Fanfic / Tanjiro & Kagome: A Taishō-Heisei Friendship

Tanjiro & Kagome: A Taishō-Heisei Friendship is a Fusion Fic of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba and Inuyasha by Splashpointparabox.

On Kagome Higurashi's fifteenth birthday, she is pulled down the bone-eater's well by a demon seeking to kill "the One Who Walks with the Sun." When she wakes up, she sees a Tokyo that she doesn't recognize, and flees from the demon into the city, eventually learning that she was somehow sent 80 years into the past from the Heisei era to the Taishō era. She encounters a young man with flame-like hair and an air of great optimism who introduces himself as Kyojuro Rengoku, who takes her under his wing. From there, she learns the truth about demons, and the secret corps dedicated to slaying them that Kyojuro belongs to.

Kagome decides to join the Demon Slayer corps to find her way back to her own time. Along the way, she experiences many more fateful encounters in her quest to return to the future and protect the people along the way, including a boy who would come to be her best friend in the world; Tanjiro Kamado.

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Tanjiro & Kagome: A Taishō-Heisei Friendship provides examples of:

• Adaptational Backstory Change:
  • The cast of Inuyasha sees numerous changes to their backstories.
    • Inuyasha and Sesshōmaru lived relatively normal lives as humans with their parents until Naraku came and killed them, then kidnapped the half-brothers and took them to his lair, where he experimented on them with his Blood Demon Art and gave them the appearances they currently display.
    • Sango and Kohaku are members of the Tachibana Clan, a clan with a history of demon-hunting dating back to the Kamakura Period. After her village was attacked and destroyed by demons similar to how it was in canon, with Himejima arriving just in time to save her life, Sango trains under the blind Priest as his Tsuguko and takes up Stone Breathing.
    • Miroku is still a Buddhist monk, but was taken in by Uzui, and learned Sound Breathing as his Tsuguko.
    • Rin was orphaned by demons and was taken in by a member of the Demon Slayer Corps, but that Slayer was soon killed, too. This trend continued for some time until Rin was finally placed in the care of the Ubuyashiki family, acting as something of a playmate for the children, as well as Sesshōmaru and his team. She often drifts between the two, but is also frequently in Muichiro's company.
• Adaptational Badass: Although Kyojuro still dies at the hands of Akaza, he comes much closer to beheading him than in canon, with the narration describing his sword as being mere CENTIMETERS from cutting his head off.
• Adaptational Context Change: In canon, Kyogai's flashback takes place at an undisclosed point in the past and merely shows Muzan dismissing him from the Twelve Kizuki when he stopped growing stronger by eating humans. Here, Kyogai's flashback takes place recently before the heroes enter his mansion and has Muzan pay Kyogai a visit, where the Demon King informs Kyogai that Tōkajin has been killed and offers Kyogai a chance to reclaim his rank among the Twelve Kizuki if he can kill Tanjiro and Kagome.
• Adaptational Early Appearance: Kaigaku in the original manga doesn't appear until the Infinity Castle arc, where he had already betrayed the Demon Slayer Corps and become a demon that replaces Daki and Gyutaro as Upper Rank 6. In the anime, he makes an Early-Bird Cameo in Zenitsu's flashback, albeit with his face not fully shown. Here, Kaigaku makes an appearance in the Tsuraga Port arc taking part in the battle against the demons, albeit he spends most of his time fleeing rather than fighting, and also antagonizing Zenitsu and his friends.
• Adaptational Nice Guy:
  • Genya Shinazugawa, while he still starts out as an abrasive and rude boy, never actually assaults Kanata Ubayashiki at the end of the Final Selection like he does in canon. He gets to show more of his heart of gold earlier than in canon during the original Story Arcs
  • Downplayed. While Shinobu Kocho and Kyojuro Rengoku were always friendly and good people in canon, they initially had attempted to kill or vouched to kill Nezuko because she's a demon and needed some convincing for them to give her a chance to prove herself. Here, because they had personally witnessed Nezuko go out of her way to save Kagome and stop her bleeding, they are much more willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, to the point where they actually request Master Ubayashiki for a trial after explaining the situation to him.
  • Shinobu is also noticeably a lot more cordial with Giyu and doesn't make passive-aggressive comments towards him.
  • A small zig-zagged example with the Butterfly Girls. They're just as kind as they are in canon, but the source material has them bluntly tell Zenitsu they won't miss him when they first see him off due to him being a pervert. Here, they whack him with rug beaters after he gropes Aoi during the rehabilitation training, but when they go to see him off, they still gently chide Zentisu for his behavior towards girls but at the same time state they won't miss him because they believe in him.
