The Nichirin Blades of Demon Slayers are mysterious and powerful as they help them slay the bloodthirsty demons. But have you ever wondered about the man who forged these destructive blades? Today, we will discuss the swordsmith, Hotaru Haganezuka, and his contribution to the Demon Slayer Corps in detail. The below section may contain spoilers so proceed with caution.
Homeland of the Sword Maker
Hotaru Haganezuka was born in Swordsmith Village, an old hidden village where all swordsmiths reside. The village was famous because of the talented swordsmith who were serving the Demon Slayer Corps by forging Nichirin Blades for centuries.
To protect the village from demons, the village remains hidden from the eyes of the outside world and only a few know about its exact position. Hotaru got his passion for forging Nichirin Blades from his village. The fact that he can talk about these blades for so long proves the existence of his burning passion.
The known members of swordsmith village include Hotaru Haganezuka, Kozo Kanamori, Tecchin Tecchikawahara, Kotetsu, and Tetsuido.
Hotaru Haganezuka Character Design
Hotaru’s character is well designed as it remains true to the era shown in the anime. A robe with a sunflower design is worn by him followed by a cloth which he used to cover his head and how can we forget Hotaru Haganezuka’s mask. It is a Hyottoko Mask ( Wooden Festival Mask) worn by him the same as Urokodaki Sensei. Hotaru’s mask is a great addition to his overall character design as it makes him more mysterious and interesting.
Speaking of Hotaru Haganezuka’s appearance, if you want to dress up like the eccentric character of Hotaru then you can become just like him by purchasing the Hotaru Mask inside our Demon Slayer Mask collection!
Debut of Haganezuka ‘s Story
Hotaru predicts that Tanjiro’s katana will turn red because of his red hair but it ends up turning black which is considered a bad omen. Hotaru becomes sad and starts scolding Tanjiro.
Tanjiro’s Sword Maker in the Natagumo Mountain Arc
Rehabilitation Arc
Hotaru and another swordsmith are featured in this arc with some funny moments. After a dreadful fight in the mountains, Tanjiro and his friends were taken to the butterfly mansion for rehabilitation and training.
They completed their hard training after some time and Hotaru and his fellow, Kozo Kanamori drop in to deliver the repaired Katanas.
However, Hotaru ends up losing his calm over the matter of broken katana and starts chasing Tanjiro with a knife. It is a very funny and comic moment.
The Sword Maker in the Demon Slayer Mugen Train Arc
The recently released feature-length Demon Slayer movie called “Demon Slayer Mugen Train” left an everlasting impression on us and features a brief screen time of Hotaru Haganezuka with Tanjiro.Yes, as expected we see a funny moment where an angry Hotaru Haganezuka chases Tanjiro down due to another broken katana.
Personality of Haganezuka
Hotaru has a short temper when it comes to his passion for forging swords. However, he is not much interested in any other thing as his soul and mind are connected with his forged swords and he cares about them just like parents care about their children. This is the reason he gets angry instantly when Tanjiro breaks his katanas.
His immense love for katanas can be demonstrated by the fact he kept forging his sword despite the fact there was a demon attacking him.
Nichirin Blades and the Sword Maker
As we know these are the special katanas forged by swordsmiths for the members of the Demon Slayer Corps. The blade is made from special ore that has the property to absorb sunlight which is the only weakness of the powerful and dangerous demons. However, there is another way to kill demons by using Wisteria poison-coated weapons but that is not used much.
The ores used in the forging of these blades include Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand and Scarlet Crimson Ore which are found on high mountains like the Sun Mountain where these ores are bathed in sunlight for a whole year.
The type of ore to be used in forging depends upon the choice of slayer it is decided after passing the final exam. The forging process is quite hard but the extraordinary talent of our swordsmiths like Hotaru always prevails.
Are you also looking to channel your inner Demon Slayer by wielding a Nichirin Blade of your own? Then go ahead and take a look at our Demon Slayer Swords Collection and choose your blade and start slaying the demons.
Abilities of the Swordsmith at the Demon Slayer Corps
Even though Hotaru has no special abilities like the other members of the Demon Slayer Corps except for his extraordinary talent of forging swords.
