The Trademark “Headbutt” of Shonen Jump Protagonists Strikes Again! In "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba," Tanjiro Delivers a Savage "Crack!" to Inosuke

When talking about Tanjiro Kamado (voiced by Natsuki Hanae), the protagonist in the early stages of the anime "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba," his signature finishing move isn’t Water Breathing... but rather the headbutt!? His stone-hard head packs a punch powerful enough to KO Inosuke Hashibira (voiced by Yoshitsugu Matsuoka).

In episode 14 of "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Tanjiro Kamado, Unwavering Resolve Arc," the mysterious swordsman Inosuke, wearing a boar's head, delivers a one-sided beating to Zenitsu Agatsuma (voiced by Hiro Shimono). Tanjiro attempts to stop the rampaging Inosuke, but struggles against his superhuman athleticism, remarking that "it's like fighting a four-legged beast."

At that moment, the technique Tanjiro employs isn’t Water Breathing. Grabbing both of Inosuke’s shoulders, he shouts, “Calm down for a second!” and delivers a huge headbutt. With a dull, echoing "crack," Zenitsu is shocked, exclaiming, "Didn’t his skull just break?!" Even the tough Inosuke staggers and eventually faints with his eyes rolled back.

The overwhelming force of Tanjiro’s secret weapon headbutt amazed viewers on the internet, generating comments like “Tanjiro’s headbutt is insane,” “Tanjiro really does have a stone head,” and “How does neither of their skulls split from those headbutts?” By the way, it seems that many Shonen Jump protagonists curiously share the “stone head” characteristic. In that sense, Tanjiro may truly be a classic “Jump protagonist.”