#character deep

Introduction

Rengoku with his hair looking like blazing flames and eyes burning with passion fits the title of the Flame Hashira very well even appearance-wise.

A loud and firm voice that cannot be overheard.

Tall and well-built he strolls and patrols in order to guarantee the safety of many.

No wonder that he is not only keen but wanted for the role of a big brother, aside from being a genuine big brother to his real one.

With a short appearance in the first season towards the end of Episode 21 there was not much to see of the energetic and justice-driven young man. 

Still with the release of the Mugen Train movie, Rengoku shortly after conquered the audience's hearts as well as the rest of the movie’s cast, living up to his title until the very end.

Fire and flame, optimistic and enthusiastic until his justice’s flame extinguished with a final smile.

The Character

Since Rengoku isn’t seen as much at first in the anime the first impression he gives off is rather strict and we immediately get to see how much he values his own morals. In the bat of an eye he rejects Nezuko simply because she is a demon and cannot let slip any other argument that could prove him wrong. 

That is until he saw with his own eyes how Nezuko protected humans, risking her own life in the Mugen Train movie, which is also the only reason he made an exception to change his rather biased first impression of her. The ones fitting his morales and values are openly accepted, making him even clingy and overbearing once he sets his eyes on someone he sees worthy of his attention.

No wonder that he enthusiastically suggests Tanjiro to become his apprentice, despite Tanjiro not reacting too positively on that Rengoku already sat his heart and mind to it, to train the young Kamado into someone he sees great potential in.

Even when seen as an idealistic and almost pushy young man, Rengoku is quick-witted and uses his techniques wisely in battle, making him not only confident in his skills but also a reliable ally who knows how to stand against an opponent as well as being passionate about every action he proceeds to do.

Like his hair and eyes, flames fill not only his character theme but also the passion and justice that linger deep inside Rengoku. From a firm and loud way of speaking to the way he eats, every action is filled with energy and optimism.

A pure heart filled with the strong will of a great man, yet with the curiosity and hope of a child that made him not only care deeply for his brother until his very death, but also for the young Demon Slayer Corps member he already embraced as his apprentices, with a little dream that they might have called him aniki (big brother) one day.

The duality of strict morals and a big heart like the beautiful yet scorching flames

Core role as a character

Rengoku did not only wield the title of the Flame Hashira, but had many other roles that might or might not have been noticed by some.

Since the Hashira are overall eccentric characters, Rengoku is still one of the few who showed consistency in his pure hearted intentions of wanting to save the weak in every occasion and strictly following the rules, making home the most justice-oriented of the ton and giving him a bit of the playing straight man role. 

We also see that in many other occasions of the Mugen Train movie and the Mugen Train anime arc in which he is easily irritated or not welcoming the idea that clashes with the usual norm.

Still overall his heart seems to be touched easily when he sees with his own eyes that someone is in dire need and may have acted in certain ways because they saw no other choice.

Which brings us to our next role, big brother.

At first Rengoku may not come off as one until we see that his intentions for Inosuke, Tanjiro and Zenitsu are pure and genuine, as his dream right before the deeper one of his family was about being acknowledged as their older brother.

Not only that, we also come to know that Rengoku actually has a younger brother he is very protective of, Senjuro Rengoku. As Rengoku grew up under strict conditions and a heavy pressure of his father to pursue a role that was determined for him he instead wanted to shield his brother from a similar fate as we also get to know from his last words shortly before his death.

That trait we see when he interacts with the young Kamado, as he sees potential in him but does not want to force him into taking action right now as he is and take things at his own pace, if even so he sees it an obligation to protect him and the others including Nezuko he was first wary of and Tanjiro he disliked for breaking the rules of the Demon Corps, and stops them with interfering in most of the battles we see.

The deep care and pride he took in training his brother as well as trying to make Tanjiro his apprentice leads us to our next role Mentor.

Rengoku may not be the one who taught Tanjiro his breathing technique nor did they spend much time together due to his death, but we see that Rengoku respected Tanjiro which the latter reciprocated. Tanjiro as well as Inosuke who were present when Rengoku fought saw how much they had to learn and that what they had achieved was still far from what they imagined of the definition, strong. Which even left Inosuke in awe and weeping at Rengoku’s death.

Still Rengoku left a mark, an inspiration that will live in the hearts of each person he met as we see the different grieving reactions of the people who received the message of his death. Because even after his death the role of being an inspiration, someone who followed passion, worked hard and still had a pure heart is what keeps the hearts burning of those left behind.

