Summary

Kanao Tsuyuri's challenging past shaped her into a quiet and emotionless character.
Despite slow character development, Kanao's growth from coin reliance to independence is crucial.
The delay in giving Kanao the spotlight in the series allowed for realistic and believable character evolution.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba features quite a few interesting characters who come from different backgrounds and have endured unimaginable tragedies that have shaped their character and worldview. Among these eccentric yet strong characters, Kanao Tsuyuri is often overlooked and does not receive the limelight she deserves.

Throughout the series, there have been many battles where fans feel that she could have played an important role, but she barely gets the chance to showcase her talent. With Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle movies about to release and Tsuyuri guaranteed to get some limelight, some might wonder if it's already too late for her to make a lasting impact.

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By Oluwatokiloba Folami

Kanao Tsuyuri's Character Development So Far

Kanao Has Been Through Quite a Few Ups and Downs in Her Life

Manga Debut: Chapter 6
Anime Debut: Episode 4

Many years before the events of the main storyline, Kanao Tsuyuri was born to neglectful parents who showed no concern for her or her siblings. Growing up in an impoverished neighborhood, she endured unimaginable horrors that turned her into a quiet and emotionless child. As if this abuse was already not bad enough, her parents had the audacity to sell her into slavery. By this point, Kanao had endured so much psychological and physical abuse that she could no longer process sadness.

Somehow I feel the people I care for and those important to me will still be alive tomorrow. But that's just my hope and there's no way I can promise that with any certainty. Why do people... Believe such things? ~ Kanao Tsuyuri

Luckily, as the man who bought her was taking her home, Kanae and Shinobu noticed the weak and barefoot girl being dragged along. The Kocho sisters not only stood up for her but also helped Kanao escape a life of slavery by tricking the corrupt man. Although she had been freed and now had a much better life ahead of her, the influence of the abuse she had endured was quite debilitating. Kanao no longer had the psychological desire or the understanding to make her own decisions.

At the Butterfly Mansion, she eventually leaned towards becoming a demon slayer instead of helping with the chores or learning to make medicines. She observed Kanae closely and taught herself Flower Breathing. Kanao then went ahead and cleared the Final Selection, without ever asking for anyone's permission. It seems that after she was freed, Kanao slowly developed some capacity to make her own decisions.

But by the time she met Tanjiro, Kanao still relied on a coin to make most of her life choices. Even her conversations were robotic and seemed rehearsed. But as mentioned earlier, Kanao had made some progress already. Following her conversation with Tanjiro, she starts relying less on her coin and becomes even more independent.

Kanao Tsuyuri's character development can be painfully slow when seen from the angle of the chronological progression of the story. But since viewers learn about it in a brief flashback, her struggles are somewhat trivialized and overshadowed by other characters' backstories.

Was Kanao Given the Spotlight Too Late in the Series?

Kanao Tsuyuri obviously did not get the screen time that many of her fans would have liked. But looking at her character development and her past life, it makes sense why that is the case. Ever since Kamado joined the Demon Slayer Corps, he has participated in high-stakes missions. Some of them included fighting the Upper Moons of the Twelve Kizuki. Getting the spotlight would have meant Kanao fighting these intense battles that required split-second decision-making and accepting unimaginable loss as part of the job.

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However, even in the Rehabilitation Training arc, Kanao was still hopelessly dependent on a coin to make basic decisions in life. While she was undoubtedly a strong combatant, skill alone barely meant much when deep psychological scars from the past still haunted her. As a character, Kanao needed to be given enough time to evolve and overcome her abusive past. Koyoharu Gotouge appears to have known that and made the smart decision to keep her as a background character for most of the series. This made Kanao's backstory more believable.

It would have been absurd if Tsuyuri went from flipping a coin to make basic life decisions to fighting an Upper Moon within an arc. So, her eventually getting the spotlight in the Infinity Castle arc feels quite natural since she has been undergoing psychological and emotional growth in the background- even before the events of the main storyline.

I wanted to protect her. I wanted to risk my life for her. I wanted to go home together.

Kanao learning to make her decisions, then slowly growing a deep-rooted hatred for the demons for hurting people she loved, to eventually using all the negative energy to fight a battle with her life on the line is a slow but important process in her character development. Therefore, Kanao Tsuyuri not getting the spotlight until the Infinity Castle arc is not only not a bad thing, but it makes her character more believable and realistic.