There have been a lot of popular anime to crop up in the past few years, but Demon Slayer’s success has hit on a whole other level. The anime faithfully plays into a lot of the standard shounen anime tropes, but engaging characters and some stunning animation has helped the show find its voice.
The characters in Demon Slayer cover a lot of ground and take out some incredible enemies, but not everyone in Tanjiro’s crew are as engaging as the heroic demon slayer. Accordingly, here are 5 Demon Slayer characters that fans have come to love and 5 that they still find annoying.
10 Love: Zenitsu
Tanjiro’s core crew of fellow demon slayers are all a memorable bunch, but many of them originally enter the series as stereotypes that are typical to the shounen genre. Zenitsu isn’t that glamorous when he first shows up and his cowardice is his predominant trait.
Thankfully, over the course of the season Zenitsu’s backstory gets better explained, his abilities improve, and he actually turns into a valuable character. He still has his weaker moments and might freak out in the face of a new demon, but he’s such a lovable addition to Tanjiro’s team.
9 Still Annoying: Rui
Rui is one of the 12 Demon Moons and he becomes a major obstacle for Tanjiro and Nezuko after they arrive at Mt. Natagumo. Rui has quite the morbid backstory where he exploits the notion of family and turns a bunch of people into a foster demon family where he’s at the center.
Rui’s razor-sharp spider webs nearly tear Tanjiro and Nezuko apart, but in the end this demon feels more like a caricature than someone that audiences empathize towards. His story becomes the norm.
8 Love: Shinobu
In Demon Slayer, the Hashira are all built up to be a very powerful collective of demon slayers, but not every member in the group really gets a chance to receive equal development. Shinobu is one of the more fortunate characters and while she enters the picture as the mysterious Insect Hashira, she soon becomes a steady source of support for Tanjiro. Shinobu not only lends her expertise to Tanjiro and company on several occasions, but she offers up her headquarters to them as a place to recuperate. She turns into one of the most reliable and satisfying characters.
7 Still Annoying: Nezuko
This is surely going to be a controversial take, but despite how Nezuko the entire reason that Tanjiro is on his demon slaying journey, she feels like she never gets to come into her own. By the end of the season, Nezuko really hasn’t changed or developed at all since the first episode. It doesn’t help that the character is essentially mute. Nezuko is adorable and she makes a strong case for why not all demons are lost causes, but she’s held back by hypnosis and other ridiculous details. Hopefully season two will flesh her out in a meaningful way.
6 Love: Kanao
Kanao’s popularity comes as a real surprise, but her growth in the series is so natural and one of the highlights of Demon Slayer’s first season. Kanao comes into the picture once the demon slayers take refuge with Shinobu. Kanao helps everyone in their healing process, but she spends most of her scenes with Tanjiro. The two bond in a very endearing way and they’re both able to teach each other some lessons. Kanao enters as a lesser version of Shinobu, but she’s one of the more developed characters by the time Tanjiro leaves her.
5 Still Annoying: Mitsuri
Mitsuri Kanroji is arguably the weakest of the Hashira and she doesn't give the group the best reputation. Mitsuri is the resident "Pillar of Love," and she's unsurprisingly one of the more emotional and passionate demon slayers. Mitsuri has a hair trigger temper that brings out a much darker sider of her, but that even makes her feel like even more of an anime stereotype. Mitsuri doesn't get a chance to properly develop and as a result it's hard to currently take her seriously, despite her strong breathing techniques.
4 Love: Giyu
Right from the start of Demon Slayer, Giyu is quickly one of the most engaging and fascinating characters in the series. So many of the Hashira put up a front, but Giyu eliminates the garbage and doesn’t worry over technicalities. He’s another coveted member of the Hashira that's particularly handy with a blade. Giyu stands out by how he frequently steps up to the plate to help Tanjiro survive. Giyu is instrumental on Mt. Natagumo and proves that he's someone who can be depended on in a pinch.
3 Still Annoying: Inosuke
There's no denying that Inosuke is one of the most entertaining characters on Demon Slayer. Inosuke has many moments, both comedic and dramatic, that are fantastic and highlights from the season. However, out of the core demon slayers, it's Inosuke that still feels the broadest. The anime has peeled back the curtain on him a few times, but it's still too easy to reduce him to the aggressive guy who wears the crazy boar mask and freaks out. Inosuke is fun, but he could be so much more.
2 Love: Muichiro
Muichiro is such an interesting member of the Hashira. First impressions aren’t always right and in the case of Muichiro the character truly blossoms. Muichiro initially comes off as an extremely arrogant demon slayer, but the series gives a better look into his motivations and how he's so driven by logic. Muichiro’s obsession with logic sometimes causes him to go crazy in unexpected ways. Muichiro is the Mist Pillar, which he's able to apply in battle in creative ways. The more about Muichiro that's revealed, the more interesting he becomes.
1 Still Annoying: Muzan Kibutsuji
Villains are always difficult to do right and messing them up can throw off the momentum of the whole series. Demon Slayer establishes Muzan Kibutsuji as the evil figurehead that's pulling the strings of the 12 Demon Moons, but he never really rises above shadowy stereotype. Kibutsuji has his moments and isn't afraid to take out his own kind, but at this point he doesn't feel like enough of a tangible threat. The second season will likely do a lot with this as Tanjiro and Kibutsuji get closer to each other.