Importance in series

Overlapping with the last paragraph Rengoku’s importance in the series is mostly the role model figure he sets for Senjuro and Tanjiro, and even the rest of the younger Demon Slayer Corps members. 

A man who didn’t simply try to kill demons because of his personal feelings, but someone who adhered to rules, who passionately did what he at first was forced to do by his father but didn’t proceed in doing it with hate. 

Instead Rengoku turned it into something he wanted to dedicate his life to, and in the end even died for that very purpose. A setting example that might have opened the eyes for some other people.

He also represents a figure of security and protection compared to all the other Hashira which is why he fits into the mentor and big brother role so well. Someone who might be overbearing at times but is still reliable showing the younger members that it is not only about swordsmanship alone but also about how to use it, the tactician side of it and the emotions that are connected.

Since Tanjiro and Rengoku share a lot of similarities, the former is probably the one who is a lot more impacted by the way Rengoku handled things, his morals and also the pure heart that never wavered for a moment. Rengoku, who didn’t have an easy life with his mother who was his biggest inspiration, still worked hard to live up to his father’s high expectations that seemed far over the top. And still he was happy, content, and took on a burning passion.

A very important lesson not only for Tanjiro but also for some of us who might feel like the situations we find ourselves in are not favorable at all but might benefit or make us more passionate as times pass by, giving us a bigger purpose in the future.

Last but not least, Rengoku who was clearly about to win against Akaza lost because of the Demon escaping due to his weakness to the sun. A scene that was heart-wrecking as we see Tanjiro cry and follow the demon who has long escaped like a coward.

The unfairness between the differences in that fight have been made clear, a death that could have been prevented if they had fought under fair circumstances.

But it is the first time we are confronted with the fact that there is a fundamental disadvantage, that was made clear because Rengoku died despite the fact that he was very capable of killing that demon. He didn’t grieve over his lost fight nor did he show any regret instead he fueled Tanjiro with an important message that would stick to him on his continuing journey, showing that Rengoku cared much more what would befall the young man instead of caring about his own state of body and mind.

What makes the character so interesting?

Rengoku was someone who first went against Tanjiro and his sister, appearing like someone strict and uptight, probably who would cause even more trouble in the future.

Yet in the Mugen Train arc that first impression was immediately discarded by his lovable personality and him actually just being someone who clearly likes his sets of rules.

Which shows that despite his love for morales and policies, he still reconsiders what is around him making his duality of being overly naive or narrow-minded but as well very attentive and accepting of new perspective.

In those very few moments we got to experience this character he impacted a whole series and audience in those, sadly short scenes that in the end lead to his end.

Not only did he die with a smile but with an even bigger message that left so many people pondering what it means to be strong, what it means to protect and how to deal with responsibility that was given to one.

He didn't just move our hearts only, but also those of the characters around him showing us various emotions of people like Inosuke that we would never have expected within the few minutes he appeared compared to other characters.

It shows how much these characters wanted people to be happy and feel like if they worked hard enough with pride they could reach lengths, not being determined what other people may think about them.

The feelings he desperately wanted to show his younger brother that seeped into the viewers hearts as well.

Making him the one and only blazing heart of the hashira, the passion and love within.

Introduction

The number four on his back and with eyes that pierce through with a curious look. One can hear him from afar when he is fired up and he doesn’t stop being persistent in his demands when he makes one.

With a much later appearance than most captains next to Kita, Bokuto’s first debut is in season 2 episode 4 in which we see him more observant and rather quiet than his well-known usual demeanor.

He attends the Fukurodani Academy/Fukurodani Gakuen and is one of the third years, meaning in the course of the events from season 2 on it’s his last year with his team as well as his last chance to be part of nationals.

Bokuto is not only renowned in Tokyo but also known to be among the top five spikers in the country as Kuroo stated along with Akaashi, seemingly that he barely missed the top three.

Despite his nature he is Fukurodani’s Ace and captain at the same time, considered as a valuable trainingspartner for several players in the Tokyo trainingscamp due to his attack power.

As Fukurodani’s representative animal in the anime are owls, Bokuto also gets nicknamed as “annoying owl” sometimes, his hair being shaped like an owl, as well as his eyes and also his facial expression that could have led to the nickname as well along with his whimsical nature.

The Character

As mentioned before Bokuto is mainly known as the Ace of Fukurodani and the captain of the team. Starting with his first title as the ace the first impression we get is that he is a strong-willed young man with much more to show than his exterior reveals.

