After the harrowing conclusion of the Mugen Train arc in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, the critically-acclaimed anime series follows the conventions of its manga's writing and takes its colorful cast of characters back to the modern streets of early 1900s Tokyo. This new story arc, known officially as the Entertainment District arc, throws our heroes back into the fray on a rescue and demon elimination assignment with little time to process recent events. The job of a member of the Demon Slayer Corps is never done, it seems. The Entertainment District arc brings familiar faces back to the fore as well as introducing a few new characters of its own, and it's worth looking into these characters before the arc is well underway. Here's a guide to the characters of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.
Tanjiro Kamado
The hero of Demon Slayer, undertaking an arduous journey to defeat the Demon King Muzan Kibutsuiji and cure his sister, Nezuko, of her demonic transformation. He's hit the ground running as a Demon Slayer, learning on the fly as he combats demons, often succeeding only by the skin of his teeth and his unshakeable determination. Despite his growth and tapping into the potential of the Breathing Style known as the Hinokami Kagura (Dance of the Fire God), he wasn't able to save everyone aboard the Mugen Train.
During the battle against the demons, Enmu and Akaza, the Flame Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku was slain, significantly weakening the Demon Slayer Corps as a whole by losing one of their most crucial leaders. This profoundly steeled Tanjiro's resolve going forward, and he'll need his newfound abilities and grit to assist him as he accompanies the Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui on a rescue mission to save his missing wives.
Nezuko Kamado
Tanjiro's younger sister and Demon Slayer's deuteragonist, transformed into a demon by Muzan at the beginning of the series. Fitted with a bamboo muzzle by the Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka, Nezuko has grown to resist the primal urges of a demon and aims to protect and co-exist with humans thanks, in part, to multi-year conditioning she underwent while asleep. Although she must be kept out of sunlight, Nezuko is a capable fighter and will go through significant physical harm to protect her brother and other humans, sustaining damage that would kill an ordinary person easily.
Over the course of the series to this point, Nezuko's abilities have developed and have come to light slowly, including in the Mugen Train arc. As the story proceeds into the Red-Light district of Yoshiwara, she may need to unleash even more of her potential to deal with the threats ahead.
Zenitsu Agatsuma
A fellow Demon Slayer that has accompanied Tanjiro, Nezuko, and Inosuke for many of their journies, Zenitsu comes off as a coward with a severe case of Impostor Syndrome. He's afraid of many things in the line of work of combatting demons, and often considers himself inadequate and posits that he'll die quickly due to the nature of his job. However, he still wishes to live up to the expectations of his late master, Jigoro Kuwajima (a former Thunder Hashira), and possesses a deep inner strength.
Despite his opinions to the contrary, Zenitsu is a talented and powerful swordsman, trained well in the Thunder Breathing art. His fear and anxiety over battle often cause him to pass out. However, when asleep, Zenitsu's nerves calm, and his true capabilities are unleashed. Zenitsu is capable of felling opponents in a single blow with quick, powerful lighting-themed sword arts.
Zenitsu is considerably obsessed with Nezuko romantically, constantly doting on her or calling out her name despite her relative inattention. There are plenty of attractive women in Yoshiwara, but Zenitsu seems to have eyes mostly for Nezuko, much to Tanjiro's chagrin.
Inosuke Hashibira
A wild man from the mountains clad in a boar's head and with an equally boisterous attitude, Inosuke is a fellow slayer and companion of Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Nezuko. Despite having a feminine visage facially, Inosuke prides himself on being masculine, hardy, and tough. He lives for battle and proving his superiority over his opponents, but occasionally is met with feelings that he doesn't quite understand due to his upbringing. Due to spending much of his life in the wilderness before becoming a Demon Slayer, Inosuke has little understanding of the modern world, often being confused and overwhelmed by modern accommodations of 20th-century Japanese cities in the Taishō period.
Fighting with a technique of his own known as Beast Breathing, Inosuke charges into battles headlong with little consideration for his well-being. This gung-ho persona also carries into day-to-day life, using his personality as a cudgel of sorts. Despite his attitude, he is deeply protective of those who have earned his respect and goes to great lengths to atone for his mistakes. This also manifests a certain desire for revenge in him, lusting to defeat an opponent who has escaped or bested him before. This makes Inosuke an incredibly erratic and tenacious fighter. Encountering a whole new world in Yoshiwara, Inosuke prepares himself to take on a new role unbefitting of him: Subterfuge.
