Kimetsu no Yaiba Chapter 178 Spoiler/Discussion Thread

[Rikudou King]

Felt sorry for him last chapter, but feeling envy so much you abandon your family is screwed up. Nice to learn how the other breathing techniques came to be.

 

[kkck]

Muzan and Koku went after any family that was taught Sun Breathing by Yoriichi, but that doesn't necessarily mean they could use it in battle, but perhaps as a traditional dance or something like Tanjiro's family. They could have had intel through different means, perhaps even through the hanafuda earrings, unless that was exclusive to the Kamados. That could be the case considering Yoriichi gave away his own, but in a general sense, it's a bit odd.

Besides, Michikatsu noted that Sun Breathing was very hard to learn, to the point that nobody he knew could learn it without tweaking it into Moon, Flame, etc. styles.

michikatsu made both points, that no one could learn the sun breath but meanwhile they later went on to hunt them. I'd make the point that both are mutually exclusive though. The most likely scenario, IMO, is that yorichi found people that could learn the sun breath after kokushibo left to become a demon. And when it comes to breaths... I'd make the point that the issue is not the difficulty in learning a style but rather whether you are suited to a style. Of course, each style definitely has a different learning curve but the most important factor remains whether your body is suited to the style. And tanjiro is the best example of that. Tanjiro has made the point that he isn't really suited to the water breath, which is in theory the most common one and easiest to master. And the implication is that he is suited to the sun breath. In any case, if kokushibo made the point that they hunted sun breath users then it is necessarily the case that there were demon hunters that used them in battle.

 

[Admiral Teach]

michikatsu made both points, that no one could learn the sun breath but meanwhile they later went on to hunt them. I'd make the point that both are mutually exclusive though. The most likely scenario, IMO, is that yorichi found people that could learn the sun breath after kokushibo left to become a demon. And when it comes to breaths... I'd make the point that the issue is not the difficulty in learning a style but rather whether you are suited to a style. Of course, each style definitely has a different learning curve but the most important factor remains whether your body is suited to the style. And tanjiro is the best example of that. Tanjiro has made the point that he isn't really suited to the water breath, which is in theory the most common one and easiest to master. And the implication is that he is suited to the sun breath. In any case, if kokushibo made the point that they hunted sun breath users then it is necessarily the case that there were demon hunters that used them in battle.

The translation I read, if I recall right, said "techniques". Some people could have easily learned 1 or 2 forms of the Sun Breathing but not every one, like Zenitsu. And as we saw, Kaigaku lacked only 1 of the Lightning forms and suffered horribly because of it. People did not even expect him to live. And then there is Zenitsu, who also thought he'd be doomed without the others. Sun Breathing is not quite so straight forward as Lightning Breathing, from we see it is a lot like Water, more inclined for tactical fighting than speed-blitzes. So. What Kokushibo may be referring to as "Sun Breath" users could be quite different from "Sun Breath Successor", someone who would inherit the same mastery of the technique.

Think about it. I have practiced karate, but does that make me worthy of succeeding my sensei? Am I truly a "master", or just a basic practitioner?

Not necessarily disagreeing with you. It does seem like there is a contradiction. But it could well be a translation error or inconsistency. Maybe it was that Muzan and Koku hunted down all knowledge of Sun Breathing, as in anyone who'd ever even heard of it, as best they could?

 

[Charlotte Clone]

Dudes, I was wondering. It's the family that Kokushibo let behind Tanjiro's ancestors? And that would be the reason why Yurichi protected them and visited them. That would make sense.

 

[HereNThere]

Dudes, I was wondering. It's the family that Kokushibo let behind Tanjiro's ancestors? And that would be the reason why Yurichi protected them and visited them. That would make sense.

No. Muchirou is the Kokushibu's descendent.

From what it sounds like Yoriichi just happened upon the Kamado family and saved them and they, being the wholesome people they are, were just super kind to him and he kept visiting. Depending on how much he knew about Muzan and his goals, he may have been defending the Blue Spider Lily.

