Shinobu Kocho is the current Insect Hashira in the series: Demon Slayer, Kimetsu no Yaiba.
She plays an incredibly important role in the final battle while killing off the Upper-Rank Two, Doma.
She is the younger sister of the former Flower Hashira, Kanae Kocho. Shinobu joined the Demon Slayer Corps with her sister after a demon killed her parents. She did this to keep other people from going through the same thing she did.
Shinobu Abilities
Shinobu is very strong and skilled in battle. Even though Shinobu doesn’t have the physical strength of a typical Demon Slayer to cut off a demon’s head, she makes up for it with her creativity, ingenuity, and other physical skills. Shinobu doesn’t kill a demon the way it’s usually done by cutting off its head with a Nichirin Sword. Instead, she uses a modified katana that can be used as a stinger to inject Wisteria poison, which kills demons.
When she fought Doma, the second most potent Upper-Rank demon, she showed how strong she really was. She was able to fight him head-to-head and even beat him a little bit, which Doma praised. He was shocked and amazed at how a demon slayer who could not even cut off a demon’s head could ultimately kill him.
Unshakeable Will
Shinobu has an unbreakable spirit and a lot of willpower, mostly because she hates demons so much. Seeing her family getting killed by demons was one of the reasons Shinobu has such an indomitable will.
Sharp Mind
Shinobu knows a lot about how to use poison in battle. She was able to accurately calculate the type of poison to use against Doma, which finally led to his demise. She was able to make this poison along with one of the demons, Tamayo.
Medical Expertise
Shinobu isn’t as good at fighting as the rest of her Hashira friends, but she makes up for it by being very skilled and knowledgeable in the medical and pharmaceutical fields. For example, she knows how to make poisons out of Wisteria Flowers and use them in the battle to get the most deadly effect.
She knows how to slowly fill her body with poison without hurting her own health, and she also knows how to use medicine to fight the poisons and venoms that demons make.
Anti-Muzan Drug
By working with Tamayo and Yushiro, Shinobu was able to help Tamayo make a successful four-stage drug that would be used to significantly destroy Muzan’s physical body, even though he was very strong and had many skills. This drug was undeniably one of the most important parts of the final battle against the Demon King. It turned the Demon Slayers’ attacks, which were usually useless, into attacks that were so powerful that they were able to corner the Demon King and kill him.
Poisonous Physiology
Shinobu changed her body a lot in order to beat Doma. A year before their fight, she took in highly concentrated poison made from wisteria. She is able to fill her body with poison that can’t be found. The poison has wholly merged with her own cell structures, including those of her blood and internal organs, right down to the tips of her fingernails. If measured, she had more than 700 times the poison it would take to kill an average demon.
Shinobu Breathing Style: Insect Breathing
This is a breathing style that was crafted by Shinobu herself. She made it because she didn’t have enough strength to cut off a demon’s head. Her strength wasn’t enough to slash off a demon’s head. She has become very good at this style of swordsmanship, which has helped her beat a lot of demons and even fight Doma, the second strongest Upper-Rank demon, head-on. In the end, she was able to defeat Doma.
Insect Breathing Techniques
There are four primary insect breathing techniques that Shinobu uses in the series Demon Slayer.
Butterfly Dance: Caprice
Shinobu jumps into the air and charges at her opponent, stabbing them with her blade multiple times to inject poison.
Dance of the Bee Sting: True Flutter
Shinobu dashes at her target at speeds and uses the momentum of her speed to then strengthen a single thrust into her opponent and inject poison into them.
Dance of the Dragonfly: Compound Eye Hexagon
With this six-strike attack, Shinobu aims to hit and inject her target with multiple doses of poison at the target’s weak spots (like the neck, heart, torso, etc.) to kill them with a hefty dose of poison.
Dance of the Centipede: Hundred-Legged Zigzag
Shinobu uses her full speed to run in a zigzag pattern that confuses their opponent. This gives her a chance to directly stab her opponent in the neck and inject poison to kill them, with the momentum of her speed making the stab even stronger.
Shinobu Sword
Shinobu carries a Nichirin Katana that has been modified a lot to her choices. It’s the same as any other katana from the handle to a little bit above the hilt, but the blade ends there, and a rod takes its place. It comes to an end that looks like a needle and works like an insect’s stinger.
Due to the way her sword is made, the words Evil Demon are written on the right side of the blade, while the words Destruction are written on the left side.