• Adaptational Weapon Swap:
  • Multiple Inuyasha characters carry different weapons.
    • Inuyasha and Sesshōmaru still wield Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga, respectively, but instead of magical blades forged from the fangs of their father, the weapons are Nichirin katana.
    • During Final Selection, Miroku utilizes his traditional shakujo staff as well as a Nichirin sword, but later swaps these out for a smaller copy of his master's dual cleavers.
    • Sango still has her hiraikotsu, but the weapon is now an ordinary-sized boomerang made of Nichirin steel. In addition, she also carries a Nichirin wakizashi and her brother's Kusarigama with her into battle.
• Adaptation Name Change:
  • A downplayed example with demons in the story, as small epithets are added on to the names of demons of the Twelve Kizuki.
    • Former Lower-six Kyogai is formally "Kyogai of the Drums".
    • Lower-six Tōkajin is "Tōkajin the Peach Man", Lower-five Rui is "Rui the Spider-Boy", Lower-four Mukago is "Mukago the Bloody Snow Princess", Lower-three Yura is "Yura of the Hair", as per her home series canon, Lower-two Naraku is "Naraku the Demon Scientist", and Lower-one Enmu is "Enmu the Dream-Weaver".
    • Upper-six Daki is "Daki the Courtesan", Upper-six Gyutaro is "Gyutaro the Mantis", Upper-five Gyokko is “Gyokko the Mad Potter”, Upper-four Hantengu is “Hantengu the Coward”, Upper-three Akaza is "Akaza the Martial Artist", Upper-two Doma is “Doma of the Eternal Paradise”, and Upper-one Kokushibo is “Kokushibo the Black Moon.”
  • Also downplayed with Inuyasha characters who get surnames when they didn't have one in the canon material.
• Adaptation Origin Connection: Zenitsu's master Jigoro lost his leg to the Thunder Brothers, causing his early retirement.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul:
  • Giyu Tomioka and Shinobu Kocho are lovers, (or at least Friends with Benefits,) rather than platonic comrades.
  • Inuyasha and Kagome's Belligerent Sexual Tension is toned down, both because Kagome can't actually use the "sit" command in this story and also because Inuyasha starts out in this story as a Jerk with a Heart of Gold. The worst things Kagome does is slap Inuyasha for standing by and letting Inosuke assault Zenitsu, as well as pulling on his ear when he bluntly explains what the entertainment district is to Tanjiro and Inosuke without considering that there are children nearby.
• Adaptation Species Change:
  • A sizable amount of Inuyasha characters have their species changed to better fit into the world of Demon Slayer.
    • Inuyasha and Sesshōmaru are human, having their demonic appearances due to being experimented on by Naraku.
    • Shippo, Koga and Ayame are all also human and simply have foxes and wolves as their respective clothing motifs.
    • Friendly demon companions from their source material, such as Myōga and Jaken, are Kasugai Crows in this story.
• Affectionate Nickname: Due to her current child-like thinking, Nezuko tends to give nicknames to her companions in her thoughts:
  • Tanjiro is Big Brother, of course.
  • Kagome is Nice Girl due to them hitting it off right from the start.
  • Inuyasha is Doggy because Nezuko likes petting his demon ears.
  • Zenitsu is Funny Yellow Boy (later Dandelion) because of his behavior around her.
  • Inosuke is Boar Boy because of his boar mask.
• And I'm the Queen of Sheba: When Tengen Uzui introduces himself as "The God of Festivals and Flashiness" to Team Tanjiro, Kagome sarcastically thinks to herself "Yeah, and I'm empress of Japan".
• An Arm and a Leg: In chapter 88, Tengen loses his left hand and Miroku has his right foot cut off.
• Animal Motifs: Chapter 61 has a scene where a sort of Demon Slaying "animal pack" works together to take down Onigumo: Inosuke (Boar), Inuyasha (Dog), and Koga and Ayame (Wolves).
• Arc Villain: Along with some of the canon Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba examples, this story also has original Story Arcs with their own antagonists for the heroes to face.
  • First Mission arc: Kōtatsu the demon artist, who is attacking the citizens of Sawara with his ink creations.
  • Kyushu arc: Tōkajin the Peach Man, Lower-Six of the Twelve Kizuki, who is transforming humans into peaches for him to feast on.
  • Tsuruga Port arc: Yura of the Hair and Mukago the Bloody Snow Princess, Lower-Three and Lower-Four of the Twelve Kizuki respectively, who are send by Muzan to Tsuruga to cultivate the demons while fighting off the Demon Slayers send to kill them.
