Shinobu Kocho is one of the main characters of the anime demon slayer. She used to live with her parents and two sisters. But when her parents were killed by a demon, she joined the demon slayer corporation. To save other people from the fate she suffered. She was a petite woman with a weak-built body. And hence, was called the weakest member of Hashira in terms of strength. But she was an amazing swordsman and had immense stamina. And amazing reflexes.
She was usually friendly and had a smile on her face. But it later turned out that it was a façade. As she was harboring the anger of her parent’s death in her heart for a long time. She used to infect her victim’s demons. With a poison she invented because she could not decapitate their bodies.
Having faced a lot of traumatic events in her early childhood, Shinobu turned cold and ruthless. She disliked demons and hated them. But to honor her sister’s memory, she tried to befriend them. And see them more considerably.
1. “Humans and demons, we both should get along together.” – Shinobu Kocho
Shinobu said these lines to Giyu Tomioka while she was going to support other members in fighting. Against the 12 demon moons. Though Shinobu herself hated demons, she said these lines while being considerate of her sister Kanae’s thinking. Kanae was killed by a demon, but she had a positive attitude towards them. Hence Shinobu wanted to honor her memories and thus tried to inculcate her feelings.
2. “I’m the only slayer who cannot cut off a demon’s head in Hashira, but I’m kind of a great person who made poisons to kill demons.” – Shinobu Kocho
Shinobu was the weakest member of Hashira due to her petite figure. Even though she was a swift and skilled swordsman, and had many abilities due to her physical restraint she did not yield the strength to cut off a demon’s head as other Hashira’s, but nevertheless, she compensated for it by her unique abilities.
She usually injects dem0ns with poison to kill them.
3. “Yes, I am angry, Tanjiro. I’ve been angry the whole time. My parents were killed. My sister was killed. & My disciples, except Kanawo, were killed. They must have lived calm lives with their families if their families weren’t killed by demons. Pisses me off. Screw you, idiot. Why my poisons don’t work on you, bas***d!” – Shinobu Kocho
Despite always having a smile on her face, Shinobu was always angry on the inside and carried a great rage within her. The cause of this hatred towards demons was because her sister, whom she loved dearly, and her family were killed by a demon when she was young, and hence, she grew up with only a feeling of hatred and revenge in her heart.
She feels that if the demons didn’t kill those humans, they might have a normal, happy life, just like her family.
4. “I once believed that the road of happiness continued forever and ever into the distance. When it was destroyed, I realized for the first time that it lies upon a thin sheet of glass. And just as we were saved, there were those whose happiness hasn’t yet been destroyed. So, I wanted to get stronger and protect them. That’s what we promised each other. Even if we’re weak and can’t cut off demon heads, if we defeat one demon, we can save dozens of people. And if we can defeat an Upper-Rank Kizuki, we can save hundreds. It isn’t about whether we can or cannot do it. There are things we have to do.” – Shinobu Kocho
Shinobu had a rather sad childhood and a traumatic storyline. Her parents and sister were killed by a demon when she was young, and she has carried the anger toward demons ever since. Almost all of us believe in “happy ever after” until that dream is somehow shattered because of some incident, the same happened in the case of Shinobu.
Having a perfect family, she believed in that dream too, but once that was destroyed, she understood that happiness is just as fragile as a piece of glass, which can be shattered at any moment, but she knows that there are others like her who need saving.
Even though she could not save her own family, she could save others who might go through the same ordeal if no one helped them, and thus, she took upon herself this role of demon slaying, even though she was not as physically powerful as others.
5. “How can you feel sorry for something that’s killed, humans? I’ve never heard of anything so absurd. But if that was how my sister truly felt, then I must carry it on. If there’s a way not to kill these pitiful demons, I have to keep trying to come up with it. Without ever extinguishing the smile my sister said she loved.” – Shinobu Kocho
Shinobu hated demons, she thought they all deserved to be killed, and even though she always had a smile on her face, she was always angry inside. Her sister, though, thought they should be friends with demons, and so she tries to honor her memory; she tries her best to do both.
She said the above lines to Tanjiro Kamado while explaining how she really felt.
6. “Oh, excuse me. You are already dead and cannot hear me. I totally forgot about it.” – Shinobu Kocho
Shinobu had a very cold attitude toward demons, and that stemmed from her hatred towards them. The sinister smile on her face made people uncomfortable around her. She said the above lines to Rui’s sister after she poisoned her.
7. “you’ll receive the penalty you deserve and be reborn, that way you and I can be friends.” – Shinobu Kocho
Shinobu said the above lines to the spider demon after she confronted her. She tells her that she will have to bear the consequences of what she has done, and for all the people she has killed, she deserves to be punished. After she has paid for her penalties, she can be born again, and then they might be friends, but since her poison could not have killed the demon, she found immense pleasure in the thought that it would torture her for a long time.
8. “Hello? Are you OK?” – Shinobu Kocho
She said the above lines to Zenitsu Agatsuma after he was poisoned and dying on the ground, almost dead, just trying to stay conscious by controlling his breathing. His condition was so terrible that Shinobu’s asking him this question was pointless, but she did, and that shows how cool and quirky her character was, always nonserious.
This was after his fight with one of 12 demons, and he poisoned him.
9. “Of course, I have a lot of pent-up rage you fool, I have been the same height since I was 12.” – Shinobu Kocho
One thing that Shinobu hated about herself was her petite figure. She was not the strongest Hashira physically, and that rendered her unable to kill off a demon by cutting its head. She despised her physical body and thus said the above lines.
10. “Knowing that you are working so hard in my place reassures me to no end.” – Shinobu Kocho
Shinobu said the above lines to Tanjiro after she asked him to do all that he could and protect Nezuko till the very end. She was at peace knowing that there was someone who would work hard in her place, even if she was not there.
11. “The anger inside me continued to grow and get larger.” – Shinobu Kocho
Having suffered a major loss in her childhood, it was no doubt that Shinobu was troubled. Her drive to kill demons came from the same place her anger came from, her hatred towards demons for killing her family and having no other source of outlet; that hatred only grew as time passed, which caused her to take up this cold demeanor.
12. “After you, you worthless bas***d.” – Shinobu Kocho
This was Shinobu’s last word to Doma while she was dying. In the afterlife, when Shinobu was waiting for Doma, she only had his head and had this little conversation where Doma confessed his love for her. He asked if she would go to hell with her, and she refused his offer very coldly; that was very cool of her.
Shinobu Kocho was a very popular character in the demon slayer franchise. Based on the idea that a person lives through their will, Shinobu’s was also passed on to her disciple, and hence, she lived on in that, even after she was killed. Shinobu’s feelings towards other Hashira were pure and full of respect. She liked all of them and was friendly with them. Shinobu had a rather sad ending after her fight with Doma, and even though she could not finish him off, she fought with quite a valor.
Shinobu lived her life with a single motive of wanting revenge for the killing of her family, by killing as many demons as she could and saving the lives of innocent, which she did, as long as she lived.