Tanjiro Kamado is the main protagonist of Koyoharu Gotoge's manga and anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. A former charcoal seller, Tanjiro's life was forever changed when he comes home one day to see his entire family murdered, and his younger sister Nezuko converted to a demon. He encounters Giyu Tomioka, a skilled swordsman titled the "Water Hashira" who spares his sister's life. Since then, Tanjiro has sworn to kill all demons who took his family away, and turn Nezuko into a human again. Following Giyu's instructions, he joins the Demon Slayer Corps as a swordsman-in-training and develops the "Water Breathing" style, a form of "sword breathing" technique which enhances the power of sword strikes by mimicking the movements of a particular element.
Kimetsu no Yaiba gained massive success worldwide at the turn of the 2020's because of its anime adaptation by Ufotable, which showcased the series' highly distinct art style, excellent animation, and flashy effects. The series enjoys mainstream popularity in Japan; one instance of this popularity was shown in an elementary school survey by Benesse where Tanjiro was admired as the "role model" by most children - even more than their parents.[1]. Naturally, as the main character, he is expected to perform well in anime character popularity contests.
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ISML[]
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In an effort to find the one who turned his life upside down and save his sister from becoming a full-fledged demon, Tanjiro learns how to fight under the tutelage of a retired demon slayer. Weeks turn to months; months turn to years. However, Tanjiro's determination will not waver. If it helps him get one step closer to finding the cure to turn his sister back to normal, he will go through any harsh training to obtain the strength necessary to defeat the one that started it all. Despite his strong hatred towards the demons, Tanjiro's heart is pure and gentle, like a calm sky reflecting over a tranquil sea. He knows that, before they were demons, they were once human, living a normal life just like anyone else. Rather than admonish them for the deaths they had caused, Tanjiro feels compassion, condolence, and torment. Rather than kill them for their atrocious crimes, Tanjiro wants to save them from their misery and hope they find solace in their next life. And so, Tanjiro carries on with his black blade in hand, a blade full of mystery, but filled with unlimited potential. The path to save his sister is full of turmoil and regret, but he is ready for it. This is his reason for living, and he will not stop until justice is served. | |||||||||||||||||||
Tanjiro made his first appearance in ISML 2020 and enjoyed a fairly strong start to the regular season, eventually reaching the third split (last 32 group stage) where he finished 10th, eliminating him from championship contention. However, he managed to crawl back up during the playoffs stage, winning 4 out of his 6 consolation matches to snag 8th place. The demon slayer was only denied out of a higher position by Levi, who also failed to reach playoffs; they inexplicably met twice in the consolations with Levi winning both of these meetings.
In ISML 2021, Tanjiro got the 5th-highest nominations in the male division, but was assigned to the first-ever seasonal contest for males instead of the main tournament. The contest runners assigned him to Winter instead of Spring (Mugen Train film), because he appeared in the Kimetsu no Yaiba Valentine's Day shorts aired during February and March, but obviously people aren't going to vote him based on that appearance, as the film is still fresh in the minds of many voters. The demon slayer went undefeated in the 6-man round-robin stage, defeating the likes of shonen regulars Luffy, Naruto, and Conan - plus newcomers Gojo and Miyamura - to earn his first ISML award and becoming its first-ever male seasonal diadem winner. This victory secured him automatic qualification for ISML 2022's main tournament (preliminary rounds), and will also put him in contention for 2021's re-introduced divine crown award - the grand prize of the "Nova" contest.[note 1] . As Demon Slayer Season 2 was currently airing by the time it got to the 2021 playoffs, Tanjiro used this opportunity to claim the first male seasonal championship, defeating second-placers Takt, Sasuke, and Miyamura.