  • Naraku Raid arc: Naraku the Demon Scientist, Lower-Two of the Twelve Kizuki, who becomes the target for the Demon Slayer Corps. to slay so as to put an end to his depraved experiments and save the humans he's holding captive.
• Artificial Limbs: Miroku creates a makeshift peg leg from iron shrapnel after losing his foot and searing the wound close.
• Ascended Extra:
  • The Lower Ranks of the Twelve Kizuki as a whole become more prominent in this story, with each member (except for Kaō) becoming an Arc Villain in an original Story Arc. In canon, the members who get prominent screentime are Rui, Emnu, and the former member Kyogai, as the other Lower Ranks are killed unceremoniously by Muzan after the latter decides they're useless to him. The story tags even lampshade how the Lower Ranks will have more scenes than in canon.
  • Some of the Hashira also get more scenes than in canon.
    • Kyojuro Rengoku serves as Kagome and Inuyasha's mentor for the majority of the story until his death at Akaza's hands, and even appears in the first few original Story Arcs while they're training and undergoing their first missions as Demon Slayers. He also takes part in the Naraku Raid Arc's mission with his Tsuguko.
    • Senjuro Rengoku in canon didn't have much plot-relevance, only appearing to greet Tanjiro at the Rengoku estate. Here, he becomes a recurring supporting character, becoming an assistant at the Butterfly Mansion alongside Shippo and the Butterfly Girls, and also gives his support when Kagome and Inuyasha are training as Demon Slayers.
    • Gyomei Himejima takes part in the Tsuruga Port and Naraku Raid arc's missions. In the former, he slays Kyōkotsu and Ginkotsu and helps Muichiro slay Mukago.
    • Muichiro Tokito takes part in the Tsuruga Port arc's mission, fights and defeats Bankotsu and Jakotsu of the Band of Seven, and later kills Mukago with the help of Himejima.
    • Shinobu and Mitsuri both take part in the Naraku Raid arc's mission. The former kills Muso after he gloats about the women he raped and how he plans to do so to Shinobu and Kanao, as well as rescue Kohaku from Naraku's dungeon, while Mitsuri helps the Demon Slayers search for Naraku.
  • Genya and Kanao also get more scenes in the original story arcs, with the former taking part in both the Tsuruga Port and Naraku Raid missions, while the latter only takes part in the Naraku Raid mission.
• Avenging the Villain: Kagura and Kanna want to take revenge on Tanjiro and Kagome for Rui's death due to Muzan lying that they're the ones who killed him. They've enlisted Daki and Gyutaro's aid for their revenge.
• Battle Couple: Though they aren't an official couple (yet) in Chapter 62, Tanjiro and Kanao quickly find themselves fighting back-to-back against Naraku's forces. They cut down multiple demons with impressive synergy (which makes sense, seeing as Flower Breathing was originally derived from Water Breathing)... and promptly blush upon making eye contact.
  Kagome: Oh, my God, you two! Just kiss, already!
• Berserk Button: Downplayed, as Muzan only threatens Doma instead of killing him, but he clearly hates hearing the name Midoriko and demands that Doma never mention her name in his presence again.
• Best Friend: As they go on more and more missions together, Kagome quickly comes to view Tanjiro as this, openly referring to him as such more than once.
• Big Bad: Muzan Kibutsuji serves as the main antagonist in this story.
• Big Brother Instinct: Woe to anyone who harms Nezuko in Tanjiro's presence.
• Big Damn Kiss: Just before he departs with his friends to Yoshiwara, Tanjiro confesses his feelings for Kanao, leading the two to share their first kiss.
• Birth-Death Juxtaposition: An elderly Tanjiro passes away in his sleep a few days after laying eyes upon the newborn Kagome in the first chapter.
• Blind Weaponmaster: Gyomei is blind as ever, but that doesn't stop him from being one of the strongest current Hashira, if not the strongest period. In the Tsuraga arc, he takes down both Kyoukotsu and Ginkotsu singlehandedly while his students Sango and Genya were having trouble with Ginkotsu alone, then kills Mukago, the Lower-Four of the Twelve Kizuki, alongside Muichiro. Notably, Gyomei walks away from both battles without so much as a scratch on him.
• Bottomless Magazines: Played With, as Renkotsu's Blood Demon Art allows him to turn his blood into bullets, meaning he'll never truly run out of ammo for his guns.