Shinobu vs. Doma
Shinobu x Doma is one of the most intense battles in the series. It takes place in the Infinite Castle Arc and near the final battle between the Hashiras and the Demon King, Muzan.
Shinobu, the Insect Hashira fight off Doma, the Upper Moon Rank Two, inside Nakime’s Infinite Castle.
She gets inside the castle and finds that Doma is there devouring his disciples. She tries to save one of them, but the disciple explodes right in her arms.
Doma remembers her because she used to wear a haori with butterfly wings on it. He jokes that he’s sad he couldn’t eat Kanae because the sun was coming up, which makes Shinobu even madder.
The Real Spars
The Insect Hashira, Shinobu quickly attacks him with her Insect Breathing, Dance of the Bee Sting: True Flutter, which sends a powerful stab right into Doma’s right eyeball. She is fast and swift while making the attack.
He is surprised because he says he can’t move his hand fast enough to stop it. Then, he attacks Shinobu with his Blood Demon Art: Frozen Lotus. Shinobu backflips to get away from his attack.
Even though Doma doesn’t think much of Shinobu at first because he knows she isn’t strong enough to cut off the head of a demon, he gets excited when he finds out that Shinobu’s real strength is poisoning her enemies.
Doma neutralizes her poison, mending himself from her attack. She’s further driven into a hole since Doma is swiftly generating antibodies and modifying his body against her poison. After just five slashes and injections, he’s resistant to it totally.
Shinobu Getting Overwhelmed
On top of that, Shinobu feels that it’s getting harder and harder to breathe due to Doma’s Blood Demon Art: Frozen Mist.
Shinobu hits him with her Insect Breathing, Dance of the Dragonfly: Compound Eye Hexagon attack. She mostly hedges her bets on giving him a large dose to kill him by using a six-stab attack. But as she attacked him, he attacked her as well. He cut her collarbone and ribs and poked a hole in one of her lungs.
Shinobu tries to find strength by going over her older sister’s words of encouragement in her head. She is almost at the end of her rope and has almost given up on winning.
Shinobu then gets ready to attack Doma again, even though she is badly hurt and in a lot of pain. She uses her Insect Breathing, Dance of the Centipede: Hundred-Legged Zigzag attack to confuse Doma.
Doma quickly recovers from her attacks.
Shinobu is exhausted, badly hurt, and very close to dying when Doma grabs her as they fall from the ceiling. He gives her a bear hug and starts making fun of her. He tells her that her whole plan to beat him was a waste of time, tells her that she will live happily as a part of him, and asks her for her last words.
Shinobu’s Death: Doma Absorbs Shinobu
As he starts to kill her, she curses him out of spite. In the end, Doma takes her in and absorbs her. He is able to absorb Shinobu’s body until only a piece of her hair in the shape of a butterfly is left.
Shinobu Appearance
Shinobu is a small, pale-skinned young woman with big, insect-like eyes that don’t have pupils but instead have a haze of purple that moves from light to dark. She has black hair that is wavy and turns dark purple at the ends. At the back of her head, she has a flat yakai-maki bun that is held together with a white, turquoise, and light purple butterfly.
Shinobu is short and has been described as having a small, weak-looking body. She later says that she doesn’t have enough strength to cut off the head of a demon as the other Hashira can. Zenitsu says that Shinobu is so cute that she could get by just on her looks.
Final Thoughts
Shinobu plays an incredibly important role in the defeat of Upper Moon Rank Two, Doma. She injects him with so much poison that, eventually, his body is not able to regenerate.
Along with that, she is a kawaii Hashira of Demon Slayer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who killed Shinobu?
Doma. Shinobu was killed by Doma while fighting with him in the Infinite Castle created by Nakime.
How did Shinobu Die?
Shinobu dies in the hands of Doma. She fights him to the death, where she succeeds in poisoning Doma but loses her life to him.
What weapon does Shinobu use?
Shinobu uses a modified Nichrin sword. The end of her sword looks like a needle and works like an insect’s stinger.
What does Shinobu’s sword say?
Evil Demon Destruction. The modified Nichrin sword says Evil Demon on the right side and Destruction on the left side.
Why does Doma like Shinobu?
Doma liked Shinobu because he was able to feel emotion because of her. Since his childhood, Doma has never felt emotions. But, after getting killed, he seems himself talking to Shinobu and tells her that maybe this is love.
