I can't imagine a sadder story than Demon Slayer with Muichiro as the protagonist

The animanga verse of Demon Slayer can be seen as a vast ocean filled with many imaginative storylines, not just the one created by mangaka Koyoharu Gotouge. With a wide range of unique characters with detailed backstories, it’s easy to imagine someone else stepping into the main protagonist's role.

Among the many characters in the series, one of the most intriguing is the Mist Hashira Muichiro Tokito, who probably has one of the most compelling storylines and might have the saddest ending. This article focuses on Muichiro as the protagonist and tells the Demon Slayer story from his point of view.

Disclaimer: This article contains speculative theory and reflects the author's opinions.

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Imagining Muchiro Tokito as the protagonist of the Demon Slayer series

To begin the Demon Slayer story narrative from Muichiro's perspective as the main protagonist, the series would have resumed from where he just woke up after falling unconscious due to certain events. After waking up, given his forgetful nature, he would've probably forgotten what had happened before. However, he would probably be feeling strong emotions of anger, driving him to save humanity.

The story will then swiftly progress to him joining the Demon Slayer Corps and becoming the Hashira within two months of his joining. In the meantime, he would probably be seen interacting with several other Hashira, like Rengoku, Mitsuri, Sanemi, and even Genya. He will also meet Tanjiro and Nezuko during the Hashira meeting, but probably forget about them.

Still trying to cope with his amnesia and self-doubt, trying to pinpoint his blurry past, Muichiro would be seen having struggles with himself. To cope with it, he would probably go on dangerous missions. During one of these missions, Muchiro will meet Nezuko and Tanjiro again and fight alongside them at the Swordsmith Village.

After a gruesome fight against the Upper Moon demon Gyokko, he would become friends with Tanjiro, who also just fought off another Upper Rank demon, Hantengu, with assistance from Mitsuri and Genya. During the fight, Muichiro would eventually remember his past and his brother Yuichiro, leading him to awaken his Demon Slayer mark.

Muichiro and Tanjiro's friendship will mostly be because the former saw glimpses of his father in Tanjiro, providing him with some comfort among all the sadness and grief. After resting for a few days, Muichiro would join the other Slayers and Hashira in training during the Hashira Training arc. A few wholesome moments between him and Tanjiro can also be seen at this time.

Eventually, the final battle at the Infinity Castle will begin. However, since Muichiro is now the protagonist, it is only fitting for Kokushibo to be the main antagonist rather than Muzan.

While the rest of the fights, like Obanai and Mitsuri vs Nakime, Shinobu, Inosuke, and Kanao vs Doma, Giyu and Tanjiro vs Muzan, will be there, the fight between Gyomei, Sanemi, Genya, and Muichiro vs Kokushibo will be the main focus. Due to his past, Kagaya Ubuyashiki already knew that Muichiro was related to Kokushibo, and hence chose him as a Hashira- the child of prophecy.

Instead of Tanjiro as intended originally by Gotouge, Muichiro would survive the fight but become a demon, and the others who survived must stop him and turn him back before sunrise. With the collapse of the Infinity Castle, many Hashira and Slayers died, with Tanjiro barely alive. To protect Muichiro, Tanjiro sacrifices himself.

After regaining consciousness and becoming human with the help of Tamayo's medicine, Muichiro realised the harm he had caused to his one best friend, someone he could call family. After waking up in the Butterfly Mansion, realisation hits that he survived, and Tanjiro didn't. Muichiro would beg forgiveness from Nezuko and grieve for Tanjiro and the others who died.

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Final thoughts

This article was purely focused on the Mist Hashira, Muichiro Tokito, as the main protagonist of Demon Slayer. While it will never happen canonically in the series, it gives the fans a new perspective on what the narrative would look like if Muichiro was the chosen one, instead of Tanjiro.

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