Zenitsu's Powers From Demon Slayer Explained

The popular anime "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba" is known for its intense fight sequences, heartwarming moments, and creepy demons. It centers on a teenage boy named Tanjiro Kamado who trains to become a demon slayer once he discovers his entire family has been murdered by a demon — except for his sister, Nezuko. He embarks on a journey to become a powerful demon slayer and find a way to turn Nezuko human again, while meeting plenty of friends and foes along the way.

Tanjiro's two closest friends and travel companions in "Demon Slayer" are Inosuke Hashibira and Zenitsu Agatsuma, both of whom also survived in the same Final Selection group as Tanjiro. Though their powers differ, each demon slayer has an impressive set of abilities that allow them to fight demons successfully. While Tanjiro uses Water Breathing to fight and Inosuke uses Beast Breathing, Zenitsu has his own set of unique powers — though he didn't always realize he had them.

Zenitsu first appeared in Episode 4, as the examinees gather before their Final Selection exam in hopes of surviving and getting to train as demon slayers. Our first glance of Zenitsu shows him looking pensive, though knowing his tendency to be a nervous wreck, he was likely terrified. He ends up making it out of the Final Selection alive, but he's not happy about it. In fact, he's upset — he was hoping he would die and get out of having to fight demons. He's not at all confident in himself, often repeating that he "knows he'll die soon" and "it's only a matter of time."

Fortunately for him, he does have amazing powers. Otherwise, he likely wouldn't have made it out of the demon-infested examination. As the show progresses, we realize the extent of Zenitsu's powers before he does — partly because he accesses those powers in an unusual way.

In the first few episodes that feature Zenitsu, he appears to be a whiny weakling who survives out of sheer luck. However, that changes in Episode 12 "The Boar Bares Its Fangs, Zenitsu Sleeps." Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and two children are stuck in the Tsuzumi Mansion that's controlled by a demon. When the group is split up, Zenitsu and the young boy named Shoichi are left together, with Zenitsu screaming and freaking out the whole time. Eventually, his cries draw the attention of another demon that chases them and prepares to attack.

As the demon gets closer, he describes how he's going to eat their brains with his creepy demon tongue. Zenitsu is overcome with fear and faints, leaving the terrified Shoichi to fend for himself. Suddenly, while asleep, Zenitsu stands and fights with an impressive strength, and we see his Thunder Breathing powers for the first time. After defeating the demon, he wakes up and immediately forgets everything that just happened, and he thanks a very confused Shoichi for saving them.

Throughout the show, we see this same pattern of Zenitsu falling asleep — usually due to passing out from terror — and becoming extremely quick, powerful, and confident, only to wake up without realizing the extent of his powers.

Much like Tanjiro and the other powerful demon slayers, Zenitsu has a heightened sense that helps him detect danger. While Tanjiro has an amazing sense of smell, Zenitsu has a heightened sense of hearing. This is shown early on when he hears the scared children outside of the Tsuzumi Mansion before he or Tanjiro ever see them. Zenitsu also hears the demon drumming from within the house before they enter, which (not surprisingly) makes him extremely terrified about approaching it.

Once they escape from the Tsuzumi Mansion, Tanjiro finds Zenitsu bruised after protecting the box Nezuko is kept in from Inosuke. Zenitsu explains that he defended the box because Tanjiro called it his most prized possession. He knew that Nezuko was inside the whole time, because demons sound different than humans. He goes on to explain his powerful hearing abilities, saying "All living creatures constantly give off vibrations. The world is full of sounds ringing out: breathing, heartbeats, the rhythm of blood circulating. By listening closely, I'm able to tell what kind of thoughts are going through someone's head."

When Zenitsu is asleep, he's able to access his natural abilities as a powerful swordsman. He uses the Thunder Breathing fighting style, and he was trained by the former Thunder Hashira named Jigoro Kuwajima. In his fights against demons, we see that Zenitsu can generate flashes of lightning when performing exceptionally powerful attacks. Zenitsu also uses a Nichirin Blade like all the other demon slayers, which is specially made to kill demons due to the sun-absorbing ore it's made from.

Zenitsu is also an extremely quick fighter, often surprising his opponents by striking quickly before they realize what hit them. We first get a peek at his skill when he's fighting the demon in Tsuzumi Mansion; He slices the demon's tongue off before the demon has time to dodge Zenitsu's weapon. Though Zenitsu only learned one attack, he did so to perfection, and can execute it at outstanding speed.

Much to his dismay, Zenitsu is not quite popular with the ladies. In fact, he tends to repel women and earn much-deserved slaps in the face when he crosses the line. As a side effect of his cowardice, Zenitsu really wants to marry a girl before he inevitably dies in combat. However, he goes about it in a horrible way, often harassing strangers and making a giant nuisance of himself.

While Zenitsu is quite awful when it comes to his "romantic" side, his obsession with girls also enables him to gather strength. When Zenitsu, Tanjiro, and Inosuke are training at the Butterfly Mansion, Zenitsu overpowers both of the other boys at the same time when he gets upset that they were spending time with girls and complaining about it. He also gets extremely defensive of Nezuko, finding what little bravery he has and using it to either run after her and keep her from harm, or attempt to defend her honor. The fact that his powers increase when he's around women could actually help him find a match if he wasn't so problematic any other time he speaks of and interacts with girls.

Love him or hate him, Zenitsu is a powerful fighter who more than deserves a spot in the Demon Slayer Corps. We can't wait to see how his powers progress over the future seasons of "Demon Slayer."