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- Kyojuro wasn't grown into his title, role, legacy, he was pushed into it. From a young age as the next flame hashira he was probably very strictly raised. think the scenes:

a. training with his father. his father was all sunshine and smiles, you would think young Kyojuro would smile too, right? no, he was looking, searching his father's face, unsure what to do with that display of happiness, waiting. that's a boy who waited to see what comes next, if he's allowed to rest or needs to continue training

b. scene with his mother. Kyojuro displays that general honesty, loudly declaring he 'doesn't know' when his mother asked him something, mirroring the train scene with Tanjiro, so that was always part of him. but her hug? Kyojuro looked...lost. We know he probably cried due to how his face and eyes were framed, but he didn't act like a child who knew the form of affection, or even the concept of crying lol

Let me clarify that I don't think he was unloved. The story makes it clear he had a good early childhood, but strict love is still disciplinary, and even that strict love didn't last long enough because...well we know why.

- the dreams of Mugen train were all wants. Tanjiro wanted his family, Inosuke wanted companionship and recognition, Zenitsu wanted a love story. Kyojuro? His want took the shape of reality. The story literally told us "this is a man who wants nothing for himself". WHICH IS ALL GOOD AND HEROIC IF! IF!! THE SCENE DIDN'T GO TO HIS FATHER

the one time Kyojuro was proud of something that wasn't of service for others, acquiring the flame hashira title, he was berated. That scene probably repeats in his mind so much, like a vow. Because Kyojuro is not performing goodness, he's in it, soul body and mind, he enjoys it. But he is heavily repressing himself in order to handle it. He didn't take his father's words as an insult, he transmuted them into energy. "My father is right, the title matters not. My duty doesn't change, with or without the Hashira role"

- and the consequence of that is... Kyojuro burning out. literally, physically, metaphorically. "set your heart ablaze" is not just an incredibly catchy tagline to make you want to go past your limits. is the coping mechanism of a boy who got entrusted the world

he absolutely adored his mother. but her dying wish told him to be a sacrifice to the world. "live a good life" would've been enough, Ruka. lol

he absolutely loved his brother. but, simply by being young, Senjuro created a new title for him. big brother, parent (in the absence of their father)

he respected and genuinely loved his father, looked up to him too (literally shown in the training scene as well). but Shinjuro didn't properly teach him how to carry the flame. not only flame breathing, but the pressure of being a rengoku/flame hashira. so Kyojuro did what he could on his own, with no healthy coping mechanisms as he grew up too sudden

- I think we're looking past the fact that Kyojuro wasn't at his peak. He didn't know full flame breathing (we see the importance of knowing the full breathing style being mentioned again and again, is literally part of Zenitsu's plot, is how Tanjiro saves the world). Kyojuro learned alone, from incomplete books, AND pushed through with absolute willpower and conviction that he will make it work

- that's why his soul was barren, burning. WE DON'T TALK ENOUGH ABOUT HIS BURNING SOUL

- my absolute favorite scene in Mugen train is at the end of his fight with Akaza when we get a 2 seconds shot of his hand under the haori. TWO SECONDS SHOWING HIS HAND TREMBLING. showing us, visually!!! the man underneath the armor. and what does he do next? he uplifts others with his dying breath with no tremor in his body I AM UNWELL

- and the fact that his last words were aimed at his family reinforces that he truthfully loved them and wanted the best for them even if it meant he'd carry everything alone

- remember the scene where he told Tanjiro "find the ruptured blood vessel", the one before Akaza arrives? you know when we hear that again? In Tanjiro's flashback unlocking TW. his father's wording was literally "in this state you can control your blood vessels, muscles [...]" blabla. Bruh.

this is what Akaza saw in Kyojuro. I don't think Kyojuro knew what TW was at the time, I don't think he had it either because it meant 0 fighting spirit, where Kyojuro was THE embodiment of fighting spirit, but he absolutely honed himself so heavily he was Infinity Castle part 1 Tanjiro (without a mark)

THROUGH WHAT? PURE WILLPOWER. No teachings, no lineage speaking to him. Kyojuro was adapting to Akaza midfight.

And to the power-scalers who might be reading this, "Akaza was holding back" is nonsense, there is no holding back to his compass, or the "magnets" Tanjiro mentioned in Infinity Castle. Akaza's compass is simply a mechanical "imput-output" BDA, and as a prime example is that he didn't strain or got overwhelmed by marked Giyu, he simply matched him

- another fun fact, when he wakes up after the dream sequence in Mugen Train, Kyojuro takes a very similar pose and stance to Akaza's Soryu. It really intrigued me because that was no pose for a swordsman. To me, that says that:

a. Kyojuro was trained in meele combat as well (also validated by his incredible strength, holding Akaza put with his core muscles that were actively being shattered. hello??)

b. foreshadowed the fight with Akaza

c. foreshadowed Akaza's backstory all the way back then. it's obvious Kyojuro and Koyuki's father had a lot in common

d. told us that Akaza's assessment of him wasn't about raw power. It was about Kyojuro's soul, too, a true warrior of the heart

