Shinazugawa sanemi and kamado tanjiro:why they are Two sides of the same coin

As we all know by now,gyutaro and daki are meant to be foils for tanjiro and nezuko, very obvious. But another character that parallels tanjiro and I don't see it talked about very often is sanemi. Because these two, even though they might seem worlds apart at first glance,are very very similar.

1-** backstory and life before the demon Slayer corps. Similarities and differences**

Tanjiro and sanemi's lives up until they come into contact with demons are quite similar,if with one key difference.

They are the both the eldest of six children,and both their fathers die young,and so,they, while still children themselves, have to step up and be providers and pillars for the house holds.

Expect of course,that tanjiro's father was a loving man and sanemi's father was a sorry excuse of a human,who was abusive to his family at every turn.

And this detail is one of many that will diverge these two characters path so heavily.

2-demon attack. Where happiness dies at the scent of blood and a new beginning

As with many of our characters in this god forsaken world,their happiness fades with the smell of blood. One day when tanjiro and sanemi are both around thirteen and outside the house,, key events occur:

. A demon turns a family member of theirs into a demon

. A demon kills the entire family except the two eldest

. The tragedy leaves the eldest with one surviving younger sibling

With sanemi,the demon that kills his entire family is...his own mother. She kills all of his siblings and... he has to be the one to kill her,to save himself,to save his only family left. And on top of that,she leaves both him and genya with scars, permanent reminders of that day,so that sanemi will never be able to look in the mirror,will never be able to look at his brother's face without remembering what she had done,and what he did in turn.

However,this isn't even the end of it, because this nightmare if a day shatters his relationship with genya, unintentionally on both of their parts,but still.

And so,in the span of a few hours,sanemi is truly alone.

Maybe that's why he lets himself get scarred so easily, maybe if he has enough scars,he can pretend his first one wasn't from his mother.

With tanjiro however,his tragedy is slightly different.

For one,the demon that kills his family is a stranger,no emotional attachment. And his sister is turned into a demon.

However,while shizu doesn't hesitate before killing all of her children and scarring the only two remaining for life,nezuko...

Nezuko goes against her very own nature,defies the demon king's will himself,and breaks every rule there was about demons and doesn't so much as harm a hair on her brother's head,and becomes the first,and ONLY demon to not need even an ounce of blood to survive, through sheer will.

Tanjiro doesn't...lose her in most ways that matter

And so both tanjiro and sanemi are left with one younger sibling that is an anomaly different, something that shouldn't be possible.

A demon who doesn't eat humans,and a human that eats demons.

(PS:this is not me saying that sanemi's tragedy is somehow worse than tanjiro's. Not at all, they're both horrific. I am just pointing out the differences)

And then tanjiro is sent to train under a hashira, while sanemi ha stop learn on his own,has to find his own path towards a goal he doesn't quite know.

And then we get to the canon timeline .

3-an unfortunate meeting and a rash decision. The unfair trial

Through it all, at least sanemi could comfort himself with the knowledge that once shizu had gotten turned into a demon,there was no hope for her. Once you're a demon,the best thing to do is kill them. This was mercy.

After all, demons are cannibals who must eat humans...right?

WRONG, because sanemi is called for a trial,for a demon Slayer that is travelling with a demon. And get this...the demon hasn't eaten a single human? absurd.

So he lashes out,so he is cruel,so he showcases not an ounce of sympathy and he stabs nezuko,in direct defiance of his master's order. Because..if this girl,nezuko can resist marechi blood,can survive on nothing but sleep...

Then,why couldn't _ his mother do so as well_?

What is it that makes nezuko kamado so damn special?? It couldn't have been strength. Shizu was the strongest person sanemi had known??so why couldn't she?

Sanemi's anger makes more sense now, because that means he didn't have to kill her. She didn't have to kill his siblings. That there was a world where she could have resisted.

And why do these siblings get the corps number one rule bended for them. Why do they have two hashira putting their lives on the line for them. How is that fair?

