There is no reason that Tanjiro shouldn’t have been promoted to Hashira

Obviously this is a topic that has been discussed many times over, but with the Swordsmith Village Arc currently airing and with Tanjiro’s defeat of Upper Moon 4 soon approaching in the anime, I think it’s fine to bring it up again.

Of course, this is all my personal opinion on the matter, so feel free to disagree.

To begin with, the way one can become a Hashira is by either defeating 50 demons or by defeating a 12 Kizuki, presumably on their own. Obviously Tanjiro hasn’t defeated 50 demons, but whether or not he fits the bill for the “defeat a 12 Kizuki” part is highly debatable in my opinion. Post Swordsmith Village Arc, Tanjiro has played a massive role in defeating 3 of the 12 Kizuki, 2 of them being Upper Moons. One could even possibly make the case that he has fought 4 of the 12 Kizuki, as one of the demons he defeated earlier in the series was Kyogai, the demon with the drums, who was a former 12 Kizuki but had been demoted.

I think his fights against Gyuutarou and Hantengu are the most notable, as, in his fight against Gyuutarou, he awakened his demon slayer mark and beheaded him using Hinokamj Kagura, and in his fight against Hantengu, he first beheaded Hantengu’s dummy body, then located his main body and fully defeated him, which is pretty damn impressive in my opinion, even if Hantengu had been weakened and was fleeing. Now, while one can say that he hasn’t actually defeated a 12 Kizuki entirely on his own, I think the fact that he’s played such a major role in the defeats of 3 of them should still be enough to at least put him on the radar for a possible promotion to Hashira.

Next, he managed to awaken his demon slayer mark before any of the current Hashira (to my knowledge at least, as of chapter 132), which managed to catch the eye of Master Kagaya himself.

Not only did he awaken his demon slayer mark before any of the other Hashira, but he also is a user of the most powerful breathing form, Sun Breathing. Of course, at the point of the story I’m currently in, we’re led to believe that he still has trouble with Sun Breathing, but it appears to me that he has gotten much better at wielding it, as he was using it with minimal difficulty against Hantengu.

Finally, something that I think often gets glossed over in this specific conversation, is the fact that he was actually requested by a Hashira to be promoted. At the end of the Entertainment District Arc, when Uzui announced his resignation, Obanai asked him who would fill his place. It was then that Uzui recommended Tanjiro to take his place as a Hashira.

To conclude my little rant, I’ll just drop all of the reasons that Tanjiro should’ve been made a Hashira:

1. He arguably fills the first requirement of becoming a Hashira: defeat a 12 Kizuki.

2. He has awakened his demon slayer mark, and did so before any of the current Hashira at that.

3. He is a wielder of Sun Breathing, the first, most powerful, and most difficult breathing technique.

4. His promotion was even requested by Uzui Tengen, the Sound Hashira, in order to fill his place after his retirement.