• Brother–Sister Team: Although part of a larger team, Tanjiro and Nezuko fight side-by-side on at least two occasions.
• Cassandra Truth: Zig-Zagged. When Tanjiro honestly tells Kagura that he didn't kill Rui, she doesn't believe him, but states that even if he is telling the truth, it wouldn't change anything, as the Demon Slayers still killed Rui and she wants revenge for that.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Inuyasha tries to take on Akaza, but doesn't even get a single hit in while he's beaten down by some of the demon's weakest attacks.
• Cuteness Overload: This is Kagome's reaction to first meeting Nezuko, allowing her to become quick friends with the friendly demon.
• Cyborg: Ginkotsu is a relatively primitive version of this thanks to his Blood Demon Art.
• Death or Glory Attack: While fighting Kagura and Kanna, Miroku realizes he's running out of bombs and decides to use the remaining ones in an all-or-nothing attack. The blast sends all three flying, knocking them out non-fatally and allowing Miroku to win the fight just barely.
• Demoted to Dragon: Naraku goes from the Big Bad of his home series to a subordinate of Muzan Kibutsuji as Lower-two of the Twelve Kizuki. In a somewhat humiliating twist, he was once mighty enough to hold the position of Upper-four, but the subsequent arrival of more powerful demons continuously bumped him down the ladder until he was no longer an Upper-rank, and fluctuated among the Lower-ranks for over a century.
• Dies Differently in Adaptation:
  • The Father Spider Demon is killed by Kyojuro instead of Giyu.
  • Mukago, instead of being killed by Muzan, is felled by the combined efforts of Gyomei and Muichiro, with Gyomei chopping her in half and Muichiro being the one to decapitate her.
• Do Not Taunt Cthulhu: When he sees Muzan mistreat his fellow Lower Ranks and threaten Naraku for his failures, Kaō scornfully thinks of Muzan as a fool who can't appreciate their efforts. Unfortunately for him, Muzan can read his mind and makes it clear he won't take criticism before eating him alive.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: An In-Universe example that's lampshaded. Kagome notes that the children that Emnu tasked with destroying the Demon Slayers' spiritual cores remind her of junkies desperate for drugs and the mere fact that Emnu's exploiting these children's desire for happy dreams sickens her to the core.
• Dramatic Irony: Kagome is completely unaware that her best friend Tanjiro will grow up to become a close friend of her family and meet her as an infant. This is emphasized in Chapter 68, when Kagome mentions Tanjiro's name just before she jumps into the Bones Eater's Well and parts ways with her family in her dream, with both Atsuko and Sanosuke shocked to realize that Kagome has met Tanjiro in the past.
• Easily Forgiven: Averted. While Kagome does acknowledge that Shinjuro Rengoku is making an effort to be a better person, she is not yet willing to forgive him for his abusive treatment of his children, to the point that she's not as committed to reading his apology letter as Tanjiro is.
• Eating the Eye Candy: A lot of female Demon Slayers enjoyed the sight of Inosuke doing pull-ups in one of the Butterfly Mansion's training rooms. Even Aoi Kanzaki is attracted by how muscular Inosuke is.
• Escaped from the Lab: Kyojuro and Kagome stumble upon Inuyasha right after the young man and his half-brother managed to flee Naraku's grasp.
• Everyone Can See It: It doesn't take very long for people to start treating Inuyasha and Kagome as a couple. Also, Tanjiro's interest in Kanao isn't subtle. Heck, Kagome notices Obanai having a crush on Mitsuri during their brief first meeting (Kyojuro and Mitsuri got drunk celebrating the latter's promotion to Hashira, and Obanai first dumped Kyojuro at his house before trying to bring the tipsy Mitsuri home).
• Everyone Has Standards: Miroku may be a hopeless womanizer, but he has no interest in flirting with demon women; something he rather testily states to his master before fighting Ruri and Hari.
• Failed a Spot Check: Haganezuka, while chasing after Tanjiro with knives for losing his sword in the fight against Akaza, fails to notice Kagome accompanying Tanjiro as well as the fact she's chasing after him because he's so single-minded in his focus on Tanjiro. This allows Kagome to catch up to him and knock him out with a chop to the neck.
• First-Episode Twist: The first chapter reveals a now elderly Tanjiro meeting the newborn Kagome, being a friend of the girl's family, before he dies in his sleep, knowing that Kagome will eventually travel back in time and meet his younger self in the past.