4-sanemi's jealousy and tanjiro's mission. Onward they go

We don't see sanemi much throughout the story. Up until the last few arcs I think. Because we are mainly following the kamaboko squad. But this is what I think his thoughts would have been like.

After the trial,the kamaboko squad goes on missions that don't end too well. And another point of differences between sanemi and tanjiro:

. Tanjiro doesn't lose people

Not in the sense that he doesn't see people die on missions and what not. And of course there's rengoku. Rengoku's death was personal,is a wound that will likely never heal,is something that both haunts and drives tanjiro afterwards.

But, tanjiro only knows rengoku for a few hours really. That doesn't mean that tanjiro doesn't grow to love him in that time, but his death doesn't hit as hard as let's say...zenitsu's would have.

Tanjiro doesn't lose people whose deaths would have driven him over the edge, would have shattered him mentally beyond repair.

Masashika was sanemi's final straw and it snapped with his death.

Tanjiro and his friends,his family,don't die. They survive every fucking fight. Against lower moon five. Against lower moon one(and oh,that must have been a gut punch, considering they succeeded where he failed. Where masashika died. Different lower moon one sure,but still). Upper moon three for God's sake. Against upper moon six.

All of their fights,not won perhaps,but all survived, that's more than he can say for rengoku,for masashika,...hell more than he can say for kanae.

And more so, tanjiro...seems alright. Doesn't seem to be affected by his tragedies. Still so lovable,still so kind.

We as the audience are well aware that tanjiro actually isn't dealing with them at all. Or in a way that's okay. Enmu's dream makes that perfectly clear. That tanjiro has never truly given himself a chance to grieve.

But,he deals with his trauma "well"in the sense that he keeps his best qualities. His kindness.his compassion.his empathy. All of the things that made his family love him so much.

Sanemi... sanemi's trauma turns him into the worst version of himself possible. Angry. Violent. Someone that strikes fear in the hearts of those weaker than him. A carbon copy of his father. The man who he had detested oh so much.

Sanemi is respected, sure. But feared too. Certainly not loved by alot of people. Not in the way tanjiro is.

And also, from where sanemi is standing, tanjiro seemed to have everything handed to him on a silver platter. He gets sent off to train with a former Hashira,and doesn't have to learn everything by himself like sanemi. He gets two hashiras to put their lives on the line for him and nezuko. He gets to effortlessly loved by those around him. He gets to have his sister by his side and a good relationship with her.

We know that tanjiro struggles,that he is low-key passively s*icial. That he tries so damn hard,and feels so guilty that giyuu and urokodaki are putting themselves on the line for nezuko.for him.

But sanemi doesn't know that. From where he's standing, it seems like tanjiro seems like he got everything he wanted,and he's not wasting time STUCK HERE LIKE M-

Sorry,I had to. The opportunity was right there.

It Must have been even worse when genya and tanjiro became friends. Because now tanjiro not only has a great relationship with his sister,but also one with sanemi's brother.

And with tanjiro's tendency to act like a big brother to anyone he meets. I am willing to bet money that he does.that to genya too.

And oh,how much that stings. It shouldn't,not really. Sanemi is the one that pushes him away at every turn..but it still hurts.

5-the price of Victory

Sanemi gets so angry,he literally tries to gouge genya's eyes out,and he would have. After genya tells him that he eats demons.

Meanwhile, tanjiro never stops seeing nezuko as exactly what she is,his little sister,even in her worst moments.

And when sanemi is finally ready to make amends,to show his brother how much he cares. Genya dies. Carried away by the wind that was sanemi's anchor in his worst moments.

And sanemi is left with not even a body to bury,just memories... memories of all the time he'd wasted,of all the moments he could have had,had he just tried.

Both tanjiro and nezuko survive the battle,and nezuko becomes human again. Against all odds and doubt from every single person, tanjiro achieves his goal.

Ahh,they are so similar,yet so different. But they meet at the same finish line anyways.

Wow, this got very very long,but I had a lot to say. And wanted to add my two cents on the topic. If you somehow read all this,thank you.