The following contains major spoilers for the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba manga by Koyoharu Gotouge, available in English through Viz Media.
For a group of characters as powerful as the Hashira of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, there’s always going to be plenty of discourse regarding the strongest and weakest members -- but what about the average ones? Some Hashira are stronger than others, some have more tragic backstories, and some have superior character designs. The Hashira became more important as the manga went on and while they all had major impacts on the series, some still had more noteworthy accomplishments than others.
Demon Slayer’s manga has established that some Hashira are much stronger than others, and the nine characters are pretty easily divided into three tiers of power. With Gyomei Himejima, Sanemi Shinazugawa and Iguro Obanai at the top and Mitsuri Kanroji, Tengen Uzui and Shinobu Kocho at the bottom, where does that leave the rest? Let’s take a look at Giyu Tomioka, Kyojuro Rengoku and Muichiro Tokito and why they’re easily the most average of the Hashira.
Please Don’t Make Giyu Try, He Hates It
The Water Hashira, Giyu Tomioka could’ve been one of the most powerful Hashira if he wasn’t against exerting himself on the grounds that he doesn’t want to. Giyu spent most of Demon Slayer being sullen and aloof, and the only time he was seen in combat prior to the penultimate “Infinity Castle” arc, he had his favorite kind of fight against Rui – Lower Rank Five of the Twelve Kizuki – where he killed a demon and didn’t have to put any effort into it. Even Giyu’s signature technique, Water-Breathing, 11th Form: Dead Calm, brings his strength to its zenith in a split second, so he can exert himself for the shortest amount of time possible.
It wasn’t until his battle alongside Tanjiro Kamado against Akaza that Giyu went all out in a fight, and even then he berated the villain for forcing him to do so. Giyu is one of the more average Hashira simply because, if it were up to him, he wouldn’t even be one. To his credit, Giyu was one of only two Hashira to survive the final battle against Muzan and the Upper-Ranks, and was the last Hashira on his feet and able to fight. However, Lower Five was still the most powerful demon Giyu ever killed in Demon Slayer -- which isn’t as impressive as some of the other Hashira's accomplishments.
Kyojuro Rengoku Was A Rich Kid In Over His Head
One of the more subtle details in Demon Slayer is that Hashira are compensated quite heavily for their work. Kyojuro Rengoku came from a long line of Flame Hashira in the Rengoku family, i.e. a prestigious and wealthy family. He’s the only Hashira who didn’t join the Demon Slayer Corps because of a personal tragedy, but rather because demon-slaying is just what his family does. None of this is to say Rengoku was some kind of brat or unworthy of his title, simply that as far as characters in Demon Slayer go, he was easily the most privileged.
It's no coincidence that the most powerful Hashira have incredibly tragic backstories, and while Kyojuro did lose his mother to illness when he was young, his drive simply didn’t compare to others like Gyomei or Iguro. Kyojuro was about as middle-of-the-pack as it gets in terms of strength. He singlehandedly saved the lives of 200 people aboard the Mugen Train, but he was absolutely no match for Akaza, Upper-Rank Three -- a demon who was fought nearly evenly by Giyu Tomioka later in the manga. The impact of Kyojuro’s death was tangible for the rest of the series, but as Hashira go he was pretty mundane in terms of strength.
Muichiro Tokito Is Demon Slayer's Most Average Hashira
The Mist Hashira, Tokito was powerful enough to 1v1 with an Upper-Rank Five and win, but from his stoic personality to his unimaginative character design, he’s easily the most “meh” of all the Hashira. The others have all swagged out their Demon Slayer Corps uniforms to various extents, making them stand out in a crowd, but Muichiro only wore a baggy version of the standard uniform to make his movements harder to predict. Combine his drab look with his general emotionlessness, and it makes him as close to generic as any of the Hashira -- even if he’s arguably the strongest swordsman on this list.
It's conceivable that Gyokko, Upper-Rank Five, wasn’t as strong as he should've been given his title, considering that Muichiro was literally sliced to pieces by Kokushibo, Upper-Rank One. Muichiro was utterly helpless for most of his fight against the most powerful demon that Muzan Kibutsuji ever created, while two of his much more powerful comrades were forced to do most of the work.
To be fair, Gyomei and Sanemi wouldn’t have defeated Kokushibo without the wound a dying Muichiro had dealt him. Had he lived through this encounter -- and had Demon Slayer devoted more time to his personality instead of his history -- Muichiro may not have found himself with the posthumous title of Most Average Hashira.