- another thing regarding this. when Akaza was talking about Kyojuro doing well dying because he wouldn't have aimed higher, he did mean it as a compliment even if Tanjiro was too Tanjiro to get it. Akaza understood Kyojuro's soul, he was physically not straining to get stronger as long as he did his duty well. Basically self gain vs service. Akaza's twisted philosophy let him want to get stronger for self gain, forgetting the why. Kyojuro lived in that why, so his strength always had a ceiling. His fighting spirit couldn't be dimmed to reach the selfless state, because by being selfless is how Kyojuro reached his fighting spirit. Do I make sense? He and Akaza are similar in that sense, Akaza also couldn't reach the selfless state because he had too much of a "why" that he didn't know about

- anyway we return to Kyojuro's words to his mother's spirit when he died (DIED SITTING UP MIND YOU aaaa) because he said "Did I do well?" instead of anything in this world he could have said before dying with maybe the only genuine smile on his face we saw

those were the words of a boy asking if he was enough. AFTER HE BURNT HIMSELF TO DEATH FOR OTHERS.

Kyojuro was a young boy who was raised to walk, breath and exist as a legend. The Tragedy of a Hero trope if you want, but he carried it with such honesty it's easy to look at him and see a happy go lucky guy.

no, he was choosing, every second of his life, to do the right thing. Even the early scene with Tanjiro and Nezuko, it was the right thing to say no trial is needed. Sanemi and Kyojuro had the same response in that regard, but because Sanemi was aggressive he is painted as the villain of that scene. WHICH IS A CHARACTERIZATION OF SANEMI TOO but I won't scream about him in Kyojuro's post lmao

- the name Rengoku is not a Japanese name. It means purgatory, the place between hell and heaven, which isn't part of the Buddhism religion. So his name telling you he's not A or B, but in-between, is another subtle characterization. He's a peak (literally said so by Tengen) without reaching his real peak, he has monstrous willpower without ambition to be more, he has a huge heart that's burning itself alive, painted as the most flame-motif character in design (which are often loud, arrogant, etc) yet he is extremely gentle and kind. and loud, yes XD

- another small fun fact, Kyojuro's favorite food is sweet potatoes. Easy to grow in most conditions, helped people survive famine, traditional dish paired with miso soup. AHA YOU'RE READING IT RIGHT

Hands and Eyes

Separate section now because I think this is a very important part of Kyojuro's characterization, which happens mainly through camera work. For the record, I'm an illustrator and character designer so these things are often in my head.

Camera work for Kyojuro does heavy lifting.

- we often have shots of his hands, bigger than average, holding the sword, holding space or holding people with a lot of care. I also noticed a particular attention to his nails, more than other male characters, possibly to show us he is a 'proper' man. The neglect he undergoes is not physical, is all inward

- the camera often pans Kyojuro from a low angle. that's not a "he's tall" trait because we have Gyomei and Tengen as direct examples that framing doesn't care about height. So the low angle for Kyojuro is meant to show us his importance: makes his perfectly square shoulders look even bigger. it's an entire "lean on me, I got this" vibe. "let me carry it when you can't" without speaking a word

- same for his hands, they hold destruction (flame is a very offensive and head-on-philosophy breathing) and gentleness. Kyojuro is unintentionally a very masculine character without muscle spectacle, because he's designed to show sustainability, endurance, protection - very generally healthy masculine traits

- there IS a moment when camera intentionally frames him from above, and it's in that scene where the old woman recognizes the flame hashira in the episode before Mugen Train. We're shown how Kyojuro uses the same sheathing style, move by move, as his father used to. That, to me, says some things

a. Kyojuro values legacy and tradition even if he alone carries it now (legacy is another big characteristic for him, eager to take in young slayers, eager to continue his legacy. Mitsuri diverged from flame breathing, the main trio didn't have enough time, Senjuro wasn't meant to be a swordsman)

b. his father did train him, this scene confirmed it before we even saw the flashback, but only early training and that matters. Sheathing your sword must be one of the very basics of things, and he mastered that by following his father, breath by breath. Kyojuro was not carving his own path, he simply continued from where he was left alone

- I already mentioned the trembling hand. I will mention it again. shattered

- Kyojuro's eyes are another interesting factor in his characterization. We see quite a lot of camera shots on close ups of his eyes, but not when he's thinking (like Tengen, his eyes are in close up when he's processing/thinking something), but when he's taking action.

- Kyojuro's eyes are shown as his conviction, as his focus and seriousness in the moment (also he's rarely smiling while fighting), and when he's met with emotion and his armor cracks. His mother's hug, analyzing his father, Tanjiro's words towards Akaza, these made him feel something he wasn't prepared for, so his composure faltered for a moment

- you know when we DON'T see them???? IN HIS FLASHBACK WITH HIS FATHER. There's a very deliberate shot where we don't see them or we barely see them. There's also the scene in the opening when we, again, don't see how he is looking at his father, only after he walks away with conviction and not disappointment.

Because those moments aren't cracks in the armor, they're live moments of Kyojuro building his armor, repressing, consciously, whatever he's feeling so he could keep going.

Anyway that's all, DS is eating me alive I swear, I think of these characters too often.