The Most Powerful Demons in ‘Demon Slayer,’ Ranked

I’m sorry … you want to know the ranking of the strongest demons in Demon Slayer? You do realize that they are ALREADY RANKED, don’t you?!

Like, that’s the entire POINT of the show. The Demon King Muzan has created a demonic hierarchy where he quite literally ranks his subordinates according to their power level. They are called the 12 Kizuki, or did you forget this at some point? Did you forget that the most powerful demons on the show have their rankings TATTOOED ON THEIR EYES?!

Sure, there might be narrative exceptions to this system, but did you think I would dare challenge the ranking system of the Dark Lord? Unlike you, I actually LIKE my head being attached to my shoulders. The only way that this system could possible be upset is if I MYSELF turn into a demon while waiting impatiently for season 4 to arrive. With my unbridled rage, I’m sure to be a shoo-in for the Upper Ranks.

Speaking of which, here are the top 10 demons in Demon Slayer, in order of their designated ranking.

10. Daki

Daki is one-half of Upper Rank 6, along with her brother Gyutaro. She can use her very stylish sash as a razor sharp weapon! She also has the ability to trap victims inside of her sash so she can consume them later. She ruled the Entertainment District with a silken fist, eating the district’s most beautiful citizens while terrorizing her subordinates at the pleasure house. She was eventually beheaded by Uzui, but it didn’t kill her. It just brought out her brother … and he was PISSED.

9. Nezuko

Nezuko entered her disturbingly well-endowed demon form during Tanjiro’s fight with Daki. When the young swordsman was on the brink of death, Nezuko popped out of her box and proceeded to grow four cup sizes and 20 pounds of lean muscle in the span of five seconds. Plus a pretty gnarly horn that sticks out of her head. Nezuko promptly beat the hell out of Daki, her limbs regenerating faster than the Upper 6 Demon could cut them off.

8. Gyutaro

After the Sound Hashira Uzui cut off Daki’s head, her dark brother emerged from her skin. Gyutaro is as ugly as Daki is beautiful, and he wields two equally nasty looking sickles capable of inflicting a deadly poison. Gyutaro and his sister were nearly able to withstand a combined assault from FOUR demon slayers at once, including one Hashira. Uzui’s ninja wives also helped out, providing some wisteria-soaked daggers that proved to be the demonic siblings’ undoing.

7. Gyokko

This guy is Upper Rank 1 on the creepy scale, and Upper Rank 5 in Muzan’s organization. Gyokko is a fish-like demon with eyes for mouths and mouths for eyes, and his scales are as hard as diamonds. He also loves pottery! That would be cute, except Gyokko uses his many porcelain vases to trap victims inside. Then he stitches their half-alive corpses together to create horrifying chimeras of flesh. Gross. He’s also able to summon all sorts of fish monsters from his pots, which can fight independently from him.

6. Hantengu

Don’t let his cowardly appearance fool you. Hantengu is Upper Rank 4 for a reason. He can split himself into individual clones that each represent one of his emotions. His Anger clone uses electricity powers to fight. His Joy clone has wings, razor sharp talons, and a supersonic screech. His Sorrow clone fights with a spear that has incredible reach. His Pleasure clone uses powerful gusts of wind from a leaf-shaped fan. His Hatred clone can absorb the other clones and use their powers, and it can manipulate wood. His Resentment clone turns into a GIANT. It’s impossible not to get on Hantengu’s bad side because it’s the only side he has.

5. Nakime

After Hantengu’s death at the hands of the Demon Slayer Corps, the biwa-playing demon Nakime was promoted to fill his position. Nakime isn’t much of a fighter, but makes up for it with her immensely powerful Blood Demon Art which allows her to manifest an infinitely large, complex castle. Her primary responsibilities are maintaining this castle as Muzan’s main hideout, and summoning other demons to the castle by plucking them out of spacetime and transporting them instantaneously.

4. Akaza

This notorious Upper Rank 3 demon was responsible for the death of the Flame Hashira during the climax of the Mugen Train arc. And he was able to kill the Hashira using only his fists. In life, Akaza was an immensely talented martial artist. In un-death, his powers increased exponentially. His speed and stamina rivals even the strongest of Hashira, and he is able to regenerate severed limbs almost instantaneously. Akaza also possesses a sort of sixth sense: he intuits the “fighting spirit” of his opponent, allowing him to evade otherwise unpredictable attacks.

3. Doma

Doma holds the Upper Rank 2 position in Muzan’s hierarchy, and for good reason. Despite his sunny facade, this demon has complete apathy for all other forms of life. He is also physically unfeeling, and possesses near-perfect pain tolerance. Doma demonstrated this by sticking his finger into his own skull without so much as blinking an eye. Ugh. He fights with an iron fan in a style known as Tessenjutsu, and his martial arts prowess far exceeds that of Akaza. He is also able to telekinetically manipulate ice, and uses it to deep freeze his enemies before absorbing them into his body.

2. Kokushibo

Here he his, Upper Rank 1. Kokushibo is somewhat of a dark Hashira in that he’s able to use similar breathing styles. His signature style is known as Moon Breathing, and he can create crescent moon-shaped blades by swinging his katana. These blades shift in size, speed, and direction according to Kokushibo’s will, making his attacks extraordinarily difficult to read. Kokushibo manifested his katana from his own flesh, and he is able to pull katanas from other parts of his body like some sort of demonic pincushion. Kokushibo is also SO FAST that he appears not to move at all, simply warping behind enemies as they EXPLODE in blood from his too-fast-to-see sword cuts.

1. Muzan

Surprise, surprise, the man truly responsible for this ranking holds the top spot. Muzan, the King of Demons, is the progenitor of Demonkind and the most powerful demon to have ever existed. He is cold, ruthless, and exceptionally intelligent. Muzan prefers to send subordinates to do his bidding, but he has the ability to manifest a combat form that the Upper Ranks cannot possibly match in power. He can also manifest razor sharp whips from his flesh, and has used them to fight off 100 demon slayers simultaneously. Muzan’s strength and speed eclipse those of Kokushibo, and he was able to withstand a combined assault from nearly every Hashira in Demon Slayer. If the plot-armored series protagonist hadn’t been there, Muzan would have killed them all.

(featured image: Ufotable)