Highlights
- Don’t overlook Chachamaru in Demon Slayer – this hard-working calico cat familiar has a unique backstory and important role.
- As Tamayo’s sidekick, Chachamaru collects demon blood samples for her medical work, showing resilience in the face of danger.
- Keep an eye out for Chachamaru’s appearances in the manga and anime – this minor character plays an important role in the series.
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Name |
Chachamaru |
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Manga Debut |
Chapter 25, “Believe in Yourself” |
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Anime Debut |
Episode 13, “Something More Important Than Life” |
Demon Slayer has no shortage of memorable characters, with a huge cast of humans, demons, and more spread across its (currently) four seasons. Plus there are even more in the manga! So it is no surprise that sometimes smaller, if no less important, characters may be forgotten or overshadowed by the hard hitters. And in the case of this minor character, his name is only mentioned once in the anime, even though he does appear several times across multiple seasons.
That character is Chachamaru, who is named in the manga, thankfully, though even if you read it as well, you may not remember him. Chachamaru is a small, cute boy who is very hard-working. He can also teleport and disappear into literally nothing. And he is helping Tanjiro with his mission to help Nezuko.
WARNING: This contains minor spoilers for the Demon Slayeranime and manga series.
Who is Chachamaru in Demon Slayer?
Chachamaru is a familiar that belongs to the Tamayo, a demon doctor who is trying to help Tanjiro with his quest. Chachamaru is a calico cat, which in reality are almost always female, but Chachamaru is listed as male on a poster in the spin-off series Kimetsu Academy. He is the only known demon in the Demon Slayer universe who was never a human to begin with, having been changed into a demon by Tamayo from being just a normal cat before. It was revealed in Volume 22 of the manga in the extra pages that Chachamaru was fine with the decision to become a demon because of his love for Tamayo, though Tamayo felt guilty for transforming him at the time.
As Tamayo’s familiar, Chachamaru helps her with her medical work. Specifically, he helps Tanjiro collect samples of demon blood to take back to Tamayo to study. Whenever Tanjiro dispatches a particulary strong demon, Chachamaru suddenly appears at the scene, taking the blood back to Tamayo in his tiny backpack. Unlike other demons, Chachamaru can also survive being beheaded, so while he may not be powerful in a fight, he is certainly resilient.
Unfortunately there is very little other information available about Chachamaru. That has not kept him from having fans, however, and he often shows up on merchandise, especially alongside Tamayo or Yushiro – and has even gotten his own plushie in Japan. He is a cute calico cat after all, so it goes without saying that he has fans despite not having that much screen time.
Chachamaru’s Appearances in Demon Slayer
Chachamaru first appeared in the first season of Demon Slayer when Tanjiro travelled to Ginza in Tokyo, and met the mysterious demon cat at Tamayo’s clinic. This was when Chachamaru was enlisted to help Tanjiro on his journey by collecting blood for Tamayo from the demons Tanjiro kills. Chachamaru first did this job during the Tsuzumi Castle Arc, collecting the blood of the Lower Six demon Kyogai after Tanjiro killed him.
For the first season of Demon Slayer, that was Chachamaru’s only appearance, so it is easy to understand why he may be forgotten by some fans. However, he came back in the Entertainment District Arc, collecting the blood of the Upper Six demons Gyutaro and Daki after a long and difficult battle. He then appears once more in the most recent Swordsmith Village Arc, and while he does not collect blood after the arduous battles there, he does deliver a note from Tamayo to Tanjiro revealing that Nezuko may be resistent to sunlight (which proves to be true).
The rest of Chachamaru’s appearances are only known from the manga (at the time of this artcile’s publishing). Stop reading now and skip this paragraph if you do not want any spoilers for the manga, which may influence future seasons of the anime. Chachamaru does show up in the Infinity Castle Arc and plays an extremely important role. During the battle with Muzan, he delivers an important antitode to Muzan’s poisonous attacks. He pays the price, though, and is dismembered by Muzan, though is luckily able to be put back together by Yushiro and survives the encounter.
Chachamaru may only be a minor character in Demon Slayer, but he plays an important role nonetheless. Next time you are watching the anime or reading the manga, keep your eyes open for this little calico feline now that you know a little more about who and what he is. Considering the manga is complete, there is unlikely to be any new information revealed about Chachamaru than we already have, but he could always end up in an OVA, omake, or another spin-off series. There is no information as to how he was transformed into a demon, for instance, which would be really interesting to see.
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