Main Tournament[]
Overall record
| ISML Main Tournament Record | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular season, playoffs, and 1v1 consolations only. Preliminaries, exhibitions, and any matches involving 3+ characters are NOT included. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Edition | Eliminated in | Final pos. | W | L | RS Record | ||||||||||||||
| ISML 2020 | Split 3 Groups (Last 32) | 8th (Conso) | |||||||||||||||||
| ISML 2021 - re-assigned to Winter seasonal (KnY Valentine's Day shorts) | |||||||||||||||||||
| ISML 2022 | Qualified | ||||||||||||||||||
| ISML 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||
| ISML 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total W-L-T: ??? | Postseason: ??? | RS Record: ??? | |||||||||||||||||
| Opponents played: ??? | |||||||||||||||||||
Match history
| ISML 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominations: 105 votes - 5th | |||||||||||||||||||
| Seedings R1 (Range): 22,763.3 - seed 8 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Stage | Rd | Opponent | Score | W-L? | |||||||||||||||
| Split 1 Group H 1st (5W 0L) |
Aqua 1 |  Yaichi Kuzuryu
|
2058 - 1258 | W | |||||||||||||||
| Aqua 2 |  Inosuke Hashibira
|
2963 - 962 | W | ||||||||||||||||
| Aqua 3 |  Karma Akabane
|
2846 - 1898 | W | ||||||||||||||||
| Aqua 4 |  Haruka Kasugano
|
2103 - 1958 | W | ||||||||||||||||
| Aqua 5 |  Shidou Itsuka
|
2731 - 2343 | W | ||||||||||||||||
| Split 2 Group A 4th (12W 3L) |
Tpz 1 |  Yato
|
1751 - 1574 | W | |||||||||||||||
| Tpz 2 |  Yuzuru Otonashi
|
1839 - 1417 | W | ||||||||||||||||
| Tpz 3 | Shidou Itsuka (x2)
|
2266 - 2092 | W | ||||||||||||||||
| Tpz 4 |  Shirou Emiya
|
1983 - 1976 | W | ||||||||||||||||
| Tpz 5 |  Miyuki Shirogane
|
1935 - 3286 | L | ||||||||||||||||
| Amet 1 |  Zenitsu Agatsuma
|
2570 - 846 | W | ||||||||||||||||
| Amet 2 |  Kusuo Saiki
|
1872 - 1272 | W | ||||||||||||||||
| Amet 3 |  Giyu Tomioka
|
2827 - 1699 | W | ||||||||||||||||
| Amet 4 |  Kiritsugu Emiya
|
2341 - 1932 | W | ||||||||||||||||
| Amet 5 |  Kiyotaka Ayanokouji
|
2265 - 3604 | L | ||||||||||||||||
| Sapp 1 |  Joseph Joestar
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3325 - 2709 | W | ||||||||||||||||
| Sapp 2 |  Ainz Ooal Gown
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3032 - 2328 | W | ||||||||||||||||
| Sapp 3 |  Naruto Uzumaki
|
3259 - 2732 | W | ||||||||||||||||
| Sapp 4 |  Merlin (Fate)
|
3466 - 2868 | W | ||||||||||||||||
| Sapp 5 |  Subaru Natsuki
|
2496 - 2726 | L | ||||||||||||||||
| Split 3 Group B 10th (7W 8L) Eliminated | |||||||||||||||||||
| Eme 1 |  Tomoya Okazaki
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3711 - 3552 | W | ||||||||||||||||
| Eme 2 |  Willem Kmetsch
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2283 - 2304 | W | ||||||||||||||||
| Eme 3 |  Sakuta Azusagawa
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2671 - 3662 | L | ||||||||||||||||
| Eme 4 |  Ryuuji Takasu
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2896 - 2999 | L | ||||||||||||||||
| Eme 5 |  Gilgamesh
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3165 - 3249 | L | ||||||||||||||||
| Ruby 1 |  Yuu Ishigami
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2868 - 3712 | W | ||||||||||||||||
| Ruby 2 |  Masamune Izumi
|
3137 - 2298 | W | ||||||||||||||||
| Ruby 3 | Kiyotaka Ayanokouji (x2)
|
2974 - 3191 | L | ||||||||||||||||
| Ruby 4 |  Lancer
|
3308 - 3036 | W | ||||||||||||||||
| Ruby 5 |  Saika Totsuka
|
3093 - 3493 | L | ||||||||||||||||
| Dia 1 |  Archer (F/SN)
|
3140 - 3336 | L | ||||||||||||||||
| Dia 2 | Yuzuru Otonashi
|
3332 - 3310 | L | ||||||||||||||||
| Dia 3 |  Taki Tachibana
|
2891 - 3138 | L | ||||||||||||||||
| Dia 4 |  Eugeo
|
3970 - 3067 | W | ||||||||||||||||
