The Massive Gap in Kyojuro Rengoku: From Embarrassedly Wishing for a “Hole to Crawl Into...” to Unleashing the Flame Hashira’s Destructive Power in an Instant — “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba”

As the “Flame Hashira,” Kyojuro Rengoku (voiced by Satoshi Hino) possesses overwhelming strength and enjoys great popularity among fans. In Episode 5 of the TV anime adaptation “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Mugen Train Arc,” after being caught in the enemy’s trap and feeling ashamed of himself, he instantly launches a powerful attack, and this dramatic contrast captivated viewers.

Due to the abilities of Lower Rank One, Enmu (voiced by Daisuke Hirakawa), both Rengoku and Tanjiro Kamado (voiced by Natsuki Hanae), among others, fell asleep aboard the train. While Tanjiro somehow escapes the dream and engages in a fierce battle with Enmu, in Episode 5 Rengoku finally awakens from his slumber. Rengoku, ashamed, says, “To think something like this would happen while I dozed off. Unbelievable, truly unbelievable. How disgraceful of me as a Hashira.” Despite exclaiming, “I just want to crawl into a hole!” he draws his sword and, with blinding speed, unleashes a slash that inflicts massive damage on Enmu.

Viewers were elated by Rengoku’s ability to reflect on himself while dealing a devastating blow to his enemy in an instant, responding with comments such as, “No matter how many times I watch it, he’s so cool,” “He’s probably the only person who would say ‘I want to crawl into a hole’ so boldly and powerfully,” and “He’s so cool, I’m in love with him.”