Summary
Demon Slayeris one of thebest shonen animeseries of modern times. It has everything a fan can ask for – lovable characters, emotions, light comedy, action, amazing fights, and above all, an epic story. Ufotable’s incredible work on adapting this simple and well-executed story has helped the manga’s fame shoot up in no time. Featuring a wealth of attractive breathing styles and high-stakes combat where regular humans must push their bodies to the limit and defeat nigh-immortal demons, it’s easy to see why the many beloved characters inDemon Slayerare easy to root for.
The world ofDemon Slayeris a harsh one full of loss and death. Most anime characters have gone through a lot and will have to endure even more in the upcoming seasons of the series. It doesn’t matter whether the character is a human or a demon, most of them have suffered so much that their personality and lives have been forever changed and fans can’t help but root for them.Demon Slayerhas some of the most interesting characters with sad histories that deserve to be heard, withAkaza’s backstorybeing one of the many that will make fans shed a tear.
Updated on July 21, 2025, by Ritwik Mitra:Demon Slayer is one of the most popular shonen anime of all time, and fans can’t wait to see the Infinity Castle arc be adapted. The three movies that will follow the Hashira Training arc are poised to be some of the most enthralling cinematic experiences an anime fan can enjoy. A lot of the humans and demons in this series have been subject to a horrible tragedy, given the dark nature of this world. This has resulted in a deluge of thesaddest backstories in Demon Slayerthat can be hard to digest because of the sheer despair that is shown in the histories of these characters.
20Muzan Kibutsuji
The Demon King And The Series' Antagonist
It’s hard to sympathize with a person as heinous as Muzan. This character has caused so much loss and tragedy in the world ofDemon Slayerthat fans can’t wait for him to pay for all the times he’s plunged the lives of people into despair. So, even with this character having one of thesaddest backstories inDemon Slayer, it can be hard (if not downright impossible) to sympathize with someone like him.
Muzan was born into a life of frailty and illness, with his body being so weak that he wasn’t supposed to live past twenty years of age. After being forced into living such a pathetic life for the longest time, he snapped and went for an experimental cure that turned him into the first demon and set him on the path to becoming a tyrant.
19Doma
While Doma deserves all the hate in the world for being a ruthless, unforgiving demon, the life he was born into didn’t help things. This character experienced one of thesaddest backstories inDemon Slayerfrom the very moment he was born, finding it hard to experience any kind of feelings as his brainwashed parents forced him to become the head of a cult and listen to the whims of people he didn’t care about.
A tragic event occurred when his mother, enraged at her husband’s constant infidelity, murdered him in a fit of rage before ingesting poison and killing herself. Even after these heinous events transpired, Doma was unable to feel anything. It’s a shame that he was born with such a serious psychological condition, but that doesn’t justifyall the atrocities he’s committed after becoming a demon.
18Nakime
To say that Nakime has one of thesaddest backstories inDemon Slayerwould be a stretch. Other characters have experienced way more turmoil than the demon responsible for creating the Infinity Castle, but that doesn’t change the fact that Nakime was subject to an unpleasant fate before she eventually became a demon.
She struggled to earn a living while playing the biwa, especially since her good-for-nothing husband spent all the money she earned on booze. One day, in a fit of rage, Nakime snapped and murdered her husband, developing an unhealthy addiction to murdering innocents before a performance. This eventually set her on the path where she met Muzan, and the rest is history.
17Genya Shinazugawa
Consumes His Enemies To Become More Powerful
It’s easy to paint Genya as an apathetic man looking out for his own good. The fact that he mostly looks out for his well-being and ingests the flesh of demons to become stronger makes him seem rather evil. However, there’s a reason why this man is so headstrong and aloof. For starters, his brother isn’t the greatest role model. Sanemi is pretty savage and doesn’t show much love for his brother.
Their relationship was fractured for good when their mother was turned into a demon, who came back to eat the rest of her family. Before Genya succumbed to her ravenous appetite, Sanemi stepped in and took her out. Ever since then, both brothers have focused solely on becoming as strong as possible to take out the demons who have tormented humanity.
16Yoriichi Tsugikuni
The Progenitor Of Sun Breathing
There is only one man whom Muzan feared, and that is Yoriichi. The Demon King realized just how scary Sun Breathing could be if used against him. After all, Yoriichi almost took him out with a single attack. What fueled this power is everything from Yoriichi’s natural talent to the tragedy he faced throughout his childhood.
