Demon Slayer's Hashira Ranked from Weakest to Strongest

You know and love Demon Slayer’s powerful Hashira, the best of the best demon slayers out there—but do you know which Hashira are strongest? We can tell you. We’ve ranked all Hashira (including those who have retired or died) in Demon Slayer from strongest to weakest. For this comprehensive ranking, we partnered with an anime expert to help us explain what makes each Hashira strong—or, on the other hand, why they aren’t as strong as you might think. Without further ado, let’s dive in!

Top 5 Strongest Hashira in Demon Slayer

Anime expert Elijah Martinez says the strongest Hashira is Gyomei. Here’s a ranked breakdown of the strongest Hashiras in Demon Slayer:

Gyomei Himejima, the Stone Hashira, is universally known as the strongest Hashira.
Sanemi Shinazugawa, the Wind Hashira, has extreme ferocity and endurance.
Giyu Tomioka, the Water Hashira, developed his own eleventh form of Water Breathing.
Muichiro Tokito, the Mist Hashira, is a child prodigy who defeated an Upper Rank solo.
Obanai Iguro, the Serpent Hashira, has a precise and strategic edge in combat.

1

Gyomei Himejima

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Martinez says Gyomei is the strongest Hashira. “He's basically a giant. He wields a spiky wrecking ball, and just takes out demons. In the manga, he fights the strongest demon, the Upper Moon.”^{[1]
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Elijah Martinez
Anime Expert

Expert Interview} It makes sense: he’s the Stone Hashira, a gentle giant equipped with incredible physical strength and, of course, his powerful Stone Breathing technique. In the Hashira training arc, Gyomei battles Muzan and even manages to behead him once. And the Upper-Rank One demon, Kokushibo, says that Gyomei is the toughest opponent he’s had in centuries, showing just how strong the Stone Hashira truly is.^{[2]
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- Breathing style: Stone Breathing
- Birthday: August 23rd
- Age: 27
- Awakened mark? Yes
Meet the wikiHow Expert

Elijah Martinez is a content creator, anime expert, and artist. He was inspired to start making videos about anime after watching Attack on Titan and One Punch Man.

2

Sanemi Shinazugawa

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Sanemi is generally recognized as the second-strongest Hashira behind Gyomei. His aggression and ferocity are a big part of that strength, because he combines them with whirlwind attacks packed with force and speed. He might not be the friendliest guy around (and yes, we know that’s an understatement), but he’s an undeniable powerhouse—and fans haven’t even gotten to see his best moves yet (although he got to show off a little in the Hashira Training arc).^{[3]
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- Breathing style: Wind Breathing
- Birthday: November 29th
- Age: Yes
- Awakened mark? Yes
- Fun fact: Sanemi also has the rare “Marechi” blood type, which is especially intoxicating to demons. However, he uses this to his advantage in battle.

3

Giyu Tomioka

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Giyu is the first Hashira we encounter in Demon Slayer—and he’s also among the more powerful Hashira. In truth, the only thing that’s really stopping him from being even higher up on the list is his own misguided belief that he’s unworthy of being Water Hashira. And while Giyu might not come out of his emotionally unavailable shell much, he’s definitely worthy of being a Hashira; his water-based techniques are graceful, flowing, and deadly accurate.
- Breathing style: Water Breathing
- Birthday: February 8th
- Age: 21
- Awakened mark? Yes
- Giyu also developed a unique eleventh form of Water Breathing, demonstrating both his skill and ingenuity as a swordsman.

4

Muichiro Tokito

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Muichiro’s status in Demon Slayer is unique; he’s a child prodigy as well as the Mist Hashira. In a very short time, he mastered techniques that take other demon slayers years to learn, and he uses those skills to deadly effect. The evidence is overwhelming: Muichiro is the only demon slayer to singlehandedly beat an Upper Rank demon in combat! Sure, other demon slayers have definitely beaten Upper Rank demons, but never solo. That’s Muichiro’s special claim to fame!
- Breathing style: Mist Breathing
- Birthday: August 8th
- Age: 14
- Awakened mark? Yes

5

Obanai Iguro

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The Serpent Hashira fights like a snake: fluid, precise, and strategic. Even his Nichirin Blade is curved to look like a serpent! His strength is a little harder to rank simply because we don’t see him fighting too much in the anime, but he is strong—after all, he despises the idea of being weak and believes his traumatic childhood makes him unworthy of anything but slaying demons. And while the latter isn’t true, that perspective definitely informs his rigorous training and skill.
- Breathing style: Serpent Breathing
- Birthday: September 15th
- Age: 21
- Awakened mark? Yes