With his unpredictable behaviour that he exhibits more than often as well as the tendency to look like a dork at times, Bokuto is the most reliable when he is in his fired-up state of confidence that he represents as the Ace. He takes the most pride in it more than being the actual captain of the team and stands for the power and determination to keep going when all hopes are lost.

The desire to stand out makes him perfectly suited for the big matches as we see him wanting to be surrounded by even more people who can watch him in season 4, when he complains about being in the sub-arena of the nationals arc.

He might look unshaken and strong-willed, as well as having nerves out of steel but that’s just one side of the double-edged sword that his character is.

From his signature feature of his ‘Hey hey hey’ and being overly energetic, his other side seems quite the opposite. If Bokuto is usually someone who likes to stand-out, confident in his abilities as well as full of energy and loud then his emo-mode is far-away from those characteristics even more from an ace or captain.

Apparently as Akaashi commented and also the team, Bokuto falls into his emo-mode at the weirdest of timings, due to the smallest reason which are still a mystery for others and also in an unpredictable manner that cannot be judged where it starts or where it ends.

Therefore Akaashi his teammate has a list of things that possibly trigger that side of Bokuto yet even Akaashi who is the most aware of Bokuto’s antics stated in season 4 that he cannot fully understand and read Bokuto completely yet.

Talking about the emo-mode: It's a state named by his team-mates in which Bokuto suddenly becomes very dejected and insists on passing the ball to someone else which is unusual for him. He doesn’t stand out at all and keeps a low-profile mostly characterized by his hair hanging down to the sides and a facial expression looking weirdly amusing to the viewer making him look more like a dunce.

At one day it might be that he made too many straight-shot attacks, that he forgot how to cross-shot which leaves him bummed out. On another it could have been that he was blocked too many times, which makes him fed up and pouty. A big deviation from his reliable plays and confident behaviour.

But just as quickly as Bokuto falls into his emo-mode he also recovers just as quickly when seeing success or being catered with the things he needs at that moment, as said before mostly Akaashi handles those things but we see that also the whole team as well as the managers seem to have a list of tactics to handle Bokuto.

It makes him a strong weapon that needs much maintenance though, which Coach Nekomata compliments Fukurodani for that they can wield that double-edged sword.

Core role as a character

We mentioned before that Bokuto mostly is seen as someone who captivates the masses as the Ace of Fukurodani being among the top five spikers in the country. Yet this is not his only role, while he is indeed a captivating captain he is not captivating as a captain.

And still this is one factor that plays into the way that Fukurodani carries themselves. Usually the captain stands for stability, reliability and/or strategy as we see in our What makes a captain post there are different kinds of captains who all specialize in one or another strength more than the others.

Yet Bokuto in comparison to Ushijima is not the focal strength point with his weakness to drop into the emo-mode and having to be catered by the team when that happens. Still we see that despite all his ups and downs Bokuto is always the last one with the hope to go on, it doesn’t bother him whether the opponent is stronger than himself. In his peak form he longs for a challenge, loving the feeling of getting a spike in against someone who seems one step ahead and we also see that he takes his role as the ace of the team important.

In season 2 as well as in season 4 Bokuto can recite the way of the ace consisting of three rules one of them being your back should be an inspiration to your teammates. And Bokuto does not disappoint in fulfilling that requirement. His team-mates are able to handle and carry him when he drops because Bokuto inspires them and gives them the satisfaction when his back and form spike in the ball in a perfect manner (also stated by Akaashi). Despite that he does not actively think of acting as a captain to energize his team as in Daichi, Moniwa or Oikawa’s case, Bokuto subconsciously gives his team the drive to step up their game.

Not only his team but also Tsukishima who is guarded and mostly not fazed by most people, takes the inspiration Bokuto seeds into him and makes it bloom in season 3 which we will see later.

When everybody loses hope or doesn't have the energy it’s oddly Bokuto who is still eagerly asking for a toss or to push his team further, vice versa his team gives him that power back when he needs it as they return the favor to him.

And with that he does not only captivate the masses but his team-mates as well.

Interestingly enough Bokuto, which one can easily oversee, acts as a perfect decoy in his emo-mode. Yes, despite the hassle that state brings the team it also is a nice trap for team’s who never played against Fukurodani or even teams that are familiar with it. The unpredictable timing and recovery of it, which not even his team or the coach can estimate, leads the opponent to underestimate them or take things easy since that Bokuto is out for the time being.

Another role Bokuto takes is the mentor role for Hinata which we will discuss in the next section.

Importance in the series

There are many things that Bokuto influences that might not catch the eye at first but his importance in the series that are easily overlooked by the most.

