It’s impossible to talk about modern shounen anime and not mention Demon Slayer. Boasting a huge following, the show has its fans engaging in various headcanons on a regular basis. One such headcanon some Demon Slayer fans have is that one small change to a character’s appearance could’ve ended the show earlier.
Demon Slayer, written and illustrated by Koyoharu Gotouge, debuted in 2016 and successfully ran for four years before ending in 2020. The manga was already very popular and became even more so when it received an anime adaptation by ufotable in 2019.
After three successful seasons and one record-breaking movie, we’re eagerly anticipating Demon Slayer Season 4. The Hashira Training Arc promises some of Tanjiro’s greatest tests yet.
The fans of Demon Slayer are pretty active on the fandom and always discussing one conjecture after another. This new headcanon came from both their active imagination and their appreciation for Tanjiro’s earlier appearance.
Demon Slayer could’ve ended earlier if Tanjiro kept his long hair
A fan posted on Reddit that if Tanjiro kept his hair long like he had in the beginning, it would’ve changed the trajectory of Demon Slayer and ended the show much earlier. Their statement was supported by a lot of other fans who also claimed that Tanjiro’s long hair might’ve turned the series much shorter.
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According to them, Kibutsuji Muzan would’ve been triggered by Tanjiro’s long hair and might’ve had a heart attack after seeing him. Some fans joked that Tanjiro’s very sight would’ve triggered Muzan’s PTSD and caused him to run into the sunlight or cry for his Upper Moon demons to save him.
The reason some fans think this is because of the similarities in appearance between Tanjiro and Yoriichi Tsugikuni. Yoriichi was the only person to have bested Muzan. In fact, Yoriichi completely overwhelmed Muzan and almost killed him at their first encounter. The encounter was so traumatizing for Muzan that his body still feared the very memory of Yoriichi after hundreds of years.
If Tanjiro had kept his hair long, his first encounter with Muzan would have gone differently. Muzan would’ve cowered at Tanjiro’s appearance who would’ve looked even more similar to Yoriichi with his earrings and long hair. For all we know, the demon progenitor might have just run into the sunlight to spare himself from Yoriichi’s wrath. That would’ve cut Demon Slayer short for sure.
