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Before the Asakusa arc, the crow told Tanjiro that there is a demon lurking in Asakusa. But the demon he actually fought there was only Susamaru and Yahaba, both being Muzan's followers who most likely can't be that demon in Asakusa. Muzan himself can't be discovered that easily as the corps has been searching him for centuries and never discovered a trace of him. Did Tanjiro just missed the actual demon there? or someone got it before him?.
The exact wording was that there were rumors of a demon there, so there are multiple possibilities for that. Susamaru and Yahaba must have stayed at a relatively close proximity if the short timeframe in which they arrived is any indication and they would presumably still eat humans if the opportunity presents itself. Tamayo also said that regular people are capable of eventually figuring out that she is a demon due to her needing to come into contact with humans as a doctor, so that might have caused rumors as well. I'd say that Tanjiro was ultimately there to investigate the rumors and he ended up finding and slaying demons, so that was presumably enough for him to have done his job as a demon slayer and the Demon Slayer Corps would have sent in someone else if it turned out that there is still an issue.
Just what the hell is the deal with Sumi, Kiyo, and Naho's eyes? They're supposed to be human, yet they're the only human characters in the series depicted with these teeny dots of eyes every time they're on screen. It's just so damn jarring... Kyojuro's intense gaze has nothing on these girls as far as rubbing me seriously the wrong way.
Why didn't Muzan consider also turning Tanjiro into a demon until the very last minute? Why didn't he consider having him captured and turned into a demon in order to see if he could also overcome the sun as soon as he realized he was under way less guard than Nezuko? At worst Tanjiro wouldn't be immune but would be a useful hostage to draw Nezuko out.
Muzan definitely should've considered capturing and turning Tanjiro into a demon sooner but a hostage plan is completely nonsensical. The Demon Slayer Corps is far too pragmatic to allow Nezuko to sacrifice herself to save Tanjiro. Even if she wanted to leave and attempt to rescue him they wouldn't allow her because doing so would endanger all of humanity.
A Nezuko who is at least trying to sneak away is preferable to a Nezuko who is cooperating with her guards under those circumstances. Anything that uses up their resources without killing his troops would be strategically beneficial to Muzan. Also Muzan isn't exactly patient so he's going to make a beeline to Nezuko which is a sure thing instead of Tanjiro which even if it works would take about five years.
Nezuko at that point has the mind of a child. She wouldn't even understand let alone consider it.
She'd certainly still do everything she can to save or help Tanjiro as soon as she even gets so much as an inkling about it.
There was relatively small window of time between Nezuko conquering the sun and Muzan making his move against the Corps (pretty much the hashira training and a few other things). By the time Muzan found out what happened and managed to act, it's likely he simply decided to go straight to the "prize" so to speak. As for turning Tanjiro into a demon, then Muzan would be pretty much getting close to one of his main enemies and giving him what amounts to a power boost. Considering how cowardly Muzan is, it's in-character that he only infected Tanjiro when he did.
I call BS on the fact that Shinobu's Insect Breathing is derived from the Water-derived Flower Breathing. After an intensive study on the Breath Styles, I found that Insect Breathing has more in common with Thunder Breathing with the huge emphasis on Speed blitzing the opponent for a fast kill, rather than Flower Breathing which takes the Balance aspect of Water Breathing with Flower Breathing's forms having graceful and coordinated body maneuvers to accommodate a girl's body type. There is nothing in common in the two styles.
Elemental Motif wise, I don't see a relation bewteen Insect and Thunder. Style wise, I guess is because while the Thunder Style is usually focused on speed and One-Hit Kill derived from said speed, while the Insect Style also means wielding a sword which is unsuited for cutting at all, meaning that some maneuvers are required to properly use the style. So probably while it is similar to the Thunder Style, its origins are more tied to the Flower Style.
