Most of the Demon Slayer villains are, as you guessed it, demons. The title of the anime says it all. Demon Slayer is a pretty simple story where humans fight against bloodthirsty demons; there’s no hidden plot or revelation to be made.
So, it’s not exactly tough to make a list of all the scary villains in Demon Slayer. However, I still did it because the anime is popular, and you might want to refresh your memory about all the antagonists in the show before you start watching the new season or decide to rewatch the anime from the beginning!
In the world of Demon Slayer, the looming threat of danger at every corner is a harsh reality that most humans have to deal with. This threat comes from the demons lurking in the dark, waiting to pounce upon their next prey. The demons always make for a horrific encounter, with the strongest ones from Muzan’s forces capable of wiping out entire towns and cities if not stopped by the Demon Slayer Corps.
The Demon Slayer Corps and its members have numerous run-ins with different demons in the story, with a new villain emerging in every new arc that Tanjiro and his friends find themselves in. With all the action-packed fights the story has to offer, we have featured here some of the best villains in Demon Slayer anime series!
Best Demon Slayer Villains Ever:
13. Enmu
The first on our list is Enmu, who was ranked the Lower Rank One among Muzan’s Demon Moons. Despite being considerably higher in ranking, Enmu is perhaps one of the more lackluster of the group, which isn’t helped by how his fellow Moon’s assistance overshadowed him.
Enmu is shown to be an extremely sadistic individual as he takes great pleasure in the suffering of others, be it humans or demons. This trait is carried over with how he kills his victims by giving them devilish nightmares after giving them a pleasant dream.
Despite his rank, Enmu was still a very real and dangerous threat to Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke, especially after fusing with the Mugen Train and threatening the lives of all the passengers of regular humans and demon slayers with his abilities.
12. Kyogai
Kyogai is one of the trickiest Demon Slayer villains that Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke first encounter after becoming demon slayers and meeting each other for the first time. He proved to be a challenge to Tanjiro and everyone else because of the domain he controlled, which was the entire house where the battle occurred.
The trio’s encounter with the Kyogai, otherwise known as the Drum Demon, was a dangerous one with all things into consideration. He was originally a part of Muzan’s Demon Moons, holding the position of the Lower Rank Six before getting kicked out for being too weak.
He has a strong desire to be recognized for his talent, a desire he held tight to as a human with his writing and as a demon with his strength and abilities with his former position as the Lower Rank Six Moon.
11. Gyokko
Gyokko is another demon who’s part of Muzan’s Upper Demon Moons, where he holds the position of the Upper Rank Five among them. Before becoming a demon, Gyokko was known as Managi as a human, where he grew a fascination over corpses after finding his parent’s mangled corpses washing up ashore. This made him an outcast in the village, and he was teased for his behavior, leading to his death after killing a child.
As a demon, he has a strong loyalty towards Muzan and a distinct hatred towards all living things. His obsession as a human becomes twisted even further, resulting in his “art” creation made of living beings to fit his distorted viewpoint.
Gyokko is shown to be capable of summoning fish demons and transforming himself into an extremely durable demon who can turn anything he touches into a fish.
10. Hantengu
Hantengu is another member of Muzan’s Demon Moons, and together with Gyokko, he was one of the main antagonists during the Swordsmith Village arc. As one of the strongest demons, he held the position of Upper Rank Four despite his seemingly outward cowardly nature, becoming frightened of almost anything.
His cowardly persona would later be revealed to be part of his ability, which allowed him to split into four different clones, each with their own unique persona. Each clone has equal skills to the original and is just as strong as before they were split.
Individually, each clone is capable of electrokinesis, a sonic scream, aerokinesis, and spear projection. All clones can also combine into an extremely powerful entity that can manipulate wood and possesses all the abilities above.
9. Kaigaku
Kaigaku was originally a demon slayer who practiced the Thunder Breathing Style before becoming a demon. He was Zenitsu’s former senior disciple while he was learning the Thunder Breathing Style and was his polar opposite, wherein he mastered all of the style’s forms save for the first form.
He shares a strong distaste towards Zenitsu as Zenitsu was chosen to be the successor of the Thunder Hashira instead of him. This led him down a dangerous path, eventually ending with his encounter with Kokushibo and becoming a demon.
As one of the Upper Demon Moons, Kaigaku is a highly formidable opponent against Zenitsu as he not only knows the Thunder Breathing Style but can manipulate electricity itself with his Blood Demon Art.
8. The Final Selection Hand Demon
Out of all the demons that Tanjiro faces, the Hand Demon that appeared in the Final Selection exam was one of the most brutal demons he initially encountered, and one of the scariest Demon Slayer villains ever. During his fight against the Hand Demon, Tanjiro was extremely new to fighting demons, let alone having real experience against one as strong as the Hand Demon.
The Hand Demon himself also bears a certain grudge against Tanjiro as he was a student of Sakonji Urokodaki, whom he greatly hated. The demon has been known to attack his students specifically and was the reason behind Sabito and Makomo’s untimely death.
During the encounter Tanjiro had with him, he was ready to avenge his fellow students and put his master’s mind at ease, marking his first foray into the world of Demon Slayers.
