In a very short amount of time, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba became the genre's latest phenomenon. The anime adapts Koyoharu Gotouge's best-selling manga series and tells a passionate story about a budding demon slayer, who wants to rescue his sister from a cursed fate.
Demon Slayer is exceptional for many reasons, and the hit feature film has helped generate a dedicated fanbase, but it's the demons in the show that generate a lot of chatter. They're incredible creatures that truly put Tanjiro to the test. That said, many fans are left wondering which of Demon Slayer's demons are among the series' strongest.
Updated on September 18, 2023, by Ajay Aravind: With the Swordsmith Village arc in full swing, Demon Slayer has never been more popular. This incredible animanga has already accumulated universal praise and a franchise worth billions of dollars. Given the sheer importance of demonic characters in the story, we've updated this list with some more relevant information.
Manga spoilers ahead!
Strongest Demons In Demon Slayer
Tamayo
Despite her lack of combat experience, Tamayo is one of the most intelligent demons in the story. Her Blood Demon Art incorporates a range of techniques, including Flesh Seeds, Visual Dream, Magical Aroma of Daylight, and Blood Bewitchment.
Tamayo's knowledge about Demon Transformation is arguably on par with Muzan's, but she uses her research to help humans rather than hurt them. She is best known for her accomplishments in medicine, creating a drug capable of counteracting Muzan's seemingly invulnerable physiology. This alone makes her worthy of being one of the strongest demons in Demon Slayer.
Daki
Daki is the younger sister of Gyutaro and the secondary holder of the Upper Rank Six alongside her brother. Her attacks are coordinated with her sibling's, and her true defeat can only happen once both she and Gyutaro are decapitated at the same time.
Daki is still incredibly powerful on her own thanks to her deadly amorphous sashes. These sentient sashes have amazing versatility, but she's also blessed with other formidable Upper Demon powers, like regeneration. Daki lacks some of her brother's confidence, but she's a vicious force to be reckoned with. In fact, she's easily able to take on Tanjiro, Inosuke, Zenitsu, Nezuko, and Tengen Uzui.
Gyutaro
The Entertainment District Arc presents Tanjiro and company with more dangerous demons than ever before, and Gyutaro, who holds the Upper Rank Six position with Daki, is the arc's main villain. Gyutaro has taken out over 15 Hashira in the past and his Blood Demon Art initially overwhelms Tanjiro, Tengen, Inosuke, and Zenitsu's tag team attack.
Gyutaro is blessed with advanced regeneration abilities and the key to his death involves the neutralization of his sister. Both siblings are among the strongest Demon Slayer demons Tanjiro has ever faced, but Gyutaro is the mastermind of this joint operation.
Gyokko
Gyokko is certainly one of the most disturbing-looking Demon Slayer demons of the Twelve Kizuki, partly due to his bizarre appearance and presentation. His odd visual design almost looks like a bunch of spare doll parts were just arbitrarily crammed together.
Gyokko has mastery over water and the creatures of the sea, but these skills also allow him to teleport through vases, regenerate limbs, and transform cells. Gyokko is highly dangerous. He nearly kills the young Mist Hashira, at least until Muichiro awakens his Demon Slayer Mark and Gyokko gets defeated.
Hantengu
Hantengu is another deceptively strong Upper Demon Moon. However, he likes to hide behind emotions and play the victim. This is essential to Hantengu's Blood Demon Art, which allows him to split up into multiple versions of himself, each reflecting his various emotions.
Hantengu's most incendiary and intense personality eventually absorbs the others, which gives him a major boost in strength. The Upper Moon 4 likes to complain a lot, but his ingenious and overpowered tactics allow him to hold off four Demon Slayers at once.
Nakime
Nakime, a member of the Upper Kizuki, largely remains a mystery during the beginning of Demon Slayer because her abilities intentionally keep her hidden. However, she's one of the strongest demons in Demon Slayer because she's all about good defense.
Nakime's Blood Demon Art skills aren't overpowered, but the real challenge is making contact with her. Her primary technique involves reconstructing the layout of her Dimensional Infinity Fortress by playing her musical instrument. Nakime can repeatedly do this to escape her opponent or leave them stranded and confused.
Kaigaku
Kaigaku is a terrifying demon with one of the most harrowing backstories in the series, and he absolutely deserves more attention. He's a member of the Upper Demon Moons, but he starts as a trusted member of the Demon Slayer Corps and an ally of Zenitsu.
Zenitsu and Kaigaku both trained to be the Thunder Hashira, but Zenitsu edged him out. Kaigaku turned to Muzan Kibutsuji as a quick fix to grow stronger. Instead, Kaigaku became a deadly demon with an enduring grudge. To make matters worse for the heroes, Kaigaku also knows how to perform many Thunder Breathing Techniques.
