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- The bond between Nezuko and I can't be severed, not by anyone!
- —Tanjiro to Rui, Episode 19
NezuTan is the family ship between Tanjiro Kamado and Nezuko Kamado from the Demon Slayer fandom.
Canon[]
Final Selection - Rehabilitation Training Arc[]
Nezuko remembers her brother
Tanjiro and Nezuko are the surviving members of a family of seven. Nezuko was transformed into a demon after their household was attacked by the First Demon, Muzan, when Tanjiro came back the morning the massacre happened, he found only, Nezuko still alive. He then tries to carry her to the nearest village in an attempt to find a doctor and save Nezuko.
On his way there, Nezuko "woke up" as a demon, she tries to attack her brother but after some struggling, starts crying as Tanjiro begs her to hang in there, to not give in to the "demon". Giyuu arrives to save Tanjiro from Nezuko but Tanjiro pushes Nezuko out the way instead and protects her.
Giyuu gets a hold on Nezuko anyway and stabs her shoulder, causing Tanjiro to cry and beg Giyuu on his hands and knees to spare his little sister. Giyuu berates Tanjiro for being so weak and tells him that if he wants to protect his sister, then he'll have to fight for her. Which Tanjiro does - he charges Giyuu with the axe he had, but even though he got knocked out in the process, he nearly landed a blow on the demon slayer after he went down, the diversion gave Nezuko the opportunity to get out of Giyuu's hold. However, despite her starved state, Nezuko didn't eat her brother and instead tried to protect him from Giyuu.
Tanjiro wakes to find Nezuko unconscious and with a bamboo muzzle. He is relieved that Giyuu didn't end up killing Nezuko, and leads her back to where their family was killed to pay their respects, now that he knows Nezuko doesn't need a doctor.
Nezuko embraces Tanjiro after he returns from Final Selection
When Tanjiro returns from Final Selection, he finds that Nezuko has awakened and was waiting for him. Tanjiro stumbles from his exhaustion, but Nezuko runs over and embraces him. Tanjiro reciprocates and starts crying as he tells Nezuko how he was so worried about her, and that she was asleep for so long that he was afraid she would go. Following their reunion, Urokodaki reveals that he's created a special box for Tanjiro to carry Nezuko in, so that they can still be together throughout their journey.
When Rui was about to attack Tanjiro with his blood-demon spider webs, Nezuko put in front of him and received all the damage to protect him. Rui after seeing this he asked Tanjiro to give her his little sister, which he angrilly denied since family isn’t something you just give away. At the end, Nezuko and Tanjiro worked together to defeat him, as Tanjiro swang his sword into Rui’s neck and Nezuko used her Blood Demon Art to reforce it.
At the Demon Slaying Corps Headquarters, the first thing Tanjiro asks for once he wakes up is Nezuko and that where she was. Sanemi then appears and is holding the box that Nezuko is in, and stabs her in front of Tanjiro, causing him to angrily and recklessly charge the Wind Pillar and headbutt him.
Mugen Train Arc[]
Tanjiro, Zenitsu and Inosuke got to meet the Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku after getting on the train. Kyojuro saw Tanjiro holding his box on the back and asked him if there is where he transports his sister. Tanjiro agreeded and told him they’re inseparables as they always go to misions together. Kyojuro accepted it and told he was okay with as Oyakata-sama accepted Nezuko.
Tanjiro meets a human Nezuko in his dream
Thanks to a blood demon tecnique, Tanjiro and the others fell asleep. Tanjiro saw his deceased members of his family in his dreams, and he happily started living with them. Nezuko got out of her box and grabbed Tanjiro’s hand and put it on her head. Seeing it didn’t work, she headbutted Tanjiro, failing again and causing her to bleed. Nezuko got angry and headbutted Tanjiro stronger activating her blood demon art, making Tanjiro smell her blood and realising he was in a dream. Trying to run away from the dream he saw Nezuko, as she asked him what was going on. In tears he begged for their forgiveness for not saving them and for making Nezuko to not being able to see the sun ever again. He was able to wake up and saw Nezuko watching him as she grabbed her head. He smiled and patted her head as her little sister smiled, as Tanjiro told her to wake up the others while he was going to the first wagon to stop the train.
Entertainment District Arc[]
“Mother… Nezuko fell asleep”
As Tanjiro was fighting against Daki, the string of Nezuko’s box broke, forcing Tanjiro to leave it. Tanjiro strictly told Nezuko to not get out of the box unless her own life is in danger. She later witnessed Tanjiro about to be killed by Daki, causing her to worry. Nezuko then disobeyed Tanjiro and got out to defend him. Tanjiro worriedly told her to stay back for her protection, but Daki ended up tearing apart all her body limbs, further enraging Nezuko. She regrows her limbs and reveals her final form. She proceeded to beat up Daki, but later got out of control and almost attacked a human, only to Tanjiro to intervene and stop Nezuko. He started singing her a lullaby that their mother used to sing them when they were younger. This made Nezuko regain her memories as started to cry, shrinking back to her child size and fell asleep before Tanjiro. He then cried, talking to his deceased mother that his sister fell asleep.
He put her back in her box and continued to fight the Upper Ranks with his comrades. At the end all of them were brutally injured, but Nezuko went to check on Tanjiro and the others. She cured him and his comrades, revealing she has healing powers. As she was doing so, Nezuko carried an immobile Tanjiro in her back and got them back to everyone else.
