Demon Slayer Season 3 premiered with a 45-minute special episode and has been receiving a lot of praise for its engaging storyline and high-quality animation. Ufotable has done a commendable job with the previous Season’s fight scenes captivating fans worldwide.
This Season starts right after the Entertainment district battle. A Demon Slayer representative found the protagonist and his team, gravely injured after defeating the Upper Moon Six demons, Daki and Gyutaro.
The latest episode introduces the Swordsmith Village, the playground for the ongoing Season and the upcoming battle. The episode also introduced the rest of the Upper Six demons, including the Upper-Rank One, Kokushibo.
The Upper-Rank demons have unique designs and fascinating backstories, which add depth to the show. In this article, we will be looking at the origins of all the five Upper Moon demons introduced in the recent episode.
Note: The article contains manga spoilers.
Formidable enemies
Upper Moon demons are high-ranking demons, whose powers compare only next to Muzan. The demons have impressed Muzan in the past and received a high dosage of his blood. The demon king’s blood gives them heightened strength and agility. In Demon Slayer, Muzan can either appoint demons directly to a high rank, like in the case of Kokushibo and Akaza, or they can climb up the ranks gradually.
There were six high-ranking demons in the series, however, Upper Moon Six, Gyutaro, and Daki died in the last Season.
Here is the list of the current Upper Moon demons in Demon Slayer, along with a brief history.
1) Kokushibo – Upper Moon OneÂ
The Upper Moon One is the second strongest demon in the Demon Slayer universe. He was the first member of the Twelve Kizuki or the Moon demons. Kokushibo appears tall with long black hair with red tips. He has three pairs of bright red and yellow eyes with his rank marked in the middle pair. He is calm and stern in nature, which was evident in the latest episode.
Kokushibo was known as Michikatsu Tsugikuni before he transformed into a demon. He was the older twin brother of Yoriichi Tsugikuni, who is known as the most formidable Demon Slayer ever.
Michikatsu was a highly skilled swordfighter who even developed the moon breathing technique. He joined the Demon Slayer Corps and even received a demon slayer mark, but could not outshine his brother’s skill.
Fearing a young death, he ultimately chose to join Muzan and became a demon. Interestingly, he is also the ancestor of Mist Hashira, Muichiro Tokito.
2) Doma – Upper Moon Two
Doma holds the second position on the Upper Moon ranking. He has platinum blond hair and rainbow-colored eyes. In the last Season, he was introduced to the viewers when he gave his blood to Daki and Gyutaro. During that time, Doma was an Upper Moon six.
He is the leader of Eternal Paradise Faith, a cult created by his parents when he was a human child. Doma never showed emotion as a kid. In fact, when his mother killed his father and proceeded to kill herself, he complained about their blood staining the room.
Doma has a strange interest in consuming beautiful women. He believes that he is giving his victims eternal life, as they live inside him after their death.
He is also the demon that killed Inosuke Hashibara’s mother and Shinobu Kocho’s older sister.
3) Akaza – Upper Moon Three
Upper Moon Three has a distinctive appearance with pink hair, yellow eyes, and unique blue markings all over his body. Akaza has an elaborate backstory with heartbreaking details.
Born in a slum, he stole money to buy his father’s medicine, leading to his father’s suicide. He was then banished from his village.
Hakuzi was a skilled fighter, which led, Keizo, a Dojo master, to take him under his wing and teach him martial arts. During this time, he met Keizo’s daughter and the two fell in love.
However, a rival Dojo poisoned their well, leading to the death of Keizo and his daughter. Upon hearing the news, Hakuzi returned to find everyone dead. In a rage, he killed all the members of the rival Dojo school with his bare hands. Impressed by his skill, Muzan presented him with the opportunity to become an Upper moon demon.
Akaza’s past experiences affected his behavior as a demon, as he does not consume women and shows respect to strong opponents.
4) Hantengu – Upper Moon Four
Hantengu, the Upper Moon Four, is one of the primary antagonists in the ongoing Season, characterized by a hunched form with muscle growth on his head, a thin frame, and wrinkly skin.
During his human life, Hantengu was a criminal who resorted to stealing and killing. Interestingly, he would plead innocent, claiming that his hands had a mind of their own and committed the crimes on their own, indicating a lack of mental stability.
Muzan offered Hantengu blood when he was captured and sentenced to death. He along with Gyokko will infiltrate the Swordsmith village in the upcoming episodes, and report to Muzan about Nezuko’s immunity to sunlight.
5) Gyokko – Upper Moon Five
The Upper Moon Five is undoubtedly the most bizarre-looking demon in the show. His armless body sprouts from a jar, with his mouth in the place of his eyes and one of his eyes replacing his mouth, while the other rests in the middle of his forehead. Adding to this peculiar appearance, he has infant-like hands growing around his head.
Gyokko was known as Managi during his human life. He lost his parent at a young age which made him grow interested in dead bodies. He used to dissect fish and small animals. His villagers found him to be abnormal and maintained their distance, until one day when he killed a kid and kept his body in a jar. The boy’s parents stabbed Managi and left him to die. Fortunately for him, Muzan found him and decided to convert him into a demon.
As the show progresses we will see more of the strongest demons along with their fighting styles. We are excited about how the anime depicts each of the storylines and backstories in future episodes.
