“I don’t want you to die… because… my big brother… is… the nicest person in the world.”
General Information
- Japanese Voice Actor: Nobuhiko Okamoto
- English Voice Actor: Zeno Robinson
- Age: 16
- Manga Debut: Chapter 6
- Anime Debut: Season 1 Episode 4
- Race: Human
- Gender: Male
- Status: Deceased
History
Stone Hashira Gyomei Himejima discovered Genya. Genya has no talent for any breathing style, so the Stone Hashira did not take him as a Tsuguko. Genya can also gain demonic power by eating a part of the demon.
Genya joined the Demon Slayer Corps not to slay demons but to look for his older brother, the Wind Hashira, Sanemi Shizanugawa. Genya and Sanemi are born to a hardworking mother and an abusive father.
When they were young, their father would beat all of them, and their mother would always protect them. In the eyes of Genya, his mother was amazing. Their father, hated by everyone in the village, was stabbed by an unknown person.
One time, their mother came home late. Sanemi went out to look for their mother. While waiting, Genya and his other siblings went to bed. When they heard a loud knock on the door, all the younger children ran to the door.
Before they could open the door, it was cut, and the children who ran to the door were cut too. Genya gained a wound on his face when their home was attacked, which later left a huge scar. Sanemi came to jump through the window and wrestled with the monster. Genya’s instinct was to press on the wounds of his siblings and run for help.
When he returned, he saw his brother holding a knife over their mother’s dead body. Out of shock, he started accusing Sanemi of murder and hurling slurs at him. Sanemi ran away. Genya was left holding the deceased body of their mother, and as the sun rose, the body disintegrated.
Genya realized his mistake a little too late. Genya joined the Demon Slayer Corps to reconcile with his brother. Sanemi would rather turn his back on his brother than have business with him.
Genya took the Final Selection exam alongside Tanjiro, Zenitsu, Inosuke, and Kanao. After passing the 7-day trial, Genya asked about the Nichirin sword, and when his inquiry was not answered, he grabbed the hair of Kanata Ubuyashiki.
Tanjiro warned Genya to stop grabbing Kanata’s hair, or Tanjiro will break Genya’s arm. Not listening to Tanjiro’s warning, Genya nursed his broken limbs. Genya would avoid the Butterfly Mansion when Tanjiro and the others were staying there whenever they were injured.
When they were in the Swordsmith Village, Genya would continue to ridicule Tanjiro. He would also avoid Mitsuri not out of spite but out of admiration. Genya was heavily injured in their fight against Upper Demons 4 and 5.
During the Hashira training, Genya approached Sanemi and apologized. Sanemi instead told Genya that he had no brother. When Genya tells Sanemi that he ate demons to gain power, Sanemi gets angry and hits Genya. Genya did not get hit as he was pushed away by Tanjiro.
When they were with Gyomei, Genya told him he was a terrible teacher and showed Tanjiro the repetitive movement technique.
During the Infinity Castle Arc, Genya’s ability had been proven useful. While fighting demons, he can absorb their power and ability when he takes a bite of their flesh. While fighting Kokushibo, Sanemi asked Genya why he joined the Corps.
Genya told Sanemi that he wanted to protect him. This angered Sanemi. Even after taking a bit of Kokushibo’s hair and gaining some of his abilities, Genya still lost his life.
Physical Appearance
In his first appearance during the Final Selection, he is a short young man who wears a purple kimono. The scar on the right side of his face is pretty evident, and he wears a mohawk style of hair. Later in the series, Genya had a growth spurt, and he became a six-footer.
His hair had also grown, but he was still sporting a mohawk. He also became muscular, wearing an olive green version of the Demon Slayer uniform.
Personality
Genya is suffering from an inferiority complex. From the beginning, he sensed that he had lesser abilities than his comrades. He always gets disappointed because he cannot use any breathing techniques. As a result, he does not like working with others. He is ill-tempered and has a foul mouth.
He has no problem handling others roughly as long as he gets what he wants. Later, he started working with his colleagues, knowing that it was the only way to succeed.
He started to do what he could to help his allies, even if it meant putting his life on the line. He cares deeply for his brother. Despite the slurs hurled at him by Sanemi, he bears it all as long as he can be with him.
Ability
Genya has the ability that others never had. He can transform into a demon whose flesh or body parts he can eat. This ability was useful when battling the Upper Moon during the Infinity Castle Arc. He was able to bite some hair from Kukoshibo, and he was able to reattach his arms that were decapitated.
Since Genya cannot use a sword, as he does not have a talent for breathing style, he uses a double-barrel gun. He could use a flesh gun when he bit off a part of Kukoshibo’t hair.
A flesh gun is a technique where Genya can detach his cell and use it as part of a gun. Kukoshibo’s sword has eyes, and so Genya’s sword has eyes, too, and this technique increases the accuracy of his gun when firing it.
Even though he does not use any breathing technique, he is proficient in using a Nichirin sword. When he stopped using his sword, he used his Nichirin shotgun. He may not use any breathing style, but he is an excellent combatant.
