Tanjiro vs Zenitsu: Who's Stronger?

The Demon Slayer Corps’ greatest generation produced three legendary hunters who fought alongside each other against Muzan and the Upper Moons. Among them, Tanjiro Kamado and Zenitsu Agatsuma stand as two of the most beloved—and most debated.

Fans constantly argue about who’s stronger. Tanjiro has the protagonist legacy, multiple breathing styles, and the Demon Slayer Mark. But Zenitsu perfected the first form of Thunder Breathing to an unmatched degree and created an entirely new technique. Both reached incredible heights by the end of the series.

So who actually wins? Let’s put friendship aside and analyze this like the demon slayers they are.

Tanjiro Kamado: Powers and Abilities

Key Abilities

Sun Breathing (Hinokami Kagura): The original breathing style from which all others derive. Twelve forms plus the Thirteenth Form—a continuous loop of all forms with no beginning or end
Water Breathing: Ten forms mastered under Sakonji Urokodaki, providing versatility and defensive options
Demon Slayer Mark: A mark that appears on chosen slayers, dramatically boosting physical abilities—speed, strength, and reflexes increase exponentially
Transparent World: The ability to see through opponents’ bodies, predicting movements by watching blood flow and muscle contractions
Selfless State: A mental state that erases bloodlust entirely, making the user invisible to demon senses
Bright Red Nichirin Blade: Can heat his blade to turn it crimson, preventing demon regeneration

Best Feats

Fighting Muzan Kibutsuji: Survived extended combat against the demon king himself, who had killed countless hashira
Damaging Muzan when marked hashira couldn’t: His Sun Breathing genuinely hurt Muzan, who feared the Hinokami Kagura
Keeping pace with Upper Moon Three (Akaza): Fought and contributed to defeating one of the strongest demons in existence
Unlocking Transparent World in combat: Achieved this legendary state mid-battle against Akaza
Surviving while poisoned: Fought through Muzan’s demon-transforming blood and maintained his humanity
Mastering the Thirteenth Form: Performed the continuous technique that nearly killed Muzan alone

Tanjiro’s growth throughout the series is exponential. He goes from barely surviving against Lower Moons to being a critical factor in killing Muzan himself.

Zenitsu Agatsuma: Powers and Abilities

Key Abilities

Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash: Zenitsu’s signature technique—a single devastating dash and slash faster than the eye can follow
Thunderclap and Flash: Godspeed: An evolved version that pushes his speed to the absolute limit, allowing consecutive uses at even greater velocity
Thunderclap and Flash: Sixfold/Eightfold: Multiple consecutive dashes creating the illusion of simultaneous attacks
Seventh Form: Honoikazuchi no Kami (Flaming Thunder God): A technique Zenitsu created himself—a dragon-shaped thunder strike that burns and electrocutes simultaneously
Enhanced Hearing: Can hear heartbeats, emotions, and even the “sound” of demons’ true nature
Unconscious Combat State: In his sleep state, Zenitsu fights without fear or hesitation, performing at his peak

Best Feats

Solo killing Upper Moon Six (Kaigaku): Defeated his former senior—a demon using Thunder Breathing—without assistance
Creating an original form: Invented the Seventh Form of Thunder Breathing, something even his master couldn’t do
Blitzing multiple demons simultaneously: His Sixfold and Eightfold variations show he can attack faster than multiple opponents can react
Damaging Muzan: Contributed to the final battle, landing hits on the demon king
Reacting to Upper Moon Six’s attacks: Kaigaku used all Thunder Breathing forms enhanced by demon power, and Zenitsu still outpaced him
Fighting while fully conscious: By the end of the series, Zenitsu fights at full power while awake, overcoming his mental blocks

Zenitsu’s specialization is what makes him dangerous. He doesn’t have variety—he has perfection in one form, and that perfection has grown beyond what any other Thunder Breather achieved.