The constantly breaking sword of Tanjiro compelled him to train in mountains to forge even powerful swords. After training Hotaru attained a more refined body with enhanced strength which is quite surprising.
He holds mastery in Tantojutsu and often uses it against Tanjiro when he breaks his Katana (poor guy Tanjiro).
Haganezuka ‘s Relationships
Hotaru is not very social but still maintains a good relationship with most of the characters of the series.
Kamado Tanjiro
Hotaru interactes with Kamado Tanjiro more than others as he is the swordsmith of his Nichirin Blade.
From the beginning, Tanjiro had a hard time dealing with Hotaru as he couldn’t understand Hotaru’s temperament and nature but gradually he began to understand Hotaru.
Most of the time Hotaru is yelling and chasing after Tanjiro but in this little game of hide and seek, they begin to understand each other better.
Tanjiro was grateful to Hotaru for forging and repairing his blade again and again while Hotaru was grateful to Tanjiro for placing his trust in him despite knowing how annoying he becomes at times.
Kozo Kanamori
Kozo Kanamori is a fellow swordsmith working for the Demon Slayer Corps. He has a kind personality and he is the swordsmith of Inosuke Hashibira’s Nichiren blade.Hotaru Haganezuka and Kozo are like friends as Kozo understands the hot-blooded Hotaru and cares for him deeply. On the other hand, Hotaru may not show it but he appreciates the concern and support of Kozo. Kozo wears the same mask as Hotaru Haganezuka.
Tecchin Tecchikawahara
Tecchin Tecchikawahara is the chief of a swordsmith village who has a dominating and esteemed personality and reputation in the entire village.
Tecchin has insane sword-forging skills and that is the reason he forges blades for Hashiras (Elite Demon Slayers). He is the swordsmith of Shinobu Kocho’s Nichirin blade. The relationship between Tecchin and Hotaru Haanezuka is not much explored in the series but considering the fact that Tecchin took in and raised Hotaru after his repulsive behavior with his parents, we can conclude that Tecchin is like a father to Hotaru.
Kotetsu
Kotetsu is another young man from the swordsmith village even though the relationship between Hotaru and Kotetsu is not yet highlighted in the anime and manga but it is hinted that they were on peace terms.
Kotetsu inherited a battle doll known as “Yoriichi Type Zero” from his ancestors, the doll was based off on a real person “Yoriichi Tsugikuni” a legendary Demon Slayer that was even feared by the king of demons, Kibutsuji Muzan. The doll holds katanas in its six arms because one arm wasn’t enough to copy the movements of Yoriichi.
When Tanjiro fought against this doll, he cut off his head only to find a 300-years old katana. It is hinted that this Katana was used by the legendary demon slayer Yoriichi Tsugikuni himself. After discovering the katana, Hotaru forcefully takes it from Tanjiro to renew it and transform it into a new indestructible blade.
Hotaru Haganezuka Unmasked (MANGA CONTENT)
However, we eventually get a face reveal of Hotaru Haganezuka in chapter 105 of the manga. When Tanjiro and Kotetsu discovered a hidden blade in Yoruichi Type Zero, Hotaru stepped in and took the blade from Tanjiro claiming that he would reforge this blade into a new nichirin sword to which Tanjiro somehow agreed.
Spoiler from the manga:
At night when Hotaru was reforging the blade, he got attacked by Gyokko (Upper Rank 5) but he continued his work despite being heavily injured by the demon.
Kozo stepped in to protect Hotaru but all in vain as another demon, Hantengu (Upper Rank 4) appears but the Mist Hashira Muichiro Tokito arrives on the spot fortunately and saves both of them, however, Hotaru’s body sustained scars from demons including an x-shaped scar on his face. His right eye also suffered damage due to which it stopped working.
Role In Entire Series
By thoroughly analyzing the character of Hotaru Haganezuka it becomes certain that his contribution and role in the series is quite an important one. Our Demon Slayers need the insane sword forging skill of Hotaru to defeat demons for a better tomorrow.
Conclusion
To conclude, we can say that the burning passion of Hotaru Haganezuka for sword forging is helping Demon Slayers to burn the dreadful demons. His role may be that of supporting characters but in my opinion, he has transcended the normal parameters of a supporting character long ago. He is extremely loveable and fans cherish Hotaru’s presence on screen.