6 Demon Slayer Characters Who Deserved Better Endings

In a bloody action anime that Demon Slayernot everyone will get the happy ending they deserve. In fact, some character endings feel weak or forgettable, happy or not, and it feels like Demon Slayer owed these characters a little more. Fans would have been happy to get more development and screen time of these characters before they were written out, and maybe the characters should have survived after all.

Of course, Demon Slayer wrote these character endings to maximize emotional impact or make room for more actors, which are common reasons why stories treat certain characters so harshly. That being said, it would have been nice to get more screen time out of these characters before their untimely demise or similar end. Or some actors needed a more substantial or happier ending to satisfy viewers that much more.

Sabito had to die because of his master's actions

Sabito was once a promising student

It is not uncommon for characters to appear mostly or entirely in flashback sequences, such as Sabito in Demon Slayer. His spirit appeared early in the anime to encourage and guide trainee Tanjiro Kamado, with Makomo's own ghost accompanying him. The two knew what it was like to be Sakonji Urokodaki's student, and tragically, that was the reason they died.

Gyokko was demoted to Jobber status when he fought Muichiro

Gyokko was a physical threat and nothing more

For the most part, the powerful Upper Moons got proper finishes Demon Slayers story. In some cases, Upper Moon's weaknesses were used against them, and in the cases of Akaza and Kokushibo, they could no longer live with what they had become. They made for some cool character arc endings, but there is one exception: Upper Moon 5, Gyokko. He participated in only one battle, and the conclusion only flattered Muichiro Tokito.

Of course, to save the day, Muichiro had to defeat Gyokko for good, but it's still such a shame about Gyokko's character. His brutal end came when he was demoted to a mere jobber for Muichiro and his demon slayers, an underwhelming conclusion for an Upper Moon. It also means that fans didn't get to see what kind of person Gyokko was before he became a demon, as he lacked an endgame flashback to match Daki's and Akaza's. Again, having Gyokko die, a total mystery, helped reinforce his endearingly alien and uncomprehending nature.

Rei soon disappeared from history without doing anything

Rei could have provided insight into Muzan's deceptions

Rei was such a minor character in Demon Slayers story, it's understandable if most fans forgot her name or even forgot about her altogether. Her role was to reinforce the sinister, deceitful side of Muzan Kibutsuji early on, with Muzan tricking Rei into thinking he was her normal human husband. Rei even had a child, another part of this fake family life that greatly worried Tanjiro.

Rei ended up being just a minor plot device for Muzan's benefit, and not much else. She didn't need an epic ending with cool flashbacks, but it would still have been nice if Demon Slayer saved a minute to show fans post-Muzan Rei. Fans wanted to see the spell broken on Rei, and she realized what was happening before she found the decision to move on with her life.

Mukago died due to Muzan losing faith in the lower moons

Only Enmu was spared, and even then, just barely

Among the lower moons, only Rui and Enmu had any serious screen time to show off their powers and develop their personalities. The same favor was not extended to the other four Lower Moons, such as Lower Moon 4, Mukago. Like her allies, Mukago was only seen briefly as Muzan summoned his weaker Twelve Moons minions before massacring them. Mukago had no chance to show off her special abilities before she met a gruesome end.

For plot reasons, and to highlight Muzan's cruel nature, it made sense how the Lower Moons were slaughtered by their own master in that manner. At the same time, it would have been fun to see one or more of them escape somehow to figure out what to do as lone wolves. Any of them, like Mukago, could have escaped to go rogue and either reconsider their lot in life or vow revenge against the master who decided they weren't worth keeping. Before meeting her end, Mukago could also have shown viewers who she really was, either before or after her dark transformation.

Shinobu Kocho never lived to see her sister's death avenged

Kanao had to do it instead

Shinobu Kocho's horrific ending is another example of a crass character ending that made sense narratively but still felt wrong in-universe. Not all revenge stories end well, and in fact, for many reasons, they often end badly or in strange ways. That was the case for Thorfinn i Vinland Sagaand Demon SlayerShinobu Kocho didn't even get a chance to think about the role of revenge in her life. She vowed to destroy Doma at all costs to avenge Kanae, only to meet a sticky end.

Shinobu's grim fate helped heighten the emotional and physical stakes of Kanao and Inosuke's ongoing battle with Doma in the next Demon Slayer Film. Personally, Shinobu should have had a better ending, maybe a compromise where she survives but can no longer fight, similar to Tengen Uzui. Emotionally and morally, it felt like it “should” have happened, denying Shinobu her chance for revenge while allowing her to survive and figure out what her life means outside of avenging Kanae.

Shinjuro had a good ending, but it could have been even better

The Demon Slayer Corps needed their Flame Hashira back

It made sense for Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku, to die at Akaza's hands the way he did. Such an outcome strengthened the Mugen Train Arc's powerful emotional stakes and pushed Tanjiro to become stronger as he sought revenge against Akaza. Then there is the matter of Kyojuro's father, the retired Hashira Shinjuro Rengoku. It was interesting to see someone who looked so much like Kyojuro while acting so different, and there was good reason why Shinjuro felt so cynical about killing demons at that point.

Anyway, Demon Slayer could have beefed up Shinjuro's ending a bit more to glorify the Rengoku family. On the plus side, Shinjuro's personal arc had a solid conclusion regarding his grief and his connection to Tanjiro, which was enough for some fans. That said, it would have been great to see Shinjuro trade his sake bottle for a Nichirin blade to show everyone what made him worthy of being Flame Hashira in his prime. He could have wrapped his arc with a “one more battle” trope to completely redeem him as a bitter alcoholic father.