Demon Slayer has become one of the most popular anime around, and when the fandom is reaching My Hero Academia levels there's going to be a lot - emphasis on a lot - of shipping going on.

Some of these ships are genuinely good - that's because they make sense within the series and feature two characters who have a genuine connection (instead of, say, a forged bond); however, some ships, in particular, are so bad that they make fans want to take a long, cold shower to cleanse themselves of the witnessed atrocity.

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This article will look at both of these kinds of Demon Slayer ships - the good and the bad. Major plot details from both the anime and the manga will be mentioned, therefore there will be spoilers.

Updated on October 6th, 2021 by Jasmine Venegas: Some pairings have gained a lot of popularity within the Demon Slayer fandom, regardless of chemistry within the canon content. As the manga ended, a few ships have been established as being canon, even showing fans the different relationships that the characters would have in a different life. However, the manga’s completion does not stop the fandom from coming up with new ships, both good and strange.

10 Makes Sense: Obanai x Mitsuri Are Open About Their Infatuation With Each Other

Obanai and Mitsuri from Demon Slayer.

The Pillars have always been popular fuel for fan works, due to their individual personalities and unique bond as servants to one cause. One of the more popular ships involving two Pillars is that of Mitsuri Kanroji (the "Love Pillar") and Obanai Iguro (the "Snake Pillar").

According to series canon, Obanai loves Mitsuri greatly but has trouble expressing his feelings for her due to his desire to protect her from his troubled past, while she obviously has a special connection with him but is rather oblivious to how much he truly cares for her. Fans of this relationship don't consider it to be as one-sided as it initially appears, and they're right in the respect that there are many moments throughout the series when it is painted as more than just a casual friendship. Although this romance does end in tragedy in the manga, fans get to see them happily together in their next life.

9 Awful: Uzui x Zenitsu Have Little In Common

While this ship isn't really the worst of the worst, it's become so popular amongst members of the Demon Slayer fandom that it deserves an honorable mention. While Zenitsu and Uzui do technically interact over the course of the series, really, their only shared trait is their similar hearing abilities, which is by no means basis for a library's worth of fanfiction.

Plus, the significant age difference between the two, paired with the fact that Uzui has three wives, just makes this bizarre ship even more uncomfortable to think about. There's just no reason why this should exist.

8 Makes Sense: Nezuko x Sanemi Make Amends Towards The End Of The Series

Sanemi pats the top of Nezuko's head

This ship has a surprising amount of popularity, considering they have only interacted a few times. Their first encounter is vicious and brutal, as Sanemi assumes that Nezuko is just as bloodthirsty as every other demon. He tries to goad her into attacking him, but she stubbornly turns her head away.

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Over time, it is revealed that Sanemi is prickly and even downright sadistic to demons because of his tragic past. He does apologize to her for his actions, but she seems completely unbothered by it. She even blushes a little after their encounter, sending Zenitsu into a rage.

7 Awful: Akaza x Rengoku Do Not Share The Same Values

Akaza and Rengoku face off

Akaza and Rengoku will never see eye-to-eye, considering the fact that they have very different priorities. Akaza values strength above all else, although he has forgotten that this desire stems from his regret that he could not protect anyone he cared about. Rengoku never lost sight of what is truly important, spending his last moments stubbornly protecting his fellow demon slayers from the Upper Moon.

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Akaza is only interested in fighting the strongest people, and continuously offers to make Rengoku a demon too, so that he could heal from his wounds and spend countless years training to get stronger. Rengoku naturally refuses, wanting nothing from the demon. Perhaps they could have gotten along if Akaza was a human, but as a demon, they have no chemistry.

6 Makes Sense: Inosuke x Tanjirou Are Close Allies

This is one of Demon Slayer's most popular slash ships in terms of fan following (behind Sabito x Giyuu and Zenitsu x Tanjiro), and it's easy to see why. While the interactions between Tanjirou and Inosuke are initially confrontational, Tanjirou's kindness is shown to have a positive effect on his teammate. And despite their differences, the two do make a pretty good team; eventually, they even have a noticeable camaraderie as both friends and allies.

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Even if it never becomes canon, at least this ship will live on in Demon Slayer history as one of few ships that most of the fandom could actually agree on liking.

5 Awful: Muzan x Tanjirou Are Enemies, As Muzan Destroyed Tanjirou's Family

The shocking reveal of Muzan's female form was a big moment for the series and increased fan interest in the character greatly; unsurprisingly, this is about the time he started getting shipped with everybody, regardless of whether or not they were alike. This includes Zenitsu, Tamayo, and - perhaps most flagrantly - Tanjirou.

It's the old trick of shipping two characters simply because they're fan favorites (you know, just ignore the millennium-plus age difference, and the fact that one of them— not naming names— killed the other one's entire family), but even that still doesn't explain why the ship became so popular.

4 Makes Sense: Sabito x Giyuu Were Close During Their Final Selection

While Sabito died before the events of the Demon Slayer series, he appears early on as the spiritual mentor to Tanjirou, and his past is later retold through flashbacks. Sabito and Giyuu were great friends, and Sabito's untimely death during their Final Selection put Giyuu in an emotionally tormented state. Giyuu believed that if he couldn't even save those he cared about most, he had no right to be a Demon Slayer, and considered relinquishing his spot as the Water Pillar.

It's a sad story, especially considering the fact that Giyuu is repeatedly shown to still have trouble coming to terms with his guilty feelings over the situation, but it makes the emotional connection between the two - and thus, the ship itself - that much more poignant.

3 Awful: Douma x Shinobu, As Douma Killed Shinobu's Sister

Out of all the ships that pair a good character with an evil character (some of which actually work, by the way), this has got to be the worst. Douma was responsible for the death of Shinobu's older sister Kanae, as well as Shinobu's own death later on. Even if this part of the plot was ignored they do not have compatible personalities. Shinobu is shown to rebuff Douma's advances even in the afterlife (after he's defeated by Inosuke and Kanao).

At the very least, most fans don't seem to be happy with this pairing either, with many not even considering it a proper ship (describing it with the term "crack ship").

2 Makes Sense: Kanao x Tanjirou Share A Few Sweet Moments Together

One of Demon Slayer's very few "canon" ships focuses on Kanao and Tanjirou. The manga fleshes it out a little better than the anime does, but the basic idea is based on one particular scene from the series where Tanjirou questions Kanao on her odd habit of choosing between two options with a coin flip, eventually convincing her to follow her heart instead of making random decisions.

While the two had interacted at earlier points in the series, this was the first time their connection was shown to be authentic and personal rather than just a friendly rivalry, and there's a lot of evidence pointing to this being one of Demon Slayer's primary ships.

1 Awful: Nezuko x Tanjirou Are Siblings

Apparently this is actually a thing, but why would somebody who actually cares about the series endorse this? It's no secret that Tanjirou and Nezuko have an amazing bond— they would sacrifice their lives for each other— but it's strictly familial, and trying to make it something more than that is pretty messed up. Thankfully, the fandom goes out of its way to disown this ship, but that doesn't explain why it had to exist in the first place.

And, yes, sometimes it seems like fans will ship any character with any other character regardless of - well, anything, but thankfully that some good ships come out of the mix - even if that also means ships like this will sometimes surface.

NEXT: 5 My Hero Academia Ships The Fans Are Behind (& 5 They Rejected)