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Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaibafollows the Demon Slayer Corps as they protect humanity from the ever-growing threat of the Demon King Muzan and his underlings. In this seemingly endless conflict, perhaps humanity’s greatest strength has been the plethora of swordsmanship styles, also known as breathing styles, that give swordsmen access to unique techniques. These special offensive and defensive moves ultimately prove to be the difference between life and death.
Demon Slayers of the Taisho Era are lucky as most of them use techniques that were refined over centuries and have different forms that are battle-tested. While each one of them has unique applications, Stone Breathing stands out when it comes to pure power. Here’s why it might turn out to be game-changingin the Infinity Castle arc.
The Origins of Stone Breathing
Yoriichi Helped Invent Gyomei’s Breathing Style
Back in the Sengoku era, demon slayers were fighting demons without any special techniques that gave them an edge. But everything changed after Yoriichi Tsugikuni was born and went on to transformthe Demon Slayer Corpsin the following decades. While he made quite a few unique contributions to humanity’s future, one that stood out has to be the invention of breathing styles. It gave combatants a dangerous advantage that played a crucial role in ushering in the Golden Age of Demon Slayers.
The Demon Slayer Corps will never disappear until we eradicate all demons from this world. ~ Gyomei Himejima
However, the original swordsmanship style that Yoriichi used is called the sun breathing. Since Tsugikuni was born with incredible strength, he picked it up quite naturally, but this was not the case with other swordsmen of his generation. One of his disciples struggleda lot to learn sun breathingbut barely made any progress.
Eventually when it was established beyond doubt that he was unlikely to pick up Yoriichi’s style, the legendary swordsmen helped invent a new breathing style that took into account his strengths and weaknesses. This swordsmanship style went on to become stone breathing and was refined by different users over generations.
The Frightening Powers Gyomei is Set to Unleash in the Infinity Castle
Stone Breathing Has Several Dangerous Forms
Gyomei Himejima is luckythat he has been able to learn and master a breathing style that is a direct derivative of sun breathing. The fact that it is also refined just makes the swordsmanship style even more lethal. Stone Hashira is known for his ruthless training regimen and the desire to constantly challenge himself. It should not come as a surprise that he has mastered stone breathing to the point that it could be argued that he is perhaps its greatest user.
Stone breathing is not only dangerous because it’s a directderivative of Yoriichi’s swordsmanship style, but because it is extremely well refined to the point that most of its forms are almost perfect. In the final episode of the Hashira Training arc, when Gyomei goes on the offensive to finish Muzan off, he uses the Third Form: Stone Skin. In this specific technique, the user generates a lot of power by swinging their weapon rapidly and unleashing a barrage of omnidirectional attacks that can overwhelm any enemy. Interestingly, this form can be used for both offensive and defensive purposes.
While the glimpse of his power is breathtaking, Himejima has yet to use some of the most dangerous techniques of stone breathing. With thebattle moving now to the Infinity Castlethings are only going to get more exciting. While fighting an Upper Moon, Gyomei will use First Form: Serpentinite Bipolar which can tear any enemy apart on impact because of the combined force generated by his flail and axe. He will also use the Fourth Form: Volcanic Rock, Rapid Conquest, a terrifying move that unleashes two simultaneous long-range attacks on the enemy, leaving them no margin for error.
Perhaps his most terrifying and damaging move will be the Fifth Form: Arcs of Justice. In this technique, Gyomei distracts his enemy with a direct axe attack, while rotating the flail in a way that it moves from the blind spot and crashes into his enemy. Failing to stop even one of them will mean seriousdamage to even an Upper Moon. Such violent attacks will showcase how dangerous Himejima truly is when he is fighting at his full potential. Each of his moves will be well-planned and even challenge one of the most powerful demons in existence.
Stone breathing might not have beenseen much until now, but this is set to change in the Infinity Castle trilogy. As Gyomei fights at full potential, its frightening range and power will finally be revealed.
Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle trilogy’s first installment is scheduled to be released in the United States onSeptember 12, 2025.
