Murata

Murata first appears in the Natagumo Mountain Arc as a Demon Slayer Corps member ranked higher than Tanjiro Kamado at that time.

His family name is known, but his given name is never revealed in the series.

He serves as a rare voice of common sense and normality in a cast full of extreme personalities.

Despite being comparatively “average,” he survives long-term in a corps with a terrifyingly high death rate, marking him as quietly impressive.

He is known for his smooth, glossy hair and genuinely good-natured personality.

Fans often see him as the flagship “beloved background character,” and his popularity has grown steadily thanks to his persistence and relatability.

Even though his juniors eventually far surpass him in strength, he continues to fight alongside them.

Because of that, other characters and fans alike tend to treat him with respect, often calling him “Murata-san.”

Murata uses Water Breathing, the same breathing style as Tanjiro Kamado and the current and former Water Hashira, Giyu Tomioka and Sakonji Urokodaki.

However, his technical mastery is significantly lower, which leads to several unique traits.

Due to his relatively low skill level, the color of his Nichirin Blade is so faint that it is almost impossible to distinguish.

Likewise, the visual “water” effects usually seen when using Water Breathing forms are so weak around him that they are effectively invisible to observers.

He is not a user of heightened special senses like Tanjiro’s smell, Zenitsu Agatsuma’s hearing, Inosuke Hashibira’s touch, Kanao Tsuyuri’s vision, or Genya Shinazugawa’s taste.

Instead, Murata stands as the representative of a typical Demon Slayer Corps soldier without a unique supernatural talent.

Even so, he is capable, disciplined, and hardworking enough to complete brutal Hashira training sessions and survive front-line battles.

By the time of the Infinity Castle battle, he can coordinate with allies to fight demons roughly equivalent to Lower Moons created on the spot by Muzan Kibutsuji.

Murata’s Nichirin Blade is associated with Water Breathing but fails to manifest a vivid color due to his limited proficiency.

The blade’s hue is described as so pale that it is effectively indiscernible.

The fittings of his sword include a round guard, an iron-navy handle wrapping, and a black lacquered scabbard.

These simple, practical details suit his no-frills, working-soldier image.

In an anime next-episode preview, Murata appears with Shinobu Kocho and becomes enamored with the idea of a “special blade” and poisons like hers.

He enthusiastically declares something along the lines of “I’ll get a special sword and rank up in one go!”, only to be gently but firmly shut down.

Shinobu tells him with a smile that he should first acquire enough skill not to have his uniform melted off by demon attacks.

The exchange highlights Murata’s earnestness, his lack of overwhelming talent, and Shinobu’s blunt yet caring realism.

Natagumo Mountain Arc

Murata is part of a ten-person squad dispatched to exterminate demons on Natagumo Mountain.

Once there, the demons controlling spider webs force Demon Slayers to fight each other, plunging the unit into chaos.

Under the control of the Mother demon’s threads, Murata’s fellow Demon Slayers begin attacking one another.

Murata panics and initially dismisses Tanjiro Kamado and Inosuke Hashibira, both of whom hold lower ranks than he does.

After Tanjiro analyzes the situation and discovers how the demons are controlling the Slayers, Murata regains his composure.

He steps up as a senior, volunteering to handle the controlled Slayers so Tanjiro and Inosuke can push ahead to the main demon.

Despite his resolve, Murata doesn’t get to shine much in combat and is soon captured by the Older Sister demon of the spider family.

He is wrapped in a cocoon and doused with dissolving fluid that melts his clothing, placing him moments away from being eaten.

Shinobu Kocho arrives just in time and saves Murata by killing the demon.

However, the damages to his uniform leave him completely naked in front of Shinobu, an extremely embarrassing situation for him.

This incident is notable in the series as the first instance of full nudity in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, though played entirely for awkward comedy.

After Shinobu departs, Murata reportedly waits for the Kakushi (the medical and cleanup corps) while still naked, making the situation even more mortifying.

Murata is visibly uncomfortable and deeply embarrassed about the event.

In contrast, Shinobu is unfazed, likely due to her medical background and hardened mentality as a Hashira, making it a non-issue for her.

Rehabilitation Training Arc

After the Natagumo Mountain incident, Murata is summoned to the Hashira Meeting.

There, he endures harsh criticism about the supposed declining quality of Demon Slayer Corps members and their insubordination, leaving him feeling like he is sitting “on a bed of needles.”

Murata himself is not at fault for the issues being discussed, but he bears the collective scolding anyway.

This adds to his image as a long-suffering, somewhat unlucky but earnest soldier.

Later, Murata visits Tanjiro Kamado at the Butterfly Mansion.

He vents about the terrifying atmosphere among the Hashira and how nerve-wracking the meeting was.

Right after he says that the Hashira are scary, Shinobu Kocho appears behind him, smiling.

Murata is so startled and uncomfortable that he bolts away at full speed, leaving behind a deeply awkward atmosphere.

Shinobu once again seems entirely unbothered and does not take offense.

