Summary
Demon Slayer, one of themost popular manga and anime seriesin recent history, has a whole lot of tragedy packed within its story. This setting is infested with literal Demons who eat humans for food, so of course, there are going to be a lot of tragic deaths over the course of that tale.
And, with how large the cast around Tanjiro Kamado eventually becomes, it becomes hard to figure out which characters have their days numbered or not. So, let’s go through some of the most tear-jerking deaths inDemon Slayer, what makes them so sad, and what caused these heroes to lose their lives in the first place.
Updated October 23rd, 2024 by Jacob Buchalter:The sheer number of characters introduced throughout the course of Demon Slayer is pretty staggering, between all the Demon Slayer Corps members, all the Pillars, all the characters connected to the Demon Slaying Corps, all the Demons, and even just the random citizens, it’s a lot of people to get attached to. And for both better and worse, the series is not afraid to kill characters off, sometimes even completely unceremoniously. Let’s take an in-depth look at some of the most tragic and heartwrenching deaths that happen in Demon Slayer overall.
Disclaimer: Heavy spoilers for any and all character deaths in the Demon Slayer anime and manga are below. Read at your own risk. If you just came from watching the final episode of the Hashira Training Arc, proceed VERY carefully.
‘Time’ of Death
Muzan Kibutsuji
Chapter 176
When people pick their favorite characters inDemon Slayer,there aren’t many who pick Mist Hashira as their top pick. While Muichiro’s backstory is incredibly interesting, by design this character spends a lot of his screen time not understanding social cues, being rude to others, and just generally not having much personality. But, as Muichiro remembers more of who he is and where he comes from, he becomes a lot more likable. However, by the time his personality really comes back in full force, he’s already entered his final battle.
Still, at the very least, the number 1 Upper Moon would have never been defeated without him, which ultimately would have led to Muzan getting away and everything the Demon Slayer Corps sacrificed being for nothing.
Muichiro Tokito, Sanemi Shinazugawa, Genya Shinazugawa, & Gyomei Himejima
Speaking of the highest Upper Moon, he also has an incredibly tragic backstory. Well, more like his brother Yoriichi has an incredibly tragic backstory, and hearing it by extension through Michikatsu is very sad. Essentially, Michikatsu had an inferiority complex about his younger brother his entire life since Yoriichi was born with the Demon Slaying Mark and all the superhuman abilities that came with it. Because of this, a lot of Michikatsu’s life was filled with feelings of jealousy, inferiority, hatred, spite, and more.
Despite the clear amount of love his younger brother showed him, Michikatsu would eventually scorn this compassion at every opportunity, even becoming a Demon and killing all of his Demon Slaying comrades to surpass his younger brother’s abilities (which he never did). The first Upper Moon is only included on his list simply because, if had just come to terms with his emotions regarding his brother early on in life, his life could’ve gone down an entirely different (and almost assuredly much happier) path.
Chapter 1
People don’t really think about it after the first couple of episodes, butDemon Slayer’swhole plotline started from a series of tragic deaths. Tanjiro only becomes a Demon Slayer to protect and cure his sister, Nezuko, after Muzan kills their entire family and turns her into a Demon. And, from all the flashbacks and moments where readers/viewers get to see Tanjiro’s father, mother, and siblings, they’re all such likable characters.
So, why is such a loving family that was cut down before their time so low in these rankings? Well, simply because the audience didn’t get to spend a lot of time with them outside of the Sun Breathing-related flashbacks of Tanjiro. The anime goes the extra mile to give viewers a bit more time with this family through flashbacks and dreams, but it’s only just enough to give them a clear picture of how much Tanjiro loved his family.
The Hand Demon
Chapter 6-7 (technically before the events of the manga overall)
These next two deaths are discovered by readers/viewers not long after the deaths of the Kamado family, as Sabito and Makomo are two of Sakonji Urokodaki’s previous students, with Sabito actually being trained alongside Giyu, the Water Hashira.
As it turns out, Sabito died during his Final Section Test to the Hand Demon, a powerful monster who specifically would go after those trained by Urokodaki, such as Makomo and Sabito. Thankfully, Tanjiro manages to slay this horrifying demon, thereby freeing both Sabito and Makomo from their unfinished grievances and allowing them to pass on to the next life. Still, the sheer fact that Urokodaki and Giyu lost their friends and children like this is heart-wrenching.
Either Muzan Kibutsuji or his own Demon Slayer Mark
Chapter 200
At first, Gyomei Himejima seems like he’s going to be a one-dimensional character, going for that whole ‘always praying, always crying monk’ vibe. And, while he does fall into that category a lot of the time, there’s a lot more to this guy than meets the eye. Not only is he one of the strongest Pillarswith his Stone Breathing techniques, but Gyomei also has an incredibly tragic backstory that connects him to one of the most twisted Demons, Kaigaku.
