Demon Slayer has been a juggernaut in the anime scene for years, and it's hard to fully measure his popularity. The franchise grossed nearly $9 billion in 2020 alone and created many new fans of the manga and anime, largely due to its release in the West. The series boasts dozens of memorable and uniquely designed characters, both on the side of good and evil, with devoted Demon Slayer fans often take to social media to (very loudly) support their favorite Hashira or, more often than not, their favorite villain.
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One man's trash is another man's treasure, or, as is often the case with anime characters, the other way around. Demon Slayer fans are often divided on which characters to hate, though some names appear more than others. While this list may be largely a matter of opinion, many long-time viewers and readers of the series seem to particularly dislike the following seven characters for various reasons, whether it be their actions or simply their personality or character.
Kaigaku
Part of the Twelve Kizuki and a former demon slayer himself, Kaigaku was once Zenitsu's senior student under Jigor, the former Thunder Hashira. Proving that anyone can fall from the greatest heights, the character encountered the powerful demon Kokushibo during the mission, and instead of fighting back, she surrendered to save her own skin. While this cowardly choice is something many may do in the face of untold danger, it's Kaigaku's personality that rubs fans of the series the wrong way. As it turns out, he never wanted to kill demons or protect people—he just wanted to gain status and have a place to lay his head at night.
Despite coming across as extremely arrogant and overconfident in his own abilities, Kaigaku is a coward at heart whose selfishness and hypocrisy in judging the strength of others quickly made the fan base outwardly despise him. He has zero empathy and a twisted sense of right and wrong, labeling those who criticize him as evil. All in all, Kaigaku has very few redeeming qualities, though his fight with Zenitsu came into play Endless Castle it's a joy to watch.
Zenitsu Agatsuma
Speaking of Zenitsu, his character has faced an uphill battle since the early days of the series. A demon slayer and close friend of Tanjiro and crew, the blonde uses Thunder Breathing in combat, leading to some truly epic and memorable encounters both on the small screen and in the manga. Loyal to a fault and decently street smart, he later proves to be a worthy companion to have on and off the battlefield. As one of the main characters of the series, he gets a lot of screen time, which unfortunately can have compounded problems.
The above qualities are positives, but the negatives are witnessing Zenitsu's personality and on-screen persona being largely invisible online. His constant whining is a constant source of irritation and annoyance Demon Slayer fandom, along with his womanizing and obsession with Nezuko. Additionally, his cowardice and deep pessimism hampered some of the anime's early episodes. While he saw decent figure growth in Endless Castleit may take longer for its popularity to increase in the future.
Gyokko
If the creator is skilled enough, they can create a character that will give you nightmares just by appearing on screen. For many fans, this was what Gyokko achieved after he first appeared in the season three premiere Demon Slayer. Another member of the Twelve, Kizuki, his bizarre physiology and ability to regenerate in the most grotesque way possible made an immediate impression, though his overall lack of plot and lack of power caused less of a stir. More importantly, his personality left a lot to be desired and many viewers considered him to be one of the worst demons in the series.
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Desperate to please the Demon King Muzan and completely unconcerned with ending innocent lives, Gyokko is sadistic, arrogant and extremely egotistical, with a warped sense of beauty that is completely deranged. While still human, he found his parents' corpses beautiful, which inspired him to kill and skin animals to use as artwork, eventually murdering a child in his village and keeping the corpse in a vase. Overall, Gyokko can simply be called “gross” and it's easy to see why many Demon Slayer fans would prefer to keep their distance.
Shinjuro Rengoku
While Kyojuro Rengoku remains a beloved character in the game Demon Slayer franchise, the same cannot be said for his father, Shinjura. The former Flame Hashira did not boast any of the qualities he saw in his heroic son, instead finding him to have an inferiority complex and a wildly short temper. To make matters worse, he's also an abusive alcoholic who seemingly cares little for his son's heroics until Tanjiro knocks some sense into him. While he once believed in the core principles of the Demon Slayer Corps, he later became a shell of his former self.
Shinjuru's harsh personality is a clear reason why many in the fandom dislike him, and his flaws are only more apparent when compared to his son. Kyojuro is wildly cheerful and friendly, showing himself to be honest in battle and always trying to protect the weak, no matter the cost. Viewers were especially surprised to see Kyojur's respect for his father, despite how much pain his father caused him.
At home
Sometimes the devil has a pretty face and looks like a very good friend. One of the most powerful demons in the series, Doma has been the leader of the Eternal Paradise Faith since he was human, and the cult has continued to worship him with ruthless devotion. Friendly, animated and eager to give advice to his followers, everything about Domin's personality is actually a total lie, with the man actually being a complete psychopath. He actually eats the members of his cult and believes he is saving them from a lifetime of suffering by taking them in. The demon just loves to hurt people, including himself, which makes him especially dangerous in any context.
Lacking any ability to feel emotions and skilled in strategy, this high-ranking member of the Twelve Kizuki uses sharp fans to summon ice and mist to make the battlefield even more dangerous. Doma is the culprit behind several of the show's major murders, and once they were revealed, viewers viewed the villain with renewed hatred and disgust.
Sanemi Shinazugawa
Genya's older brother and Taisho-era Wind Hashira, Sanemi, immediately angered the audience when he questioned Nezuko's decency, even tempting her with his own blood in an attempt to make her go berserk and succumb to her demonic tendencies. His personality didn't help much as he comes across as extremely rude and harsh to almost everyone. The reasons behind his behavior are a little easier to swallow because Sanemi just lost so many people he cared about that he started pushing people away. That doesn't make it any less frustrating.
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As if his anger issues and poor people skills weren't enough to earn him a legion of haters, Sanemi's behavior towards his own brother led to further ire from the fandom. While he undoubtedly cares for Genya deep down, which is shown later in the series, he is incredibly cold towards him during his start in the Demon Slayer Corps. Ultimately, his attitude is Sanemi's biggest downfall.
Muzan Kibutsuji
Potentially the only likable thing about Muzan is his character – everything else is pure, unadulterated evil. The Demon King, though jokingly referred to by much of the fandom as “Demon Michael Jackson”, is completely devoid of empathy and decency, even terrifying his subordinates. Muzan was turned into a demon as an experiment in an attempt to cure his deadly disease nearly millennia ago. Since then, his goal is true immortality and nothing will stand in his way. Ruthless and painfully intimidating, he sees no real value in anyone but himself.
There are many reasons why audiences hate Muzan besides being the big bad of the entire franchise. It could be his narcissism, his sadism, his two-faced nature, or his cruelty, but whatever it is, it's hard to have any sympathy for this ultimate villain.
- Release date
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April 6, 2019
- Network
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Swimming for adults
