Demon Slayer is one of the most popular manga and anime of the past and current decade. Its manga, which currently has an immense number of copies in distribution, managed to outsell those that have been around for several decades. The anime is also highly praised by critics, mainly due to its superior animation, especially in fighting scenes where the characters use their Breathing Style to battle demons.
Members of the Demon Slayer Corps practice and teach swordsmanship styles known as Breathing Style. It is the most efficient method for combating and defeating demons. Over the centuries, several Breathing Styles have descended from the first Breathing Style, the Sun Breathing. Within these Breathing Styles, there are some which have more forms than others.
10 Love Breathing: 6 Forms
Love Breathing is a Breathing Style derived from Flame Breathing and is centered on the emotion of love. The techniques and forms of Love Breathing combine the user's own precision, quickness, and speed with mid-ranged whip-like assaults.
By modifying the Flame Breathing she learned from the Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku, to suit her circumstances, the Love Hashira, Mitsuri Kanroji, developed this Breathing Style. This is due to Mitsuri's unique muscle density, which gave her superior physical strength despite not being physically bulky.
9 Flower Breathing: 7 Forms
One of the Breathing Styles derived from Water Breathing, Flower Breathing, replicates flowers and fruits, and its techniques and forms are a mixture of exquisite attacks that emphasize quickness. Flower Breathing users can also considerably improve and utilize their vision, though they do so at the risk of damaging or losing their eyesight.
The notable users of Flower Breathing are the former Flower Hashira, Kanae Kocho, and her pupil/adopted sister, Kanao Tsuyuri. Unlike the other Breathing Styles, its final form is not an attack, but rather, it maximizes the user's kinetic vision, and the user experiences the world as if it were in slow motion when utilizing this technique. The usage of this form, however, is risky, as it could result in blindness.
8 Thunder Breathing: 7 Forms
A Breathing Style derived from Sun Breathing, Thunder Breathing, imitates lightning with notably rapid strikes and movements. Its tactics, techniques, and forms entail using dazzling speeds and extremely quick assaults to completely overpower the attacker in a matter of seconds.
The known users of Thunder Breathing are the former Thunder Hashira, Jigoro Kuwajima, and his pupils, Kaigaku and Zenitsu Agatsuma. Thunder Breathing, according to Zenitsu, emphasizes transferring strength into the user's legs and increasing the output of every muscle and blood artery in them. Zenitsu has developed its 7th form and showcased it while battling the demon-turned Kaigaku, despite only knowing how to perform the 1st Form.
7 Mist Breathing: 7 Forms
Derived from Wind Breathing, Mist Breathing is a Breathing Style that imitates mist, particularly the obscurity of mist, and its attacks and forms entail quick strikes and movement done in a distinctive pattern that distorts the enemy's perceptions and environment as if the battleground were shrouded in mist.
Its only known user is the current Mist Hashira, Muichiro Tokito, who is also the youngest Hashira, at only 14 years old (even younger than the protagonist Tanjiro Kamado, a non-Hashira). While the Breathing Style initially had six forms, Muichiro was able to create a seventh, which only he can perform.
6 Wind Breathing: 9 Forms
Wind Breathing is a Breathing Style directly derived from Sun Breathing that imitates wind, particularly powerful torrents of air, and whirlwinds, and its techniques and forms are mainly offensive. The attacks rely on spinning movements to produce quick whirlwind-like slashes that vastly extend the user's attack range or make use of the air around them to launch sharp crescent-shaped attacks.
The known users of Wind Breathing are the Wind Hashira, Sanemi Shinazugawa, and his deceased comrade, Masachika Kumeno. Sanemi is one of the most powerful Hashira out there, being able to hold his own and eventually defeat Upper Moon 1 with the help of his demon-eating brother and the Stone and Mist Hashira.
5 Flame Breathing: 9 Forms
Flame Breathing, which is derived directly from Sun Breathing, is a Breathing Style that imitates fire. Its attacks are launched from a high stance, and its techniques and forms entail very powerful strikes that burn its opponents. In every generation, there is a Hashira who uses Flame Breathing.
Shinjuro Rengoku, the former Flame Hashira, and his son Kyojuro Rengoku, the current Flame Hashira, are notable users of the Flame Breathing Style. The Flame Breathing's 9th Form is called Rengoku, which means purgatory, and assumes the form of a flaming dragon that surrounds the user while it launches toward the target.
4 Beast Breathing: 11 Forms
A Breathing Style derived from Wind Breathing, Beast Breathing, imitates the movements, assaults, and senses of beasts and wild creatures, particularly their unpredictable, violent, and ferocious demeanor. The movements and techniques are simple, uncomplicated, fierce, unexpected, animalistic, and mimic a beast's heightened senses.
There is only one known user of Beast Breathing, which is Inosuke Hashibira. He developed and mastered this Breathing Style on his own and developed its 11th Form during a battle against Upper Moon 2, Doma. Unlike the other Breathing Styles, he calls the forms of his Breathing Style "Fangs."
3 Water Breathing: 11 Forms
Water Breathing is another Breathing Style directly derived from Sun Breathing. It is a Breathing Style that imitates water, particularly its flow, suppleness, and flexibility, using the user's motions, skills, and capabilities. Water Breathing has the most known users in the entire series.
A notable Water Breathing user is the former Water Hashira, Sakonji Urokodaki, who taught it to Tanjiro Kamado and the current Water Hashira, Giyu Tomioka. The Water Breathing Style originally had 10 Forms, and Giyu was the one who developed its 11th From, Dead Calm, his strongest move and a form only he can use.
2 Sun Breathing: 13 Forms
Sun Breathing, also called Hinokami Kagura, is the original Breath and is considered the most superior and powerful of them all. When using Sun Breathing, users imagine themselves producing solar flares. All the other Breathing Styles are derived from Sun Breathing, as not everyone can perform it. It was the Breathing Style that the Demon King, Muzan Kibutsuju, feared and almost got killed with.
There are five known characters that can use Sun Breathing. Some of these characters are Yoriichi Tsugikuni, the first Breaths user, and Tanjiro Kamado. The Sun Breathing's 13th Form is actually the user performing the 12 Sun Breathing Forms in repetitive succession and was made to cut Muzan's 5 hearts and 7 brains.
1 Moon Breathing: 16 Forms
As one of the first Breathing Styles created, the Moon Breathing has the most forms of them all as a result of its user being able to develop it for centuries. Moon Breathing is a Breathing Style that utilizes the user's movements, skills, and abilities to imitate the moon, producing crescent moon-shaped strikes when used.
It is used by only one swordsman, Michikatsu Tsugikuni, the brother of Yoriichi Tsugikuni. When Michikatsu was unable to use his brother's Breathing Style, he ended up developing Moon Breathing instead. After becoming a demon named Kokushibo, he was able to develop it further to 16 Forms, the highest number of forms among all Breathing Styles.
