Who is Shinobu Kocho, the Insect Hashira, in Demon Slayer?

The titular force in Demon Slayer strives to do one thing; obliterate all demons from the face of the planet. They have no qualms about how they do so so long as the job gets done.

The Hashira, the strongest in the force, have various fighting styles. Shinobu Kocho, the Insect Hashira, is the prime example of how strength isn’t the only necessity when it comes to becoming a powerful Demon Slayer.

The latest season of the anime, the Hashira Training Arc, does a good job expounding on the Hashira’s characters. However, one Hashira, Shinobu, is cast into the sideline. as she doesn’t have her own special training regime. As such, what is known about her remains little.

Note: This article will then be getting information from the manga, so anime-only fans who are still waiting for the movie trilogy will likely encounter spoilers.

Who is Shinobu Kocho?

Shinobu Kocho is characterized by her delicate and graceful appearance. She is petite with a slender frame, and her most striking feature is her gentle, serene smile, which she almost never drops. However, this is later revealed to be nothing more than a facade. In reality, she has a constant seething anger towards the demons for what they’ve done to her. She simply masks her rage behind her beautiful smile, though Tanjiro still manages to sense her true emotions.

Alongside Mitsuri Kanroji, Shinobu is the only other female Hashira in her generation. She also specializes in the medical craft. In fact, her Butterfly Mansion serves as a recovery site for injured Demon Slayers. Unsurprisingly, the trio of Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Zenitsu are often found there after major battles. Most of the healing in the Butterfly Mansion is done by Shinobu herself, though her assistants Aoi, Sumi, and Kiyo help nurse the wounded back to health.

Are Shinobu and Kanao siblings?

Even though they share some resemblance, Shinobu and Kanao are not biological siblings. They, however, share a long but tragic history. Shinobu was born into a family of Demon Slayers, and her life took a tragic turn when her parents were killed by demons. She and her older sister, Kanae Kocho, were subsequently taken in by the Demon Slayer Corps, where they trained to become demon slayers themselves.

During their stint as Demon Slayers, they met a young child being sold as a slave. Kanae, being the kindhearted person that she was, took the child into the Butterfly Mansion. They eventually bought her and adopted her as their youngest sister. Following Kanae’s name, they named her Kanao, who would eventually become Shinobu’s Tsuguko.

Shinobu was particularly close to Kanae. Much like Tanjiro, Kanae sympathizes with demons. Unfortunately, it was those very same demons that would eventually take her life, further fueling Shinobu’s hatred toward the vile creatures. Although devastated by her sister’s death, Shinobu vowed to carry on Kanae’s legacy in her own way. She honors her sister’s memory by adopting her cheerful demeanor and striving to protect humanity, though it does nothing to douse her seething rage.

How strong is the Insect Hashira?

As the Insect Hashira, Shinobu’s combat style is unlike any other in the Demon Slayer Corps. Due to her small stature and lack of physical strength, she cannot decapitate demons in the traditional manner. Instead, Shinobu developed a unique fighting style that relies on speed, precision, and the use of poison to defeat her enemies.

Shinobu wields a specially designed katana with a needle-like tip, which she uses to inject a lethal wisteria-based poison directly into demons. This poison is deadly to demons, allowing her to bypass the need for decapitation. While she can’t boast about her strength, she does possess reputable speed. She would even outspeed Upper Moon Two during their match in the Infinity Castle.

Unlike the other Hashira, Shinobu wouldn’t awaken her Demon Slayer Mark during the final fight with Kibutsuji Muzan and his cronies. But by the time they would face their mightiest foe, Shinobu would have already converted her body into lethal poison. She did so by absorbing highly concentrated wisteria-based poison. Her body contained enough poison to melt Doma’s body and prevent him from regenerating.