• Foil: Both Inuyasha Tōga and Nezuko Kamado are younger siblings who lived a quiet, mundane life in the Taishō Era until they were forced to undergo a traumatic change into a demon, for the sake of Muzan's wish to conquer the sun. However, Nezuko is a full-blooded demon who has a naturally sweet temper and loves her older brother, while Inuyasha still is human in spite of his unwanted grafts and is kind of a jerk who blatantly considers his own brother as an asshole.
  • A reviewer also points that Inuyasha and Akaza are foils to each other. Both men have dog-themed names ("Inuyasha" means "Dog Forest Spirit" while Akaza was formerly Hakuji, a name referring to the lion-dog guardian statues), have lost their family and almost fell into despair before they were helped by a mentor and a girl they grew to deeply love. Though, while Akaza uses martial arts, Inuyasha is a swordsman and still has friends to watch over him after his mentor's demise when Hakuji had nothing left to protect and was turned into a demon.
• Foregone Conclusion: The first chapter establishes that Tanjiro will live long enough to witness Kagome's birth in 1982 before passing away peacefully. Sanosuke and Atsuko's conversation also confirm Nezuko and Kanao still being alive as well.
• Foreshadowing: On their way to a mission in Kyushu, the Flame Breathing trio board a train being pulled by a mysterious locomotive with a headboard that reads "Mugen", which makes Kagome get chills.
• The Gadfly: Kagome likes to tease Tanjiro for his crush on Kanao, no matter how much Tanjiro denies it. She also once teasingly suggests that Senjuro and Shippo get some butterfly hairpins since working at the Butterfly Mansion means they're Butterfly Girls.
• Happily Married: Kyojuro is shown to be married in the story and loves his wife Mari dearly.
• He Will Not Cry, so I Cry for Him: When Muichiro and Rin are informed of Kyojuro’s death, Rin hugs Muichiro and sheds tears on his behalf, knowing in her heart that the Mist Hashira wants to cry, but is unable to.
• Heal It With Fire:
  • When she sees Kagome bleeding after Rui had cut her back with his threads, Nezuko uses her Blood Demon Art to cauterize the wound. Kyojuro and Shinobu seeing this leads them to spare Nezuko's life and call for a meeting of the Hashira and Master Ubayashiki to decide Nezuko and Tanjiro's fate.
  • Miroku is forced to cauterize the stump of his leg after his foot has been cut off.
• Hypocritical Humor: Miroku scolds Zenitsu for his excitement about entering the Entertainment District... while a perverted grin is stretched across his face. His master lampshades it:
  Tengen: Practice what you preach and wipe that grin off your face, ya little pervert!
• I Am a Monster: Inuyasha is disgusted by the demonic flesh grafted on his body and outright calls himself a freak while insisting he will never be able to return to live among humans. His friends are rather distressed by his attitude.
• I Can't Believe I'm Saying This: Inuyasha admits that he never actually thought he would be thankful to Naraku for mutating his body, allowing him to keep fighting against Daki.
• An Ice Person: Mukago's Blood Demon Art allows her to conjure and manipulate ice and freezing mist.
• Insatiable Newlyweds: Shinobu is not happy with Koga and Ayame for disturbing the infirmary's peace by enthusiastically "knowing" each other.
• Insufferable Genius: Shinobu's not actually this, but her patronizing comment about Kyojuro and Kagome's intellect makes her come off as this to the latter, leading Kagome to dislike her. While Shinobu's treatment of her back wound does cause Kagome's opinion of her to go up and lead her to respect her skills, it's not until she hears of how Shinobu lost her sister to a demon that Kagome apologizes for disliking her.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Tengen doesn't often have a positive word to say about his Tsuguko, Miroku, but he nonetheless cares deeply for the young monk.
• Like Parent, Like Spouse: Sango is hinted to consider the very devout Stone Hashira as her Parental Substitute, and she falls for the deeply Buddhist Miroku.
• Lovable Sex Maniac: Miroku, naturally, is in top form. Especially when he joins his master Tengen and Team Tanjiro in Yoshiwara, where he actually pulls Zenitsu along for a little "education". Tengen makes sure to give his Tsugoku a good pummelling when he catches up to the duo. Aside from his lecherous tendencies, though, Miroku has a pretty good and respectful master-student relationship with Tengen.
• MacGuffin: Besides the Blue Spider Lily, Muzan is also searching for the Shikon Jewel, likely as an alternative means to overcoming his weakness to sunlight if he can't find the Blue Spider Lily or a demon that has conquered the sun. He entrusts Kokushibo to find it and is frustrated that he failed to make any progress. Kokushibo admits that finding a lead is difficult since they all know very little of the Shikon Jewel beyond myths and legends.