The manga states that Shinobu has been accumulating Wisteria poison in her body for more than a year. But that would imply she knew that she would meet Douma within her time as an active slayer. Seeing how no Upper Moons have been killed/changed within a hundred years, this means she had an unpragmatic level of certainty. What if the manga dragged on for years before the final arc? What if Shinobu never met Douma during that time and was forced to retire or died? That would mean her strategy was a waste and all for nothing. There's just no guarantee that she would've met Douma if things hadn't occurred in the manner found in the manga. Building on this is the fact that Kagaya had no indication that the final battle would occur within the year, as seen with his reaction to the deaths of Gyuutaro and Daki. Which happened well after Shinobu began her poison repository plan. So where is this confidence in the strategy specifically coming from? It just seems too coincidental and a perfect storm of conditions for Shinobu to take up that strategy, and even more unlikely that the strategy would have worked given all the things and coincidences that could've happened in the mean time to prevent it.
Maybe she was just hoping at least she would take whatever demon that killed her with her. She doesn't seem like the type to want to retire.
She’s a Hashira; while certainly a badass demon slayer, the Upper 6 kinda keep their spots due to having a good track record against the Hashira. Shinobu has good reason to believe she might die against a demon. So, if she does die, she at least wants her death to kill or weaken the demon that did her in. Hell, even if she’s badass enough that she doesn’t pass in battle, I could see her demanding her remains be thrown at demons as a bio weapon.
While these are fair points, the manga and dialogue which the author gave Shinobu still implies she had too much confidence that she would meet Douma in particular. If she had been generic about preparing the poison so that it would be used during any sort of meeting with an Upper Moon or strong demon, it would have been more believable and plausible.
It's probably her vengefulness speaking here. While her poisoned body would have had an effect on pretty much any demon taking revenge on Douma for her sister was one of the things she absolutely wanted to achieve, so her mental focus was probably on being prepared for him specifically no matter the odds even if it would also have worked for other demons.
Is there any particular reason other than shock value why Kagaya didn't send his daughters away from him when he knew Muzan was coming soon, so that they wouldn't get caught up in his suicide bomb? Calling your subordinates your children is a pretty hollow sentiment when you treat your actual children's lives so callously.
I have a theory: since Kagaya's plan was to set a trap do deal massive damage to Muzan and kickstart the final battle which would end in his death, the death of the first Demon and a massive blemish for Kagaya's clan, I guess that he wanted to make sure that Muzan would fall for the trap: seeing Kagaya in his house alone with no trace of his relatives (who help him through his daily life) would probably make Muzan suspect something and be on his guard, which would result in him dodging the trap and causing the plan to fail. On the children and wife's side, I'd say, considering that the surviving son and sisters were ready to lead the rest of the Slayers in their most difficult battle, it wouldn't be too hard (for this troper at least) to consider that the children were willing to sacrifice themselves if that was the price for the first step in having Muzan destroyed once and for all.
It was mentioned in the manga that Kagaya had to raise his children into adults quickly since nobody in his family lived beyond 30 because of a curse ever since Muzan became active as a demon. Him allowing his children to die with him in the explosion is probably at least partially the result of over 1000 years of desensitization about children being burdened with choices and responsibilities of adults in his family lineage out of sheer necessity. His two older daughters were also confirmed to have willingly stayed by his side until his death by the manga, so there is that.
Why was Tanjiro not promoted to Hashira before the Demon Slayer corps was disbanded? Even before killing Muzan, he'd already met the qualifications by killing a Kizuki. More than once.
Probably due to Nezuko. Remember that several Hashira were adamant in killing Nezuko, viewing her with suspicion. While his journeys with them changed their minds, I’d imagine they’d still object to a relative newbie joining the Hashira after hiding his demon-sister from them.
The Corps was disbanded for good, and it was a private army mostly unknown by Japanese society at large, there would be no use for promoting Tanjiro to Hashira just for honorable purposes, it wouldn't have any use for him in his social life, unlike a real officer in real life who can be promoted as they are about to retire, as that brings in actual merits and benefits for them. Also not just Tanjiro was elegible for Hashira by the end, the 2nd Fanbook revealed Tanjiro, Zenitsu and Inosuke were all 3rd rank from the top by the Infinity Castle, if the Corps hadn't disbanded they would all have been promoted to Hashira.