Firstly as mentioned before, Bokuto plays a big role and has much impact on Tsukishima awakening in season 3. With the simple question: Do you like Volleyball? He turns the tables and we get to see that Bokuto has even more to hide despite him being generally an open book. A fierce and very mature side arises as he explains that despite Bokuto playing twice in the nationals and him being a third-year, he still didn’t enjoy Volleyball at that time and recently experienced it as fun when he was getting better. With Tsukishima being prone to both Kuroo’s and Bokuto’s provocation, Bokuto hits a nerve when he tells him he might suck which comes from not practicing enough. The words that’s when you’ll be hooked on Volleyball also seem to hit Tsukishima and we see in season 3 he remembers Bokuto’s exact same words as well as starting to practice even more ever since that day.

And truly we see that after blocking Ushijima, Tsukishima remembers those words and finally starts to see Volleyball as more than ‘just a club’ thanks to Bokuto’s push.

Secondly, he acts as Hinata’s mentor in a sense and also acknowledges him as an apprentice. Not only does he teach Hinata one thing or another but the energy boost and confidence as well as motivation Hinata gets from having Bokuto as a teacher shows immense results during the Tokyo camp as well at nationals where Hinata even looks for his dear teacher to watch him. The motivation Bokuto fueled into Hinata, also came back in the very moment Bokuto needed it the most to jump out of the emo-mode and keep being the ace his student is proud of.

Sticking to motivation, as mentioned in the section before he does have a lot of influence on many people around him which he probably isn’t aware of himself.

There is another thing that makes Bokuto an important character in the series and this is the point that may not be visible at first: Bokuto is a strong yet very flawed character.

Why might this be important?

Since the emphasis is on strong and amazing, Bokuto does inspire a lot of people around him and also leads the one or another person to push further due to his influence. Yet Bokuto himself is not flawed in a manner as we see in other characters which might not appear immediately until further analysis or have an exact reason, Bokuto’s whole weakness or several weaknesses are laid open in a comedic and overly exaggerated manner that is still tolerated and respected.

It shows that no matter how good someone is or seems to be there is always a weakness, may it be buried deep down inside like in Tsukishima’s or Sugawara’s case or laid open as we see in Bokuto. He also shows that there always be people who tolerate your mistakes and weaknesses and that a team is a give and take. The perfect example of what goes around comes around. Bokuto’s energetic nature and motivation, as well as his effort will come back to him in a form of support and the same energy and motivation he gives.

Which doesn’t make Bokuto less capable or incomptent but simply flawed.

The importance is also that his team, especially Akaashi do not understand why or what small things influence Bokuto apart from the list they already have, but they also do not judge Bokuto for that and accept it.

Akaashi says in season 4 that it might seem silly for most of the people but the things they regard as silly are all important to Bokuto. This statement shows the sympathy towards Bokuto’s behaviour, because every person works differently and just as one thing might seem silly to someone it might be very important for someone else, even if the reason is not apparent it should be respected how the other feels about certain things and Fukurodani is the best representant for that.

What makes the character so interesting?

Now that we have seen most of the character throughout season 2 until four this question arises to what makes him Bokuto Koutarou so interesting?

The double-edged sword that moves the masses and his team but also can be a fatal mess that can bring it down in just a split second is still a favourite of many fans out there.

Maybe because of his imperfect and easy-going nature that needs to be cared for or him being also a mascot in a sense that can make many happy or just stand there when in his emo-mode.

Bokuto is not the usual senpai figure that we see in most cases, he is usually the one who needs to rely on Akaashi or others around him even outside of Volleyball which makes the roles reversed and could also indicate why in comparison to the other captains Bokuto does not exhibit leadership traits but leads the team with his flashy behaviour, confidence and sets of skills.

He may seem like someone who takes things easy but we get to know that Bokuto as well practiced a lot to get where he is and didn’t think of it as a fun process, still it is interesting to see that Bokuto who plays a teacher role for Hinata is now at a point where we could imagine Hinata someday when he becomes a second or third-year. The rocky road Bokuto subdued is just a glimpse of what Hinata might experience along the way.

As someone who shows a lot of characteristics to be well-liked and of a captivating captain and amazing Ace, Bokuto is not ever so often teased and bullied by others. Again the duality of his influence, which might be motivational and energetic at times, is often also seen as annoying or exaggerated when the timing is not right, showing that everything comes with a light and shadow.

But what is also fascinating about Bokuto is that he is always able to push through somehow despite all his shortfalls and weaknesses he is nevertheless the one who walks the way of the Ace.