• Mad Scientist: Naraku was exiled from his native village because he would experiment without letting morality or compassion restrain him. Muzan Kibutsuji turned him in a demon to make use of his mind, allowing Naraku to abduct the Tōga brothers and surgically maim them in order to conquer the sun.
• Mentor Archetype: Kyojuro is this for Kagome and Inuyasha, training them as his Tsuguko. Likewise, this also applies to Gyomei for Sango and Genya, Tengen for Miroku, and Shinobu for Kanao like in canon, though she also cares for Shippo as her ward, and has taught him some basic medical knowledge. Sesshōmaru later becomes Kohaku's mentor after he is rescued; Kohaku originally wants to train under Gyomei like his sister, but the rules sadly state that each Hashira may only have two students at maximum.
• Mindlink Mates: A non-romantic example, but Tanjiro and Kagome's thoughts are usually in sync when they start to fight a common enemy together.
• Nice Guy: Tanjiro is this, of course. He's so nice in fact, that Kagome and Inuyasha become fast friends with him when they first meet him in the Final Selection.
• The Nicknamer: In addition to her friends, Nezuko also gives nicknames to her enemies, giving Daki the nickname of Nasty Belt Woman.
  • She also refers to Mitsuri as Flower Hair and Kanao as Butterfly Eyes.
• No Sympathy: While Tanjiro and Nezuko express sympathy for Daki and Gyutaro and hope they reconcile in the afterlife, Inuyasha doesn't really care if they make up or not, though he's respectful enough to not say this in front of the Kamado siblings.
• Not in Front of the Kid: When Inuyasha bluntly explains what the entertainment district is to Tanjiro and Inosuke, a stoically angry Kagome tugs on his ear and scolds him for saying all of that in front of the Butterfly Girls, Shippo, and Senjuro.
• Oblivious to Hatred: Downplayed as Inuyasha doesn't truly loathe Nezuko, but he nonetheless dislikes her for being a demon and because she just won't stop tugging on his ears. Nezuko herself cannot read his mood due to her childlike mindset and happily considers him a friend.
• Official Couple:
  • Inuyasha and Kagome mutually declare their love for each other at the end of the Naraku Raid Arc.
  • Tanjiro and Kanao become one just before the former departs for the entertainment district.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Akaza admits he doesn't kill or eat women, but Kagome's presence is so painful to him that he outright attempts to slaughter her.
• Parental Substitute: Kagome comes to view Kyojuro as a father figure, even outright calling him such during his dying moments at the end of the Mugen Train arc. The same applies to Sango, who mentally acknowledges Gyomei as the closest thing she has left for a father.
• Passed in Their Sleep: The elderly Tanjiro passes away in his sleep a few days after seeing the newborn Kagome, knowing that the girl will eventually meet his younger self in the past.
• Pay Evil unto Evil: Not only does Shinobu toy with and kill the "Sister" Spider Demon like in canon, but she also injects as many toxins into Muso as possible to inflict a slow, painful, and humiliating death onto him to avenge all the women he raped and fed on.
• Pervert Revenge Mode: When Zenitsu rants loudly about the boys getting massages from girls and are allowed to touch them, Aoi instructs Senjuro and Shippo to whack Zenitsu with bokken if he tries anything perverted to her. After Zenitsu goes through the stretches and reflex training without doing anything to warrant a beating, Aoi punches him the moment he gropes her during the full body training and has Senjuro and Shippo whack him, with the butterfly girls joining them with rug beaters until Aoi tells them to stop.
  Zenitsu: I may have won the battle, but I lost the war!
  Kagome: You asked for it.
  Tanjiro: Sorry, Zenitsu, but that wasn't exactly undeserved.
• Pragmatic Villainy: Downplayed, but still noticeable when compared to canon. Muzan still acts as a Bad Boss to the Lower Ranks after Rui's death, but he doesn't kill them for being too weak like he does in canon. He only kills Kaō for criticizing him, makes it clear that he will no longer be replacing the Lower Ranks if they get killed, and sends the remaining Lower-Ranks to do their tasks.
• Precocious Crush: Rin has a crush on Muichiro Tokito, the Mist Hashira. It's heavily downplayed, however, due to her being 11 and him being 14.
• Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: When Muso gloats about raping many women and becomes eager about doing the same to Shinobu and Kanao, the former just tells him venomously that he'll never get the chance with thinly veiled anger. Shinobu actually goes out of her way to inject as many toxins as possible into Muso, so he'll die the most slow, painful, and humiliating death imaginable for all the women he raped and fed on.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: After Shinjuro Rengoku insults his older son's memory one time too many, Kagome snaps and calls him out on his abusive behavior.