Why would Tanjiro and his family not know Demons exist in the start of the series? Considering Demons aren't rare enough to be all that secretive at the start of the story, you have several Demons who can just casually take up shop in random cities and prey on people without being detected, why would his family not know? Even if they weren't told, they live near a village that has people who clearly do know they exist, so why would they think Demons aren't real?
For the same reason why some people don't believe in ghosts in real life while others do, this troper supposes.
That doesn't answer the issue. Demons are established to be real, physically exist and have for thousands of years. Why would he and his family not know they exist at all? Besides, Ghosts aren't a good analogy because Ghosts don't exist physically (and this troper doesn't believe they exist), Demon's are factually and undeniably real in the setting of Demon Slayers. It would be one thing if Demon's were super rare, or there was some kind of The Men in Black who go out and ensure Demon's aren't seen or deny them, but people know what Demon Slayers are already.
Let me rephrase with a better answer: it's for the same reason why people back in the days (and even now!) didn't believe in round Earth. Just because it's factually there doesn't mean people know of its existence. To them, flat earth seemed logical because well, it always looked as though they were walking on a flat plane. Once people discovered the curvature of the Earth and technology developed to provide further proof, evidence of round Earth became conclusive. Despite this fact there are still people that refuse to believe the Earth is round. To an extent, belief and evidence are mutually exclusive, but let's not get too into that. I hope this gives a good explanation.
Not to interfere with your explanation, but it is mathematically possible to prove the circumference of the Earth (and therefore that it is round). It doesn’t require any technology more sophisticated than a compass and writing material. I’d say it’s more due to the slow travel of information. Information travels slow in remote areas (and Tanjiro’s location seemed quite remote). I’d imagine Muzan puts in some effort to make sure the demons he creates behave themselves in big cities (if only because panicked people make dinner time a pain). So, his demons are thorough and make the deaths look like the work of a ‘normal’ serial killer or some such. After all, the last thing he’d want is more people joining the Demon Slayers. So, without any evidence to the contrary, people stop believing in demons.
This troper hopes that you understand that she's not saying the flat earth theory is true (because it isn't). "It is mathematically possible to prove the circumference of the Earth" is was she meant by "technology developed to provide conclusive evidence that the Earth is round". You don't need tech to prove to others the Earth is round, but it helps to provide evidence that simply cannot be argued against, as just because you found one piece of evidence doesn't make your theory true, which can be the case for every theory. As for Muzan he detests having attention brought to himself, so obviously he'd thrive off of misleading others. Reality is ultimately subjective, so to understand why certain people feel about things you don't feel the same about, one must place themselves in the shoes of another.
Returning to the topic, the only minor justification seems to be the government just not addressing it, but that doesn't really answer the issue.
People do know about Demons, they just consider them boogeymen and beings of myth (and even still, it's hinted people have at least some genuine concern over their existence, such as the neighbour offering Tanjiro shelter the night his family was killed). As for why, Demon Slayer takes place in a age before cameras and eletronic databases, meaning no one would have recorded evidence of Demons. Futhermore, demons turn into nothingness when killed, meaning no one ever saw a demonic corpse. And finally, Demons often take measures against being found, such as blending in among humans (such as Muzan himself, Daki and Doma) or living in isolated areas (Rui and the Spider Family). All in all, the only evidence the average person has of demons is the occasional rumors and survivors accounts, which can easily be dismissed.
Is Tanjiro's water effect with his sword diegetic or not? It's pretty obvious that Zenitsu's lightning powers are happening in-universe, but it's hard to tell if this is the same case with Tanjiro.
Most likely just visual. Zenitsu's don't appear to be happening in universe either, but all of the styles are given visual flair for the same of Rule of Cool.
For a long time this user believed that the elements trailing behind the Slayer's blade is just a manifestation or visual of the sunlight stored inside the nichirin blade, you know, the very thing demons are weak against. That explanation is kind of lazy, ngl.
