Demon Slayer is an exciting but dark shonen action story taking place in early modern Japan on the eve of World War I. The world is rapidly changing in strange ways, but one thing remains the same -- the ever-present danger of flesh-eating demons. Demons are horrors of the night, and only slayers bearing Nichirin swords can fight back.
For centuries, the demon slayer corps have been humanity's sole defenders against Muzan Kibutsuji's minions, but it has always been an uphill fight. There are some distinct perks to joining the demon slayers, of course, but taking part in the battle against demon-kind comes with many harsh and unsavory realities, too. It's not an easy lifestyle for anyone, as Tanjiro soon found out for himself.
10 HARSH REALITY: Demons Are Physically Tougher Than People
Demon slayers are well-trained for the job and can fight better than ordinary swordsmen or soldiers, but there is no denying the truth -- demons are always stronger than their human prey. Demons have supernatural strength and durability, and no human can fully bridge that gap.
Demons can crush bones with ease barehanded, and they can also survive serious injuries and regenerate their flesh during a fight. Because of this, demons can outlast and exhaust a demon slayer opponent of similar strength if the slayer can't finish the fight quickly.
9 PERK: Demons' Weaknesses Are Well-Known
In many regards, the demons of Japan are similar to European-style vampires, being powerful humanoids with many advantages but a few specific weaknesses as well. Demons are nearly impossible to kill under normal circumstances, but rookie and veteran demon slayers alike know a few tricks to fight back.
Demons cannot survive exposure to sunlight, so slayers can travel safely during the day and raise their guard as the sun sets. In addition, demons are weak to wisteria flowers, so slayers such as Shinobu Kocho can use wisteria against them, or barricade buildings or towns with wisteria.
8 HARSH REALITY: The Entrance Exam Is Brutal
Many action anime series have an "entrance exam" story arc, and that includes Demon Slayer. Once Tanjiro Kamado trained enough, he joined other candidates at a wisteria-ringed mountain and prepared to spend a week inside the training zone.
The training zone was a bloody one, with human and demon blood alike being shed all over the place. Tanjiro was one of only a few candidates to survive, and he could hardly believe how many people had been weeded out. It's a rough process, but remarkably, the electric Zenitsu Agatsuma had survived, too.
7 PERK: Many Breathing Styles Exist
Demon Slayer has a fairly straightforward but richly detailed combat system, largely based around the concept of breathing styles, which demon slayers use during battle. There is no universal style -- a handful of elemental breathing types exist, and not just for the classical Greek elements.
There is a breathing style for just about any type of demon slayer, based on a given slayer's preferences in battle. Tanjiro uses the water breathing style, as does Giyu Tomioka, but there are also breathing styles for lightning, flame, beast, wind, sound and far more.
6 HARSH REALITY: Demon Slayers Have Few Ranged Options
When fighting up close, a demon slayer is a powerful combatant, and a sword is the best weapon a dedicated slayer could ask for. However, there's a tradeoff. Nichirin swords are melee weapons only, and there isn't much a slayer can do if a demon is far away.
Demon slayers have devised some methods of ranged combat, and they can run quickly to close the distance to a target. Still, slayers might sometimes suffer from their lack of standardized ranged weaponry or attacks, a weakness that some demons can exploit. Slayers don't typically carry crossbows or rifles as backup weapons.
5 PERK: Demon Slayers Can Easily Outnumber A Typical Demon
A demon is stronger than any individual human, but demon slayers aren't obligated to fight demons in fair fights or duels. Unlike humans, demons tend to operate alone, since they are greedy and selfish creatures who don't easily form teams. So, a demon is liable to find itself outnumbered.
A handful of demon slayers can gang up on a single demon and overwhelm it with numbers. The cornered demon will have nowhere to run, and even with blood arts, it probably can't triumph in the face of such odds.
4 HARSH REALITY: Demons Can Take Hostages
Demons are not sentimental creatures, and they rarely care about one another. Even cunning and crafty demon slayers can't easily manipulate a demon by taking someone else hostage, but this kind of leverage does work the other way around.
Demon slayers aren't just protecting themselves -- they are helping humanity, and a slayer will be in a tight spot when a demon takes a few people hostage, including other slayers. Some demon slayers might be willing to sacrifice the hostages to take out a powerful demon, but many other slayers would be more conflicted, such as Tanjiro.
3 PERK: The Hashira Are Powerful Allies
Not all demon slayers are rank-and-file swordsmen. Any group like this will have a handful of elite members to inspire and defend the rest, and in this case, that elite group is the Hashira, or pillars. There are nine of them, and each of them can take on dozens of ordinary demons and win.
One on one, a Hashira is nigh-unbeatable, and even Rui the spider demon stood no chance when Giyu and Shinobu arrived. Lower moon demons are helpless before the Hashira, and Tanjiro was grateful for the help. If a low-ranked slayer is struggling, the arrival of a Hashira will always turn the tide.
2 HARSH REALITY: The Demons Have Their Own Elite Members, The Kizuki
Muzan has his own version of the Hashira, the twelve demon moons, or Kizuki. These demons have consumed a lot of Muzan's special blood and thus have incredible strength and blood arts, far beyond anything that regular demons can muster. This group is split into the six lower moons and the six upper moons.
Rui was the second-weakest lower moon, and he was stronger than Tanjiro, making it clear how terrifyingly deadly these Kizuki can be. The upper moon three, Akaza, is an unstoppable juggernaut of destruction that not even the flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku, could finish off.
1 PERK: Demon Slayers Get Support From Civilians
Demons must hide in the shadows and operate alone, and that makes them difficult to track down. On the plus side, though, demons cannot discreetly take shelter in human civilization, such as booking a hotel room, riding in a train or visiting a hospital. At least, not without some fancy tricks.
By contrast, demon slayers benefit greatly from the support of innkeepers, public transportation, restaurant owners, hospitals and far more. In fact, some inns house and feed demon slayer guests for free, and these inns are even protected by wisteria trees. Tanjiro, Inosuke and Zenitsu were deeply grateful for the hospitality.