In the penultimate episode of season 3 of Demon Slayer, we have finally seen Mitsuri Kanroji, the Love Hashira, and her unique breathing style in all its glory. She exploded onto the scene to join Tanjiro, Nezuko and Genya to fight Upper Rank 4 Demon Hantengu.
Between the three of them, it was a very tough battle, but when Mitsuri joined in, even Hantengu was taken aback by her surprising abilities as a Hashira. Love is more to Mitsuri than just her breathing style. This emotion is the one that speaks the loudest to her, as a demon slayer and a young lady desiring love.
Mitsuri's Unusual Strength
Among the Hashira Corps, Mitsuri is known for being one of the physically strongest Hashira. This is quite peculiar, given her smaller stature. However, since Mitsuri was very little, she always had an unusual strength. At fourteen months old, she managed to lift a pickling stone over her head which weighed about fifteen kilograms. Even her mother, who was known for being cool and collected, was completely taken by surprise. She used her strength to help her pregnant mother around the house, and it was greatly appreciated.
Strangers found her strength odd, as well. At one point, onlookers in a restaurant said that she ate for three sumo wrestlers. She was beating grown men at arm wrestling matches at a very young age. While her arms were tiny, her muscle density was incredibly mighty. Her strong arms and unique muscle makeup are something her family welcomed and loved about her, she was never made to feel ashamed of her special qualities, at least, until her first marriage proposal, or rejection.
"No One Could Ever Marry You"
When she was seventeen years old, a bright-eyed and eager Mitsuri was waiting on a marriage proposal from another young man. She was bubbly, beautiful and confident... What could go wrong, right? The day that broke her solid self-esteem was the day the young man said that there is no way that he would marry her.
Everything Mitsuri was, he did not like. Her bizarre hair colour disgusted him, for he shuddered at the thought of it being passed on to his children. Her strength was treated as animalistic and uncivilized, for only wild animals like boars would marry someone like her. He bid her farewell, and urged her to forget about him and the proposal.
Mitsuri's Self-love Shatters
Despite her family's unwavering love for her, Mitsuri felt like she was failing as a young woman. She felt isolated from other girls her age, for they were everything she is not. Her strength and hearty appetite swayed prospective suitors away from her, unlike the other young ladies.
When her proposal was called off, Mitsuri decided to take (what she thought) was her rightful duty as a woman into her own hands. She dyed her garrish hair color black and began eating much less to appear softer. Her head began to spin due to the food she was depriving herself of. She pretended to be weaker than she actually was and lied a lot to conceal her real self. After all, this was the only way for her to find a loving husband. This mask she was wearing worried her family immensely. After putting in hard work to become someone she is not, it sadly worked.
Mitsuri's Epiphany
Eventually, someone did want to propose marriage to Mitsuri. He saw a demure, petite raven-haired young lady who was ready to be wed. However, despite her efforts to ensure that this very thing happened, Mitsuri was not happy. She did go through a lot of effort to hide herself from suitors, so why wasn't she rejoicing in triumph?
As her "dream" was coming true, Mitsuri wondered if it was worth all the change she forced on herself. Was finding love worth the complete burial of her real self? If so, what about the love she felt when she was herself? Mitsuri wondered if she could keep this charade up for the rest of her life and if it is alright to do so. She pondered if there were people out there would love her for the unconventional parts of her, like her eccentric hair, large appetite, and incredibly strong muscles. It is insane and ironic to expect herself to live through a marriage, a loving relationship, when she couldn't even love herself in the process. She did not want love this way, at the cost of her own happiness. Someone had to exist to love her, as she is. This proposal was thrown away, and Mitsuri was determined to seek people who loved the real her.
A Place Where She is Accepted
In her attempts to find someone who will protect and love her, Mitsuri eventually ended up in the Demon Slayer Corps to fulfil her desire to be useful as herself.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki, Master of the Mansion, told her that the gods especially love her. He assured her that her strength is something to be proud of and that anyone who speaks ill of her are jealous fear her talent. This made Mitsuri very emotional, for it was the first time that someone outside her family saw her qualities as a strength, not a hindrance.
The entire Corps accepted her, and celebrated her promotion to a Hashira. The families she saved from demons thanked her amidst sobs of gratitude and horror. Lower-ranked members of the Corps admired her for her ability in taking out demons. Even Snake Hashira Obanai Iguro took a particular liking to her, gifting her with socks and willingness to buy new ones for her if they rip.
Mitsuri Finds Love
Love is more than the name of Mitsuri's breathing style. She represents many forms of love; friendship, familial, romantic, and self-love, to name a few. Mitsuri grew up in a home that loved the real her, and in some ways instilled in her not to settle for less in other people. While she learned the hard way, Mitsuri gained the skill to forge her own path to love. It is odd how she found acceptance in a place like the Demon Slayer Corps, but it opened a lot of pathways for her big heart. Iguro certainly loves her, and so do her peers. She loves her job as a Hashira, her family for her strength, and the biggest lesson she learned, to love herself. It seems that Mitsuri found a haven for herself after all.