Updated April 1, 2023 by Ernie
We have a lot of overpowered warriors running around in Demon Slayers. Not only do we have the kakkoii hashiras, we get to see the badass Upper Moon demons in action, as well as their OP leader The Demon King, Muzan, however, there is one guy who outshines them all.
Table of Contents
One of the first Demon Slayers that came to be, his strength is indescribable. Muzan himself is absolutely terrified of him, and it’s understandable since the guy almost killed him and quite easily at that. The Demon Slayer I’m talking about is Yoriichi, but who is he exactly? If you want to know more about this series, you can check out our list of Demon Slayer characters!
YORIICHI THE STRONGEST DEMON SLAYER THAT EVER LIVED!
Who Is Tsugikuni Yoriichi?
YorIichi is a member of the Sugikuni clan, he was born during the Sengoku Period in Japan. When he came out of the belly of his mother, the newborn had a weird birthmark right on his forehead.
That plus the fact that he had a twin meant that he was a very bad omen, thus, without a shred of hesitation his father asked for his execution.
His mother stepped up, blinded with rage, she fought for the life of her son with all she had, and he ended up being spared. However, he had a condition: when the boy turns 10, he will be sent to a temple to become a monk (Demon Slayer Manga: Chapter 177)
As he grew up, Yoriichi displayed a genius talent. Not only was he a natural with a sword he also possessed incredible speed and inhuman physical strength.
However, despite his abilities, the boy was shunned by the family. Confined in a minuscule, he was poorly fed, received close to no education, and was forbidden to speak to anyone. For years, he didn’t muster a word and thus people came to believe that he was deaf.
When he turned seven, his voice was finally heard. After watching his brother, Michikatsu, practicing, he declared with all his might that he would also become a samurai one day.
All the people who heard that statement, they laughed at him. And only for the purpose of utterly humiliating him, one of the instructors even agreed to spar with him. Prepared to give him the beating of his life, guess who actually ate dirt in the end?
Yoriichi wiped the floor with the cocky instructor without even breaking a sweat! The moves that he used turned out to be an early type of breathing style (Demon Slayer Manga: Chapter 177 page 7-8) Right after the fight, Yoriichi renounced his goal. See, the boy is a pacifist who can’t stand the idea of hurting someone.
Years later, he decided to leave the clan after his mother passed away. It was after his departure that his brother uncovered the truth behind his action.
Michikatsu discovered that his father decided to switch heirs after acknowledging the immense strength of his brother. While Yoriichi was now destined to become the next head of the family he would be sent to the temple to become a monk. To avoid that fate, Yoriichi decided to run away, forcing his father to keep his plans as they originally were.
Instead of feeling grateful for the selfless act of his brother, Michikatsu developed a deep hatred towards the brother who was better than him in every way.
Yoriichi fled into the mountains. There he met a girl called Uta. He fell deeply in love with her and when they grew old enough they got married. Not long after the big event, Uta became pregnant.
When she was ready to give birth, Yoriichi left her side to get a midwife, but when he came back the sun had already set, and his wife and unborn child had been eaten alive by demons.
Traumatized, he held the corps of Uta for as long as ten days when finally, a Demon Slayer showed up at his door and lit a fire in his heart, encouraging him to pick up his sword, become a Demon Slayer himself, and get revenge for the death of his family (Demon Slayer Manga: Chapter 186 page 7-19)
On the road to becoming the greatest Demon Slayer in existence, he encountered Muzan. He discovered what his weakness was and was about to deal the final blow when the demon decided to auto-destruct to save himself (Demon Slayer Manga: Chapter 187)
Now into 1,800 pieces, Yoriichi only managed to destroy 1,500 which means he had failed. But oh boy was he close!
Soon after, his brother was turned into a demon by Muzan, willingly I might add, and he killed the previous Oyakata.
Yoriichi endorsed his betrayal, and took it upon himself to offer his life to the Demon Slayer Corps. Luckily, the new big boss was understanding and banished him instead of killing him (Demon Slayer Manga: Volumes 21 Extra pages)
Yoriichi left his Demon Slayer life and settled with the Kamados. He taught them his techniques and gave them his Hanafuda earrings, the earring that Tanjiro inherited.
At the end of his life, when Yoriichi was in his 80’s, he turned blind. As his last act on this Earth, he went to confront his brother who became the Upper Moon 1.
He fought against him in his most weakened state and yet he far surpassed the demon. His first attack sliced through his head, and the demon didn’t even have time to move.
He prepared himself for the next attack, an attack that never came since Yoriichi passed right there from old age.
Undefeated till the end, Yoriichi became a legend in the Demon Slayer Corps. Not only did he invent the Breathing Style, but he was also the only one who ever came so close to defeating Muzan and well as the Upper Moon 1.
What Are Yoriichi’s Abilities?
