demon Slayer: Who Does Tanjirō Have a Crush On?

Although Tanjirō’s primary relationship in the Demon Slayer manga and anime was with his family, more specifically his sister, his personal life is also very interesting and has fans asking questions. Now, every anime and manga fan will know that shōnen anime don’t really focus too much on romance; it might be present, but it is rarely the focus, and the couples are usually revealed in the epilogue of the story, while the actual romances are only hinted at. Demon Slayer is not an exception here; that is why this article will focus on Tanjirō, as we will reveal who Tanjirō’s crush is in Demon Slayer.

From the beginning, it is obvious that Tanjirō has a crush on Kanao Tsuyuri, the adopted sister of Kanae and Shinobu. Although the two started off slowly, after Muzan’s defeat, Tanjirō, and Kanao eventually married and started a family, having two great-great-grandchildren by the names of Kanata Kamado and Sumihiko Kamado between them.

The rest of this article will focus on Tanjirō and his relationship with Kanao Tsuyuri in the Demon Slayer series. Since the manga is over, we actually know all the facts related to this interesting ship, and we are going to tell you everything we know about it. This means that you are going to find out what happened between Tanjirō and Kanao, i.e., how their romance ended and what happened in the aftermath of the main story. Be careful, though, as the article is going to contain a lot of spoilers.

Tanjirō has had a crush on Kanao since the beginning

They had no interaction when Kanao first encountered Tanjirō during the Final Selection because Kanao remained mute after the event. Later, as they run into each other again on Natagumo Mountain, Tanjirō engages in physical combat with Kanao to save his sister from harm and is ultimately knocked unconscious by Kanao.

When Tanjirō, after having passed his Final Selection, is taken to the Butterfly Mansion to recover her, he spots her in the garden but does not know that she attacked him earlier. Later, when they begin training, Tanjirō finds it challenging to defeat Kanao in every training exercise they have together, but despite her superior skills, he is able to adapt. One such exercise involved hitting the other with foul-smelling tea, but Tanjirō decides against throwing the cup at Kanao because he believes it would be inappropriate. Instead, he puts the cup on Kanao’s head after he can finally surpass her during their shared training in the Mansion.

When Kiyo calls out to him suddenly from behind, Kanao, who is seen holding his hands close to his chest and flushing slightly, collapses to the ground. She might have had feelings for Tanjirō since it is hinted in a chapter after the rehabilitation training arc’s conclusion. When Tanjirō is taken to the Butterfly Mansion once again to heal after the conflicts against the Kizuki in the Entertainment District, Kanao exhibits more emotion and grit as the story continues.

After learning that he has awakened, she sobs and drops the vase of flowers to the ground while telling him how happy she is that he is awake. During her visit to Tanjirō, the other people who came to visit as well began quarreling. She attempts to settle the situation but ultimately shouts at everyone when he falls asleep again.

Kanao, who is still the sole demon slayer who is aware during the combat with Muzan Kibutsuji, makes an effort to continue fighting. Muzan is ready to strike the ultimate blow when Tanjirō manages to momentarily paralyze Muzan and pull Kanao to safety. Kanao cries as she continuously calls him, and he acknowledges that he has woken up and apologizes for being late. When Kanao observes Nezuko attempting to soothe Tanjirō after he transforms into a demon, he sobs.

By placing his safety in peril and demonstrating the depth of her emotions for the siblings, she uses Flower Breathing, Final Form: Equinoctial Vermilion Eye, to create an opening so Tanjirō can get the demon-to-human cure. She sobs with joy and is obviously relieved to see Tanjirō back in his human form after he successfully transforms, and as they lie next to each other, the two exchange heartfelt smiles. After getting married and starting a family, Kanao and Tanjirō had two great-great-grandchildren together, Kanata and Sumihiko Kamado.

What we can tell you is that Tanjiro adores Kanao. The two developed a meaningful romantic relationship with genuine feelings for one another after the hesitant beginning of their partnership. As their family grew and changed over the anime series, Tanjirō proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he really loved Kanao.

We now realize that Kanao’s personality is also crucial in this situation; Tanjirō’s personality is well known, so we won’t repeat it, but to completely comprehend this, we must first discuss Kanao. Due to the torture, she endured before being liberated by the Kochō sisters, Kanao is described as being a calm and uncertain girl in the first chapter. She lost the ability to decide for herself and repressed her feelings as a coping tactic. Kanae offered her a coin she would flip each time to determine which course to go to when she wasn’t sure what to do in order to assist in correcting this.

Kanao persisted in displaying little feeling or desire for a long time. Despite this, Kanao developed a great hatred for demons out of his own free will after witnessing what the demons did to the loved ones of Aoi, Kiyo, and Shinobu. Since Kanao lacked his will, Shinobu initially instructed him to decapitate a Demon without thinking too much. However, Kanao soon got the need to fight on her own. The fact that Kanao chose the item of her own choice despite Shinobu and Kanae’s wishes suggests that her willpower became stronger throughout, despite her lack of feeling or apparent desire. She recovers a little between Kanae’s passing and the Rehabilitation Training Arc but still makes decisions in her room.

When Tanjirō comes to her to say his goodbyes, she repeats “goodbye” to him when he wants to extend the conversation. She exhibits a slightly robotic attitude to dialogues. He succeeds in breaking through her defensive barriers, and she takes more initiative. She also develops the capacity for clear speech.

As Tanjirō heals from his wounds and exhibits relief when Kanao tells Shinobu that she wants to train with her, Kanao can progressively communicate her emotions and desires more openly. The same thing happened when she was shocked after hearing Shinobu’s strategy for taking down Dōma.

Later, during the decisive conflict with Muzan Kibutsuji, Kanao was revealed to have fully reclaimed her capacity for appropriate emotional expression and free will. As she and the other members of the Corps engage the Demon Progenitor in combat, Kanao exhibits overt displays of rage and despair. She doesn’t stop acting emotionally long after Muzan’s ultimate defeat, demonstrating that she genuinely cares about Tanjirō and Nezuko after witnessing the latter’s frantic attempts to connect with her Demon brother, who even went as far as giving up her remaining eye to give Tanjirō Tamayo’s medicine that turns Demons into humans to save him.

After the main plotline, we find out that Tanjirō and Kanao eventually married and started a family, with the marriage seemingly being a very peaceful one in a time of peace without any Demons. We don’t know what happened to them, but we have seen their descendants in the epilogue, seemingly confirming that they had a happy marriage and family.