Get to Know the Hashira — the Most Powerful Demon Slayers of All (SPOILERS)

Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for Demon Slayer.

In Demon Slayer, protagonist Tanjiro Kamado is on a mission to turn his sister Nezuko back into a human after she was transformed into a demon. He joins the Demon Slayer Corps in order to do just that, but on his path, he accidentally meets the Hashira ("Pillars" in English). These nine Demon Slayers are the strongest of them all.

To prove that you've got what it takes to join the Hashira, you've got to do one of three things: become a Tsuguko, or a successor to a current Hashira, defeat at least 50 demons, or kill a member of The Twelve Kizuki, which are the strongest demons.

Each Hashira has a region of land to protect from demons. They watch over the people there and report back to the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters about demons in the area. As if that doesn't sound intense enough, they each have "Destroyer of Demons" engraved into their weapons.

Each of the Hashira have mastered a different type of swordsmanship on which their moves and attacks are based; these include specializations like fire, wind, and even love. In addition, they've also mastered the art of Total Concentration Breathing, which raises their physical and mental abilities in battle. Total Concentration Breathing can help them keep fighting while injured, or even slow down the effects of poison. No wonder they're so powerful!

At the start of the Demon Slayer anime, there are nine Hashira — here's a breakdown of each of them.

The Flame Hashira, or Kyojuro Rengoku, is the second of the Hashira we meet in the anime. He and his brother, Senjuro, both trained under their father, Shinjuro, who was the former Flame Hashira. However, Senjuro didn't have the necessary skills to become a Demon Slayer.

Kyojuro died at the end of Mugen Train fighting the demon Akaza, one of the upper-rank demons of The Twelve Kizuki. After Kyojuro's death, we learn that Shinjuro was a drunk who constantly put down Kyojuro's achievements. However, in private, after learning of his son's final message to him, Shinjuro mourned the loss of Kyojuro.

Sanemi Shinazugawa is at the peak of his abilities, and he certainly has the scars to prove it. We haven't seen much of him in the anime yet, but his page on Fandom says that he comes from a large family of seven children. His father was abusive and eventually murdered, but his mother was turned into a demon and killed most of his siblings aside from one, a brother named Genya.

Mitsuri Kanroji definitely stands out among the rest of the Hashira, mostly because of her pink hair, although it was originally green. In the manga, we learn that the color change is because she eats so much sakura mochi. Not much is known about her in the anime since she's only recently been introduced, but in the manga, we find out that she's has super strength.

Her weapon of choice is a really thin katana that looks like a whip, and her page of the Demon Slayer Fandom says that she's the only one who can use her sword without cutting herself.

Shinobu Kocho is the Insect Hashira, which is apparent by her bug-like appearance. She's the only one in the current group of Hashira who is too physically weak to behead a demon, which is typically the only way to truly kill one. However, she doesn't let that hold her back — instead, she uses a poison made from wisteria in her scabbard to kill them.

It's well-known to the Demon Slayer Corps that this plant is effective against the demons, but so far, Shinobu is the only one we know of using this method, since she and her bladesmith are the only ones who know how to make the poison.

Standing at over seven feet tall, Gyomei Himejima is the largest and, unsurpisingly, the strongest Hashira of them all. He also able to become a Hashira only two months after joining the Demon Slayer Corps. A childhood illness left him blind, but he has made up for this over the years by developing an incredible sense of hearing. He doesn't fight using a sword — instead, he uses chained axes. Scary.

At 14 years old, Muichiro Tokito is the youngest member of the Hashira. He's talented enough to have risen through the ranks of the Demon Slayer Corps in just two months, specifically because he is a descendant of the highest-ranked demon of The Twelve Kizuki named Kokushibo.

Muichiro had an older twin brother named Yuichiro, and the two grew up together after both their parents died. This, along with the later death of Yuichiro, caused memory loss and shifts in Muichiro's personality.

Tengen is the main Hashira that we see in the Entertainment Arc of the manga and in Season 2 of the Demon Slayer anime. He's the fastest of the Hashira and the only one to fight with double-wielded swords — plus, he's got three wives: Mako, Suma, and Hinatsuru.

Tengen is one of nine children in his family, but by the time he was 15, seven of them had died because his father made them fight to the death. He decided to leave the clan and its deadly training behind after his only remaining brother showed no remorse for killing two of their siblings.

In the Entertainment Arc, Tengen loses his left hand and eye during his battle with the demon Gyutaro. As a result, he retires from the Demon Slayer Corps.

Giyu Tomioka is the first Hashira we meet, although we don't realize it at the time. In the first season of Demon Slayer, he jumps in multiple times to save Tanjiro and Nezuko Kamado from possible death. He protects Nezuko from being killed by Shinobu, even though he knows she's a demon and that his actions go against the rules of the Corps. Plus, he recommends Tanjiro to the previous Water Hashira, Sakonji Urokodaki.

Obanai grew up in a group of thieves who lived off of the things they stole from the victims of demons. The group, comprised of all women, would sacrifice any newborn babies to a specific demon that they worshipped in order to maintain their life of luxury.

During his childhood, Obanai was kept in a cage since he was the first boy born into the family in hundreds of years. His only friend was a snake name Kaburamaru who kept him company. After escaping captivity at the age of 12, he was attacked by the demon his family worshipped, but saved by Kyojuro. However, because the demon couldn't kill Obanai, it destroyed almost his entire family. With that guilt on his shoulders, he joined the Demon Slayer Corps to channel his rage in a productive way.

You can watch both seasons of Demon Slayer and Mugen Train on Crunchyroll and Hulu now.