The world of Demon Slayer is a brutal one, to say the least. Set in Taishō-era Japan (with flashbacks to hundreds of years earlier), it is a world filled with creatures that were once human but have been twisted into bloodthirsty monsters, driven by instinct with little of their humanity remaining. While the demons murder, destroy, and spread fear, the truth of who they are may not be what it seems. Demon Slayer shines when revealing just how tragic the demons’ downfalls really are. Backstories offer a glimpse into the humanity they lost, reminding us that every demon was once a person who experienced pain, love, and loss.
Understanding their pasts doesn’t excuse their actions as demons, but it does add a heartbreaking layer of complexity to their existence, making their inevitable ends all the more sorrowful.
WARNING! The following article contains massive spoilers for Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle.
The Spider Demon Mother was a frail and kind-hearted woman who was forcibly turned into a demon by Rui, becoming part of Rui’s fabricated family. She was constantly abused and tormented for not being able to embody the role of a “mother.” She was forced to do Rui’s bidding, always living in fear of his cruel punishment.
Despite her terrible circumstances, she harbored a quiet longing for a true family and a moment of peace. When Tanjiro found her, she expressed gratitude for his kindness and welcomed her death as a form of freedom from her suffering. Her desire for escape from Rui’s reign of terror and the cruelty she endured makes her death a moment of relief rather than despair.
Lady Tamayo was one of the first humans to be turned into a demon by Muzan Kibutsuji. She was turned against her will, and in her initial bloodlust, she tragically murdered her own husband and children. The trauma of her actions left her with unbearable guilt and regret, leading her to break away from Muzan’s control after Muzan was almost defeated by Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
For centuries, she dedicated her existence to researching a cure for the demon transformation to help others and finding a way to defeat Muzan. Her heartbreak over her past is her constant motivation, as she tries to atone for a sin she never truly wanted to commit. Tamayo sacrificed herself to hold Muzan back as the Demon Slayer Corps members fell into the Infinity Castle, giving them a fighting chance at taking out the Upper Moons with Muzan incapacitated.
Kyogai was a human who aspired to be a writer, putting his heart and soul into his work. Despite pouring everything into his job, his mentor constantly criticized and dismissed his creations as uninteresting. With the cycle of constant and cruel rejection of his craft, Kyogai felt worthless and insignificant. He became obsessed with gaining recognition and validation for his literary talent—a validation that sadly never came.
His desire for any acknowledgment was so strong that it consumed him. Muzan, seeing his frustration, offered him the power he craved. As a demon, he continued to obsess over his drum beats, which symbolized his desire for his writing to be “heard.” Kyogai was only able to find peace at the very end of his life when Tanjiro remarked that his music was truly fantastic.
As a human, Gyutaro lived a wretched life in the same impoverished district as his sister, Ume. Due to his sickly and off-putting appearance, he was ostracized and frequently tormented by not only his peers, but by adults as well. Because of this terrible treatment, he became jaded and developed a deep hatred for the world and a belief that he was deserving of all the misery inflicted upon him. His only source of comfort and love was his beautiful younger sister.
His resentment and pain reached a boiling point when he found Ume burned and close to death. He carried her through the red-light district, crying out for help, but not a single person came to their aid or even opened their doors. It was in this moment of fear of losing his sister and despair that Doma, Upper Rank Two, offered them a chance at a new life. Gyutaro’s resentment and twisted love for his sister became his defining traits as a demon.
Daki was originally a human girl named Ume, who grew up in the impoverished Rashomon Riverbank. Though she was extraordinarily beautiful and drew the attention of the rich, her childhood was bleak, making her the subject of ridicule and envy. After her mother died from sickness, she was raised by her older brother, Gyutaro, and learned early on that her looks were a source of both power and danger. She was fiercely protective of her brother, and he of her.
Her life took a tragic turn when she gouged out a samurai’s eye to defend herself from his unwanted advances. Because of her low standing in society, she was punished in the harshest way imaginable and burned alive. Gyutaro, in a desperate attempt to save her, carried her to an alley where they were found by a desperate Muzan. The two became demons together and shared the rank of Upper Moon Six, with Daki always remaining reliant on her brother, even in their new, monstrous forms.
Before he became one of the strongest demons in Demon Slayer, Akaza (Upper Moon Three) was known as Hakuji, who lived in a very small town with his terminally ill father. Unable to afford food, much less the necessary medicine, Hakuji resorted to crime to keep his father alive. After discovering that Hakuji had been caught stealing and was beaten by the local magistrate, his father took his own life as a way to free his son from the responsibility of caring for him. A distraught Hakuji was taken in by a dojo master who promised to teach him the art of martial arts. There, Kakuji found purpose and love with his master’s frail daughter, Koyuki, and was on the path to a happy life, planning to marry her and inherit the dojo.
His brief period of happiness was shattered when a rival dojo poisoned their well, killing both his master and Koyuki. Overwhelmed by grief and rage, Hakuji brutally murdered the entire rival dojo with his bare hands. The crushing despair and hatred he felt in that moment drew in Muzan, who turned him into Akaza—the demon who forgot everything about his human life until his last moments in the battle against Tanjiro and Giyuu.
Rui—Lower Moon Five—used to be a frail, sickly child who could barely move without pain. He longed for the strength to live a normal life like a normal child and, at his lowest moment, was approached by Muzan and answered his problem (or so it seemed). Muzan gave him demon blood, granting him power and strength he had never felt when he was human, but it also turned him into a monster. After killing his parents in a fit of rage, Rui became consumed by his desire for a “true” family.
This desire led him to create a fabricated family on Mount Natagumo, forcing other demons to take on roles as his siblings and parents. He would brutally punish those who didn’t follow his rules, mistaking control and fear for the bonds of family. His longing for genuine connection, a desire he could never truly fulfill, was the root of his cruelty and his ultimate tragedy. After being beheaded, Rui thought back on his life and once again saw his parents and understood the depth of their love for him. His parents forgave Rui for what happened and welcomed their child home. Heartbreaking.
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