The competition for the most popular character in the anime hit, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, is hard. Whether it’s the red-and-yellow-haired swordsman Kyojuro Rengoku or the ghostly Shinobu Kocho with empty purple eyes, the action series has no shortage of memorable (and visually impressive) heroes.
But now even the most powerful swordsmen in the series have found their place thanks to the new characters introduced in the latest episode. Who is the newest star to break into the hearts of fans? Well it’s not a single character, it’s a team of really strong mice called Ninju.
The critters appear in the fourth episode of the newest season, the Entertainment District Arc. This part of the story follows Tanjiro Kamado and his friends as they venture into a busy city with a vibrant nightlife. There they meet their next mentor, a powerful Sound Hashira named Tengen Uzui. This mentor not only brings his own giant muscles to the Demon Slayer Corps, but also introduces Kamado to the mice who serve as his confidants and offer their help to the characters.
The designs for the mice are as hilarious as they are cute – their look is based on their master Uzui. The two mice wear the same headband as Uzui, and as the name suggests, their arms and chest are so swollen that their muscles are many times the size of their torso and legs. According to a post-credits scene, Uzui says the Demon Slayer Corps only picks the most dedicated mice for the role, but “being narcissistic enough to fall in love with your own muscles is a must too”.
The rodents have captured the admiration of many fans online. Before the latest episode was fully revealed, the characters were featured in the title theme behind Inosuke. After seeing her, fans wrote about how excited they were at the full reveal, saying, “I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE YOU.”
When we first see the mice, Kamado’s friend, the boar-headed Inosuke, asks the creatures to bring him his swords for battle. It’s a glorious scene where Inosuke is seated jumping and poking his head through the ceiling of a beautiful house to call the mice. The mice march through the attic of the building and sing “Muscle! Muscle! Muscle! “As the two of them carry swords (which are many times their size) to Inosuke.
Now that the ninju are fully on the show, fans have been making fan art and editing fan videos with footage of it.
TikTokers also joked about how these mice inspired their own fitness goals.
Other TikToker have said that they think the muscle mice are just better and cooler than the Hashira, who are some of the most powerful fighters in the world Demon Hunter.
At the time of publication, there were four episodes of The Entertainment District Arc of Demon Hunter was published. The episodes are broadcast weekly and the latest episodes of Demon Hunter are currently available to stream on Crunchyroll, Funimation, or Hulu.