| Dia 5 |  Yuuta Togashi
|
3562 - 3505 | W | ||||||||||||||||
| ... | |||||||||||||||||||
| CONSOLATION MATCHES | |||||||||||||||||||
| Playoffs | |||||||||||||||||||
| PO 2 | Ryuuji Takasu (x2, conso)
|
3737 - 3637 | W | ||||||||||||||||
| PO 4 |  Levi Ackerman (conso)
|
3363 - 4179 | L | ||||||||||||||||
| PO 5 | Tomoya Okazaki (x2, conso)
|
4748 - 4524 | W | ||||||||||||||||
| PO 6 |  Saitama (conso)
|
4829 - 4664 | W | ||||||||||||||||
| PO 7 |  Rintarou Okabe (conso)
|
6666 - 5995 | W | ||||||||||||||||
| PO 8 | Levi Ackerman (x2, conso)
|
7188 - 8267 | L | ||||||||||||||||
| Final position: 8th | |||||||||||||||||||
Pendant record
- 2020: Diamond (8th)
Seasonal & Exhibition[]
- Anime: Kimetsu Gakuen: Valentine-hen (web shorts, MAL Link)
- Nominations: 75 votes, 2nd (5th overall)
- Group stage: - 5W 0L (1st, Diadem Winner)
- Match 1 (Prelim 3):
Conan Edogawa @ Detective Conan -- 2165 - 1510 - Match 2 (Prelim 4): Naruto Uzumaki @ Boruto - 1803 - 1231
- Match 3 (Prelim 5): Izumi Miyamura @ Horimiya -- 2034 - 1968
- Match 4 (Prelim 6): Monkey D. Luffy @ One Piece -- 2286 - 1438
- Match 5 (Topaz 1): Satoru Gojo @ Jujutsu Kaisen -- 1367 - 1250
- Match 1 (Prelim 3):
- Playoffs - Wins: 5, Group CVP: 5.592 (seed 2)
- (PO 3): (7) Takt Asahina @ Takt Op -- 3146 - 1882
- (PO 4): (6) Sasuke Uchiha @ Boruto -- 3610 - 2792
- (PO 5): (5) Izumi Miyamura @ Horimiya -- 10,297 - 9867
Poster gallery[]
r/anime[]
History[]
Tanjiro using "Hinokami Kagura" [note 2] to chase down Rui
Since Kimetsu no Yaiba is a battle shonen with eye-catching visuals and mainstream appeal, the series is, unsurprisingly, a smash hit in the r/anime subreddit, with its episode discussion threads regularly leading the "karma race" whenever it airs. General opinions state that season 1 episode 19, which depicts the Kamado siblings fighting a spider-themed demon named Rui, became the breakpoint moment of the series' meteoric rise in popularity. As further sequels have been created since 2020, which has maintained (or even improved) the quality of its animation, Demon Slayer is here to stay as one of the top dogs for the next few years.
In r/anime's tournament threads however, Tanjiro is labeled a "bland" character by some users because of his seemingly generic, good-guy personality that is typical of shonen protagonists. There is also a prevailing opinion that Kimetsu no Yaiba only got popular because the animation single-handedly carried the show, and that its writing pales in comparison to other acclaimed series like Fullmetal Alchemist. But given the voters' tendencies, these opinions seldom matter as Demon Slayer characters enjoy generally high seeds, and Tanjiro naturally leads the charge as the series' most successful representative.
The demon slayer made a modest debut in late 2020, finishing at the round of 64 in Best Guy 7 (losing to Shouya) and in Best Character 5 (eliminated by Winry). Afterwards, two sequels were released: the Mugen Train film, and the 2nd TV season which covers the "Entertainment District Arc". The latter aired in Fall 2021, giving him an advantage coming into Best Guy 8, which occurred a few weeks after the anime finished airing. There, he entered the bracket as the #8 seed, eventually overcoming #9 Reigen Arataka to reach the elite eight stage for the first time.
Tanjiro then gained notoriety in Best Guy 8's threads when he beat fan favourite Killua Zoldyck in the quarter-finals, before suffering an uncharacteristic blowout loss to Hachiman Hikigaya in the semi-finals. This prompted some people to deem that his run was only carried due to recency bias, while his unusual loss to 8man was attributed to the usual spite votes, and even had a few users speculating that Tanjiro was "sent to snipe Killua out so 8man has an easier opponent".
