Tanjiro’s age in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba reflects the character’s personality and development throughout the story — how he bloomed from a charcoal burner to a skilled Demon Slayer committed to welding his blade and lopping off the heads of demons without mercy. Easily one of the most popular and fascinating manga characters in recent history, Tanjiro’s age isn’t just a biographical information about the Demon Slayer’s main character. It serves as a plot device that propels the character through the story. Written and illustrated by Koyoharu Gotoge, the Japanese manga series published on Weekly Shonen Jump debuted on February 15, 2016, and concluded in May 2020 with a total of 205 chapters spread across 23 volumes.
Having sold over 150 million copies, Demon Slayer ranks among the best-selling manga series of all time. Its financial success and critical acclaim inspired a small-screen adaptation of Tanjiro’s story into an anime series of the same title. The series premiered on April 6, 2019, and following season 3’s finale on June 18, 2023, it has been greenlit for another season. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba season 4 is expected to premiere sometime in the second quarter of 2024. The manga was also adapted into a groundbreaking film, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train. It was the highest-grossing film of 2020, pulling over $507 million at the box office against a production budget of $15.7 million.
Tanjiro Kamado Was 13 Years Old When Demon Slayer Premiered In 2019
Tanjiro and his demon-slaying friends were barely teenagers at the onset of the action-adventure anime, which premiered on April 6, 2019. While they have aged as the Japanese television series continues running, they are still teenagers. Tanjiro Kamado was 13 years old at the beginning of the story—when his family was attacked, and his younger sister, Nezuko Kamado, turned into a demon. He sets out to become a demon slayer to avenge his family and stop his sister from becoming a full-fledged demon. This has been the underlying premise of Demon Slayer, which completed its third season on June 18, 2023.
Although his quest has dragged out through the seasons, the character’s age jumped from 13 to 15 in the first three episodes. In season 1, episode 3, he commenced training for the final selection test for joining the Demon Slayer Corps. Tanjiro trained for nearly two years with Sakonji Urokodaki before he got to that stage in the manga. That being said, the character is a Cancer born on July 14. The manga’s official X page confirmed this in a 2019 post that, in part, reads: “Today, July 14th, is the birthday of our kind-hearted eldest son, Tanjiro Kamado!”
Will Tanjiro Die At Age 25?
The Demon Slayer anime has been faithful to its source material thus far. Should that remain the norm, Tanjiro’s demon-slaughter adventures will cease at age 25 due to the curse of the demon-slayer mark. In the manga, Tanjiro was 16 when he unlocked his mark in chapter 204. Unlocking the mark grants a demon slayer access to untold power. However, it also reduces the user’s lifespan: they typically don’t live past 25. The same fate awaits Tanjiro unless he somehow circumvents the curse like Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
It’s left for the anime’s showrunners to decide how to conclude the Demon Slayer story. If they stay true to the manga, Tanjiro will die but live. The demon slayer died but returned to life as a demon in the final battle. With Tamayo’s medicine, Kanao transformed him back into a human, but it came with a cost. He’s bound to spend the rest of his life without his right eye and left arm. But then, as much as his youthfulness fuels the character’s uncorrupt compassion and moral ideals, it symbolizes hope for the future.
Meet The Actors Behind Tanjiro In Demon Slayer
Natsuki Hanae is the voice behind the Demon Slayer character. The Japanese voice actor isn’t a teenager; he is in his early 30s, as he was born on June 26, 1991. Hanae has been a voice actor since 2011 and has voiced numerous characters in anime films, series, and video games. In 2020, the Tanjiro Kamado role won him the Anime Trending Award for Best Voice Acting Performance – Male. It also earned him the Crunchyroll Anime Awards nomination for Best VA Performance in 2023. Zach Aguilar voiced the English version of the Demon Slayer character. Also known for roles in One Punch Man and The Seven Deadly Sins, the American voice actor is in his mid-20s. He was born on February 21, 1998.