  Kagome: Nothing's EVER good enough for you! You spend your days drinking away your life, spitting on everything your firstborn believed in and beating your younger son! You don't deserve to call yourself a father OR a man!! I HATE YOU!! [...] Don't you DARE badmouth Kyojuro!! He was a better teacher to Inuyasha and I and a better husband and father to Mari and Haru than you could ever hope to be to your family! Your wife would be ASHAMED of you if she could see you!
• Relationship Compression: Tanjiro and Kanao despite having some Ship Tease moments in canon, don't get together until sometime between the final battle and the epilogue. Here, Tanjiro develops feelings for Kanao much earlier and shares a Big Damn Kiss with her before departing for the Entertainment District mission.
• Running Gag: Inuyasha frequently insults Zenitsu, who snaps back in kind.
  Inuyasha: Hahaha! What's wrong? Farmer's life doesn't suit you, Banana-head?
  Zenitsu: Who are you calling banana-head, you brain-dead thug?!
• Seen It All: When Kagome explains how she's from the future and ended up taken to the past by force, she expects Kyojuro to not believe her story, only to be completely shocked when he actually does. Kyojuro explains that he's fought so many demons with supernatural powers that he doesn't find it far-fetched to hear that there's a demon with the power to traverse time.
• Shared Dream: Unbeknownst to Emnu, placing Kagome under his sleep spell had an unforeseen side-effect of linking Kagome's dream with the dreams of her family in the present day. Because of this, Kagome is able to sense that her family is not a part of the dream and manages to speak with them before she wakes up.
• She Is Not My Girlfriend:
  • Tanjiro repeatedly denies any friendly teasing from Kagome concerning his "interest" in Kanao, but he's hardly fooling anybody.
  • In Kanao's flashback, Kanae defended her from Shinobu's complaints by pointing out she'd made similar comments about her boyfriend.
    Shinobu: Giyu's not my boyfriend!
    Kanae: Oh, my! When did I ever mention Tomioka by name, little sister?
    Shinobu: Ah...! But...! Dammit, Kanae, I hate it when you do that!
• Shipper on Deck:
  • Kagome quickly takes notice of Tanjiro's crush on Kanao, and that she reciprocates his feelings, and enjoys teasing him about it while also encouraging him to act on his feelings. Kiyo, Sumi, and Naho end up joining her as shippers when they first hear Kagome tease Tanjiro for his crush on Kanao, actually squealing with excitement at the thought of Tanjiro and Kanao becoming a couple. Seeing the two finally kiss leads all four girls to actually Squee with joy. Kagome has also begun to try and set up Inosuke and Aoi as a couple, as well as Zenitsu and Nezuko to a lesser extent.
  • When Kyojuro finds out about Kagome's feelings for Inuyasha, he gives his approval to their relationship.
  • Shinobu quickly figures out Kanao's crush on Tanjiro and is quite supportive of her feelings.
• Ship Tease: Tanjiro and Kanao, as well as Kagome and Inuyasha, have several moments, as do Inosuke and Aoi, and Zenitsu and Nezuko.
• Shout-Out:
  • The room full of demon bugs that Tengen, Miroku and their team encounter in Naraku's lair is an homage to the bug pit from King Kong (2005).
  • The story-original demon Zugaikotsu, with his appearance, four arms and habit of collecting the blades of demon slayers he's killed, is an Expy of General Grievous.
  • The story-original demon Bloodborne is an Expy of the Marvel character Carnage.
• Skeptic No Longer: Kagome starts out not believing in demons at all, to the point she pays little attention to her grandfather's stories about them. Being dragged into the past and seeing a demon for the first time ends up convincing her that they're real.
• Small Role, Big Impact: The demon that dragged Kagome into the past is only around for two chapters before he's killed by Kyojuro, and he's not even given the courtesy of a name, but his actions what are led to Kagome being stuck in the past as she trains under Kyojuro to become a Demon Slayer.
• So Proud of You:
  • Kyojuro repeatedly states his pride in Kagome and Inuyasha right up to his death and even afterwards in a letter he had written in case. He even considers them strong enough to become his successors as the Flame Hashira.
  • Gyomei similarly speaks highly of his own Tsuguko, Sango.
  • Even Tengen expresses pride of Miruko when the latter persists in fighting Naraku.
• Spared by the Adaptation: Ozaki is saved from her fate thanks to Kagome.
