Hotaru Haganezuka, also known as Haganezuka Hotaru, is a swordswoman affiliated with the Demon Slayer Corps.
Appearance
Hotaru sports a haori adorned with sunflower motifs and a large hat woven with hanging flower chimes. His head is wrapped in a mottled cloth and his face is concealed behind a Hyottoko mask, similar to that of Sakonji Urokodaki.
In the Swordsmen’s Village arc, we see him more muscular than in his first appearance. Unmasked, Hotaru reveals long black hair, bright eyes and thick, distinctly contoured eyebrows. However, after being attacked by Gyokko, a higher rank 5 demon, Hotaru has numerous deep scars and cuts all over his body, including an X-shaped one on his face, and has lost the use of his right eye.
Personality
Hotaru is an individual with a fiery temperament. He seems to care very little, if at all, about anything other than the swords he forges. His passion for swords is so intense that he can talk about them for long periods of time, a trait unique even among members of the swordsmith village.
This same passion gives him extreme enthusiasm and dedication when creating swords, but it also makes him easily angered (usually comically) when swordsmen break his creations, especially Tanjiro Kamado, under any circumstances.
When angry, he usually calms down by eating dango mitarashi or asking someone to restrain him (one method is to tickle him on the sides). It is later revealed that his skills and concentration on swords are so remarkable that he loses customers due to his eccentric and asocial behavior. In fact, he rejoices in the trust Tanjiro still places in him to make his swords. His concentration also prevents him from paying attention to his surroundings when forging a blade, even when attacked by a demon.
History
Hotaru Haganezuka forges Nichirin swords for Demon Slayers.
Synopsis
Final selection bow
Hotaru appears for the first time at Urokodaki to hand Tanjiro the Nichirin blade after the latter has passed the Final Selection. Despite Tanjiro’s repeated requests for him to enter the house, Hotaru ignores him and remains seated in front of the door, describing the blade he has forged.
Suddenly, he looks up at Tanjiro and comments on his red hair and eyes, claiming it’s good luck. Excited, Hotaru enters the house, explaining that Nichirin swords change color and that his can turn bright red. However, when he sees the blade turn jet-black, Hotaru clearly expresses his disappointment and becomes angry with Tanjiro.
Natagumo Mountain Arch
During his fight against Rui, a lower rank 5 demon, Tanjiro breaks his blade and Hotaru, furious, briefly appears in Tanjiro’s thoughts as he inwardly apologizes to him and Urokodaki.
Rehabilitation training bow
After Tanjiro’s recovery at the butterfly mansion, Hotaru and Inosuke Hashibira welcome the swordsmen, but Hotaru, angry at having broken his blade, charges Tanjiro with a knife. After chasing him and then appeasing him, Hotaru and Kozo Kanamori hand over their blades to the swordsmen.
Infinity train bow
Hotaru appears when Tanjiro returns from the Rengoku mansion, furious at having lost another sword, and again sets off in pursuit of Tanjiro.
Arc in the entertainment district
After Tanjiro awakens from his coma, Kiyo Terauchi shows him the aggressive letters sent by Hotaru after his sword chipped.
Arc of the swordsmen’s village
Haganezuka takes center stage in this arc, and his true face is revealed when two higher-ranking demons attack the village. He contributes to Hantengu’s defeat by finishing off Tanjiro’s blade just in time for the young demon hunter to kill him. During the battle, he suffers severe facial injuries, even losing the use of one eye.
Abilities
As a swordsman, Hotaru didn’t display any special abilities similar to those of the other members of the Demon Slayer Corps. However, after Tanjiro repeatedly broke his Nichirin blade against demons of higher and lower ranks, Hotaru underwent special mountain training so he could forge a stronger blade for Tanjiro (although he won’t admit it).
- Improved strength: After his mountain training, his increased strength seems to surpass Tanjiro’s.
- Master Swordsman: Hotaru is a skilled swordsman, able to forge and repair the Nichirin sword several times over whenever it breaks during battles against demons of lower and higher rank. After Tanjiro chipped his sword in his fight against the sixth-highest rank, Gyutaro and Daki, Hotaru trained harder to make a stronger sword. Hotaru demonstrated his professionalism and expertise when he polished and sharpened the 300-year-old blade left in Yoriichi’s Type Zero, completely ignoring the wounds inflicted by Gyokko.
- Expert in Tantōjutsu: Hotaru is an expert in the use of Tantō, which he wields in cloverleaf form. He usually demonstrates his skills by attacking Tanjiro after the latter has damaged his swords.
Trivialities
- Hotaru’s surname contains the kanji for “steel” (鋼 hagane), in reference to his profession, and his first name means “firefly” (螢 hotaru).
- He hates his first name because of how “cute” it is.
- His favorite food is mitarashi dango, and he buys it whenever he loses his temper.
- Hotaru has worn wind chimes attached to his hat since childhood, because he loves them. When he gets angry, adults use the wind chimes to calm him down.
- As a child, Hotaru was so difficult to live with that his parents fell into depression and Tecchin Tecchikawahara had to take care of him.
- Checking his sides is the only way to break his concentration, after which he limps for several minutes.
- In an omake, Hotaru is depicted as having a wife, but during the swordsmen’s village arc, he is shown as being single.
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