Zenitsu Agatsuma is a complicated character of Demon Slayers, characterized originally with extreme cowardice, self-deprecation, and a strong desire to live a normal life, coupled with great latent power of being a Thunder Breathing Master, used only in a near-death, asleep situation, emblematic of a character’s transformation from fearful reliance to true bravery and competency as he cures himself of deep-seated fears and insecurities in order to protect other’s life.
He acts as a source of comic relief but grows into being a strong and compassionate swordsman who has a pure heart beneath his annoying exterior, making him relatable as he grows to cope with his limitations and discovers his true strength.
Appearance
Zenitsu is a young man of average height, with fair skin, lean musculature, and downward-sloping and worried-looking eyes that range in color between soft brown and brilliant gold, with golden and golden or golden and golden, sharply fading to a bright orange color, forked eyebrows.
He has short, yellow hair of varying lengths that cuts off squarely at the ends, where it tapers off to a darker orange color, that is allowed to fall in front of his face in an uneven bang, loosely resembling a bowl cut. Before becoming a Demon Slayer, Zenitsu’s hair was originally black, but it received the color that it is currently when he was struck by lightning during his training.
Personality
Zenitsu is cowardly, nihilistic and weak willed, and often states that his life is short because of the dangerous work he does as a Demon Slayer. He has rather low self-esteem despite his talent and strength until he considers himself useless.
This was evident when he couldn’t believe he had slain a demon and tricked himself into instead believing that it was Shoichi when the latter was a young child who didn’t possess any form of skill.
Zenitsu is in constant fear and he often tries to run away at the sight of danger, claiming he wants to live a normal, modest life instead of that of a Demon Slayer. Due to this, Zenitsu screams and shouts a lot to the annoyances of the people around him.
He is also seen to be pessimistic at times, notably in Hashira Training, to which he lashed out at a couple of times, when Tanjiro and Inosuke had a positive view on the training.
In spite of his weaknesses, Zenitsu wants to fulfill the expectations people have set for him and will endeavor as hard as he can when he has to.
He has much respect and admiration for his comrades and his deceased teacher, Jigoro Kuwajima and his inner focus and desire to avenge him help to wash away his cowardice and 2nd thinking when he’s in a pinch.
Zenitsu also despises himself for the cowardly and incompetent he is, even though he truly tries to become a better person.
Abilities
From the start, Zenitsu appears talented and good as a Demon Slayer, though he refuses to admit it. His strength is awoken when he is asleep, as his nervous demeanour is what stops him from accessing his abilities most of the time, as he becomes more sagacious, calm, and precise in his fighting.
This way he was able to instantly decapitate the Tongue Demon and defeat the Son of the Spider Family by himself. He was later able to defend three whole train carts being attacked by Enmu, Lower Rank One, as well as Nezuko.
A few months after the latter, he was able to go toe-to-toe with an awakened Daki with the help of Inosuke, and was able to blitz her with Thunderclap and Flash: Godlike Speed soon after. As further credence to his strength, Zenitsu managed to fight to the top of the Hashira Training.
However, the greatest extent of his powers are displayed when Zenitsu is fighting while awake, as he had managed to outmaneuver the new Upper Rank Six, Kaigaku, in speed single-handedly and was later blitzed and decapitated before he could react although did sustain several serious injuries.
Moreover, Zenitsu’s initial reluctance to kill Kaigaku came from his remembering that he was once someone that he cared about, that he looked up to, is the only thing that gave the Upper Rank the initial advantage, hinting that he could have simply killed him from the beginning if he so desired.
Later on, he was able to match and fight with Demon King Muzan Kibutsuji, albeit while greatly weakened by the Anti-Kibutsuji Drug. Nonetheless, Zenitsu’s strength was more than likely the same as the Hashira at the end of the series.
Physical Abilities
Increased Strength: Zenitsu has earned incredible physical strength from years of grueling physical training. Zenitsu has been able to hold Inosuke Hashibira down with his bare hands and throw him away with one of his legs.
Most importantly, Zenitsu has incredible leg strength, as he is able to jump extremely high and move at blistering speeds in order to perform his Thunder Breathing techniques. He was also able to damage the body of Muzan, which has the highest durability than all the demons, further testifying to his incredible physical strength.
Immense Speed & Reflexes: Zenitsu is very fast and he can even run faster than what the eye can perceive easily. Even in the establishment of his career as a Demon Slayer, the fact of his speed greatly surpassing that of the lesser demons such as the Tongue Demon and Son of the Spider Family is plainly obvious.
In both skirmishes, neither demon was able to land a hit on Zenitsu when he was actively participating in the battle and both were totally incapable of responding to the speed of the attacks launched by Zenitsu. During the battle against Enmu, he was able to save Nezuko from Lower Rank One’s flesh appendages and that he was able to slice through many of them before Enmu was able to react.
He was able to continue fighting with Kaigaku even after suffering the effects of several Blood Demon Art enhanced Thunder Breathing applied to him burning his skin and eventually having enough power to hurl him with his ultimate technique.
Zenitsu was even able to push himself during the fight against Muzan to around half an hour, being able to even surpass his limit of only being able to use his Thunderclap and Flash: Godlike Speed technique twice a day before his legs giving out.