Yoriichi’s father shunned him because of the mark on his face, and the fact that twins were considered a bad omen. Barely taken care of and isolated by his own family, he still clung to hope and showed natural talent at swordsmanship. This only served to alienate him from his brother, who eventually decided to join Muzan and enhance his powers as a demon. This betrayal caused the Demon Slayers to shun Yoriichi, leading them to a path of ruin without his guidance as the world was slowly overrun by the demon presence of Muzan and his creations.
15Shinobu Kocho
The Insect Hashira
Shinobu Kocho’s tragic backstory is one of the most heart-wrenching inDemon Slayer. She and her sister, Kanae, were orphaned at a young age after their parents were killed by a demon. Thankfully, Gyomei Himejima came in the nick of time to save them. This prompted the sibling duo to take up arms and become demon slayers as well.
Kanae eventually ascended to the role of the Flower Hashira but ended up in a fatal confrontation against Doma, the Upper Rank 2 Kizuki. Despite putting up a valiant effort, Shinobu eventually ended up breathing her last in Shinobu’s arms after being fatally wounded in this battle. Shinobu’s guilt and grief over her sister’s death led her to develop a toxic hatred towards all demons, which manifested inher obsession with creating poisons that could kill them.
14Giyu Tomioka
The Water Hashira
Giyu Tomioka’s tragic backstory starts with the loss of his sister, Tsutako Tomioka, who sacrificed herself to save him from a demon. Instead of believing this child’s words, he was labeled as crazy by the masses and sent away. However, he decided to carve out his fate and met Sakonji Urokodaki, who decided to take him in and educate him on the ways of Water Breathing. Following this event, Giyu met and formed a great bond with another apprentice called Sabito.
During the Final Selection trial, Giyu was injured and didn’t beat a single demon, while Sabito saved his hide and killed all the demons on the mountain. However, he did so at the cost of his own life, with Giyu passing the trail despite failing to kill a single beast. This left Giyu devastated and guilt-ridden, blaming himself for Sabito’s death and struggling with feelings of worthlessness and self-doubt soon after. This trauma and pain ultimately shaped Giyu into the stoic and emotionally reserved demon slayer he is today.
13Kokushibo
Practitioner Of Moon Breathing; Brother Of The Legendary Yoriichi Tsugikuni
Kokushibo, originally known as Michikatsu Tsugikuni, is a riveting villain who is the Upper Rank 1 Kizuki, which shows just how powerful he is. However, he attained this power at a price, sacrificing his humanity to bestronger than his twin brother Yoriichi.
Yoriichi was ostracized as a child as a result of a bad omen. Michikatsu felt sorry for his brother and gifted him a flute that his twin would cherish. However, after realizing that his sword fighting skills were not as high as Yoriichi’s, he developed an inferiority complex that caused him to develop feelings of hatred for his brother and set him on the path to becoming a demon. After slashing up Yoriichi’s corpse in a moment of frustration, Kokushibo noticed that his brother had still kept the flute after all this time, causing him to shed a tear despite all the hatred that had built up in him.
12Tamayo
A Demon Who Strives To End The Reign Of The Demon King
When Tamayo was human, she was a married woman with children who fell sick with a disease that threatened her life. Muzan found her and offered to save her life by transforming her into a demon. She accepted but regretted it eventually. Once she became a demon, she started killing innocents and even slaughtered her family in the process.
She joined Muzan’s side for a few years after realizing that she couldn’t kill him on her own — until she saw him battle the Demon Slayer Yoriichi. Muzan had almost lost. This fight revived Tamayo’s hope that he could be taken down, and so she fled. She managed to change her diet and lifestyle anddedicated her life to helping humans and demonswhile studying cures.
11Kanao Tsuyuri
Shinobu Kocho’s Tsuguko
Kanao was born into an impoverished and abusive family. Her parents would often beat or try to drown her and her siblings whenever they did something they deemed wrong. Kanao would sometimes wake up and notice that her siblings had passed away during the night as a result of the beatings.
She quickly learned not to show her emotions and to bottle everything up to keep her parents satisfied. Eventually, she was sold as a slave and would have gone through worse thingsif she hadn’t been saved by Shinobu and her sister Kanae, who took her to the butterfly mansion. Eventually, Kanao joined the Demon Slayer Corps.