Thankfully, when Gyomei does tragically passwhile fighting Muzan, he finally sees the children from the monastery again and they apologize profusely to him for falsely accusing him. It’s never confirmed whether this was just Gyomei imagining this or if the spirits of the actual children came to apologize, but given how much we see souls talking or spirits returning briefly in this series, it’s very likely to be the real thing.
Chapter 180
Tamayo is one of the sweetest characters throughout the entirety ofDemon Slayer. She takes care and treats humans without a word of thanks and is one of the only Demons that seem remorseful of their actions and is trying to atone. But, underneath that kind and almost ‘motherly’ outer personality is a white-hot hatred for the long-lived Muzan, and it’s what actually drives her forward. Finally, after the Ubayashikis manage to wound Muzan in a suicidal attack, Tamayo is able to restrain him and inject her ‘Anti-Demon Drug’ into him by having him absorb her hand alongside the Blood Demon Art Spikes that were restraining him. Now, this drug has a variety of effects, the primary effect of course being it turning Demons back into humans.
Of course, due to Muzan’s absurd power, it doesn’t immediately work and he sadly kills Tamayo right after, but Tamayo’s plans accounted for her assured death. Still, to have such a nice character completely sacrifice herself just to give a better chance of defeating Muzan (despite her villainous past) is really tragic.
Self-Inflicted
Chapter 144
Jigoro Kuwajima, the previous Thunder Pillar of the Demon Slayer Corps, is such a loveable character. He’sthe one who mentored Zenitsu, who is undoubtedly one of the most disliked main characters by the audience. But, in comparison to Zenitsu, Jigoro is such a charismatic and gentle (mostly) old man. He loved Zenitsu like his own grandson, put up with his absurd cowardice, and was constantly helping others.
But, his death was anything but sweet, as the poor man forced himself to commit Seppuku as a way of “atoning” after his other protege, Kaigaku, defected and became a Demon. And, because no one else was there beside him to cut his head off (which was customary for those committing Seppuku), Jigoro bled out slowly and went through a lot of unnecessary pain. And just to remindDemon Slayerfans, Kaigaku is also the one who led the Demon to Himejima’s monastery as well, effectively ruining the lives of two different pillars.
Self-Inflicted and/or Muzan Kibutsuji
Chapter 138
The Infinity Castle Arc and the Sunrise Countdown Arc are the two primary parts ofDemon Slayerwhere a lot of the cast meets their tragic end in this frantic and desperate race to sunrise. These two arcs encompass the final confrontation against the “Demon King” Muzan after all, and it starts off with a bang.
To be more precise, Kagaya Ubuyashiki, the head of the Demon Slayers, baits Muzan into sneaking into his home to kill him. But, this was all an act, and Muzan had actually fallen for his suicidal trap. Ubuyashiki, after saying what he wanted to say, then blows up his estate, killing himself, his wife, and his two oldest daughters, all of whom were acting, perfectly by the way, as if they weren’t about to meet their deaths.
While this doesn’t kill Muzan, the initial damage and shock from this attack are what allows Tamayo to inject him with her Anti-Demon serum, which is a major part of what eventually leads to his end. But, up until this point, Ubuyashiki was always seen as one of the kindest more ‘pure’ characters in the whole series, literally convincing people to join his cause with just a few words. So, to see him so vindictive, hateful, and destructive right up until the moment of his demise is so shocking.
Hopefully, there aren’t any anime-only fans reading this entry, as Mitsuri Kanrojionly just appeared in the anime again, but yes, she does tragically die alongside most of the other Pillars. Mitsuri Kanroji and Obanai Iguro were two more Pillars of the Demon Slayer Corps. More specifically, they were the Love Pillar and Serpent Pillar, and they were close friends. But, both of them only realize (or accept) their true love for each other in their final battle against Muzan during the Sunrise Countdown Arc, which is the height of tragedy.
Both Obanai and Mitsuri give their all in this battle withtheir Flower BreathingandSerpent Breathing techniquesto heavily contribute in killing the evil existence that was Muzan. But, as a result, they both also die, unable to spend any time with the one whom they now realize they love.
As such, before they pass, they swear to find each other in their next lives. And, in the epilogue ofDemon Slayer (which takes place years later), there is an adorable married couple running a diner that looks just like them.
Doma
Chapter 143
Shinobu Kocho, the Insect Pillar of the Demon Slayer Corps, is another character who hides their true emotions beneath a mask. Like Tamayo, Shinobu is warm and kind on the outside but is constantly burning with anger and hatred toward Demons. Tanjiro is the first to notice this, and during her battle with Doma, the terrifying Upper Moon Two, Shinobu expresses her true self again.
Ultimately, she does fall to Doma, who actually absorbs her into himself. But, before being completely absorbed, Shinobu manages to use hand signals to tell her disciple, Kanao, how exactly Doma fights and what to watch out for. Additionally, Shinobu had also been working with Tamayo so that she could slowly and safely ingest Wisteria Flower poison over the last year, meaning that Doma had just absorbed over seven hundred times the lethal dose of Wisteria. This genius-level spite-filled move is what ultimately led to Doma dying, but Shinobu having to die to achieve this still hurts.
