Imagine a world where the daylight is your biggest protector and shadows hide unimaginable demonic powers. Such is the reality ofDemon Slayer. The show presents a world where humanity lives in fear of deadly demons lurking at night to feed upon humans.
But, to protect humanity, the Demon Slayers stood up to face this evil. So, they fought back hard with the help of their incredible combat skills, paired with their breathing styles. These abilities give them enough agility and power to unleash their wrath in a breathtaking fashion thanks to the show’s animation. One such powerful yet mysterious style is moon breathing. It’s the only breathing style thatis also a blood demon art.
Origins Of Moon Breathing
In Demon Slayer,every breathing style is rooted in nature’s basic elements, as these are the source of their power.Just like how Yoriichi’s Sun Breathing techniquederived its power from the sun, his twin brother Michikatsu Tsugikuni, eventually known as Kokushibo,created the moon breathing techniquewith its foundation being the moon’s energy.
In comparison to the legendary sun breathing,this technique had the same elegance and precisionbut differed in execution, as it featuredcrescent-shaped attacks that mirrored the moon, which perfectly explains the origin of its name.
Five centuries ago,Yoriichi created the concept of breathing stylesand became its first master. He then tried to teach his technique to his disciples,adjusting it to suit their nature. Over time, his students adapted it further and developedentirely new breathing styles of their own.
Michikatsu constantly tried to surpass Yoriichi’s talents and train himself to the pointwhere he perfected his breathing style. However, all his efforts failed because he was inherently different from Yoriichi, and it was not natural for him to learn such a technique. But he oftendoubted his own abilities and felt he might not be as talented as Yoriichi. This constant self-doubt pushed him tocreate an entirely new breathing style for himself.
Who Was Kokushibo?
About five centuries ago,before the events of the main series, during the Sengoku era,there were two twin brothers, Michikatsu and Yoriichi Tsugikuni. Both were incredibly skilled, but Yoriichi,being a natural prodigy, went on to become the first-ever Demon Slayer. Michikatsu, jealous of his brother’s talent,kept trying to outdo himbut couldn’t manage tomaster Yoriichi’s breathing technique.
His jealousy andthe fear of death pushed him to seek immortality, and when such feelings became really strong,the Demon King, Muzan Kibutsuji,persuaded Michikatsu to transform into a demon. In doing so, Michikatsubecame one of Muzan’s Twelve Kizukiand changedhis name to Kokushibo, making him slowly descend into the dark path. He made it his mission to defeat Yoriichi, just to prove thathe is the greatest samurai to exist.
Eventually, Michikatsu defeated Yoriichi, but only because Yoriichidied right as he was about to kill Michikatsu. Now that Kokushibo knew that he would never be able to prove himself, he spent the next centuriespolishing his moon breathing techniqueand making it incredibly strong.
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Dark Moon, Evening Palace
A rapid technique, which executesa horizontal slash that generates numerous crescent-shaped bladeswith absolute power in rapid succession, enough to target multiple enemies at once.
2
Pearl Flower Moongazing
It involvesrapid forward-moving attacks in three crescent shapesthat then produce ripples of slashes, making it hard to counterattack.
3
Loathsome Moon, Chains
It producestwo crescent-shaped broad slasheswith a flowing sequence of strikes in a smaller area, cornering the opponents.
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Moon Spirit, Calamitous Eddy
It creates spiral slashes,producing a deadly vortex, even without a katana.
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Mirror of Misfortune, Moonlit
By the use of an altered katana, a singular frontal slash is produced that releasesmultiple straight and curved slashes with absolute precision.
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Drilling Slashes, Moon through Bamboo Leaves
Createsa triple-layered slashfollowed by several smaller ones, splitting the enemies into three clean parts.
11
Black Ring, Lunar Eclipse
Twirls the katana to produce multiple slashes that forma tornado attack.
12
Waxing Moonstones
Requires a backflip and reverses the grip beforeswinging the rear side of the katanato the ground to send spinning slashes.
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Midnight Anarchy, Animosity
Createsfour clashes targeting the knees and shoulders of the enemies, and then a spinning attack rips apart their ribs in halves.
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Orbiting Destructive Worlds, Creation
Dozens of slashes orbit around the user’s body, providing him with a brilliant defense.
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Moonbow, Half Moon
A lethal finishing move. By swinging the sword upwards, a barrage of six powerful, curved slashes is created that rains down as meteors.
With his demonic powers, Kokushibo also went on to createhis own blood demon art to complement his moon breathing. With time, moon breathing became a symbol of Michikatsu’s identity,still making him the only person to ever use it. Due to this ability alone, he is consideredone of the most dangerous demonsto have ever existed after Muzan.
He was such a master of the moon breathing technique that he developedalmost sixteen different forms of this style. Even Muzanconsiders him to be a partner, rather than a servant, showing just how strong Kokushibo and moon breathing are.
