Obanai Iguro | Demon Slayer Kimetsu No Yaiba

Information about Obanai Iguro

The current Hashira Serpent who is always accompanied by his pet snake, Kaburamaru. He was raised by his family who served a snake-like demon as a sacrifice, until he was rescued by one of the Hashira and joined the Slayer Corps. He became infatuated with Mitsuri and easily became jealous when she became close to someone else. Although he was blinded in the final battle with Muzan, he still manages to help Tanjiro thanks to his connection with Kaburamaru, who allows him to see through his eyes thanks to Yashiro’s magic scrolls. However, he ends up being mortally wounded and declares his love for Mitsuri before dying at her side. After his death, Kanao starts to take care of Kaburamaru for him.

History of Obanai Iguro

Obanai was born into a clan of thieves who lived off an excessive amount of wealth that had been stolen from those who had been killed by the demon they worshipped. This demon took the form of a woman with a body and face resembling a snake, and had a strong taste for newborns, which the family sacrificed to her in exchange for their wealth.

The first boy born into the family for 370 years, Obanai lived all his days locked in a wooden cage, spoiled by his family who insisted on bringing him so many plates of rich food that he had enough. The Serpent Demon also took a liking to Obanai, as he was a rare male child with multi-colored eyes, and he spent the nights sneaking into his cage in the dark and staring at him, which scared Obanai so much that he couldn’t sleep.

When he was twelve years old, Obanai was finally allowed to leave his cell. He was taken to a room that appeared to be an expensive shrine, and brought face to face with the Serpent Demon for the first time. The Demon noticed that Obanai was very small, and wondered if she should wait until he was a little bigger to eat him. Deciding that she would, she arranged her mouth to be cut wider, up to her ears, to match his. The blood he shed during this procedure was collected in a chalice which she then drank.

Back in his cell with his wound now covered by a bandage, Obanai thought only of escape and survival. He began scratching the latticework of his cell with a stolen hairpin during the night, and during the day he was in a constant state of worry that they would find him out. The only person he could trust was the snake that had strayed into his cage, Kaburamaru.

After some time, Obanai finally managed to escape. As he ran, the Serpent Demon began to chase him, almost catching him and killing him before the Flame Pillar happened to come to his rescue. Because of Obanai’s escape, the Serpent Demon had killed all of his fifty relatives and the only surviving member of his bloodline was his older cousin, who had also been saved by the Pillar. When they were reunited, however, Obanai’s cousin rejected him, blaming him for the death of their family.

Because of the effect his cousin’s words had on him, Obanai joined the Demon Slayer Corps and decided to turn all of his rage toward the Demons, thinking that he would feel better if he risked his life for others.

Obanai Iguro’s Personality

Obanai is a very tough and strict individual who doesn’t care about those who don’t follow the Demon Slayer’s ways. His expectations of his fellow Demon Slayers are almost unrealistic: he blames Tengen Uzui for suffering heavy injuries against the “weakest” of the upper moons and tells him to “fight to the death” when Tengen insists on retiring. In reality, the Demon Slayer Corps went 113 years without killing an Upper Moon, and Shinobu Kocho later estimates that each Upper Moon is equal to three Pillars in strength.

Obanai’s devotion to the future of the Demon Slayer Corps is almost at the expense of others, such as when he tries to force Tengen to stay with the Demon Slayers even after losing an eye and an arm, and when he ties up lower-ranking Demon Slayers and uses them as obstacles during Pillar training for relatively petty reasons. He also considers the new Demon Slayer recruits to be weak and unable to improve, expressing surprise when Tengen informs him that Tanjiro Kamado survived the mission.

Despite his ruthless personality, there are two people he cares about: Kagaya Ubuyashiki and Mitsuri Kanroji. He deduces that he has a crush on Mitsuri, which is implied by most of their companions, except Tanjiro and Mitsuri herself; he even gives her his green socks that she wears as a gift. He threatens Tanjiro from getting too close to her (for his liking) and is the first person to meet her in the Dimensional Infinity Fortress.

Abilities and Powers of Obanai Iguro

As Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Obanai is a very powerful swordsman.

Natural Abilities of Obanai Iguro

Master Swordsman : A pillar of the Demon Slayer Corps, Obanai is one of the most powerful and skilled swordsmen in the organization.

Increased Strength: Obanai possesses incredible physical strength, as evidenced by pinning Tanjiro to the ground with great force, with Tanjiro stating that he could not move or breathe.

Increased Stamina: After being hit by Muzan’s attack and receiving a blood injection, he was able to continue fighting alongside Giyu, unlike his other Hashira companion, Mitsuri, who was badly affected by the same attack.

Kaburamaru: Obanai, having always been partially blind in his right eye, developed a fighting technique using his snake Kaburamaru. Kaburamaru is able to read enemy attacks and transmit this information to Obanai. The extent of this technique is demonstrated when Obanai is completely blinded by Muzan, but he is still able to continue fighting as if nothing had happened.

Crimson Red Nichirin Blade: During the battle against Muzan, after manifesting a demon-killing mark and remembering how Muichiro turned his blade red, Obanai puts all his strength into gripping his blade, turning it crimson red. But in doing so, he put too much force into his grip and almost fainted. Crimson Blades are extremely powerful, as they dampen the Demon’s powers and regeneration.

Mark of the Demon Slayer: During the battle against Muzan, Obanai awakened his own mark. This took the form of three snake-like tattoos with large dots, extending from his right arm to the right side of his chest, which then enhanced all of Iguro’s natural abilities, as seen where he was able to make powerful sword slashes against him, dodge and maneuver quickly to avoid all of Muzan’s immensely fast attacks, increase his physical stamina and durability, allowing him to fight despite his severe injuries and greatly improving all of his physical senses to the point where he could easily fight despite being blind.

Transparent World: During the battle against Muzan, after receiving instructions from Gyomei, Obanai managed to briefly access the Transparent World.

The art of the sword

A unique Weapon: Like his comrades Hashira Mitsuri, Gyomei, Shinobu and Tengen, Obanai wields a unique Nichirin blade. His blade resembles an Indonesian Kris sword, which is shaped into waves to complement Obanai’s serpent breathing techniques.

Serpent Breathing: A breathing style that focuses on twisting and bending the sword like a snake does when sliding. It resembles Mitsuri’s love breathing style, but his sword is much more like a typical sword with a blade that is shaped like a sliding snake, while Mitsuri’s is long, soft and more like a sharp whip.

First form: Winding Serpent Slash – Iguro spins and releases a circular slash in front of him.

Second form: Venom Fangs of the Narrow Head – Obanai runs behind his opponent at blinding speed and cuts his head off.

Third form: Coil Choke – Obanai bends his sword like a slithering snake and quickly decapitates his opponent.

Fourth Form: Twin-Headed Reptile – Obanai jumps forward and performs a horizontal slash that goes through the target.

Fifth Form: Slithering Serpent: Obanai uses his folding sword and curves it from right to left at incredible speed. This technique is capable of decapitating several targets at once.