6

Mitsuri Kanroji

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The Love Hashira is supernaturally strong for a human, with a unique physique that gives her enhanced muscle density. Basically, she’s physically very strong, even if you might not realize that just by talking to her, considering how soft-spoken and sweet-natured she is. Her breathing techniques (used in battle against Hantengu, the Upper-Rank Four) are a formidable mix of fluidity and force. Kyojuro Rengoku trained Mitsuri—but after awakening her demon slayer mark, it’s fair to say that she’s probably even stronger than him!
- Breathing style: Love Breathing
- Birthday: June 1st
- Age: 19
- Awakened mark? Yes

7

Kyojuro Rengoku

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The now-deceased Flame Hashira’s strength is disputed—he could be higher up on the list, but ultimately, he’s ranked at number seven because he never got to rise to his full potential. By the time he dies at the hands of the Upper Rank Three, Akaza, he’s absolutely a strong Hashira, but he might’ve gone even further had he survived. Regardless, his confidence, quick thinking, and fiery powers held off Azaka for a long time and saved many lives in the Mugen Train arc.
- Breathing style: Flame Breathing
- Birthday: May 10th
- Age: 20
- Awakened mark? No

8

Tengen Uzui

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Tengen is an interesting case: he doesn’t believe he’s particularly talented as the Sound Hashira, and, indeed, several of his fellow Hashira are probably stronger than him, but he’s still an invaluable part of the Corps. His abilities—including his incredible speed and skill with his huge nunchaku cleavers—show that he is quite talented! He also plays an important role in the defeat of Upper Six Demons Gyuntaro and Daki in the Entertainment District arc.^{[4]
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- Breathing style: Sound Breathing
- Birthday: October 31st
- Age: 23
- Awakened mark? No

9

Sakonji Urokodaki

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Sakonji Urokodaki is Giyu’s predecessor—the former Water Hashira, now a trainer of young demon slayers (including Tanjiro and Giyu himself). And since we know Giyu learned all of his moves from Urokodaki, that just goes to show how strong Urokodaki must’ve been in his prime! There’s also the fact that Urokodaki had the skill and strength to survive his years as a demon slayer and live to an old age—and the fact that he’s able to protect Nezuko, despite being in his later years.
- Breathing style: Water Breathing
- Birthday: N/A
- Age: N/A
- Awakened mark? No
- Urokodaki also has an enhanced sense of smell (like his student, Tanjiro), which might explain how he’s still so sharp after years of retirement.

10

Jigoro Kuwajima

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Jigoro, the former Thunder Hashira, isn’t seen much in Demon Slayer—but the fact that he earned himself the nickname “Roaring Hashira” means he was probably a powerhouse in his heyday! He served the Demon Slayer Corps for years until an injury forced him to retire. Decades later, he began teaching Zenitsu and Kaigaku Thunder Breathing; unfortunately, Zenitsu learned only the first form, and Kaigaku ultimately defected to become a demon.^{[5]
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- Breathing style: Thunder Breathing
- Birthday: N/A
- Age: 60+
- Awakened mark? No
- Sadly, Kaigaku’s betrayal also marked the end of Jigoro’s life; not long after, Jigoro ritually ended his own life out of guilt and shame.

11

Kanae Kocho

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Kanae Kocho is another hard-to-rank Hashira because she’s already gone by the time Demon Slayer begins. As the former Flower Hashira, Kanae was killed in battle against Doma, the Upper Rank Two demon; the fact that she could face him at all means she was definitely a capable Hashira. Before she died, she also passed down her combat knowledge to Shinobu Kocho and Kanao Tsuyuri, whose skills speak to Kanae’s own mastery.
- Breathing style: Flower Breathing
- Birthday: N/A
- Age: 17
- Awakened mark? No
- Kanae is also depicted with a full sword (compared to Shinobu’s thin sword, designed for stabbing over slashing). This implies that, unlike Shinobu, Kanae did have the strength to decapitate demons.

12

Shinjuro Rengoku

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In his prime as the Flame Hashira, Shinjuro Rengoku was very strong—and probably would’ve had a higher rank on this list. Currently, however, he’s retired…and a far cry from his former self. After his wife’s death, Shinjuro started drinking; from there, he stopped engaging with his family to the point that he didn’t even acknowledge his son Kyojuro’s promotion to Flame Hashira. At the very least, he’s able to express sorrow for his son’s death and apologize to Tanjiro much later in Demon Slayer.
- Breathing style: Flame Breathing
- Birthday: N/A
- Age: 40s to 50s
- Awakened mark? No

13

Shinobu Kocho

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Shinobu, the Insect Hashira, isn’t very strong—and she’d be the first to admit it. She’s the only Hashira incapable of beheading demons, simply because she lacks the physical strength to do so. But that’s why Shinobu kills demons with homebrewed wisteria poison instead; she injects them with her sword, making up for a lack of strength with smarts and speed. She may be at the bottom of this list, but don’t let that fool you. Shinobu Kocho is still super deadly!^{[6]
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- Breathing style: Insect Breathing
- Birthday: February 24th
- Age: 18
- Awakened mark? No