The 12 demon moons are a group of 12 incredibly powerful demons in the Demon Slayer manga and anime series. They serve under Muzan Kibutsuji, the main antagonist of the series, and command their own legions of demons. The 12 demon moons are Muzan’s most elite soldiers, tasked with hunting down and killing demon slayers. Let’s take a closer look at who the 12 demon moons are and their abilities.
What are the 12 demon moons?
The 12 demon moons are the 12 most powerful demons in the Demon Slayer series, handpicked by Muzan Kibutsuji himself. They each have a rank from Lower Moon Six to Upper Moon One, with Upper Moon One being the strongest. The demon moons possess enhanced strength, speed, stamina, and demonic blood art abilities compared to regular demons. Their goal is to kill demon slayers and find the Blue Spider Lily flower to turn Muzan into a fully immune demon who can walk in sunlight.
Who is Upper Moon One?
Upper Moon One is the strongest of the 12 demon moons. There have been two demons who have held the Upper Moon One position:
- Kokushibo – A mysterious demon with incredible swordsmanship skills and the demon art Breath of the Moon, which mimics the demon slayer breathing techniques. He conceals his identity behind a mask and joins the 12 demon moons after defeating the former Upper Moon One.
- Muzan Kibutsuji – The progenitor demon who created the 12 demon moons and all other demons. He possesses all demon abilities and complete immortality. Muzan only takes the rank of Upper Moon One after Kokushibo is killed by the demon slayers.
Who is Upper Moon Two?
There have also been two demons who have held the Upper Moon Two position:
- Doma – A pale young looking demon with ice powers who enjoys turning people into sushi rolls and eating them. His demon art is Breath of the Ice which allows him to freeze anything he touches.
- Akaza – A muscular demon with superhuman reflexes and the demon art Destructive Death Disorder, which grants him enhanced strength and durability. He enjoys battling strong opponents.
Who is Upper Moon Three?
Upper Moon Three is held by Nakime, a small horned demon who hides in an infinity fortress and can teleport and control dimensions. She uses her demon art Blood Demon Technique to teleport and warp space to protect herself and trap enemies.
Who are the Lower Moons?
The Lower Moons ranked from Six to Four are less powerful than the Upper Moons, but still possess threat levels far above average demons. They include:
- Lower Moon Six: Kaigaku
- Lower Moon Five: Gyokko
- Lower Moon Four: Hantengu
Kaigaku is a former demon slayer who became a demon and uses Breath of Thunder techniques. Gyokko is an eccentric artist who can animate his creations and manipulate flesh with his Blood Demon Art. Hantengu is able to split his body into multiple emotion forms with different powers.
What happened to the former Lower Moons?
The Lower Moons ranked from Six to Four changed multiple times during the course of the story as the previous ones were killed by demon slayers. The killed Lower Moons include:
- Enmu – Lower Moon One
- Rokuro – Lower Moon Two
- Wakuraba – Lower Moon Three
- Mukago – Lower Moon Four
- Rui – Lower Moon Five
- Kyogai – Lower Moon Six
Enmu could put people to sleep. Rokuro could shoot razor sharp fin blades. Wakuraba wielded a whip. Mukago could possess people. Rui made spider thread and family. Kyogai controlled a giant turtle shell body.
What are the marks of the demon moons?
Each of the 12 demon moons is distinguished by a unique mark or number somewhere on their body that indicates their membership and rank in the group. For example:
- Kokushibo has the mark of Upper Moon One on his eye.
- Akaza has the mark of Upper Moon Three on his chest.
- Rui has the mark of Lower Moon Five on his tongue.
The marks seem to be magically given by Muzan when he appoints a demon as one of the 12 moons. The marks can’t be removed by normal means and help Muzan track and control the moons.
Why does Muzan value the 12 demon moons?
Muzan values the 12 demon moons for several strategic reasons:
- They are his most powerful soldiers and assets in the war against demon slayers and humanity.
- They each command hundreds or thousands of lower level demons.
- Their strength keeps lower demons in line and the demon rank hierarchy intact.
- Collectively their strength will allow Muzan to conquer the demon slayer corps.
- Individually they are difficult for anyone but the Hashira level slayers to fight 1 on 1.
Having the 12 demon moons allows Muzan to have an elite fighting force he can rely on to carry out his bidding across Japan without having to intervene personally most of the time.
How are the demon moons organized?
The 12 demon moons operate in a structured hierarchy with Muzan at the top. Beneath Muzan:
- Upper Moon One has authority over all other moons
- Upper Moons outrank Lower Moons
- Ranked Moons have authority over unranked demons
Within their ranks, the demon moons often operate solo, but will work together for coordinated missions, sharing intelligence and pooling their demon armies when needed.
What special abilities do the demon moons possess?
As the strongest of all demons besides Muzan, the 12 demon moons have access to unique abilities and blood demon arts. These include:
- Regeneration – They can heal from almost any non-decapitating wound.