Nezuko Kamado
Nezuko Kamado is a true anomaly because, despite her demon status, she's likely the one character in the series Tanjiro doesn't have to worry about attacking him. Nezuko is Tanjiro's younger sister, which is something he never forgets even after Muzan Kibutsuji turns her into a demon. This injustice is a major motivator for Tanjiro for his demon-slaying duties.
Because Nezuko is a demon, Tanjiro works to suppress her abilities as much as possible. That being said, the few times Nezuko has contributed in battle reveal just how much demonic strength she possesses. More importantly, Nezuko turns out to be the first demon with an immunity to sunlight, making her one of the strongest Demon Slayer demons.
Akaza
Despite his frivolous attitude, Akaza is a highly dangerous combatant. Although he spends a lot of time in the shadows, this demon shouldn't be underestimated. Akaza excels in several impressive ways, whether it's his proficient skills in hand-to-hand combat or his capacity for handling elemental attacks.
The 12 Kizuki also follow a strict hierarchy, with Akaza near the top as Upper Moon 3. As a result, he holds a lot of authority above other Demon Slayer demons. Tanjiro and Giyu attack Akaza at once and he's still able to overwhelm both of them. Akaza even kills Kyojuro Rengoku, the Flame Hashira.
Doma
Doma acts like a casual goofball whenever he's not in combat, and the other Upper Moons find him annoying, most of all his bitter rival Akaza. he's still a vicious monster at heart and nothing fazes him, not even having his head slashed apart.
Doma is highly adept in combat. He's been able to eliminate many Hashira and has earned quite a reputation for himself. One of Doma's greatest talents lies in neutralizing the deadly demon poison extracted from wisteria flowers. This gives him a distinct, significant advantage over other Demon Slayer demons.
Kokushibo
There are few Demon Slayer demons more dangerous than Kokushibo, the strongest member of the 12 Demon Moons. He spent literally hundreds of years warring against demon slayers, learning their tricks, and perfecting his strategy.
Kokushibo is an expert in battle, but if all of this weren't enough, he's also a rare exception who can wield the breathing techniques of the Hashira. This combination of diverse skills helps Kokushibo to supersede the vast majority of his opponents in Demon Slayer, including the Stone Pillar Gyomei Himejima.
Muzan Kibutsuji
Many of the 12 Demon Moons Muzan Kibutsuji employs to take out the various Hashira are all exceptional threats. Despite his minions' unquestionable talents, Muzan Kibutsuji himself is on a whole other level because he's a "pure" demon. Muzan's purity means that he's practically invincible, and even decapitation is ultimately useless against him.
Surviving a duel with Muzan is difficult, but demon slayers are still trying to determine the best strategy to eliminate the Demon King. He remains a mysterious wild card whose full powers have yet to be seen, though he has consistently proven to be the single most powerful demon in Demon Slayer.
Weakest Demons In Demon Slayer
Susamaru
Susamaru may look innocent at first glance, but her gleeful attitude towards combat and violence makes her especially disturbing. She seems to experience immense pleasure in the damage that she does, which gives her a dangerously inflated ego.
Susamaru's childlike nature is due to Muzan turning her into a demon at a young age. She may be newer to the demon game, but she fights with a ferocious style and can grow extra arms to help her out in battle if she really wants to mess with her opponent's heads.
Yahaba
Yahaba is immensely devoted to his master, desiring nothing other than to become a member of the Twelve Kizuki. He is significantly more mature than his partner, Susamaru, as seen when he chides the latter for her immature behavior.
This Demon Slayer demon wields his Koketsu Arrow with stunning precision, forcing Tanjiro to go on the defensive during their duel. While Yahaba's Blood Demon Art is impressive by itself, his powers are vastly augmented when used with Susamaru's Hiasobi Temari. Nevertheless, Yahaba is ultimately killed by Tanjiro's Second Form: Improved, Lateral Water Wheel.
Slasher
Slasher may be one of the several inconsequential Demon Slayer demons, but he's more than capable of intimidating an entire village. His name is derived from his violently savage mode of killing. Slasher hacks, carves, and lacerates his victims before invariably losing interest and moving on to his next target.
However, Slasher doesn't seem to comprehend the power difference between lowly demons and adept Demon Slayers, which is why he foolishly underestimates Kyojuro Rengoku's agility. In the end, Slasher's supersonic speed proves slower than the Flame Hashira's final attack.
