Why Does Sanemi Hate Genya In Demon Slayer?

The bonds formed between characters are the backbone of the Demon Slayer series.

The latest season of the anime sheds light on the relationship (and tensions) between the two brothers, Sanemi Shinazugawa (Wind Hashira) and Genya Shinazugawa.

Sanemi’s poor treatment of Genya is deeply rooted in their tragic past, with both of them forced to develop a crooked outlook on life to survive.

Note: This article may contain some spoilers.

Sanemi And Genya’s Tragic Past

The current Wind Hashira Sanemi, and Genya’s mother, Shizu Shinazugawa, was a short woman who worked hard for her seven kids.

Their father, Kyogo, was a scumbag who used to beat Shizu and all the kids. He was later stabbed to death by one of the villagers.

Being the oldest, Sanemi and Genya decided to protect their mother and siblings.

One night, their mother was extremely late from work, worrying all the children. Sanemi decided to go out to search for her, while Genya had to stay back to protect his other siblings.

However, it was only near dawn that they heard the knock on the door.

Genya’s siblings ran, thinking their mother had come. However, Genya sensed something was off and tried to warn his siblings.

Unfortunately, it was too late, as something broke the door, killed his siblings, and then attacked Genya, giving him his iconic scar.

Genya was confused and assumed that a wolf had attacked them.

Just as the beast leaped towards Genya in an attempt to kill him, Sanemi rushed in and pushed the creature out of the window.

Genya was still confused and could not believe what had happened. He asked his siblings to press the wound to avoid bleeding and ran outside to find a doctor.

Unfortunately, his siblings were already dead. Meanwhile, Sanemi was fighting the creature outside their house.

The sun had already come out, and Genya was still searching for a doctor when he came across a blood-covered Sanemi standing still, holding a cleaver.

In front of the blood-covered boy was the inanimate body of their mother.

Genya bursts into tears, and he holds her in his arms. He asked Sanemi how he could kill their mother, whom they were trying to protect, and called him a murderer.

In fact, Sanemi himself did not know what he was fighting until the sun shed its light on it, revealing that it was their mother who had turned into a demon and attacked her children.

Sanemi was just a kid back then when he fought their demonized mother to save his siblings. However, the only surviving sibling called him a murderer. This took a massive toll on him and made him more abrasive.

The Only Two Survivors

After this event, Sanemi left Genya to hunt demons, so such tragedies wouldn’t happen to anyone else.

The kid had not known about Nichirin Blade or even demon slayers, in fact. He would arm himself with various gardening tools and lengths of chain.

With them, he would find and restrain demons in order to expose them to sunlight. Burning them to death.

He also had Marechi blood in him, one of the rarest blood types among demon slayers. It is very intoxicating to demons; it even disorients them and slows their movement.

He was later recruited by a demon slayer named Masachika Kumeno. After joining the Demon Slayer Corps, he took on many missions along with Kumeno. He also treated him as a younger brother, but all of this came to an end when both encountered Lower Moon 1, Ubume.

The tag team defeated the demon, but Masachika died in the battle, and Sanemi became the Wind Hashira.

While Sanemi became the Pillar to kill all demons, Genya was working his way to becoming a Hashira with the sole reason to meet his brother.

After learning the truth of the incident with his mother, he wanted to apologise to Sanemi for his hurtful words.

Unfortunately for Genya, he did not have any natural talent and could not learn any breathing style; he got desperate for power.

In his desperation to gain power, he started eating demons. `Unknown to him, he had a unique digestive system.

This allowed him to gain the power and abilities of the demon he ate. Though it is temporary, it gives him immense strength and regenerative abilities.

The extent of the abilities he gains and how powerful he becomes are dependent on the demon he eats.

When he eats a demon, he develops fangs, and the sclera of his eye turns black (similar to the ghouls in Tokyo Ghoul). To understand the reasoning behind why he can eat demons, click here!

Why Does Sanemi Hate Genya?

Unlike Sanemi, who joined the Demon Slayer Corp. to avenge his family and protect others from suffering,

Genya’s main motive to join the Demon Slayer Corps was to find Sanemi and apologize for calling him a murderer instead of thanking the Wind Pillar for saving his life.

Sanemi tries to discourage Gennya and pushes him away from being a demon slayer.

This is because no matter how he acts in front of his brother, he actually loves him. The Hashira knows that the demon slayers are susceptible to danger and can die prematurely.

He even expresses that he wants Genya to settle down and have a loving family. All Sanemi ever wanted was for Genya to live a peaceful life with a loving family.