- Enhanced Physical Abilities – Strength, speed, stamina exceeding other demons.
- Demon Transformation – Ability to transform body parts into demonic weapons and extensions.
- Blood Demon Arts – Specialty style powers unique to each moon.
- Resistance – High resistance to sun, wisteria poison, and common demon slayer techniques.
- Telepathy – Ability to communicate telepathically with Muzan and any demons they’ve turned.
This combination of abilities makes the 12 demon moons deadly adversaries for demon slayers to face in combat.
What is the history of the 12 demon moons?
The 12 demon moons were first organized by Muzan centuries ago after he turned the Breath of the Sun user Yoriichi Tsugikuni into the demon Kokushibo. After nearly getting killed by Yoriichi, Muzan realized he needed powerful servants to do his bidding while he remained in hiding.
Over the generations, Muzan has replaced members of the 12 moons, promoted existing demons into the ranks, and eliminated moons who have disappointed him. For instance, Akaza, Doma and Nakime replaced the former Upper Moon Two and Three only recently before the start of the story.
The story of Tanjiro Kamado begins when Muzan dispatches the Lower Moon Six demon Kyogai to kill Tanjiro’s family, kicking off Tanjiro’s quest to turn his sister Nezuko back into a human and join the demon slayer corps.
Do all 12 demon moons survive until the end?
No, the vast majority of the demon moons are killed by demon slayers over the course of the story, crucial victories for the corps:
- Rui – Killed by Tanjiro
- Kyogai – Killed by Tanjiro
- Lower Moon Two through Five – Killed by Muzan for disappointing him
- Enmu – Killed by Rengoku
- Akaza – Commits suicide after being defeated by Tanjiro and Giyu
- Doma – Killed by Kanao and Inosuke
- Kokushibo – Killed by Muichiro
- Hantengu – Killed by Mitsuri
- Gyokko – Killed by Muichiro
- Nakime – Killed by Yushiro
- Kaigaku – Killed by Zenitsu
This leaves only Muzan himself remaining at the end as Upper Moon One. Demon slayers suffered many losses in defeating the 12 moons, but ultimately eliminated Muzan’s elite guard.
Which demon moon was the strongest?
Kokushibo was considered the overall strongest of the 12 demon moons besides Muzan himself. As Upper Moon One, he possessed hundreds of years of experience mastering demon slayer techniques and then demon abilities after becoming a demon. His swordsmanship, Breath of the Moon style, and regenerative ability surpassed any other demon except Muzan.
Did any hashira die fighting the 12 demon moons?
Yes, two of the hashira died battling the 12 demon moons:
- Rengoku – Killed by Akaza while protecting passengers on the Mugen Train
- Shinobu – Sacrificed her life to poison Doma
Additionally, Muichiro, Obanai, and Giyu were all grievously injured in their fights against Upper Moon One and Two, but narrowly survived. The demon moons proved to be formidable enemies even for the elite hashira to face in single combat.
Could a demon slayer who wasn’t a hashira defeat a demon moon?
It was extremely difficult, but possible. Two low ranking demon slayers managed to kill Upper Moons:
- Tanjiro – Defeated the Upper Moon Six demon Kyogai as well as Lower Moon Five Rui before joining the hashira.
- Kanao – Helped kill the Upper Moon Two Doma.
However, these wins required extensive teamwork, preparation, and special circumstances. Tanjiro had to master the Breath of Water style and exploit Kyogai’s weakness to decapitation. Kanao worked together with Inosuke who was immune to Doma’s ice attacks, allowing them to outlast Doma’s regeneration.
Could a demon moon ever regain their rank if defeated?
It’s unknown if Muzan would ever willingly re-appoint a demon to the 12 moons after being defeated in battle. However, there is one scenario where a demon moon could return:
- Akaza – He has a Combat Body that regenerates even after decapitation as long as he retains the will to fight. After dying, Akaza returns to life but loses his memories and Upper Moon status.
So Akaza could hypothetically regain his Upper Moon Three rank if he died, regenerated, and then killed the current Upper Three to reclaim his spot. But this specific scenario relies on Akaza’s unique physiology and is not possible for other demons.
What is the Blue Spider Lily and its connection to the 12 moons?
The Blue Spider Lily is a rare flower being sought by Muzan and the 12 demon moons because of an old legend that it can turn demons into complete immortals. Normally, demons still have weaknesses to sun, wisteria trees, and decapitation that prevent true immortality.
Muzan believes ingesting the Blue Spider Lily will allow him to overcome his last vulnerabilities, walk in sunlight, and achieve his goal of eternal life and domination over humanity. The 12 moons search for the flower on his behalf.
Conclusion
In summary, the 12 demon moons are a formidable group of elite demons who serve as the main antagonists in Demon Slayer driving the story and challenging the demon slayers. Their unique ranks, abilities, and personalities make them memorable villains. It takes all of the hashira and Tanjiro’s teams’ efforts and sacrifices to finally end Muzan’s reign by defeating the 12 moons under his command.