So Tanjiro is put on trial for harboring a demon, and even after the master vouches for him, the Hashira refuse to believe that Nezuko is friendly to humans. Here's what bugs me; Nezuko's condition isn't unprecedented. Benevolent demons are rare, to be sure, but not unheard of. Hell, at that point in the story, Tanjiro had already met two others, those being Lady Tamayo and Yushiro. Even assuming that a) they're the only demons working for the Demon Slayer Corps, and b) none of the nine Hashira have ever met either of them - both of which seem fairly unlikely - isn't it odd that Tanjiro wouldn't bother to mention them while pleading his case?
Kagaya does acknowledge Tamayo's existence, so we know he is aware of her. The issue the Hashira seem to have is that Nezuko is a normal Demon with no unique properties to her as far as they know, so Tanjiro carrying her around and her not attacking people doesn't make sense to them. Giyu didn't accept it at first either until he saw Nezuko defend Tanjiro. As for why Tamayo doesn't get mentioned; no answer is given as far as the series gives so chalk that up to the writer forgetting?
Might be entering WMG territory...but it could be a deliberate misinformation campaign against Muzan. He considers Tamayo a threat (as a benevolent demon and a doctor trying to cure demons), and considers the Demon Slayer Corp a threat (obviously). However, if Kagaya and Tamayo can trick Muzan into believing the two would never join forces, then they can secretly work together in ways Muzan couldn’t predict. This would, however, involve making Tamayo’s partnership with the Corps a strict, need-to-know secret (especially since Muzan can read minds, and probably understands the importance of interrogation). So, Kagaya knows of the existence of benevolent demons, but can’t outright claim he’s met a benevolent demon before Nezuko without tipping his hand to Muzan. As an aside, this would also explain why Kagaya wanted Tanjiro to go with the Hashira; as he’s already aware of Tamayo’s existence, he can collect blood samples of the Kuzuki (needed for her research) as part of his regular duties.
Why is Total Concentration Breathing: Constant not taught by any of the masters? Obviously, Giyu learned it to gain the skills to become the Water Hashira. Urokodaki was the former Water Hashira, so why would he have not taught Tanjiro such an important but basic skill? Are the Demon Slayers supposed to just figure this out themselves? Maybe the poor training is the real reason they are having trouble finding strong recruits.
Considering the harsh training sequences and how taxing the regular Total Concentration Breathing already appears to be I severely doubt that the training is poor. No trainer would really have much of a reason to train recruits poorly (at least on an even remotely deliberate basis) given that lifes are at stake here. I consider it more likely that Total Concentration Breathing: Constant would be way too hard for complete beginners since Tanjiro, Zenitsu and Inosuke are shown to struggle with it despite being clearly a lot stronger than a lot of the other demon slayers. The demon slayers probably teach each other some tricks when they are on missions together, recuperating or spending time together outside of missions. Alternatively the masters teach it later on because of them deeming a demon slayer advanced enough to learn it based on what they heard or the demon slayer seeking them out due to hearing about Total Concentration Breathing: Constant.
How come Tanjiro never tried to get a sample of Genya's blood for Tamayo? Tamayo is looking for a way to turn demons back into humans and here's a guy who turns into a demon and back to human frequently. Couldn't his blood provide Tamayo with some insight that could help her research and speed things up?
From what I recall they were fighting a upper moon at the time. The cat was gone too and he didn't have a way to find Tamayo and with hashira training he might not have had enough time. On top of that getting a blood sample from a comrade is very suspicious.
Daki/Ume was offered the chance to go to heaven presumably because she didn't choose to become a demon, and she was only 13 when she turned. Why does Rui go to hell than when he was even younger than that, and forcibly turned by Muzan?
Because Gyutaro made that choice for Ume/Daki to become a demon alongside him. While his demonhood was made by his own volition, she didn't have a say about hers because she was dying or already dead via immolation, her demonhood means reviving her back to life, exactly as Gyutaro wanted. Rui, on the other hand, made the choice by himself because he was alive at that time he made the deal. Muzan, like Rui, was born sick and thus knew what buttons should be pressed in order for Rui to accept his offer. This is why Gyutaro was the only one who should be sentenced to hell, why Ume/Daki has a chance to redeem herself, and why Rui was sentenced despite the fact that he might be younger or around Ume/Daki's age. This isn't about the age, but about the consent of making the deal with Muzan. Rui's crimes are on his own, while Ume/Daki's crimes are accounted to Gyutaro.
