Inosuke vs. Tanjirō: Who Would Win and Why?
The Demon Slayers of the Demon Slayer manga and anime are very peculiar characters with a lot of history and development behind them. Now, while it is interesting analyzing them, comparing them seems to be even more interesting. In this article, we are going to do exactly that, as we are going to bring you a comparison of two friends and allies – Inosuke Hashibara and Tanjiro Kamado. You’re going to find out who the stronger Demon Slayer is and why that is.
Tanjiro Kamado is undoubtedly stronger than Inosuke Hashibara, and he has been from the very first moment that the two met. Even when he was not at the peak of his abilities, Tanjiro was able to defeat Inosuke, which is why there is absolutely no doubt that he is the stronger of the two characters and that he would win this clash.
The rest of this article will further elaborate on the above-given answer, as we are going to compare Inosuke Hashibara and Tanjiro Kamado in more detail. Through several categories, you are going to see who the stronger of the two is and why our answer is like it is, i.e., why Tanjiro would ultimately be able to defeat Inosuke in a direct fight.
Overall
Inosuke is a very skilled and talented swordsman, for he was able to learn the breath of total concentration himself and develop his own unique style of breathing, known as Beast Breathing based on his own instincts and his upbringing in the mountains by wild boars. Inosuke is more than capable of hunting and killing demons himself, having killed the Horned Demon without issue.
He has proven several times that he is capable of holding his own in battles against the demons of the higher ranks of the Twelve Kizuki, including the upper rank six demons, Gyutaro and Daki, as well as the much stronger upper rank two demon, Doma.
He is also incredibly gifted, possessing inhuman senses and superhuman flexibility, as well as a natural talent in combat. Most impressively, Inosuke was able to fight off the demon king Muzan along with his comrades. He has the same fighting abilities as Hashira, the strongest swordsman among all the demon slayers.
Early on, Tanjiro proved to be a prodigious fighter, having a strong natural aptitude for combat, especially swordsmanship. Tanjiro has previously been shown to have superhuman characteristics, such as extraordinary senses, heightened sense of smell, immense willpower, and high intelligence.
His naturally obtained abilities go so far as to allow him to outsmart and catch Giyu Tomioka, one of the most powerful Demon Slayers, off guard and nearly deliver a fatal blow with nothing but his intense emotions.
Right after learning water breathing and taking the final selection, he was able to easily eliminate many low-level demons without the help of others, even those who possessed Blood Power and were previously members of the Twelve Demon Moons, namely the Swamp Demon and Kyogai.
Tanjiro’s overall skills and powers are on a very high level, a level that is much higher than Inosuke’s. There is no denying that, and that is why we have Tanjiro win the points in this one.
Points: Inosuke 0, Tanjiro 1
Physical powers
Through his hard training as a demon slayer, Insouke has developed great endurance and stamina, which he has demonstrated on many occasions. Along with Zenitsu, Inosuke was able to keep up with an awakened Daki and held on long enough to cut off her head, despite suffering several injuries. In addition, Inosuke played a crucial role in the defeat of the upper rank, despite being stabbed in the chest and infected with a deadly poison.
Tanjiro has incredible stamina and endurance, even before he became a demon slayer, as shown when he had to train in a mountain with little to no oxygen for several days, dodging traps, running and traversing up and down, and improve his swordsmanship skills and his physique in these difficult conditions.
His stamina and endurance were further enhanced after mastering the Total Breathing Concentration, allowing him to exert himself physically all the time. He was able to join the fight against Daki and Gyutaro despite almost going over his life limit minutes before. His stamina further increased after mastering the Hinokami Kagura.
If Inosuke is anything, he is extremely strong. Raised in the wild, he became a truly strong demon slayer, but Tanjiro has also proven his worth in this category, which is why we decided to share the points between them.
Points: Inosuke 1, Tanjiro 2
Demon Slayer Mark
Inosuke never actually awakened his Demon Slayer Mark. His power stemmed from the techniques he had invented himself, including the complete Beast Breathing Style. This, though, did not make him any less powerful, but still not as powerful as Tanjiro.
Tanjiro first awakens his mark by battling Upper Rank Six, Gyutaro, and once again against Hantengu’s split forms, Upper Rank Four. Later, the mark reappears during his rematch against the Third Upper Moon, Akaza. In his marked state, Tanjiro’s strength, speed, and reaction time increase dramatically.
In his fight with Akaza, having gained access to the Transparent World in addition to his Demon Slayer Mark, Tanjiro is able to move fast enough to cut off Akaza’s head without giving him time to react, a move that would have killed Akaza if it weren’t for him to overcome his weakness to being decapitated by the Sun Sword.