Overall Abilities:
Yoriichi was born with three omnipotent powers: The Demon Slayer Mark, Transparent World, and Selfless State. The Demon Slayer Mark gave him supernatural strength and speed. Transparent World is an ocular ability that allows him to see all living matter transparently thus enabling him to see their inner workings. And the Selfless State is a mysterious power that would completely erase his presence (Demon Slayer Manga: Chapter 186 – 187)
Breathing Style:
Yoriichi was a user of the Sun Breathing technique, also known as the Hinokami Kagura, the very first technique that was created as well as the most powerful one. All the breathing techniques were derived from it and are far inferior (Demon Slayer Manga: Chapter 192 page 3)
Techniques:
The following techniques will be performed by our boy, Kamado Tanjiro.
Dance: A full-power vertical slash.
Clear Blue Sky: A full power 360° slash.
Raging Sun: Two horizontal slashes
Burning Bones, Summer Sun: One enormous circular slash
Setting Sun Transformation: A backflip paired with overturned sword slash used for instant decapitation.
Solar Heat Haze: A horizontal slash at full speed hidden by fog that looks like it failed to land but actually hits the target pretty hard.
Beneficent Radiance: the user spirals in the air and lands an array of slashes all over the enemy’s body.
Sunflower Thrust: One thrust with the point of the blade.
Dragon Sun Halo Head Dance: Multiple slashed at maximum power and at lightning speed. The attack takes the appearance of a Japanese dragon created by flames. This attack can instantly decapitate a lot of enemies at the same time.
Fire Wheel: The wielder finds himself behind the enemy, he spins in the air aiming downward, and slashes the opponent in a circular motion.
Fake Rainbow: The user creates afterimages of himself to confuse the enemy.
Flame Dance: A combo constituted of two strikes; one vertical slash followed by a horizontal one.
Thirteenth Form: The swordsman will activate all twelve forms of Sun Breathing multiple times. This will increase his reflexes and the accuracy of his blows while decreasing fatigue.
Trivia
To non-manga readers, Yoriichi is still a mystery to them since he’s not yet formally introduced in the anime adaptation. But for the manga readers, he is a true legend as they have already immersed themselves with all the characters that were mentioned in the series. So for the sake of letting you guys know more about this one of a kind demon slayer, we listed some trivia about him. With no further delay, here is the list!
- Given how closely the fabric patterns on the bag and his late wife’s kimono resemble each other, Yoriichi may have used the kimono’s fabric to make the bag in which he carried his brother’s flute.
- Yoriichi and his wife Uta are indicated to have reincarnated into the present day and are now a very contented marriage with children in the Volume 23 supplements.
- Yoriichi realized he received his mother’s famous Hanafuda earrings since his family had assumed he was deaf after she handed them to him. The first person he had ever spoken to was his mother Akeno, to whom he replied, “I can hear you,” to demonstrate that he wasn’t deaf.
- He is usually peaceful and silent, but after getting along with the Hashira of the Sengoku Period, he began to chatter quite a bit. Some of the hashira, despite their initial outrage over his brother’s change, remained in contact with Yoriichi after his exile because of their strong connection.
Quotes
Yoriichi, the badass and the strongest demon slayer that ever lived, even Muzan is afraid of him and doesn’t show himself again until his death. Many fans that have read the manga will beare thrilled to finally see him formally introduced in the future seasons of Demon Slayer. But for those who haven’t read the manga yet, maybe it’s time to read! Here we listed down some of his quotes from the series so you can have a snippet of his personality. So here it is!
To Kokushibo:
“My brother… we are not that great. We are merely a fragment of humankind’s long, long history. At this moment, those whose talent will surpass ours are uttering their first cries. They may come to reach the same place. There is no need to worry. We can draw the curtain of life closed without unease at any time. Does that not exhilarate you? Brother? Someday… the children now being born will surpass us and ascend… to even greater heights.”
To Sumiyoshi:
“Sumiyoshi… those who master their trade all arrive at the same place. Even if the times change or the way to that place changes they are certain to reach the same place. You seem to think I’m someone that’s special but I’m not. I cannot protect anything that’s important to me and I was unable to accomplish even one thing that I should have in this life. I am a man without any value.”
To Kokushibo:
“My brother, is your dream to become the strongest samurai in the land? I want to be like you. I… want to become the second strongest samurai.”
To Muzan:
“What is the value of a life to you?”
To unknown:
“My dream was to live a quiet life with my family in a small house where we would sleep side by side. I would be close enough to see the beloved faces of my wife and child and close enough to reach out and take their hands. That would have been enough. But even that… did not come true. Demons exist in this beautiful world.”
Conclusion
All there is to know about Yoriichi is now at your disposal. He was the strongest Demon Slayer that ever existed and he invented the Breathing Techniques. Most importantly, Muzan pisses his pants when he hears his name, and he was undefeated throughout his life, in a nutshell, the guy was a major badass.
As far as I’m concerned, his life was so interesting that I believe he deserved a series for himself, I’m sure all the Demon Slayers fans would dig that! Anyway, if you have any further questions about Yoriichi, feel free to ask away in the comment section below, I will be happy to indulge your curiosity. If you want to start watching this series, you may check out our Demon Slayer watch order guide!