 

[kkck]

No. Muchirou is the Kokushibu's descendent.

From what it sounds like Yoriichi just happened upon the Kamado family and saved them and they, being the wholesome people they are, were just super kind to him and he kept visiting. Depending on how much he knew about Muzan and his goals, he may have been defending the Blue Spider Lily.

Do demon hunters even know about the blue spider lily? The whole story around the blue spider lily sounds kinda asinine to me. As in, there just happens to be a flower out there that can turn people into demons. And for 1000 years he never found it... I don't buy it.

And now that I think about it... Isn't musan's goal of absorbing nezuko kinda weird? If musan can devour powers... why haven't we see him do that before? You'd think an ego maniac like him would just take other demon's powers if he gets the chance. say, nakime's. So far he relies on her to get access to the dimensional infinity fortress which is an insanely convenient ability. But... if he were to lose nakime he'd lose one of his most important assets. Musan definitely has a number of abilities (body modification, curses...) but you'd think some of the abilities lesser demons have would be extremely useful if he can just absorb them. I mean, I could see muzan not giving a crap about kokushibo's unlimited blade... words but you'd think, say, doma's ability would be invaluable. I suppose there is a chance that muzan hasn't done this out of sheer pride, believing himself to be superior to any and all demons and having no need of devouring powers.

 

[Ger]

Even tho kukoshibo cant use Sun breathing(dance of the fire God) tanjiro and tanjuro could.

 

[Meliodaf]

Imagine having a breather who does nothing but look after you and hating him for it.

I understand to some degree but it’s still ridiculous. He gave up everything for nothing. I think that makes it sadder.

 

[kkck]

Something I can't quite wrap my head around... How does this backstory fit into the demon slayer origins? The implication so far is that muzan is about 1000 years old. Meanwhile breaths were something which yorichi first had and taught others. So... is the implication that demon slayers are only 400 years old? Or that they went up against muzan for 600 years without any breath techniques as mostly normal ass human beings?

 

[Gladiolus]

This chapter was pretty depressing. Even if Kokushibou brought it all himself, its sad to see how he wasted both his life, his happiness and his legacy due the envy and grudge he felt for his brother, combined with a series of bad choices through his long life. Even if he was very unsympathethic, Gotouge somehow managed to make me pity him, and seeing how he regretted all his decissions as he dies for good, while not having anyone comforting him in his travel to the afterlife (have in mind that even Douma of all people had Shinobu telling him farewell before he died) only made this the more sad.
I really liked Kokushibou. He had a cool (if creepy) design, had an awesome fight (one of the best from the manga), needed four strong oponents to be taken down, and his backstory was pretty solid. Again, he was worthy of having the title of Upper Moon 1, and I think he's one of the best villains of the manga.

Other than that, I have clear that Yoriichi is basically Japanese Jesus. I really want to see how the fight where he almost killed Muzan went.

 

[Littlebunny45]

This chapter was pretty depressing. Even if Kokushibou brought it all himself, its sad to see how he wasted both his life, his happiness and his legacy due the envy and grudge he felt for his brother, combined with a series of bad choices through his long life. Even if he was very unsympathethic, Gotouge somehow managed to make me pity him, and seeing how he regretted all his decissions as he dies for good, while not having anyone comforting him in his travel to the afterlife (have in mind that even Douma of all people had Shinobu telling him farewell before he died) only made this the more sad.
I really liked Kokushibou. He had a cool (if creepy) design, had an awesome fight (one of the best from the manga), needed four strong oponents to be taken down, and his backstory was pretty solid. Again, he was worthy of having the title of Upper Moon 1, and I think he's one of the best villains of the manga.

Other than that, I have clear that Yoriichi is basically Japanese Jesus. I really want to see how the fight where he almost killed Muzan went.

I think the reason is Gotouge wanted to finish quickly the manga and rushed. Didn't wanted to waste time with one character. Maybe.