However, it should be noted that Akaza’s Compass Sensing ability relied on his ability to sense his opponent’s fighting spirit, and Tanjiro was unable to show any fighting spirit during this attack. The downside of its marked state is that Tanjiro can only enter it on rare occasions, and he can only use it for a very short time as it causes his body to become exhausted, as proven in his battles. against the Higher Ranks.
Since Tanjiro has awakened his Demon Slayer Mark, while Inosuke has not, we have to give this point to Tanjiro.
Points: Inosuke 1, Tanjiro 3
Swordsmanship
Inosuke has shown exemplary skill in the dual wielding of his Nichirin Blade, allowing him to confront and defeat demons on various occasions, even allowing him to match the members of the Twelve Demon Moons. Approaching the Infinity Castle arc, Inosuke has undeniably honed his swordsmanship skills to the level of a Hashira, allowing him to follow and take on the Upper Moon Two, Doma.
Tanjiro has always been a swordfighting prodigy, starting out with skills rivaling Sabito, one of Sakonji Urokodaki’s strongest students and surpassing him within months and avenging his death by defeating the Hand Demon. Although he was ranked Mizunoto, his skill with the sword was superior to many of his elders, even to the point of defeating two lower-ranking members of the Twelve Kizuki.
His improvement in swordsmanship is also exceptional, as evidenced by the fact that he was able to take on higher rank demons months after recovering from injuries and having no experience fighting against them. enemies of this caliber in the past.
This is a category that is, alongside their general fighting skills, Inosuke’s forte. He uses two katana in a fight and that makes him extremely dangerous, but we don’t think he is superior to Tanjiro in that aspect, which why we gave a point to each of the two.
Points: Inosuke 2, Tanjiro 4
Breathing Styles
Breast Breathing is a completely original Breathing Style. A style of breath distantly derived from Wind’s Breath and the personal creation of Inosuke Hashibira himself after living in the mountains and fighting for its survival. He also seems to draw inspiration from the boars he grew up with.
Water Breathing was taught to Tanjiro by Sakonji Urokodaki, a former Water Hashira. This was Tanjiro’s initial breathing style before he switched to Hinokami Kagura, a breathing style his father taught him as a child, which he states suits him more. However, he used Water Breathing when he became extremely proficient, allowing him to take on two members of the Twelve Kizuki, Rui and Enmu.
Hinokami Kagura, also known as the Fire God Dance, was taught to Tanjiro by his father. During his near-death experience in his battle with Rui, Tanjiro woke in himself the memory of his father teaching him this style. At that time, Tanjiro’s body was not physically suited to the pressure exerted by Sun Breathing, but through many adversities, he was eventually able to master it.
Tanjiro knows two Breathing Styles, including the original and most powerful one (Sun Breathing). Inosuke, on the other hand, knows only one Breathing Style (Beast Breathing), and while his techniques are powerful, when the points in this category are concerned, Tanjiro gets the whole lot.
Points: Inosuke 2, Tanjiro 5
Demonic Powers
As for Inosuke, he has absolutely no demonic abilities nor has he ever been close to attaining them.
Tanjiro is later transformed into a demon by Muzan Kibutsuji, the latter killed by the slayer, hoping to convey his feelings and abilities to Tanjiro, deeming him capable of carrying out his designs and becoming the true immortal king of demons.
Although Tanjiro was quickly turned back to human via Tamayo’s humanizing drug, the power he demonstrates during this brief time as a demon seems to be at least on par with that of an Upper Moon, if not Muzan himself.
Since Inosuke doesn’t have any demonic powers or abilities, this last point has to go to Tanjiro as well.
Points: Inosuke 2, Tanjiro 6
Inosuke vs Tanjiro: Who would win?
And now for the most important and interesting section of our article – the analysis. Here, we are going to use what we have found out about these two characters and analyze how all these facts would (or would not) help them in a fight against each other. Let us continue.
This comparison was a fairly easy one. Not only does Tanjiro win with a large difference, he also wins a point in every category, with Inosuke sharing the points in the two categories that are his forte, but even there – he is not better than Tanjiro. And while Tanjiro is not the strongest Demon Slayer character, he is certainly stronger than Inosuke.
This has been evident since their first meeting, when Tanjiro – who had already been wounded and exhausted – managed to knock Inosuke out with a powerful headbutt. Later, Tanjiro proved to be more efficient during their shared training sessions with the Hashira, which resulted in Tanjiro becoming one of the best demon slayers and certainly surpassing Inosuke.
Inosuke is a formidable foe and a very resilient fighter, but Tanjiro is undoubtedly superior in this case and that is why we had him win this comparison.