Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Vol. 1

Tanjiro Kamado is the main protagonist of Demon Slayer. He is a teenage boy with black-and-burgundy hair and dark red eyes. Like all characters in this volume, he wears traditional Japanese clothing, including a green-and-black checked robe, a blue scarf, and leg wrappings. Tanjiro has a large pink scar on his forehead: While this volume does not explore the scar, it is significant to both his history and abilities as a demon slayer. He also wears hanafuda earrings with the image of a rising sun; hanafuda, or “flower card,” is a Japanese playing card. Like his scar, his earrings are significant to the plot, as they resemble the imperial Japanese flag used in the beginning of the 20th century. When the Demon Slayer anime was released in China, South Korea, and several other East Asian countries, Tanjiro’s hanafuda earrings were slightly changed out of respect to people affected by imperial Japan’s colonization and war crimes during World War II (Mulugeta, Mezi. “Demon Slayer: Why Tanjiro’s Earrings Were So Controversial,” ScreenRant, 17 August 2022).

Tanjiro’s main traits are his kindness and selflessness. Before his family is killed, he goes to a nearby village to sell charcoal.