Shinobu Kocho is one of the anime series Demon Slayer's best characters, and here's her Insect Breathing technique on the show explained.
Demon Slayer's Shinobu has her own, unique form of Total Concentration Breathing known as Insect Breathing; here's her technique explained. Demon Slayer is based on the hit manga and follows a young man named Tanjiro as he joins the Demon Slayer Corps after his family is slaughtered and his sister is infected. Demon Slayer has been a huge success since it debuted in 2019, both for its great cast of characters and its surprisingly beautiful and artistic fight scenes.
In fact, the franchise is so popular the Demon Slayer movie went on to become Japan's highest-grossing film of all time when it was released in 2020. Demon Slayer season 2 finished airing in 2022 and a third season has already been confirmed. One fan-favorite character from the series is Shinobu Kocho, who arrived during the arc where Tanjiro and his fellow band of slayers fought the Spider Family on Natagumo Mountain. Despite Shinobu's calm exterior, she harbors a deep hatred of demons after the death of her parents and sister Kanae.
Related: Demon Slayer: Zenitsu's Sword Abilities & Powers Explained
Members of the Demon Slayer Corps need to master swordsmanship techniques dubbed Breathing Styles, which are often based on natural elements, such as Tanjiro's Water Breathing style. Demon Slayer's Shinobu practices the Insect Breathing style, which as the name implies, is based on the movements of insects. Given that Shinobu isn't the most physically imposing slayer, her sword power technique is instead based on speed, with Insect Breathing relying on her striking opponents with jabs and stings that infect them with poison. Her sword is designed with a special stinging tip for this purpose.
Shinobu's Insect Breathing style has four distinct techniques. These "dances" are Butterfly Dance: Caprice, Dance Of The Bee Sting: True Flutter, Dance Of The Dragonfly: Compound Eye Hexagon and Dance Of The Centipede: Hundred-Legged Zigzag. The first sees Demon Slayer's Shinobu leap and strike a target many times with her sword to poison them while Dance Of The Bee Sting: True Flutter sees her run at a demon and use her incredible speed to deliver a single, devastating blow that again injects them with poison.
Dance of the Dragonfly: Compound Eye Hexagon delivers six jabs of poison to a demon's weak points like the heart, and Dance of the Centipede: Hundred-Legged Zigzag sees Shinobu Kocho displaying her fastest speed to run around a target before stabbing them in the neck with a lethal dose. Insect Breathing is one of the most elegant swordsmanship styles on Demon Slayer and fits Shinobu's persona perfectly.
Next: Every Major Demon In Demon Slayer Season 1
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