Tengen Uzui
The current Sound Hashira in the Demon Slayer Corps, Tengen is one of the last known practitioners of the art of shinobi, being one before taking on his life as a slayer. He is boastful, flashy, and has a considerable appreciation for any form of perceived flamboyance. Although he has an over-the-top facade, Tengen still expects the very best from those assisting him, which will come into play considerably as he leads the way for the series' heroes in the Red-Light District. He inadvertently shows his caring side from time to time, especially towards his three wives; Makio, Hinatsuru, and Suma, who often assist him on missions.
Tengen is the fastest runner among the Hashira and also stands as one of the most physically capable of the group. His excellent skill and precision make him proficient not only with a blade but also with ninja tools such as explosives or kunai. His training in the ways of the shinobi also provides him with considerable resistance to poison, making him an incredibly difficult target to take down. His Sound Breathing and enhanced hearing also make Tengen an efficient tactician, being able to formulate entire plans around an opponent and their tendencies in just a few short moments. The Entertainment District arc begins as Tengen sets out into Tokyo to search for his wives, who went missing in Yoshiwara.
Makio
Makio is one of Tengen's kunoichi (lady ninja) wives, and a headstrong personality not too far removed from the likes of Inosuke. She says what she means and means what she says, and she isn't above getting into a scrap or a shouting match with Suma or Hinatsuru if she feels so inclined. As an individual trained in the arts of stealth and subterfuge like her counterparts, she is a capable combatant and performs well when scouting or gathering information for her husband, Tengen, and the Demon Slayer Corps.
Suma
One of Tengen's wives, and another kunoichi. She bears a melodramatic persona and often blows things out of proportion at a moment's notice. When things get dangerous, she is prone to fits of terror. Some may compare her disposition to that of Zenitsu. Despite this, she cares for Makio, Hinatsuru, and Tengen deeply and will do her best to keep them safe.
Hinatsuru
The calmest and most forward-thinking of Tengen's wives, Hinatsuru is a well-composed kunoichi that possesses no fear in battle or the field. She is meticulous in her planning much like her husband or even Tanjiro by comparison. Like Suma and Makio, she puts the survival of the trio and Tengen paramount compared to much else. She is hopeful they may all one day retreat from the front lines and live a peaceful life together as soon as Tengen and his wives are able to defeat an Upper member of Muzan's Twelve Kizuki demons.
Daki
Daki is an attractive young woman who was transformed into a demon, killing and consuming her way to the rank of Upper Rank Six within the Twelve Kizuki. Masquerading in the Red-Light district as an Oiran (a highly-regarded female courtesan), Daki has wrought havoc in her wake as she feasts upon wayward women within the district. This eventually drew the attention of Tengen's wives as well as the Demon Slayer Corps itself, leading to the mission in the Entertainment District arc.
Daki is prideful and sadistic, relishing in the suffering of others to a near child-like degree. She lashes out at any perceived critique of her capabilities as a demon. She can be prone to throwing tantrums or crying when things go awry, but retains a maturity to her that is sufficient enough to draw in her victims.
In battle, Daki manipulates an Obi sash that is both strong and sharp, capable of tearing her targets to ribbons. These sashes are sentient and are able to be extended to great lengths, capable of crisscrossing the district at her command. Over the course of her demonic life, she has been able to kill and eat seven previous Hashira, a testament to her power. Despite her capabilities, she shares her position of Upper Sixth Rank with her brother Gyutaro.
Gyutaro
Gyutaro is the other half of Upper Rank Six in the Twelve Kizuki and Daki's older brother. Turned into a demon roughly at the same time as his sister, he has a severe loathing of those he perceives as acting superior to him, a remnant of his enmity towards the upper-class people of Yoshiwara who looked down on him and his sister. He often compliments an opponent before dealing the killing blow, mocking his enemies as he watches them die.
Though Gyutaro shares Daki's sadistic streak, he isn't as petulant as his sibling. Despite this, he possesses a juvenile drive to take what he wants, regardless of consequences due to the upbringing he suffered in his human life. He can also self-harm in frustration, especially when losing control of a situation or while under severe distress.
Having killed over 15 Hashira himself through his 100+ years as a demon, Gyutaro has grown overconfident but is still an incredibly powerful demon. His powers allow him to detach his "core" from his body, and he can synergize parts of his power to enhance Daki's abilities. The two share a psychic connection and can share perceptions, and Gyutaro can even possess his sister's body to assist her in combat. His evasive nature and fluid body composition make him an incredibly difficult demon to kill, essentially being able to protect himself and his sister from death by decapitation, ruling out the simplest tool when it comes to slaying a demon.
Between Daki and Gyutaro, the Demon Slayers entering the Red-Light district will have their hands full, to say the least. Blood will be shed, limits will be pushed, and lives will be changed forever, for better or worse. Viewers who loved the Mugen Train arc will see the stakes just as high as ever as Demon Slayer steps into the next arc of the story full-steam ahead.