Inosuke Hashibira exploded on to the scene ofDemon Slayer’s first season in typical Inosuke fashion: screaming, fighting, and forgetting people’s names. Two seasons and a movie down the line of Koyoharu Gotouge’s intricate plot, Inosuke has changed greatly from the feral wild child he used to be.
Challenging childhood moments have shaped him into an independent being that only fended for himself. Now, through near-death adventures with his friends and the Hashira, Inosuke is being further moulded into a person who cares deeply for those close to him. Here is how Inosuke has transformed over the course of theDemon Slayernarrative, thus far.
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Introducing Inosuke: the Tsuzumi Mansion arc
We first meet Inosuke at thedemon Kyogai’s mansion. Kyogai traps his victims by using his blood demon art to alter the interior structure of his manion, confusing the victims' bearings. Zenitsu and Shoichi fall victim to this ability, and go around opening as many doors as possible to escape. Behind one of these doors, was a room that entrapped Inosuke. When Zenitsu opened it, Inosuke burst through to fight Kyogai, eventually Tanjiro and has been kicking and punching demons ever since.
Inosuke’s childhood was an unusual one. He lost his mother to a demon and was raised by boars. Eventually, the sow that was mothering him passed away, which led to Inosuke fending for himself for the majority of his life. Chances are, Inosuke does not interact with humans often. When he does come across people, he sees them merely as subjects to test his strength against. This is evident in the story of how he became a demon slayer in the first place. He came across a young demon slayer in training, and declared a contest with him. If he won, he would take his nichirin blades. Inosuke was victorious, learnt about demons and passed the Final Selection. He also views demons in this way. When he faces Kyogai, he says that he serves as his “springboard” so that he can become even stronger.
He also picks a fight with Tanjiro in the middle of battling Kyogai alongside him. He steps on Teruko, the little girl Tanjiro rescued, and taunts him with his blades. Furthermore, he fights Tanjiro again when he tries to protect Nezuko’s box from Inosuke’s attack, as he senses that she’s a demon hiding inside it. It is clearly established that Inosuke acts with his fists first. Considering that a big part of his fighting is totest and boost his strength, he views demons and humans as nothing more than test subjects to advance his physical prowess.
Wisteria House
After defeating Kyogai, Inosuke travels to Wisteria House with Tanjiro, Zenitsu and a boxed Nezuko to rest and heal theirinjuries. Inosuke’s etiquette and manners, or lack thereof, are both entertaining and horrific. Zenitsu in particular is in awe at how uncouth he is. He does not eat with utensils, is rude to the owner of the House and continues to pick fights over things as silly as choosing a bed to sleep in.
Inosuke at this point has no attachment to Tanjiro orZenitsu. His time at Wisteria House is simply to recover, he even forgot about wanting to kill Nezuko. We hear anecdotes on Inosuke’s view on the world, but nothing more. Even when he and Zenitsu see Nezuko for the first time, he does not seem to care at all. He does not seem to consider Tanjiro, Zenitsu or Nezuko as friends; yet, at least.
The Battle at Mount Natagumo
To no surprise, Inosuke charges into the forest at Mount Natagumo first, with Tanjiro behind him. Given the eerie and possibly fatal situation they are in,Tanjirotells Inosuke that he is happy to be there with him. He says that the ominous scent that the mountain emitted scared him a little, but he was glad that Inosuke went in with him to survey the area. For once, Inosuke is rendered silent. He immediately changed from being aggressive to flabbergasted at Tanjiro’s kind words towards him.
He remembers the owner of the Wisteria House, who was also kind to him. She offered to wash his soiled clothing, gave him a fresh and soft robe to wear and made himtempura for dinner. She also left them with encouraging words before they departed for the mountain. He digests these two acts of kindness in utter silence and disbelief. Under the boar’s head, he probably looked wide-eyed, shocked, and maybe a little confused; his silence, however, spoke volumes.
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He was raised by animals, who don’t show emotion in the way humans do. He most likely has never heard anyone treat him this way, as he was never surrounded by humans. Inosuke also viewed people as ways of testing his strength, so it is likely that he never gave anyone the chance to get to know him. It would be unsurprising ifTanjiroand Zenitsu are the first humans to spend this much time with him, which results naturally in them knowing him better than most. This realization likely left Inosuke feelings emotions he doesn’t know what to do with, which would explain his shock and silence.
He kept feeling this giddy warmth of support as Tanjiro displays some form of postivity towards him throughout this arc, such as telling him that he did a good job and saving him from being killed in the forest by ademon. Throughout this arc, Inosuke and Tanjiro have been fighting closely together. A rapport is slowly developing between them, peppered with typical Inosuke-isms of competitiveness and aggression.
At this point, he is showing more visible care for Tanjiro. When they fight the Father, he worries greatly about Tanjiro when the demon tosses him far away. He promises Tanjiro that he won’t die, and he tries his absolute hardest to fulfill that promise. When he is losing his fight against theFatherand thinking he is going to die, his life flashes before his eyes. He remembers Tanjiro and Zenitsu in this montage, which could indicate that he will miss them when he’s gone.
Inosuke’s Instincts About the Mugen Train
TheMugen Trainarcmostly focused on Tanjiro, but Inosuke’s intelligence and instincts are not to be overlooked. His subconscious depicted Inosuke leading Tanjiro and the gang (otherwised known as the “underlings” in his dream") through a cave, with the villain of the dream being a centipede-esque version of the train. In his dream, Inosuke is the heroic leader of the group who takes down the evil train. When one of Enmu’s minions infiltrate Inosuke’s mind to destroy his spiritual core, he picks it up the fastest out of the rest of the group.
Inosuke’s perception is noteworthy in this arc. This may be his animal instincts, so it is not necessarily a change for the character. However, these gut feelings ofInosuke’s will prove useful to the group later.
The Entertainment District Arc
At this point, Inosuke has established Tanjiro and Zenitsu as his closest allies. Throughout their undercover mission in theEntertainment District, Inosuke has shown that he takes their mission seriously and communicates with Tanjiro rather than fight with him, unlike before.
In the final fight againstGyutaro and Daki, Inosuke is more dependable and willing to work with the group rather than for himself. He wants to save Tanjiro from the demons and works alongside Zenitsu to find them. He also coordinates his fighting with Zenitsu against Daki. When Tanjiro asks him to do something, he does it with understanding and doesn’t push back. At the end of the second season, Inosuke is seen crying in the arms of Tanjiro and Zenitsu out of gratitude that they all survived.
Inosuke has grown from a lone wolf to being a part of a pack. He has adjusted his ways from fending for himself, to caring about others, especiallyTanjiroand Zenitsu. He has a group to call his own now, and works with them as teammates and friends, rather than competing with them to prove he’s better. Although, his new-found bonds do not exempt him from typical Inosuke aggression and brashness, some things never change.
