Since its debut in 2019 Demon Slayer anime captivated the world with its exciting plot, bright characters, epic devastating battles, and of course the brilliant visual effects that accompany them, created by the team at Ufotable. Although the quality of animation in the show was of the highest level by all parameters. There is one particular aspect of his visual language that stood out above all else. This occurs in his recreation of Breathing Styles, the various swordsmanship techniques practiced and taught by members of the Demon Slayer Corps, which allows them to overcome the limitations of human endurance and strength to compete with the superhuman abilities of the demons they encounter in combat.
Most breathing styles mimic the behavior of natural elements where the user attempts to visualize the element and reproduce its movement to increase their own physical parameters. The anime’s portrayal of these techniques has earned much praise for its stunning image of flowing waterroaring flames, crackling lightning, and a host of other elemental and non-elemental styles that enhanced the experience Demon Slayer anime beyond what could be imagined. Each of these techniques is based on the concept of full-concentration breathing, an approach to the intake and consumption of oxygen that maximizes the efficiency of the human body to the point where practitioners can perform feats undreamed of by ordinary people.
What is full breath concentration?
Simply put, full concentration breathing is the process of inhaling optimal volumes of oxygen through certain breathing patterns in such a way that their physical and mental abilities reach their absolute limits. Demon Slayers can enter this state by concentrating their breath, and every technique associated with the breathing style is fueled by breathing with full concentration. With enough time and training, these limits can be expanded far beyond normal human capabilities, which is what separates Demon Slayers from the average individual. At a basic level, it provides increased strength, speed, agility, reflexes, endurance, simplified thought process, high speed information processing and increased concentration. As Demon Slayers rise through the ranks to reach the level of elite warriors like Hashira, the increase in power that comes with mastering this technique takes on a whole new meaning. Late Flame Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku even stated that while full breath concentration cannot help a demon slayer in everything, it can provide a small gradual increase in power that accumulates over time.
One of the most effective ways to achieve this is with an additional technique called Total Concentration: Constant. Essentially, it involves maintaining a state of complete concentration on the breath at any time, during the day, at night, and even during sleep. majority advanced demon slayers like Hashira are capable of this feat, which greatly improves their growth rate both in the short term and over the long term. It is said that there is a significant difference in strength between those who can maintain this state at all times and those who cannot. Despite the fact that this skill itself is quite rudimentary, the action of constantly being in this state requires great effort and vigilance.
Members of the Demon Slayer Corps can acquire this skill through a training method that involves blowing into pumpkins of various sizes and strengths. The goal of this action is to smash the pumpkin in one breath, and the progression of the pumpkins corresponds to the Demon Slayer’s power increasing at each successive stage of the training mode. At the end of this process, participants will have to smash a pumpkin, the size of which is roughly the size of a chair. It is very important that a Demon Slayer attempting to crack a gourd does so in one go, as any cracks created by failed attempts allow air to escape, making the dense clay structure of the gourd even more difficult to destroy. It takes a considerable amount of time to constantly maintain a fully focused breath, especially during sleep, as demon slayers will have to learn to perform daily activities and the more strenuous movements associated with combat or training without coming out of this state. In this state, the user’s normal breathing pattern is replaced by fully concentrated breathing that requires no effort to maintain, greatly facilitating improving your breathing style like some time
How does this enhance the demon slayer’s abilities?
Upon reaching a certain level of mastery of this technique, Demon Slayers will gain access to superhuman physical and mental abilities, allowing them to instantly defeat powerful demons. At the extreme, the elite level of the Breath Full Concentration skill grants speed on a level similar to teleportation where people can move faster than the human eye can perceive, or grants physical strength sufficient to destroy large boulders with a single blow. strike. It is important to note that the elemental releases seen when Demon Slayers perform forms of their respective breathing styles are more like visualization methods than actual manifestations of the elements themselves. Demon slayers imagine that they are manipulating their elements while performing their forms, while stronger corps members can visualize with greater clarity and extend the range of their attacks due to wind pressure. The increased strength and speed gained from this method makes it appear as if their attacks are infused with magic, even though they are not.
All breathing styles come from solar breath, the first open among them. In addition to the standard elemental ones, Demon Slayers often develop new breathing styles to better suit their own physiology and fighting style. This has created breathing styles that rely on different weapons and embody larger concepts such as snakes, insects, love or flowers. Mixing breathing styles is also a measure that can be taken in cases where one style alone cannot provide the desired solution to a combat scenario. For example, Tanjiro combined the use of Water Breath and Hinokami Kagura to sustain both for longer periods of time. This gave him the stronger punches of the latter style combined with the lower strain of using the former.
Finally, in its most powerful form, full concentration breathing gives the user complete control over their body and its functions. This allows them to stop the circulation of venom in the blood, control muscles and hold damaged organs in place, or even cause blood to coagulate and coagulate instantly, preventing bleeding from serious injuries. Tanjiro demonstrated another version of this technique Restorative breathing, which helps to eliminate fatigue and stiff muscles due to high workload. This is achieved by taking a moment to calm down and refocus your breathing pattern, which can be the difference in life or death situations. In short, while the effort and skill required to master and maintain Full Concentration Breathing is quite high, the rewards more than compensate for it, making it a vital skill for any Demon Slayer who aspires to reach the rank of Hashira.