“I willswing my blade downand lop off the head of any demon without mercy! But… I will not belittle those who regret their actions and suffer over the things they did as demons. Because demons were once human. Because they were like me.” This is said by Tanjiro Kamado in the Manga. While his words aptly depict what makes him unique as a slayer, but it also gives an inkling to what the demons themselves are like. Some of the greatest shows, ATLA for example, are so beloved because they give depth and complexity to even the worst of villains. Demon Slayer does this as well, many of the demons that Tanjiro and his crew defeat have serious tragic backstories and motivations. If the viewer cares enough to hear them.
Demon Slayeris ananimethat follows the story of Tanjiro Kamado as he goes on a quest to challenge the king of demons in order to save his sister who has been transformed. On his journey, he challenges two particularly tragic demons, the Drum Demon Kyogai, and the Spider Demon Rui. The two of them both perish at the end of their conflict although only one is slain by Tanjiro himself.
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Kyogai
Kyogai was once a member of the 12 Kizuki before he was excommunicated for his weakness. Since that moment he has done everything in his power to regain control, consume humans, andfight his way back upthe ranks. Unfortunately for him, as viewers learned in his flashbacks, this is simply one of many setbacks that that creature has faced, both during his demonhood and during his human life.
Earlier in his life, Kyogai had been berated for creating boring works, having been told that he was unfit to teach. This broke the man and resulted in him killing the offender. Later he was an avid consumer of human flesh in his quest to please Muzan. Though once he reached his limit he was cast aside andderided for his weakness.In both of his lifelong endeavors, Kyogai was scorned and demeaned, both times resulting in a severe mental break.
By the time Tanjiro is fighting Kyogai, the demon is so desperate for approval that he has focused exclusively on finding a “rare human” to regain his status in the eyes of Muzan. When Tanjiro refuses to step on the scattered pages of his writing Kyogai is so surprised that he actually briefly hesitates. When Tanjiro emerges victorious he stops to compliment Kyogai onhis amazing blood demon art.At this point in his life, Kyogai is so starved for affirmation that even such a simple compliment from a complete stranger is enough to bring him to tears.
Rui
Rui is also one of the twelve Kizuki, though he still holds the position of Lower Five by the time Tanjiro encounters him. His motivation in life is to create a true family, where there is unconditional love andsupport from all membersat all times. Even viewers with no knowledge of psychology are easily able to surmise that this obsession must come from childhood trauma.
Viewers are then treated to a dramatic flashback when Rui himself regains memories of his human life. When his parents decided to kill him after they decidedthat becoming a demonhad sapped him of all vestments of humanity, Rui decided that that meant that they did not love him. This lack of love early in life made him feel an abyss that he sought to fill for the entirety of his immortal life.
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When Tanjiro and Nezuko face him his jealousy over their true sibling bond breaks his waning control and he wants to steal what they have. When he is defeated he remembers more of his parents. They had in fact intended to kill themselves as well, proving to Rui that they had indeed loved him unconditionally. When Tanjiro places a hand upon his back the brief feeling of genuine warmth is enough to bring him to tears as well.
What Does This Tell Us?
Despite what the demons would have humans believe, and despite what most humans do believe, the demons are actually the same as people, just more vicious. They are affectedby the same emotional traumasas humans and they react just as impulsively as humans do. Humans who have terrible family homes in childhood usually go one of two routes; they try to make their own family when they are adults, or they continue the cycle of abuse as adults. Rui simply does both. Kyogai just wants affirmation, for his writing or within the new demon framework of power grabbing.
Demon society wants to convince everyone that they have no humanity, that they are something “other” or something “better.” To do so they try to claim that they have risen above emotions, that they have sloughed off everyvestment of their human life. But Tanjiro shows us handily that this is not the case. Not only do the demons cling to the same traumas that affected them in one life in the next, but they still maintain hints of their original personalities and motivations.
To paraphrase Tanjiro himself, The demons were once human, and in a way they still are. They are just out of touch with what makes them human, and they try to ignore their humanity. Demons are just dystopic humans who want to think they are better than their prey.