The Swamp Demon
Although a relatively minor antagonist in Season 1, the Swamp Demon nearly overwhelms the inexperienced Tanjiro in battle. This creature manifests in three distinct forms with unique personality traits. The Swamp Demon only consumes teenage girls because he believes "the taste of [their] flesh will get worse" as they age.
The Swamp Demon captures his hapless victims using his Swamp Domain, a pocket dimension that is considerably bigger than it appears on the surface. Tanjiro eventually kills this demon using the Sixth Form: Whirlpool technique.
Yushiro
Yushiro's cantankerous personality is legendary. He turns grumpy whenever his precious Tamayo stops paying attention to him, partly explaining his rude behavior towards Nezuko and Tanjiro. Yushiro's childishness disguises his incredible combat prowess, a factor that often works to his advantage.
Yushiro's Blood Demon Art, aptly named Blindfold, is a remarkable cloaking ability. He can render multiple targets invisible while allowing them to perceive one another. Further, Muzan considers this "young" Demon Slayer demon a serious threat after Yushiro displays his Mind Control technique.
Rui's Spider Family
Rui's Spider family includes a group of demons with fabricated kinship labels. The Father Spider Demon molts into stronger versions of himself using his Metamorphosis. Mother's Puppetry allows her to physically manipulate her targets. Son's Poison Conversion transforms his victims into arachnid beasts.
Daughter's Blood Demon Art is based on Acid Control. This very existence of the Spider Family flies against demon logic, since demons are unlikely to form familial bonds with each other. In fact, the only reason they accept Rui's bizarre system is that they're terrified of being killed by Demon Slayers.
Rokuro
Rokuro fills out the Lower Ranks of the 12 Demon Moons, so he exhibits a good deal of respect and fear for Muzan Kibutsuji. After Muzan flippantly exterminates most of the Lower Ranks of Dragon Slayer demons, Rokuro finds himself even more vulnerable than ever.
Rokuro is desperate to be stronger and begs Muzan for more of his demon blood so that he can improve. Despite that power boost, Rokuro's exact strength remains ambiguous. Rokuro isn’t the most dangerous of the 12 Demon Moons, but it's probably not a wise idea to insult his cracked complexion.
Wakuraba
Yet another one of Muzan's minions who never gets the opportunity to showcase his deadly talents, Wakuraba holds the position of Lower Demon Moon 3. Fans wish he had fought the heroes in the early stages, preferably before Enmu entered the picture.
The only details available about Wakuraba are minimal, as he's quickly dispatched by the Demon King himself. Although Wakuraba at least tries to escape his fate, Muzan decapitates him before he even realizes his own death. Wakuraba might be speedy, but that's clearly not enough to rank Wakuraba among the top.
Mukago
Mukago holds the position of Lower Rank 4 within Muzan Kibutsuji’s 12 Demon Moons. When Muzan reads Mukago's mind, he learns just how terrified she is at the prospect of battle. Mukago intends to flee if she ever encounters the Demon Slayer Corps, and while Muzan doesn't approve of this attitude, Mukago has talent behind her cowardice. Mukago doesn't get many opportunities to demonstrate her demon powers. However, it's still fair to consider her stronger than the typical demon and the other members of the Lower Ranks that she technically outclasses, such as Rui.
Kyogai
Kyogai is covered with drums, and his Blood Demon Art incorporates these instruments in powerful ways. Each of the drums on this Demon Slayer demon affects the architecture of his home, turning the abode into a tricky deathtrap.
It's a unique skill set that provides a welcome change of pace to demon-slaying, but Muzan Kibutsuji actually exiles Kyogai from the 12 Demon Moons. Muzan considers Kyogai a lost cause and not powerful enough to stay with the group. Tanjiro eventually defeats Kyogai, albeit with enormous difficulty.
Rui
Rui may technically be ranked on the weaker scale when it comes to the 12 Demon Moons, but he still makes a considerable impression on both Tanjiro and Nezuko during their journey to Mount Natagumo. Rui takes his design cues from the arachnid family and possesses a remarkable level of control over the razor-sharp threads that simulate spider webbing.
These abilities, along with the demon blood Muzan provides Rui, are substantial. However, the demon's tragic past and his complicated relationship opinions on family hold him back in the Demon Slayer demon ranks.
Enmu
Enmu is a member of the Lower Demon One, but he's significant in the sense that he survives Muzan Kibutsuji's massive culling of the herd and gets a sizable power boost in the process. Enmu is energized by the confidence Muzan puts in him, and he uses this momentum to terrorize Tanjiro and company during the events of the Mugen Train movie.
Enmu attacks his opponents with a crafty Demon Blood Art that allows him to enter people's dreams and subconsciously prey upon them. He's also able to target many individuals at once, though he still sits fairly low in the Demon Slayer demon hierarchy.