Murata’s reaction, however, is understandable: being embarrassed in front of a Hashira multiple times would make anyone want to run away.

Hashira Training Arc

During the joint reinforcement training conducted by the Hashira after the battles against Gyokko and Hantengu, Murata participates like any other Corps member.

These trainings are incredibly severe and are designed to drastically increase the survivability and combat capability of the Demon Slayers.

The training menu includes:

1. Basic physical conditioning from the former Sound Hashira, featuring long-distance runs and, in the anime, sit-ups, other muscle training, and night mountain drills with the Sound Hashira playing demon.

2. High-speed movement training under the Mist Hashira Muichiro Tokito, including practice swings and sparring to refine efficient movement.

3. “Hellish” flexibility and core training under the Love Hashira Mitsuri Kanroji, with rhythmic, gymnast-like movements and painfully intense stretching.

4. Sword-path correction under the Serpent Hashira Obanai Iguro, where trainees must strike while navigating around numerous wooden beams; slower learners may be used as additional “obstacles.”

5. Endless striking drills under the Wind Hashira Sanemi Shinazugawa, continuing until the trainee vomits and collapses.

6. Leg strength, lower-body training, and a series of extreme exercises under the Stone Hashira Gyomei Himejima, including enduring two hours under an ice-cold waterfall and carrying heavy logs while pushing a large boulder over a distance.

Additional personal training for Gyomei himself includes standing barefoot over a bonfire and pushing even larger rocks with added hanging weights, but this is deemed too dangerous for regular Demon Slayers and is not required of them.

Due to various circumstances, Shinobu Kocho and Giyu Tomioka do not participate as trainers in this program.

Murata is shown barely holding on but refusing to give up.

By the time Tanjiro arrives at Gyomei’s training, Murata has already been at it for ten days and has achieved the two-hour waterfall endurance benchmark.

Since the Stone Hashira’s training is optional and can be abandoned at any time, many Demon Slayers give up and go home before completion.

Murata, however, remains alongside Tanjiro, Inosuke, Zenitsu, and a small handful of other Corps members, proving his grit and determination.

His presence among those who endure the entire program implies that he successfully completed the earlier five Hashira trainings as well.

This further cements his role as a hardworking veteran who survives not by genius but by persistence.

In the Kimetsu Academy parody setting, Murata is reimagined as a second-year student in the High School Division, in Class 2-Sansho.

He serves as the vice class representative and belongs to the soccer club.

Among the extremely eccentric Kimetsu Academy cast, Murata is still relatively normal and level-headed.

Because of this, he often gets dragged into chaos by his classmates and peers.

His academic performance is above average and considered good.

However, he once had to take supplementary lessons because he missed a test due to illness.

When referring collectively to Tanjiro Kamado, Zenitsu Agatsuma, and Inosuke Hashibira, Murata calls them the “Three Bamboo Shoot Idiots,” a nickname based on their class designation.

As usual, he plays the weary straight man opposite their wild antics.

In this parody universe as well, he does not seem to be popular with girls despite being on the soccer team.

This continues the running gag that he is chronically unlucky and underappreciated.

Murata appears as a playable character in the console fighting-action game Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles.

Being made playable is a major achievement for a character often treated as a background soldier.

In the game, he uses Water Breathing techniques, reflecting his canonical style from the manga and anime.

He also has a unique support skill where he “cheers” during battle, helping to restore the gauge needed for tag-team actions with his partner.

Among the many background Demon Slayers who are frequently killed swiftly by demons, Murata is comparatively privileged in terms of screen time and survival.

He is often cited as the “model background character” because he gets more personality, dialogue, and development than most of his peers.

His distinctive, silky hair is carefully maintained with camellia oil.

The reason he goes to this trouble is that his first love once praised his hair, and he has continued to take care of it ever since.

Murata’s position as the leading “beloved mob character” has made him a fan favorite.

In the official second popularity poll, he gained 342 votes, placing 25th overall and receiving a dedicated illustration despite being a non-main character.

Interestingly, this ranking tied him with Kanae Kocho.

That tie further highlights just how much fans appreciate Murata despite his modest standing in the story’s power hierarchy.

Voice actor-wise, Murata is portrayed by a performer who also plays another character with the same surname in the series “Kyo Kara Maoh!”.

That other character’s best friend is voiced by the same actor who plays Giyu Tomioka, tying neatly into Murata’s in-story connection with Giyu.

When the first part of the Infinity Castle Arc was adapted into a film, some theaters decorated with character displays.

For some reason, Murata’s panel was placed alongside Muzan Kibutsuji and Upper Rank demons, prompting fans to jokingly claim this was a spoiler that Murata would turn into a demon.

Murata is a persistent, earnest, and fundamentally decent person.

He often ends up in embarrassing or stressful situations, but he never stops doing his duty.

He is not especially gifted compared to the series’ prodigies and Hashira.

Still, he manages to survive numerous deadly missions, including the war in the Infinity Castle.

His humor often comes from his reactions to terrifying or awkward moments, like being naked in front of Shinobu Kocho or trapped in tense Hashira meetings.