On that subject, why is it that Shizu Shinazugawa (Sanemi and Genya's mother) is unable to go to heaven when her killing her children was the result of the initial ferity of becoming a demon that was beyond her control, and was likely a case similar to Nezuko of Muzan going around turning random people into demons? If Nezuko had killed Tanjiro in the first episode and was killed by Tomioka afterwards, would she have been unable to go to heaven as well?
That's just a guess on my part but it might be guilt on Shizu's part since people who could go to heaven can apparently decide to go to hell instead out of their own volition. Having killed your own children when you really and truly cared for them might do that with someone.
Why do demons even bother trying to join the ranks of the twelve demon-moons ? The only thing they seem to gain by doing so is the title and associated bragging rights, and by doing so they go to work under a sociopathic asshole who kills them horribly for mentally contradicting him.
It's probably a mix of instincts and just wanting to survive. Demons have to eat humans and they grow stronger from doing so, so just surviving and avoiding the demon slayers pushes a demon closer to the ranks of the twelve demon moons. There is also the fact that just about any demon would want enough strength to just outright kill all of the demon slayers going after them and once you actually gain that much strength as a demon you probably won't have much of a choice anyway when it comes to joining the twelve demon moons. Besides, it's not like as if all demons regularly see or interact with Muzan, so they wouldn't necessarily know just how bad of a boss he is. The idea of having the favor of someone as strong as Muzan probably helps as well. Also they probably want his blood for the power boost. A lot of demons are implied to be usually originally desperate people who Muzan "saves" and are genuinely grateful to him not that he cares.
Partially for protection, partly for status, but mostly for power. Becoming a Kizuki means that a demon is powerful enough for Muzan himself to take direct interest in them. He gives them a portion of his blood, which makes them far stronger than they could hope to become by just eating humans. When the other option is to be left to fend for themselves against Demon Slayers and other demons alone, the potential to be one of the elites with access to the power of the progenitor of all demons is too enticing to pass up.
Why is there such a gap in power between the Upper and Lower ranks of the Kizuki? They're supposed to be Muzan's enforcers, so presumably he needed them all for his operations. So how is it that the gap between Ranks 6 and 7 is so massive? Especially when we know that a relatively small amount of his blood will power any demon up substantially. Was he just using them as cannon fodder to keep his useful pawns in the Upper Six off the radar?
The Upper ranks haven't changed for centuries unlike the Lower ranks which got replaced numerous times, so they had significantly more time to get stronger. It also has been noted that demons need to acclimate to Muzan's blood in order to survive the process and benefit from the power boost, so just giving them Muzan's blood might result in them dying instead of becoming stronger which is probably why Muzan has some selective tendencies when granting his blood. Kyogai's case also shows that demons can hit a limit in their growth that they'll have a hard time overcoming, so that's something to consider as well.
Can demons other than Muzan himself turn people into other demons ? Assuming that the answer is yes, then why Muzan's death would mean the end of the demonic race ?
They can, but it is specifically mentioned they turn through Muzan’s cells in their own blood, Doma was the one who turned Ume/Daki and Gyutaro, while Kokushibo was the one who turned Kaigaku, but both Kizuki members said their blood was Muzan’s blood and that Muzan had to accept them first, so while a bit lacking in proper explanation it is at least highly implied it all traces back to Muzan, demonkind depends on Muzan’s existence. That said Yushiro is the only demon in existence made outside Muzan’s cells, Tamayo had become her own existence by that point, but she claims Yushiro is the only person she ever managed to turn into a demon, considering she is over 400 years and Yushiro was her only successful attempt in 200 years, it is certainly not easy to make a demon outside of Muzan’s cells.
Assuming that Gyutaro and Daki have always done their killings in the Entertainment District, and they've been part of the Upper Demon Moons for over a century, how has the Entertainment District not caught the attention of the Demon Slayer Corps until Uzui's investigation? This is especially weird considering that, according to Muzan, Daki has killed seven Hashira in the past. If that many high ranking Demon Slayers have died or gone missing around that area, shouldn't an investigation have taken place long before the story's events?
