Demon Slayer Officially Sets Up New Breathing Form
This article contains spoilers for the Demon Slayer manga.
From the modern anime series, if there’s one series that has dominated all over the world, it’s Demon Slayer. Produced by Ufotable and adapted from the Weekly Shonen Jump manga of Koyoharu Gotouge, Demon Slayer is a masterpiece that has turned up the heat, especially in its final arc. It is as big as it is today, in big part thanks to its visually stunning power system known as Breathing Forms.
Breathing forms were originally invented by Yoriichi, and they have become the basis with which Demon Slayers fight the demons created by Muzan. The Breathing forms in Demon Slayer are incredibly diverse. With Demon Slayer setting up the release of Infinity Castle Part 2, we'll finally get to see a brand new Breathing Form in the anime that manga fans are already obsessed with, and that is Moon Breathing. Moon Breathing is used by Kokushibo, and after Sun Breathing, it might just be the strongest one around, with unrivaled power when used in conjunction with Upper Rank One’s Blood Demon Art.
Demon Slayer Infinity Castle Part 2 Is Ready To Welcome Moon Breathing
Demon Slayer made its grand return in 2025 with a brand-new movie titled Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Part 1 — Akaza's Return. This movie blew up in theaters and became the biggest project ever for the series, but it is only the entry point to the grand finale of the entire franchise. We are expecting even bigger hits to come around soon enough. The second and third installments of the ongoing trilogy, currently referred to as Infinity Castle Part 2 and Part 3, are next. While we still don't have a release date for Part 2, it is anticipated to be released sometime in 2027 — two years after the first one.
What we are especially excited about regarding the upcoming movie is the heated battles that are about to unfold. While we already know the Doma battle is continuing, the Hashira and Demon Slayers are about to face an even bigger threat: the Upper Rank 1 Demon, Kokushibo. In facing him, a new Breathing Form will be revealed. This Breathing Form is known as Moon Breathing, and it was invented by Kokushibo himself.
Moon Breathing is extremely powerful. While Kokushibo himself was first introduced in Demon Slayer chapter 98, Moon Breathing only went on to make its debut in Demon Slayer Chapter 165, which was published in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #32 on July 8th, 2019. Moon Breathing allows its user to use swordsmanship that mimics the movement of the moon.
For Moon Breathing, in the case of Kokushibo, it is used in conjunction with Blood Demon Art, and because of that, unlike the usual Breathing Forms used by Demon Slayers, which are not real elemental abilities, Moon Breathing absolutely is real and not just for show. Moon Breathing has 16 known forms, and out of these, only 11 were showcased. Generally, Moon Breathing allows its user to create Crescent Moon attacks that slice through anything standing in their way. These are the forms of Moon breathing we know of:
- First Form: Dark Moon, Evening Palace
- Second Form: Pearl Flower Moongazing
- Third Form: Loathsome Moon, Chains
- Fifth Form: Moon Spirit Calamitous Eddy
- Sixth Form: Perpetual Night, Lonely Moon - Incessant
- Seventh Form: Mirror of Misfortune, Moonlit
- Eighth Form: Moon-Dragon Ringtail
- Ninth Form: Waning Moonswaths
- Tenth Form: Drilling Slashes, Moon Through Bamboo Leaves
- Fourteenth Form: Catastrophe, Tenman Crescent Moon
- Sixteenth Form: Moonbow, Half Moon
The fourth, eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, and fifteenth forms have never been used, but we know they exist. Likely, we will never see them or know their names, unless Gotouge reveals more information about them.
Why Kokushibo’s Moon Breathing Is The Second Strongest Breathing Form
Moon Breathing is definitely not a typical Breathing Style. As previously stated, it was invented by Kokushibo at an unknown time. Specifically, it was invented by him before his demon days, when he was still known as Michikatsu Tsugikuni.
What's even more interesting is that Kokushibo remains the only user of Moon Breathing in the entire story. It seems unlikely that he ever taught his Breathing Style to anyone else and instead kept it as his own major power. This makes it the most unique Breathing Form in Demon Slayer and one that will pose massive problems to the Hashira in Infinity Castle Part 2.
In Infinity Castle Part 2, Kokushibo is set to fight three Hashira and one Demon Slayer, those being: Muichiro, Gyomei, Sanemi, and Genya. These three are some of the strongest Hashira around, and yet, even with their forces combined, they are consistently overwhelmed by this fearsome foe.
“I can’t stop getting goosebumps at this guy’s skill. Every one of his slashes is surrounded by these little chaotic blades. And they’re always changing in length and size. There's no set form. I’m not surprised that Muichiro lost. I wanted to ward off this attack completely, but it’s so strange and warped. It would be impossible to defend myself if I didn’t have a ton of experience behind me. And his speed!! And this guy’s using breaths!! A demon with unnaturally high regenerative and physical prowess is using breaths. And his power and speed are still climbing up.” — Sanemi about Kokushibo in Demon Slayer chapter 167
The strength of Moon Breathing is such that by the end of the fight, Muichiro and Genya die from it. Muichiro is sliced in half and succumbs to his wounds by the end, and Genya also dies after being bisected, both by Kokushibo’s Moon Breathing. Gyomei and Sanemi make it out, but not without the grave sacrifices of their fallen comrades. Had Muichiro not awakened the Bright Red Nichirin, Kokushibo’s regeneration would have outdone the Demon Slayers. After the Muzan battle, his Moon Breathing definitely posed the toughest challenge.
The Connection Between Moon Breathing and Sun Breathing
Moon breathing is undoubtedly unique in the world of Demon Slayer, and Kokushibo is all set to showcase its potential in Infinity Castle Part 2. With that being said, fans can't help but notice the overlaying connections between Moon Breathing and Sun Breathing. Of course, the thematic contrast is on purpose from the author Gotouge to reflect the differences between Yoriichi and his brother, Michikatsu Tsugikuni. Michikatsu Tsugikuni eventually became Kokushibo, as he was extremely envious of his brother, who outdid him at every possible turn. He lived his whole life in the shadow of his brother, and that definitely impacted him and led him down the path of joining hands with Muzan to acquire new demonic powers.
“In the end, I couldn’t use Sun Breathing. I used a mere derivative, which I later named Moon Breathing. I thought I could catch up to Yoriichi if I just trained myself some more, but as I anguished over those painful thoughts, the marked people started dying in droves. They paid for the mark with their lives, and so this golden age would soon come to an end. There was no future for me. There was no time left for me either.” — Michikatsu Tsugikuni in Demon Slayer chapter 178
While Yoriichi invented Sun Breathing, the power that mimics the sun, Michikatsu Tsugikuni instead invented Moon Breathing, due to his own failures to learn his brother’s Breathing Style. The two of them are supposed to mirror each other, but despite all Kokushibo’s effort, both he and his Breathing Style were never able to surpass Yoriichi. We would have loved to see these two Breathing Styles clashing; however, Tanjiro never met Kokushibo, which made this clash only a missed opportunity. We can’t wait for Kokushibo to make his terrifying entrance and make his impact as the second strongest enemy in Demon Slayer. New information concerning the release date of Infinity Castle part 2 should be revealed later this year.
Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Part 1 is set to be available to stream on Crunchyroll starting July 28, 2026.
Demon Slayer
- Release Date
- April 6, 2019
- Studio
- ufotable
- Creator
- Koyoharu Gotoge
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Hulu, Netflix
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