Swordsmith Village Arc[]
Tanjiro was at the hotspring and met Genya Shinazugawa, then we can see Nezuko and Tanjiro in the hotspring, with Nezuko swimming and Tanjiro ranting about how he didn't expect Genya to be that rude. When they met the Love Hashira, Mitsuri Kanroji, Nezuko quickly bonded with her. Nezuko and Tanjiro talked to Mitsuri for a while and then her sword was ready. Right before she leaves, Mitsuri whispers in Tanjiros ear on how she was looking for a strong man, and how there was a sword that would make a man stronger hidden in the Swordsmith Village. Tanjiro's nose bled and you can see that Nezuko gave him an angry look. Later on in the manga, Tanjiro was braiding her hair in Mitsuri's style, which made her happy.
When Tanjiro needed help in the battle with the Hantengu clones, Nezuko stabbed her hand with his sword which turned it a red color, Tanjiro used it to cause a blow on the Hantengu clones. At the near end of the battle, when the sun was coming up. Nezuko started burning in the sun. Tanjiro tried covering her up but it didn't work. He also tried seeing if her shrinking would help, it didn't. Tanjiro had a choice to save Nezuko, or the Swordsmiths. Nezuko sacrificed herself by pushing Tanjiro away to save the Swordsmiths. After he beheaded the main body of Hantengu, he broke down, crying. Saying how turning Nezuko back into a human, was the only reason he was this far as a demon slayer. But as the Swordsmiths call his name, Tanjiro looks behind him and sees Nezuko in the sun. They both hug as Tanjiro was filled with relief and happiness that his little sister survived. Tanjiro then collapses on the ground from exhaustion.
Sunrise Countdown Arc[]
As Nezuko finally turned back into a human, she saw Tanjiro presumably dead on the battleground. A member of the kakushi said apologised to Nezuko for her loss, but then it turned out that Tanjiro had turned into a demon. Nezuko was devastated and tried holding him back by hugging him, Tanjiro, now the Demon King, injured her but she remained strong. When Kanao arrived and injected wisteria poison into him, Nezuko was still holding on to him. After that, the two hug with a couple of other people as they both cry. Near the end of the manga, the two alongside Zenitsu and Inosuke came back to their house where they grew up. Tears fill their eyes and they start crying when they realize that after about 3 years, they have finally returned home.
Tanjiro's Status Report[]
Some point after the final battle with Muzan, Tanjiro and Nezuko continued to live their daily lives along with Zenitsu and Inosuke. Along the line, Tanjiro and Nezuko recieve a lot of money from Kiriya Ubuyashiki, but despite be given money, Tanjiro and Nezuko continued to work as charcoal burners. They would sometimes meet with all the former members of the Demon Slayer Corps and will have conversations with them. They would also reiceve gifts from Sameni in response to his letters.
Fanon[]
The reaction to their relationship and closeness is largely positive by the fandom, as both sibling love and care for each other. As the entire story is about Tanjiro turning his sister back into a human and avenging their family, fans have praised how heart-touching their relationship is, especially Tanjiro's determination to save his little sister. Also fans like how Nezuko often hugs and headpats Tanjiro and vice versa, as this little interactions are really cute to the fandom. Fanworks often feature the two with the rest of their deceased family, "reunited" seems to a common theme.
Also many fans find really cute and funny how both sibling have strong heads and often hit others with them, as Tanjiro has headbutted enemies or people that make him enraged, and Nezuko has headbutted Tanjiro twice in the Mugen Train to wake him up, only for the second time for Nezuko to use the Blood Demon Art to finally snap him out of his dream.
Many fans also find cute how Tanjiro is extremely protective of Nezuko, as he defends her when someone talks trash about her or he doesn’t let her join his fight when it comes to a battle he knows he can handle alone, though he doesn't stop her from helping him during the ones that he cannot. Other fans got shock after seeing that even after Tanjiro was turned into a Demon by Muzan and falls under his influence, Nezuko approaches him and tries to hold him back despite the possibility of herself being harmed by him. However, Tanjiro does not attack her even after tasting her blood, but this might be possible due Muzan only asking him to destroy the Demon Slayer Corps and she was never part of it. Still, many fans like to compare this scene with the first one, as Nezuko was attacking his brother, but after hearing his words she stopped it, and instead attacked the Hashira Giyuu Tomioka, since he knocked out his brother.
Fandom[]
- FAN FICTION
- Nezuko & Tanjiro tag on AO3
- FAN ART
- 竈門兄妹 tag on Pixiv
- 兄妹の絆 (Siblings' Bond) tag on Pixiv
- TUMBLR
- Tanjiro and Nezuko tag on Tumblr
- Nezuko and Tanjiro tag on Tumblr
- Kamado Siblings tag on Tumblr
- WIKI
- Tanjiro Kamado's Relationship with Nezuko Kamado on the Kimetsu no Yaiba Wiki
- Nezuko Kamado's Relationship with Tanjiro Kamado on the Kimetsu no Yaiba Wiki
Trivia[]
- Nezuko is 14 while Tanjiro is 15 years old.
- Tanjiro is the only one who can calm Nezuko down by calling her name or singing their mother's lullaby.
Gallery[]
- Main article: NezuTan/Gallery
Variations[]
- Kamaboko Squad refers to the ship between the two, Inosuke Hashibira and Zenitsu Agatsuma
- Kamado Family refers to the ship between the two, Tanjuro Kamado, Kie Kamado, Takeo Kamado, Hanako Kamado, Shigeru Kamado, Rokuta Kamado, Kanata Kamado, Sumihiko Kamado
