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- She's so gentle.
- — Sanemi thinking about Kanae, Kimetsu no Yaiba: The Wind's Telltale Signs
SaneKana is the het ship between Sanemi Shinazugawa and Kanae Kocho from the Demon Slayer fandom.
Canon[]
The first meeting between Kanae and Sanemi happened off screen when Sanemi was promoted to the rank of Wind Hashira, and at that time Kanae was already a Hashira. The two first appear together in one frame in Chapter 168. During a meeting between the (former) Hashira, Sanemi angrily accuses the Oyakata-sama, Kagaya Ubuyashiki, of not valuing the lives and efforts of the Demon Slayers who die for their cause, including his best friend Masachika Kumeno. Kanae looks concerned for him as she cuts into Sanemi's outburst and tells him about their leader's phenomenal ability to memorize all of the names and backgrounds of their fallen comrades. She is notably one of the only pillars that is not angry with Sanemi's rudeness, but rather worried for him and the only one, besides Gyomei, to speak up. After reading Masachika's will, Sanemi begins to cry. Kanae is seen next to him with a concerned expression.
Signs from the Wind[]
In the third Kimetsu no Yaiba light novel, Sanemi goes to the Butterfly Mansion to get his wounds treated. Kanae chastises Sanemi for getting wounded when his previous injuries haven't healed yet. She also gives him advice and tells him to get along with Masachika. When she is tending to his injuries, Sanemi believes she is being very gentle with him, as if she fears she could hurt him. Sanemi notices that Kanae possesses warm and gentle hands which reminded him of his mother's. Sanemi seems shocked when Kanae calls him kind. Afterwards, Sanemi meets with Masachika and Shinobu, Kanae's younger sister. When she says she is leaving to find her sister, his face reddens. Sanemi reflects on Kanae and Shinobu's story and notes to himself that he would have never let his younger sibling become a Demon Slayer like Kanae did.
Moments/Mentions[]
Not much is currently known about Kanae and Sanemi's relationship. Gyomei Himejima claims that Sanemi liked Kanae, though we do not have confirmation from Sanemi. Sanemi's feelings for Kanae are ambiguous, since it is not verbally stated in what manner Sanemi liked Kanae. We also do not know if said feelings were reciprocated.
Kanae and Sanemi in Kimetsu Academy
Sanemi's feelings towards Kanae are mentioned in the second official Kimetsu no Yaiba fanbook. The fanbook consists of pages where each Hashira states their impressions and what they think about their co-workers. On Gyomei’s impression of Sanemi, he states, “He [Sanemi] has a strong spirit and is honest at heart. He likes Kanae”, with no clear explanation as to in what way Sanemi likes Kanae. Meanwhile, on Sanemi and Shinobu's pages, it is stated that Sanemi regularly asks Shinobu how she's doing when they interact, and Sanemi claims the reason for this is because of Shinobu's blood relation to Kanae.
In the light novel, Sanemi seems to have a complicated bond with Kanae He respects her and feels familiarity―because they are both the same age, they share the role of being the older sibling in their respective households, they lost their parents to a demon when they were young―among numerous similarities. Despite being so vastly different from each other, they share many similarities: Both are the eldest child in their family and wish to protect their younger sibling(s), both have lost almost all of their family to demons, and their reasons for becoming Demon Slayers are also similar―avenging their family. The one exception to this is that while Kanae seeks to make peace with the demons and befriend them, Sanemi is hellbent on annihilating all demons from existence.
Quotes[]
- “Seeing that kind and gentle smile right before him from close up, Sanemi quelled his anger for the moment and did not talk back to the woman in front of him. Just when he turned his head, Kanae nimbly tended to his injuries. Kanae’s actions were extremely delicate. He could feel that she was afraid that she was going to hurt him.”
- — Kimetsu no Yaiba: The Wind's Telltale Signs
- “He seems to like Kanae.”
- — Gyomei talking about Sanemi
Fanon[]
SaneKana is a generally popular ship. The ship has more popularity among Japanese fans based on the amount of fanworks, but it still has a decent amount of English-speaking fans, such as 3rdgymbros's blog on Tumblr and the works on AO3.
This ship falls behind in popularity when it comes to SaneGiyuu. But SaneKana started gaining popularity when people realized how well their personalities went together, Sanemi with his harsh personality and Kanae with her gentleness. Their potential, aesthetic, and similarities is what they're mostly shipped for. In fan interpretation, Sanemi is often depicted as smitten with Kanae, and too frightened to make the first move, fearing she might reject him. When fan works include other character, such as Sanemi and Kanae’s siblings, then the pair is presented as a very affectionate and loving couple who also takes care of their younger friends.
Fans were delighted when it was revealed that Sanemi talks to Kanae a lot in Tales of a Demon Slayer Academy and the new information about them in the third light novel and second fanbook and all this has reinforced their love for the ship.
Fans love to create a bunch of headcanons on them, like that Sanemi visited Kanae's grave more than Shinobu, or that Sanemi was going to confess to Kanae on the day she died. Sadly, those only are headcanons that spread around.
Fandom[]
- FAN FICTION
- Sanemi/Kanae tag on AO3
- Sanemi & Kanae tag on AO3
- Sanemi/Kanae on FanFiction.Net
- TUMBLR
- SaneKana posts on Tumblr
- SaneKana tag on Tumblr
- SaneKanae posts on Tumblr
- Sanemi x Kanae posts on Tumblr
- Notable Twitter Pages:
- @sainn1129 on Twitter
Trivia[]
- In Tales of a Demon Slayer Academy, a spin-off mini series, Kanae is a biology teacher, and Sanemi is a math teacher. It is noted that he "talks to Kanae-sensei a lot", to the point where jealous students make a "kill Sanemi-sensei plan", which ultimately doesn't work out.
Gallery[]
Manga[]
Fan Art[]
- All art in this section is fan made, and must be sourced back to the original artist. It also must have permission from the original artist to be posted here. If your art is here without your permission and you wish to have it taken down, please inform an admin, so that we may delete it.
.jpg "SaneKana art by ぷーぷくん (2).jpg (7 MB)")
.jpg "SaneKana-art-by-sainn1129-(2).jpg (1.6 MB)")
Variations[]
- Butterfly Couples refers to the ship between the two, Aoi Kanzaki, Inosuke Hashibira, Kanao Tsuyuri, Shinobu Kocho, Tanjiro Kamado and Giyu Tomioka
- SaneMitsuKana refers to the ship between Kanae Kocho, Sanemi Shinazugawa and Mitsuri Kanroji