• Strongly Worded Letter: Defied. Kagome goes out of her way to get rid of the hate letters Haganezuka send to Tanjiro, only giving him the letter that says Haganezuka doesn't have a sword for Tanjiro. Kagome even lampshades in her thoughts on why Haganezuka just won't leave Tanjiro alone.
• Tears of Fear: Kagome sheds these when she is first confronted by Akaza, being initially too paralyzed with dread to pick up her sword and fight.
• Tears of Joy: The siblings Sango and Kohaku shed many of these upon being reunited with each other, Gyomei himself tearing up while witnessing this tender moment for his student (though he privately laments how his blindness prevents him from actually seeing it).
• This Is Gonna Suck: When Kagome finds out that Team Tanjiro's mission with Tengen will involve going to a Red Light District, she can only cover her face with her hands and groan "Oh, God", clearly uncomfortable with going to such a location.
• Tragic Dream: When caught in Enmu's sleep spell, Inuyasha dreams he's still human with his parents alive and sound, but nonetheless apprenticed to Rengoku and dating Kagome. He confesses to Satoru he quickly understood it only was a dream, but he just wanted to enjoy it for a little while because he knows it will never happen in real life.
• Tragic Keepsake: Inuyasha uncharacteristically thanks Shinobu for mending his red haori because the garment was sown by his mother, and now that he lost everything, this is his last memento of her.
• Training from Hell: Kagome ends her first day of training under Kyojuro "aching in places she didn't know she could ache."
• Twice Shy: Tanjiro and Kanao harbor romantic feelings for each other, but are, at least initially, too shy to confess to the other.
• Uncanny Valley Makeup: Lampshaded in Chapter 79 and defied. When Kagome sees the awful cosmetic job Tengen applied to Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke, she is not amused at all and calls him out for thinking that this kind of makeup will actually fool anyone. When Tengen challengingly asks her if she can do better, she immediately gets to work reapplying the makeup to make the boys' disguise more convincing.
• Unholy Matrimony: Gyutaro and Kagura are in a relationship.
• Villain Team-Up: Mukago and Yura work in a loose alliance in the port town of Tsuruga.
• Villainesses Want Heroes: Implied. During the mission in Tsuruga Port, Mukago flirts with Muichiro early on in their encounter, but it's unknown if she was being serious or not.
• Villainous Friendship: Kagura and Kanna are the only two known demons that Rui has a genuine and positive relationship with. The former two mention how much they enjoy talking with Rui in the mountains and Rui has offered them to join his family multiple times, only for the two to turn him down every time. Rui, unlike with his family, notably never inflicts any abuse on them and actually enjoys their company. He even shares a hug and some kind parting words with Kanna before the two leave (and his canon death):
  Kanna: Rui... you are... my friend.
  Rui: You are... my friend... too, Kanna.
  • Daki and Gyutaro are also delighted when the pair visit them, the former's smile quickly becoming sincere at seeing them, and the latter is even in a gentle relationship with Kagura. They even sympathize with Kanna who is saddened by Rui's death.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Inuyasha and Zenitsu exchange verbal abuse on the regular, but they are friends regardless. Inuyasha similarly trades friendly barbs with Genya.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: Kaō makes his appearance in Chapter 38, replacing Tōkajin as Lower Rank 6, only to be killed by Muzan when he makes the mistake of calling him a fool in his mind.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Kagome slaps Inuyasha and calls him out for standing by and letting Inosuke beat up Zenitsu, pointing out that even if Kyojuro wouldn't have approved of Demon Slayers accompanying demons, he would also never approve of fellow Demon Slayers hurting each other or standing by and letting it happen. Inuyasha immediately becomes ashamed of himself after hearing this.
• You Have Failed Me: Subverted. Although Muzan still decides that he will no longer be replacing the Lower Ranks if they get killed, he doesn't kill them for being too weak, only killing Kaō when the latter makes the mistake of insulting Muzan in his mind. He just simply sends Mukago and Yura to Tsuraga Port to cultivate the demons created there, all the while injecting some of his blood into them so that his curse will kill them if they so much as attempt to flee from battle, and he also gives some of his blood to Naraku for his experiments.
  • It's played straight however with Naraku's death at the hands of Tanjiro and Kagome. Muzan contacts Naraku telepathically to tell him that he's no longer worth anything to him now that he's been killed by the Demon Slayers and refuses to help him anymore, leaving him to his fate.
• You Remind Me of X: Akaza loathes Kagome and calls her a witch because seeing her face brings his lost memories of his late fiancée Koyuki closer to the surface.

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