7. Rui
Rui is one of the major enemies Tanjiro and his friend encounter at the start of their jobs as Demon Slayers after getting sent out on a mission together. Rui, alongside his Spider Family, were formidable opponents, with Rui himself being the most challenging enemy for his status as one of Muzan’s Demon Moons.
Before becoming a demon, Rui was incredibly weak and fragile, but despite his frailty, he was greatly loved by his parents. After becoming a demon, Rui accidentally ends up killing his parents. His yearning for familial love resulted in him creating the Spider family and his overwhelming strength. In the end, he was able to reconcile with his birth parents in the afterlife after realizing they still loved him unconditionally.
6. Nakime
Nakime is one of Muzan’s Upper Demon Moons, where she ranked as the Upper Rank Four among his forces. She is an incredibly mysterious character who remains quiet for the entirety of the story and is shown to be genuinely loyal to Muzan regardless of circumstances.
Despite not appearing in the frontline, Nakime played an essential role for Muzan in his scheme as she was in charge of the Infinity Castle, which housed Muzan and his Demon Moons.
Her Blood Demon Art, which is quite similar to Kyogai’s, manifested in the form of the castle, which she could manipulate at will through her biwa. Besides this, she can create portals which Muzan used to a great degree to move around undetected, even in broad daylight.
5. Daki & Gyutaro
Daki and Gyutaro are a pair of demon siblings who both share the rank of Upper Rank Six. Daki is shown to be extremely prideful and sadistic and takes a great deal of pleasure in killing her victims. At the same time, Gyutaro is an extremely powerful warrior who is so strong that he’s said to have defeated 13 Hashiras in his lifetime.
Both siblings served as the main antagonist for the Entertainment District arc. They were very ferocious towards the demon slayers, leading to several of them sustaining severe injuries and the Sound Hashira retiring from his job.
Despite their ferocity, both siblings cared deeply for one another, as shown by their time as humans looking out for each other and even towards the afterlife, where the two siblings chose to go to Hell together rather than sacrificing one or the other.
4. Akaza
Making his first appearance in the Mugen Train arc, Akaza is the Upper Rank Three among Muzan’s Demon Moons. He is best described as a battle crazed lunatic, which stems from his desire as a human to become as strong as possible.
During his first appearance, he fought against the Kyojuro Rengoku, the Flame Hashira, whom he grew to respect in terms of strength, even offering to transform him into a demon so the two could fight forever.
The aftermath of the battle resulted in him winning but not without sustaining heavy injuries caused by the Flame Hashira. His next fight would be with Tanjiro, where he often mocks him for being weaker and not as good as the Flame Hashira. Akaza was a prodigious martial artist, and his skills became even more devastating with his Blood Demon Art.
3. Doma
Doma is ranked second among Muzan’s Upper Demon Moons. He is also one of the Demon Slayer villains responsible for many events affecting several characters’ lives.
He was the demon behind the death of Shinobu’s older sister, who was the Flower Hashira, as well as Inosuke’s mother with the cult he leads called the Everlasting Paradise Faith.
Even before becoming a demon, Doma always had an apathetic personality and several disturbing behaviors which extended to masochism in some instances. He is well-known for his recovery being on a higher level than other demons and his Blood Demon Art to manipulate ice.
Additionally, because of his greater recovery, Doma can nullify any poison that enters his body, making both typical means of killing demons (decapitation and wisteria poison) seemingly impossible to work on him.
2. Kokushibo
Kokushibo, formerly Michikatsu Tsugikuni, is Muzan’s Upper Rank One and the strongest demon he has at his disposal. He is the twin brother of Yoriichi Tsugikuni, the legendary user of the Sun Breathing Style from which he derived his personal breathing style, the Moon Breathing Style.
As a demon, Kokushibo is shown to be incredibly ruthless and intimidating, preferring to usually remain silent in most situations. Despite this, he is shown to be very loyal to Muzan and would often obey him without hesitation.
His Moon Breathing Style is an incredibly potent art with around 16 forms, enhanced with his Blood Demon Art, which releases crescent-shaped blades. Kokushibo was shown to be a complete powerhouse as he was shown to be able to take on three Hashiras simultaneously while still having the upper hand in all situations.
1. Muzan Kibutsuji
The main villain of Demon Slayer, Muzan Kibutsuji, is known for many things in the story, such as being the first demon and the greatest threat to humankind. Muzan can be described as a cold-hearted, manipulative, and selfish individual, which is shown throughout the story.
His main motive for turning people into demons was to fulfill his greatest desire to become truly immortal and live forever. For Muzan to properly achieve this, he continued experimenting and turning people into demons until one developed resistance to the sunlight, which is the main weakness of demons like him.
Muzan is incredibly ruthless and possesses overwhelming strength and powerful abilities, which he showcased during his final stand against the Demon Slayer Corps. His ambition to live forever continued even after his death as he refused to let his dream go even after death by passing his legacy to another to fulfill in his stead.
Conclusion
That brings us to the end of the article, where we saw some of the best villains in Demon Slayer series! Although most of the villains in the anime are demons, that’s to be expected with a show that revolves around them.
So, let me know if I did a good job ranking them based on not their strengths alone but the impact they had on the story and the character development that most of the major characters went through. If you liked the article, share it with your friends and tell them about the best Demon Slayer villains of all time!
Also Read: How Old Are Demon Slayer Characters?
