Highlights
- Zenitsu provides comic relief and breaks tension in Demon Slayer with his eccentric personality and dramatic reactions.
- Despite his cowardly nature, Zenitsu plays a crucial role in the series, offering a voice of reason and showcasing his strength when needed.
- Zenitsu’s fear of demons reminds viewers of the danger and terror they pose, contrasting with the series’ protagonists who face them head-on.
Agatsuma Zenitsu is a pivotal character in the popular series Demon Slayer. While Zenitsu can be cowardly and a nag, his dramatic reactions bring a breath of fresh air to the series. While Tanjiro is on an ambitious and dangerous mission to find a cure for his younger sister, often bringing a serious tone to the series, Zenitsu usually breaks the tension with his eccentric personality during the quiet times in the anime.
Due to this, Zenitsu’s character is essential to the series, as it helps the other characters wind down from their grueling battles and become as normal as teenagers working to fight Demons can be. However, although Zenitsu can be seen running away from his responsibilities, he often succumbs to the pressures of others and does his duty faithfully.
What role does Zenitsu play in Demon Slayer?
Agatsuma Zenitsu is one of the main characters in Demon Slayer, along with Kamado Tanjiro and Hashibira Inosuke. While Tanjiro and Inosuke can consistently be seen training and leveling up their breathing techniques, Zenitsu, on the other hand, is cowardly and often dislikes training sessions. In the world of Demon Slayer, where Demons run rampant, Zenitsu is the only character who doesn’t want to fight Demon due to his cowardly nature; however, Demons are rightfully terrifying and thus not for the faint of heart.
This starkly contrasts with Tanjiro, who seeks a cure for his younger sister, Nezuko, to turn her back into a human. As a result, Tanjiro trains tirelessly to fight the many Demons to find a cure and stop Muzan in his tracks. While Zenitsu is cowardly and often dislikes fighting, he brings a sense of reality to the series because Demons can be terrifying, and the survival rate is low.
While many of the Demon Slayers work tirelessly to stop the Demon’s tracks and Muzan’s plans, Zenitsu helps the characters remember they are teenagers during their downtime while bickering with Inosuke and showcasing his crush for Nezuko. Although Tanjiro and Inosuke can provide a few laughs from the audience, Zenitsu’s melodramatic personality about Demons is the laughs we need when the show is at a standstill.
Zenitsu is the friend who will be the voice of reason within the group. While Tanjiro and Inosuke will be the first to jump in to assist those in need, Zenitsu’s realistic approach makes us reconsider putting ourselves in danger. Overall, Zenitsu completes the dynamic with his anxious nature, as Tanjiro is the straightforward and hardworking protagonist, and Inosuke could be seen as the country bumpkin only seeking battle.
How Zenitsu breaks the tension in the show
While many will frown at Zenitsu’s cowardly nature, he also brings laughter and comedy to the series. Aside from working a job, he doesn’t want to do, when Zenitsu really puts his mind into battle, he showcases incredible talent and strength. When we first meet Zenitsu, he begs a village girl to marry him. Tanjiro quickly stops his shenanigans, and Zenitsu confesses he wants to get married because he might die on the next mission.
Previously, we’ve seen Tanjiro undergo rigorous training and take on his mission, placing a serious note on the series. However, Zenitsu’s character brings comedy with his ridiculous reactions and eccentric personality. As a result, whenever Zenitsu makes his way into the frame, it’s likely to bring forth a few laughs from the audience.
While Zenitsu can mostly be seen fawning after Nezuko, his dislike for training, and his avoidance of fighting Demons, when Zenitsu does participate in battle, audiences are often in awe of his abilities. Although the Kamado siblings and Inosuke bring their own type of comedy to the show, Zenitsu’s over-the-top reactions are the most memorable.
Zenitsu can also be seen as the voice of reason in Demon Slayer. When confronted with outrageous training regimes, Zenitsu’s personality often evokes a sense of, “How is it possible to accomplish this feat?” thus showcasing a dramatic reaction when it can be accomplished. Due to this, Zenitsu’s reactions are a much-welcome change of pace from the series.
Zenitsu reminds us that Demons are actually terrifying
Time and time again, we see Zenitsu avoiding battle with Demons. To the average citizen in Demon Slayer, demons do not exist, and their existence remains secret until they have been targeted by one. For many characters in the Demon Slaying Corps, battling Demons is a daily occurrence and thus can be seen as their “normal.”
However, Zenitsu’s cowardly nature often reminds us that all the characters are human and face a serious chance of death. As viewers following Tanjiro and his mission to defeat Muzan and cure Nezuko from her demonification, we often won’t see battling Demons as something to be afraid of, as our protagonist showcases the determination and strength to defeat them. However, Zenitsu’s outrageous reactions often remind us that battling Demons is rightfully terrifying and scary.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba can be streamed on Netflix.
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