Matches[]
Best Guy 7 - seed 18
- (495) Ame @ Wolf Children -- 420 - 95
- (239) Saichi Sugimoto @ Golden Kamuy -- 342 - 191
- (146) Yuzuru Otonashi @ Angel Beats! -- 532 - 215
- (47) Shouya Ishida @ Koe no Katachi -- 317 - 393
Best Guy 8 - seed 5
- (505) Sherlock Holmes @ Moriarty the Patriot -- 612 - 129
- (249) Makoto Takiya @ Dragon Maid -- 525 - 177
- (121) Goblin Slayer @ Goblin Slayer -- 654 - 336
- (72) Shouyou Hinata @ Haikyuu!! -- 545 - 461
- (40) Scar @ Fullmetal Alchemist -- 533 - 450
- (9) Reigen Arataka @ Mob Psycho 100 -- 733 - 696
- (17) Killua Zoldyck @ Hunter x Hunter -- 936 - 781
- (45) Hachiman Hikigaya @ Oregairu -- 439 - 1312
Best Character 5 - seed 32
- (481) Ginko @ Mushishi -- 564 - 258
- (288) Izaya Orihara @ Durarara!! -- 733 - 417
- (97) Hina @ Hinamatsuri -- 790 - 483
- (33) Winry Rockbell @ Fullmetal Alchemist -- 545 - 698
Honours[]
Wins[]
Contest Wins (5)
- ISML 2021 Winter diadem (seasonal)
- ISML 2021 Divine Crown (overall seasonal championship)
- President Anime Memes Favorite Action Anime MC 2019 (FB link)
- Facebook Anime Storm Shonen War 2019 (FB link)
- Facebook @Alexandra Protagonista Nueva Generacion Favorito? 2020 (FB link)
Non-contest awards[]
- Newtype Anime Award Male Div 2018-2019 (1st place)
[]
References
- ↑ "According to Poll, Japanese Kids Admire Tanjirō More Than Their Parents" by Lynzee Loveridge - Anime News Network (2020-12-11). Original source from Mantan (Japanese, posted 2020-12-03).
Notes
- ↑ Not to be confused with the Nova female division used from 2012 to 2015.
- ↑ Hinokami Kagura (literally "Dance of the Fire God") is a legendary technique also known as the "Sun Breathing", from which all other sword breathing forms are based upon. It's later revealed that Tanjiro's ancestors also used this power, making him a rightful heir of the technique and the only one in the current timeline who can master it.
Beware of spoilers and pop-ups.
- Wikipedia
- KnY Wikia
- MyAnimeList
- Baike Baidu (Chinese)
- Moegirl (Chinese)
- NamuWiki (Korean)
| ISML Seasonal Diadem Winners | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 |  Ririchiyo •  Kuroyukihime •  Asuna •  Rikka
| |||
| 2013 |  Black Rabbit •  Kurumi •  Kirigiri •  Mirai
| |||
| 2014 |  Chitoge •  Shiro •  Chiyo •  Isuzu
| |||
| 2015 |  Megumi K. •  Isla •  Nao •  MitsukiND, SEQ
| |||
| 2016 |  Megumin •  Rem •  Aoba •  Chitose
| |||
| 2017 |  Kanna •  Chtholly •  Suzune •  Nayuta
| |||
| 2018 |  Violet •  UrarakaND, SEQ •  Platelet •  Mai-san
| |||
| 2019 |  Kaguya •  Fumino •  Gray •  Ishtar
| |||
| 2020 |  Kotoko •  Kei S.SEQ •  Chizuru •  Elaina
| |||
| 2021 | Female |  MikuND, SEQ •  IinoND, SEQ •  Keke DC •  RanND, SEQ
| ||
| Male |  TanjiroSEQ, DC •  NatsumeSEQ •  Kimihiko •  Lugh
| |||
| 2022 | ||||
| ND - NOT a DEBUTANT; appeared in a seasonal contest beforehand SEQ - Appeared in a SEQUEL installment DC - Won inter-seasonal playoffs (Divine Circlet / Crown) DCX - Won inter-seasonal playoffs but not a seasonal (listed last) | ||||