Battle Analysis

Speed

Edge: Zenitsu

This is Zenitsu’s entire identity, and he wins it decisively.

Thunderclap and Flash is explicitly one of the fastest techniques in Demon Slayer. When enhanced to Godspeed, Zenitsu moves faster than Upper Moon demons can perceive—beings who can casually dodge attacks from hashira.

Tanjiro is fast, especially with the Demon Slayer Mark active. His combat speed against Akaza and Muzan shows he can hang with the best. But his speed is supplementary to his overall combat ability.

Zenitsu’s speed IS his combat ability. Everything he does is designed around being faster than his opponent can react. In a head-to-head speed comparison, Zenitsu wins because speed is his singular focus while it’s one of many attributes for Tanjiro.

Strength/Attack Power

Edge: Tanjiro

While Zenitsu’s attacks hit hard—Thunderclap and Flash carries significant cutting power—Tanjiro’s offensive options are broader and more devastating.

Sun Breathing is explicitly stated to be the strongest breathing style. It’s the origin of all others, and its attacks carry a burning quality that prevents regeneration even before the blade turns red. The Thirteenth Form is a continuous assault designed to kill Muzan, the strongest demon ever.

Tanjiro also has ten forms of Water Breathing for versatility. He can adapt his attack approach to different situations—something Zenitsu’s single-form mastery doesn’t allow.

In raw attack power for a single strike, they might be close. But Tanjiro’s sustained damage output and variety give him the edge.

Durability

Edge: Tanjiro

Both demon slayers are extraordinarily resilient by human standards. They’ve both fought through injuries that should have killed them multiple times over.

However, Tanjiro’s durability is consistently portrayed as supernatural even for a marked slayer. He survived being transformed into a demon and reversed it through willpower. He fought Muzan while poisoned with demon blood that was actively trying to destroy his cells. He kept fighting when his body was literally breaking down.

Zenitsu is durable—he survived Upper Moon Six’s attacks and kept going—but his fighting style emphasizes evasion over tanking. He wins by not getting hit, rather than by enduring damage.

In a prolonged engagement where both fighters take hits, Tanjiro’s survival rate is higher.

Special Abilities/Hax

Edge: Tanjiro

This category heavily favors Tanjiro due to abilities that don’t have equivalents in Zenitsu’s arsenal.

Transparent World is the decisive factor. With this ability, Tanjiro can see through his opponent’s body, watching blood flow and muscle contractions to predict movements before they begin. Against Zenitsu, this means potentially reading where Thunderclap and Flash will strike before Zenitsu initiates the technique.

Bright Red Nichirin Blade doesn’t affect human opponents, but the heating of his blade in general suggests enhanced cutting power.

Selfless State removes bloodlust, which wouldn’t help against Zenitsu specifically but demonstrates Tanjiro’s mental discipline.

Demon Slayer Mark provides a universal stat boost that enhances all of Tanjiro’s capabilities simultaneously.

Zenitsu’s special ability is his enhanced hearing—he can hear heartbeats and emotions. This helps him read opponents, but Transparent World provides similar information more directly.

Battle Scenario

How would this fight actually play out?

Opening Exchange

Zenitsu opens with Thunderclap and Flash immediately—his standard approach. He doesn’t wait, analyze, or posture. He moves.

Tanjiro, with Transparent World active, sees Zenitsu’s muscles coil before the dash begins. He reads the trajectory. But Godspeed-level Thunderclap and Flash is still obscenely fast. Even knowing where it’s going, intercepting it is borderline impossible.

Tanjiro uses Water Breathing’s defensive forms—likely Dead Calm (Tenth Form)—to block rather than dodge. Their blades connect with tremendous force.

Mid-Fight

After the initial exchange proves neither can one-shot the other, the fight evolves.

Zenitsu’s strategy is forced repetition—keep using Thunderclap and Flash variants until one connects cleanly. Sixfold, Eightfold, Godspeed. He’s betting that his speed will eventually overwhelm Tanjiro’s precognition.

