Demon Slayer has been a giant in the anime scene for years, and its popularity is hard to fully measure. The franchise pulled in nearly $9 billion in 2020 alone, creating many new manga and anime fans along the way, largely due to its release in the West. The series boasts dozens of memorable and uniquely designed characters, both good and bad, with dedicated Demon Slayer fans who often take to social media to (very vocally) throw their support behind 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 pop up more than others. While this list may be largely a matter of opinion, many longtime 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 personalities or character designs.
Kaigaku
Part of the Twelve Kizuki and a former Demon Slayer himself, Kaigaku was once Zenitsu's senior disciple under Jigoro, the former Thunder Hashira. Proving that anyone can fall from the greatest heights, the character encountered the powerful demon Kokushibo during a mission and instead of fighting back, he gave up to save his own skin. While this cowardly choice is something many may make in the face of unspeakable dangers, it is Kaigaku's personality that rubs fans of the series the wrong way. Turns out he never wanted to kill demons or protect people – he simply wanted status and 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, with his selfishness and hypocrisy in judging the strength of others quickly causing the fanbase to outwardly despise him. He has zero empathy and a twisted idea of right and wrong, where those who are critical of him are labeled as evil. Overall, Kaigaku has very few redeeming qualities, even if his fight with Zenitsu is included Infinity Castle is a whisper to watch.
Zenitsu Agatsuma
Speaking of Zenitsu, his character has faced an uphill battle since the early days of the series. The blonde is a Demon Slayer and close friend of Tanjiro and the crew. The blonde uses Thunder Breathing in battle, 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 both on and off the battlefield. As one of the show's main characters, he gets plenty of screen time, which unfortunately may have compounded the problem.
The qualities listed above are the positives, but the negatives have seen Zenitsu's personality and on-screen persona receive plenty of flak online. His constant whining is a constant source of irritation and irritation in Demon Slayer fandom, along with his womanizing and obsession with Nezuko. Also, his cowardice and deep pessimism hindered some of the early anime episodes. While seeing a decent amount of character growth Infinity Castleit may take more to increase his popularity going forward.
Gyokko
If a creator is skilled enough, they can create a character that gives you nightmares just by appearing on screen. For many fans, that's what Gyokko achieved after he first appeared in the premiere of the third season of 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 complete lack of action and lack of strength made less of a splash. More importantly, his personality left a lot to be desired, and many viewers have considered him one of the most evil demons in the series.
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Gyokko is desperate to please the Demon King Muzan and completely unconcerned about ending innocent lives. Gyokko is sadistic, arrogant and extremely selfish, with a warped sense of beauty that is completely confused. While still human, he found his parents' bodies beautiful, which inspired him to kill and skin animals to use as art objects and eventually murder a child in his village and store the corpse in a vase. All in all, Gyokko can simply be called “gross” and it's easy to see why many Demon Slayer fans prefer to keep their distance.
Shinjuro Rengoku
While Kyojuro Rengoku remains a beloved character in Demon Slayer franchise, the same cannot be said for his father, Shinjuro. The former Flame Hashira did not boast any of the qualities seen in his heroic son, instead finding himself with an inferiority complex and a very short temper. To make matters worse, he's also an abusive alcoholic who seemingly cares little for his son's heroic actions until Tanjiro knocks some sense into him. While he once believed in the core of the Demon Slayer Corps, he later became a shell of his former self.
Shinjuro's abrasive personality is the clear reason many in the fandom dislike him, and his flaws only become more apparent when comparing him to his son. Kyojuro is wildly cheerful and friendly, proving honorable in battle and always trying to protect the weak, no matter the cost. Viewers were particularly surprised to see Kyojuro's respect for his father, despite how much pain the latter had caused him.
Doma
Sometimes the devil has a beautiful face and seems to be 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, with the cult continuing to worship him with ruthless devotion. Friendly, lively and eager to give advice to his followers, everything about Doma's personality is actually a complete lie, where the man is actually a complete psychopath. He actually devours members of his cult, believing he is saving them from a lifetime of suffering by taking them into himself. The demon simply loves to hurt people, including himself, which makes him especially dangerous in any context.
This high-ranking member of the Twelve Kizuki lacks any ability to feel and is skilled at strategy, using sharp fans to summon ice and mist to make the battlefield even more dangerous. Doma is the culprit behind several major murders in the series, and once these were revealed, viewers viewed the villain with renewed hatred and loathing.
Sanemi Shinazugawa
Genya's older brother and the Wind Hashira of the Taisho era, Sanemi immediately angered viewers when he doubted Nezuko's decency, even tempting her with his own blood in an attempt to make her go berserk and give in to her demonic tendencies. His personality didn't help much, as he comes across as extremely rude and abrasive to almost everyone. The reasoning behind his behavior makes things a little easier to swallow, as Sanemi simply lost so many people he cared about that he started pushing people away. That doesn't make him 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 treatment of his own brother has drawn more ire from the fandom. While he undoubtedly cares for Genya deep down, as 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 nice thing about Muzan is his character design – everything else is pure, unadulterated evil. The Demon King, although jokingly referred to by much of the fandom as “Demon Michael Jackson”, is completely devoid of empathy or decency, terrifying even his underlings. Muzan was turned into a demon as an experiment, in an attempt to cure his deadly disease almost a millennium ago. Ever since then, his goal has been true immortality, and nothing will stand in his way. Reckless and painfully terrifying, he sees no real value in anyone but himself.
There are a variety of reasons why viewers loathe Muzan, aside from him being the main villain of the entire franchise. It could be his narcissism, his sadism, his duplicitous nature, or his cruelty, but whatever it is, it's hard to be at all sympathetic to this supreme villain.
- Release date
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April 6, 2019
- Network
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Swimming for adults