Despite the embarrassment, he keeps getting back up and returning to the battlefield.

He takes pride in his status as a Demon Slayer and as a senior to Tanjiro and the others.

Even when outshone by his juniors, he continues to train and fight, making his eventual growth feel earned and realistic.

During the climactic battle within the Infinity Castle, Murata fights on the front lines as part of the Corps’ all-out assault against Muzan Kibutsuji’s demons.

Having completed Gyomei Himejima’s brutal training, he is notably tougher and more capable than before.

He and other Demon Slayers cooperate to fight demons that Muzan creates on the spot, roughly equivalent to Lower Rank demons but lacking human appearance and blood demon arts.

Murata is frightened by their strange abilities and the ferocity of the battle, yet he manages to continue fighting.

In the manga, he struggles to cut through an enemy’s neck, shouting things like how hard the neck is as he attacks.

In the Infinity Castle film adaptation, he is shown managing to decapitate multiple demons after a hard fight, clearly showcasing his improvement.

The anime also finally depicts his use of Water Breathing techniques on-screen.

Although these techniques had been known from other sources like The Hinokami Chronicles game, the Infinity Castle adaptation makes them canonically visible.

Murata’s motivation for joining the Demon Slayer Corps is the murder of his family by demons, leaving him with no relatives and a powerful desire for revenge.

When he glimpses Muzan Kibutsuji from a distance, he internally vows to kill Muzan as his family’s enemy.

Unlike many minor soldiers who lack strong personal resolve, Murata is deeply driven by both duty and vengeance.

However, when he is about to rush toward the front to confront Muzan, Giyu Tomioka entrusts the gravely injured Tanjiro Kamado to him.

Murata chooses to follow that order and withdraw from the direct assault.

He joins Yushiro and other Demon Slayers in treating and protecting the wounded instead of charging after Muzan.

This decision underscores his reliability and sense of priority: he puts the mission and the survival of comrades above personal revenge.

He continues to work tirelessly in the background as the battle reaches its conclusion and Muzan is eventually defeated.

After Muzan Kibutsuji’s defeat and the end of the demon threat, the Demon Slayer Corps disbands.

Murata survives the final battle and returns to a more normal life.

He maintains ties with Tanjiro Kamado and the others even after the organization’s dissolution.

Supplementary material describes him occasionally visiting Tanjiro’s home, implying ongoing friendship and camaraderie.

By the time of the modern-day epilogue, Murata has long passed away, but his lineage continues.

A young man identified as his great-grandson appears as a teacher at the high school attended by Tanjiro’s descendant Kamado Sumihiko.

This teacher struggles to keep up with Sumihiko’s reckless habit of dangerous commuting.

The continuation of Murata’s “long-suffering straight man” role through his descendant is a humorous nod to his character.

At one point, a police officer who strongly resembles Sanemi Shinazugawa (and is implied to be his descendant or reincarnation) questions Murata’s great-grandson about Sumihiko.

The teacher’s nervous, fearful reaction mirrors Murata’s own anxious personality when dealing with frightening superiors.

From this, it can be inferred that Murata himself lived to a relatively old age and had a family.

Even generations later, his descendants retain his tendency toward exasperation and hard work amidst overwhelming personalities.

Murata and Giyu Tomioka are revealed to be members of the same intake group for the Final Selection exam.

This means they started their Demon Slayer careers at the same time.

In Giyu’s Final Selection flashback, an unnamed wounded Giyu is entrusted to another person by their companion.

In the anime, this caretaker is clearly shown to be Murata, establishing their early connection.

After the Final Selection, Murata is seen speaking to Giyu, who lies bandaged in bed recovering from his injuries.

This indicates that they had direct interaction and presumably survived the ordeal together as comrades.

Murata later mentions that he, too, was summoned to the Hashira Meeting, which Giyu also attends as a Hashira.

Even though they are not shown together in that scene, this shared experience underlines their parallel paths.

During the Infinity Castle battle, Giyu entrusts the unconscious Tanjiro Kamado to Murata.

When Murata hears Giyu call him by name, he is deeply moved that Giyu remembers him after all these years.

Murata reflects internally that he and Giyu have been together since the Final Selection eight years earlier.

He laments the huge gap that has arisen between them in rank and strength but remains proud that they are still technically peers from the same generation.

He is so happy that Giyu remembers his name and relies on him that he nearly cries.

As he carries Tanjiro to safety, he calls back, thanking Giyu loudly and saying that after the battle they should go eat together because he is so glad his name was remembered.

Murata’s thoughts imply that Giyu never forgot about a fellow survivor from that fateful selection.

Given that Giyu has lost close friends like Sabito and remains haunted by their deaths, it is plausible that Murata, as a living comrade from that same time, holds quiet significance for him.

The fact that Murata’s Final Selection took place eight years before the main story establishes him as a seasoned veteran by the time we meet him.

Despite the difference in rank, he and Giyu share an unspoken bond of survival and mutual acknowledgment, culminating in that fleeting but heartfelt exchange in the final battle.