Tanjiro’s strategy is attrition. Every exchange, he’s gathering information through Transparent World. Every deflection, he’s looking for the pattern in Zenitsu’s approach. He mixes Water Breathing’s defense with Sun Breathing’s offense, switching styles to keep Zenitsu from predicting him.

The fight becomes a chess match at impossible speeds.

Decisive Moment

Zenitsu eventually commits to Honoikazuchi no Kami—his ultimate technique, the form he created himself. It’s his trump card, combining the speed of Thunderclap with burning lightning.

This is his maximum output. If it connects, the fight is over.

Tanjiro, seeing this through Transparent World, responds with the Thirteenth Form—the continuous cycle of Sun Breathing. Rather than trying to block a single overwhelming strike, he creates a sustained defensive-offensive flow that doesn’t allow Zenitsu’s single-strike philosophy to find an opening.

The forms clash. Zenitsu’s technique is faster, but Tanjiro’s is longer. The Thirteenth Form’s continuous nature wears down the Seventh Form’s singular impact.

As Zenitsu’s technique ends, Tanjiro’s continues. The opening appears.

The Verdict: Who Wins?

Winner: Tanjiro

In a fight between these two demon slayers at their peaks, Tanjiro wins through superior versatility, hax abilities, and endurance.

Why Tanjiro Wins:

Transparent World counters speed: Zenitsu’s entire advantage is being faster than opponents can react. But Tanjiro can see attacks before they happen by reading Zenitsu’s body. This doesn’t completely negate Zenitsu’s speed, but it dramatically reduces his advantage.
Breathing style versatility: Zenitsu has one form perfected to its absolute limit. Tanjiro has thirteen Sun Breathing forms plus ten Water Breathing forms. In a prolonged fight, Tanjiro can adapt to whatever Zenitsu throws at him.
Endurance advantage: The Thirteenth Form is designed for extended combat. Zenitsu’s techniques are designed for quick kills. If the first few exchanges don’t end the fight, the balance shifts toward Tanjiro.
Similar physical stats: With the Demon Slayer Mark, Tanjiro’s speed and reflexes are in the same general tier as Zenitsu’s. He can’t match Godspeed Thunderclap, but he doesn’t need to—he just needs to defend against it, and he has the tools to do so.

Why It’s Still Close:

Zenitsu isn’t getting stomped. His speed is genuinely problematic for Tanjiro. Without Transparent World, Zenitsu likely wins because Tanjiro can’t react to Godspeed-level attacks. Even with it, there’s a real chance Zenitsu lands a clean hit early and ends the fight.

If Honoikazuchi no Kami connects clean, Tanjiro goes down. Zenitsu’s ultimate technique is a fight-ender against anyone it hits.

Scenario Where Zenitsu Wins:

If the fight is short—three exchanges or less—Zenitsu’s odds improve dramatically. His whole fighting style is about ending battles immediately. If he catches Tanjiro before Transparent World fully calibrates, or if he lands Godspeed before Tanjiro recognizes the speed increase, he wins.

But in any fight that goes longer than a minute, the edge shifts to Tanjiro and keeps shifting.

Final Thoughts

This is a matchup between specialization and versatility, and in Demon Slayer’s world, versatility wins. Tanjiro’s multiple breathing styles, his hax abilities, and his protagonist-level endurance give him the tools to overcome Zenitsu’s single overwhelming advantage.

But don’t let that diminish what Zenitsu achieved. He mastered one form so completely that he could fight Upper Moons and contribute against Muzan. He created an entirely new technique through sheer determination. He overcame his own mental limitations to fight at his peak while conscious.

Zenitsu isn’t weaker because he loses to Tanjiro. He’s just facing someone with the single most broken breathing style in existence and the ability to literally see the future through his opponent’s body.

In the world of Demon Slayer, both are legends. In a fight between them, Tanjiro takes it—but never easily.