I might be wrong, but I don't really remember it being said that the Entertainment District was their only hunting ground. Presumably Daki and Gyutaro ate people elsewhere, even if only when they were carrying out tasks for Muzan. Nevertheless, this is an age much before eletronic databases, mass suirvaillance and even professional law enforcement (namely when the siblings were "younger"). A bunch of people disappering across time, namely prostitutes and their johns/pimps in a red-light district, would only register in rumors if that. Plus, The Corps might have investigated the siblings and the district before... and the Hashiras sent to investigate were the ones Daki is said to have eaten.
That last statement is my issue. If there have been Hashira who went to the district to investigate any potential demons there and subsequently never returned, shouldn't the Corps have known for certain that there were powerful demons there? A Hashira going missing or dying in general isn't any small matter, and I would assume that such important members of the Corps at least report when and where they go to investigate. Also according to Omitsu before Daki killed her, Daki had always been disguised as an Oiran in the district, and she does hunt people in the district by trapping them in her belly wrap and storing them underground.
Well, this might be verging on WMG, but it’s possible Daki and Gyutaro have been pulling the same trick Gyutaro used to kill the samurai back when they were still humans. Daki’s killings attract a Hashira eventually, who then decapitates her. Said Hashira writes her off as a Lower Kizuki, sends a crow/letter to everyone that the demon in the Entertainment District has been killed… then Gyutaro pops out and kills them. Hence, the rest of the Corp believes they got killed on the way back, similar to how Azaka killed Rengoku after he killed Enmu. Daki didn’t seem to do this when Tengen decapitated her… but she HAD just been set on fire and humiliated. Could be Gyutaro was condescendingly mocking her lack of intelligence for another reason…
One thing bugged me about Tanjiro's "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Akaza is the part in which Tanjiro calls Akaza a coward for attacking humans at night when demons have an advantage and retreating during the daylight. How exactly are demons at an advantage at night? As powerful as demons are, their only "advantage" at night is that the sunlight doesn't kill them instantly; I don't recall anything saying that the demons have any advantages at night like enhanced senses apart from their standard regeneration and Blood Demon Arts. Tanjiro isn't wrong to point out that Akaza isn't brave or self-sacrificing like Rengoku is, but retreating from certain death in the sunlight isn't necessarily cowardly in and of itself. Tactical retreat is a sound move in every battle, providing that you know how to cut your losses.
Demons can be said to have advantages compared to humans in general at the cost of eating humans if you disregard the weakness to sunlight. They have enhanced physical capabilities and powers that humans can't have and it has been shown that a demon can be a master at the skills demon slayers use to fight them in the first place which is further exacerbated by them not dying of old age. They also seem to have an enhanced sense of smell for blood among other things that can help them out in the darkness unlike most humans. So, it can indeed be said that the average demon would have an advantage against the average human in the darkness where they aren't protected by the sunlight. Akaza running away is understandable though it does provide a stark contrast to him previously flaunting the advantages of being a demon and he could technically survive in the shade though his options would be limited since the sunlight would affect any of his Blood Demon Art attacks.
This is a minor thing I've noticed that's been bugging me for a while. Why do you guys think Daki didn't recognize Yoriichi as the Demon Slayer that almost killed Muzan 400 years ago through the memories of the cells, but Hantengu's Anger Sekido did?
Hantengu is most likely older than Gyutaro and Daki and due to being superior to them he likely has more of Muzan's blood. There is also how Muzan thought of Gyutaro as the true Upper-6 with Daki generally being considered too weak for being an Upper Moon. This doesn't provide an outright clear answer but one can certainly do some speculations with that.
This is a minor thing that bugs me, but throughout most of the first season of the anime, and the equivalent chapters of the manga, the cast, both heroes and villains, refers to Muzan as "Kibutsuji" (with demons using "-sama" or "Lord" on him and not saying his name aloud in front of others). However, around the time of Rui's flashbacks, everyone shifts to calling him "Muzan" instead. What's the reason for the change?
