Since its debut in 2019, theDemon Slayeranime has taken the world by storm with its gripping storyline, colorful characters,epic earth shattering battles, and of course, the scintillating visuals accompanying them, created by the team at Ufotable. Although the quality of animation seen in the show has been of the highest order on every count. There is one particular facet of its visual language that has stood out above all else. This comes in its rendering of Breathing Styles — the distinct swordsmanship techniques practiced and taught by members of the Demon Slayer Corps, permitting them to surpass the constraints of human endurance and strength, in order to compete with the superhuman abilities of the demons they face in combat.
Most Breathing Styles echo the behavior of natural elements, where the user attempts to visualize the element and replicate its movement to augment their own physical parameters. The depiction of these techniques in the anime has garnered it much praise, stemming from the jaw-droppingimages of flowing water, roaring flames, crackling lightning, and a host of other elemental and non-elemental styles which have raised the experience of theDemon Slayeranime beyond what one could have imagined. Each of these techniques is grounded in the concept of Total Concentration Breathing, an approach to oxygen intake and consumption which maximizes the efficiency of the human body to a degree where practitioners can perform feats that ordinary humans could never even dream of.
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What Is Total Concentration Breathing?
Simply put, Total Concentration Breathing is the process of inhaling optimum volumes of oxygen through specific breathing patterns in a manner that pushes their physical and mental faculties to their absolute limits. Demon Slayers can enter this state by focusing their breathing, and each technique associated with a Breathing Style is fueled by Total Concentration Breathing. With adequate time and training, these limits can be extended far beyond normal human capabilities, which is what sets Demon Slayers apart from the average individual. At the basest level, this allows for heightened strength, speed, agility, reflexes, durability, streamlined thought processes, high-speed information processing, and intensified concentration. When Demon Slayers rise up the ranks to reach the levels of elite warriors like the Hashira, the rise in power granted by the mastery of this technique takes on a whole new meaning. The lateFlame Hashira Kyojuro Rengokuhas even stated that although Total Concentration Breathing cannot help a Demon Slayer with everything, it can provide small incremental increases in power which add up over time.
One of the most effective ways to achieve this is through a supplementary technique called Total Concentration: Constant. In essence, this entails maintaining a state of Total Concentration Breathing at all times, during the day, at night, and even when asleep. Mostadvanced Demon Slayers, such as the Hashiraare capable of this feat, which significantly improves their growth rate both in the short term and over extended periods of time. It is said that there is a considerable difference in power between those who can maintain this state at all times and those who cannot. Even though the skill itself is quite rudimentary of its own accord, the act of remaining in this state at all times is something that demands a high amount of effort and vigilance.
Members of the Demon Slayer Corps can acquire this skill through a training method that involves blowing into gourds of varying size and durability. The objective of this act is to break apart the gourd with one’s breath alone, and the progression of gourds correspond to the Demon Slayer’s increase in strength at each successive stage of the training regimen. At the conclusion of this process, participants will have to break a gourd whose size roughly matches that of a chair. It is imperative that the Demon Slayer attempting to break the gourd achieves this feat in a single breath as any cracks created by unsuccessful attempts allows air to escape, making the dense clay structure of the gourd even harder to break down. It takes a considerable amount of time to maintain Total Concentration Breathing at all times, especially when asleep, as Demon Slayers will have to learn how to perform everyday activities and more strenuous combat or training-related movements without exiting this state at any point. In this state, a user’s normal breathing pattern is replaced by Total Concentration Breathing, such that it takes zero effort to maintain, which greatly aids inpowering up their Breathing Styleas a while.
How Does It Enhance A Demon Slayer’s Abilities?
On achieving a certain level of mastery over this technique, Demon Slayers will gain access to superhuman physical and mental capabilities, allowing them to vanquish strong demons instantaneously. At its extreme, an elite level of proficiency at Total Concentration Breathing grants speed on a level akin to teleportation, where individuals are able to move faster than the human eye can perceive, or confer physical strength that is sufficient to destroy large boulders with a single strike. It is important to note that the elemental releases seen when Demon Slayers execute theforms of their respective Breathing Stylesare more like visualization techniques rather than actual manifestations of the elements themselves.Demon Slayers imagine themselves manipulating their respective elementswhen executing their forms, and stronger members of the corps are able to visualize with more clarity and extend the range of their attacks through wind pressure. The enhancements in strength and speed gained through this method makes it appear as if their attacks are laced with magic even if that is not really the case.
All Breathing Stylesare derived from Sun Breathing, the first among them to be discovered. Besides the standard elementally-inclined ones, new Breathing Styles are often developed by Demon Slayers to better accommodate their own physiology and fighting style. This has produced Breathing Styles that rely on different kinds of weapons and embody larger concepts such as serpents, insects, love, or flowers. MIxing Breathing Styles is also a measure that can be adopted in cases where a single style alone cannot provide the desired resolution to a combat scenario. For instance, Tanjiro merged his use of both of Water Breathing and Hinokami Kagura to sustain both for longer periods. This gave him the stronger strikes of the latter style combined with the reduced strain of using the former.
Finally, in its most potent form, Total Concentration Breathing gives a user full control over their body and its functions. This allows them to halt the circulation of poison in their bloodstream, control muscles and hold damaged organs in place, or even force blood to coagulate and clot instantly, preventing themselves from bleeding out due to severe injuries.Tanjiro has demonstrated another version of this techniquecalled Recovery Breathing, which aids in eliminating fatigue and stiffened muscles as a consequence of high exertion. This is achieved by taking a moment to steady and refocus one’s breathing pattern, which could be the difference in life or death situations. In short, while the effort and skill needed to master and maintain Total Concentration Breathing is quite high, the payoffs more than makeup for it, such that it is a vital skill for any Demon Slayer aspiring to reach the rank of a Hashira.
