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The brilliance of Demon Slayer is further augmented by its wide cast of amazing villains that never fail to strike fear in the hearts of Tanjiro and his friends. Some of these villains managed to become incredibly powerful and intimidating from the get-go, leading to most viewers actively wishing for their demise while simultaneously praying for the safety of their favorite characters. Keeping this in mind, here are some of the best villains in Demon Slayer, based on how impactful their introduction was.
Updated on March 13th, 2022 by Ritwik Mitra: Demon Slayer’s Entertainment District arc was a wild ride, with Ufotable showing once again why they deserve the crown of being one of the greatest modern animation studios around. The sheer amount of work put into bringing each and every panel of the story to life is simply brilliant, with the bone-chilling villains of this show deserving a ton of credit for making each and every scene in this series infinitely watchable. Here are all the major villains of the show, ranked on the basis of how memorable their first appearance in the series was.
9 Enmu
The Lower Rank 1 Demon Enmu made a rather pathetic first impression when he was first introduced in Demon Slayer. After seeing the rest of the Lower Rank demons being slaughtered at Muzan’s hands, this lone survivor jumped at the opportunity to prove his worth by killing the Demon Slayers on his own.
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Unfortunately, this task happened to be too much for him and he ended up losing at the hands of Kyojuro, Tanjiro, and the rest of the group. It was a sad demise for a demon that tried to do everything in his power to secure his survival, but ultimately failed in reaching his end goal.
8 Kyogai
The former Lower Rank Six of the Twelve Kizuki was a compelling demon who wasted no time in making his presence known when a bunch of fledgling Demon Slayers entered his premises. Kyogai’s power allowed him to control his house as he saw fit, and gave him a great advantage in a fight against any Demon Slayer.
However, he failed to realize that Tanjiro would never stay down, no matter what. The protagonist managed to use his brain and developed a great counter-strategy to Kyogai’s powers, allowing him to gain the upper hand in this disadvantaged battle. He eventually landed a final blow that would end the demon’s rampage for good.
7 Rui
Tanjiro’s biggest test came in the form of Rui, a demon with a torrid childhood who wasted no time in imposing his will on the other members of his “family” in a bid to make up for the time he had lost with his original one. His backstory might be incredibly compelling, but it was his first impression and the reveal of his status as the Lower Rank Four that made him such an imposing villain from the get-go.
He was easily Tanjiro’s toughest adversary in the first season of Demon Slayer, pushing him to the very brink and forcing him to whip out the Hinokami Kagura technique that had remained dormant in him. Rui was forced into a corner by Tanjiro and — with an assist from Nezuko — was finally pushed back to the point where he had to behead himself in a bid to remain alive.
6 The Upper Rank Kizuki
While the Twelve Kizuki have already been mentioned in some capacity, there’s no denying the fact that watching them with Muzan himself was one of the most imposing moments in the entire series. Throughout the series, viewers had only caught glimpses and some errant mentions of these demons and how terrifying they really were.
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However, even within these rankings, the Upper Rank Kizuki were in a class of their own. With Demon Slayer finally embarking upon its second season, it’ll be amazing to see just how powerful these villains will be in battle. For now, there’s really only one Upper Rank member that has imprinted a terrifying first impression in the minds of viewers and characters alike.
5 Daki
The Entertainment District arc featured the appearance of two of the show’s most sinister villains. The Upper Rank Kizuki are easily the most powerful demons around, and Daki showed just why they had such a fearsome reputation.
She might seem like a harmless courtesan at first glance, but Daki’s cruel and aggressive attitude doesn’t take too long to come into the picture. However, while her introduction was pretty memorable in its own right, it pales in comparison to her brother’s…
4 Gyutaro
Viewers were in for a shock when they realized that Daki and Gyutaro essentially shared a single body. Gyutaro himself has a distinct look that is hard to forget, which is what apparently got him into a lot of unwanted situations as a kid since people considered him to be quite ugly.
He’s fiercely protective of his sister and will destroy heaven and hell to ensure that she has a great life. In fact, it was because of her sister almost losing her life that he accepted the fate to become a demon, just so that Daki could live once again… regardless of how twisted their existence might’ve been.
3 Doma
The Entertainment District arc ended on a foreboding note with the reveal of Doma, the highest-ranking member of the Upper Rank Kizuki. Little is known about this powerful demon, but the brief scene showing this character was enough to send chills down the spine of any Demon Slayer fan.
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Only time will tell just how massive a role Doma will play in the story. Since he was the person who killed Shinobu’s sister, it’s a given that his powers are on a whole new level and unlike anything seen yet in Demon Slayer… barring one particular entity who is somehow ranked lower than him.
2 Akaza
After Enmu’s death, most people assumed that Demon Slayer: Mugen Train would reach an end. After all, the major threat in this arc was annihilated and it seemed that the heroes would get past unscathed — that is, until Akaza came into the picture. The demon had been hyped up by Enmu right before his death, and watching this figure come out of nowhere to throw a wrench in the heroes’ celebrations was absolutely shocking.
Akaza wasted no time in letting the heroes know that he was there for their heads. However, Kyojuro wasn’t about to let that happen, promoting both warriors to duke it out in one of the best battles in the entire series to date. It’s a shame that Kyojuro met his end at the end of this battle, but his powers were still awe-inspiring to witness.
1 Muzan Kibutsuji
The Demon King is by far the most powerful villain in the series and made it clear from the get-go that he had no moral compass or anything along those lines. The manner in which he brutally murdered Tanjiro’s family and turned Nezuko into a demon makes for an incredible first impression, and made Muzan’s intentions infinitely clear right from the start.
While vengeance is the last thing on Tanjiro’s mind, it’s obvious that the series is going to lead to an amazing all-out battle between him and Muzan. Given how fearsome Muzan has been so far, it’s hard to wonder how Tanjiro will manage to reach the level of strength required to defeat Muzan once and for all.
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