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The weight of each character’s suffering is a constant presence looming over every moment they are on screen, making their sacrifices and victories all the more meaningful.
Warning: this article contains massive spoilers for Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle and the manga.
10) Tanjiro & Nezuko Kamado
The Kamado family’s peaceful life as charcoal sellers was brutally shattered when Muzan Kibutsuji, the Demon King, attacked and seemingly murdered everyone except Tanjiro, who was gone overnight. Tanjiro returned home the next morning to find his entire family massacred, except for his younger sister, Nezuko. However, Tanjiro was unaware that the Nezuko he knew had been transformed into a demon. This single, horrific event upended his world, forcing the kind-hearted boy to take on the solemn, desperate mission of finding a cure for Nezuko and avenging his loved ones.
Their joint tragedy is the core of the entire story. Tanjiro’s unwavering love and fierce protection of Nezuko, even in her demonic state, and Nezuko fighting alongside her brother as a demon who kills demons, is the heart Demon Slayer. Tanjiro’s grief is tempered by a remarkable empathy and his devotion to Nezuko, turning his personal agony into a selfless desire to understand and protect others who have suffered at the hands of demons.
9) Obanai Iguro
Born into a cruel, isolated clan that sacrificed its members to a snake-like demon for wealth, Obanai spent his early life imprisoned and tormented, though ironically revered as the first boy born into the clan in centuries. Obanai was terrorized nightly by the snake demon, causing the young boy to grow up in unimaginable fear. When the snake demon demanded it, Obanai’s mouth was slit on each side to make his appearance more serpent-like. His only friend was a tiny white snake—Kaburamaru—who remained with him the rest of Obanai’s life. When he realized the demon’s ultimate goal was to eat him once he was bigger, Obanai was eventually able to escape his cage and ran away, with the demon in pursuit. He was saved by the then Flame Hashira, Shinjuro Rengoku—Kyojuro Rengoku’s father—who sensed the demon and arrived to slay it.
Obanai suffered with deep feelings of impurity due to his facial scars, wearing bandages over his lower face to hide the physical representation of his past torture that haunts him. He throws himself into his duty as a Hashira, hoping to cleanse the “filth” of his family and himself through relentless demon slaying. His intense, desperate loyalty to the Corps and his love for Mitsuri are the only two anchors in a life defined by generational darkness.
8) Sanemi & Genya Shinazugawa
As children, Genya and Sanemi (the Wind Hashira) were two of eight Shinazugawa siblings. Their father was an abusive alcoholic who abandoned the family, leaving their kind-hearted mother to work tirelessly to provide for her children. However, the brothers suffered an unimaginable loss when their mother was turned into a demon and killed most of their siblings. Sanemi, forced to battle their mother until daylight to save his siblings, returned home to find only Genya had survived. Genya, young and traumatized by the attack and the bodies of his dead siblings surrounding him, rejected Sanemi and branded his older brother as a murderer, not understanding the truth of what had really happened and that the demon Sanemi was forced to slay was their mother.
This misunderstanding permanently fractured their bond, leaving a vast rift between the two brothers that both—especially Sanemi—were not willing to repair. Sanemi dedicated his life to demon slaying, hardening his heart, and pushing Genya away to protect him from the dangerous life of a Demon Slayer. Genya, seeking his brother’s approval and validation after realizing the mistake he had made as a child, pursued the same path, though he was unable to use any breathing techniques. Despite this setback, Genya persevered, even though Sanemi consistently berated him, figuring out alternative ways of fighting demons, such as his unique ability to consume demon flesh and temporarily gain their powers. Genya and Sanemi’s distant relationship is defined by unspoken love, devastating regret, and a terribly tragic ending in the final fight against Muzan.
7) Kanao Tsuyuri
As a small child, Kanao was subjected to unimaginable poverty and continuous unspeakable abuse by her parents, causing her to snap and have a complete mental breakdown at such a tender age. Kanao became emotionally broken and unable to speak or make decisions for herself, as she had essentially become a husk of a girl. She was eventually sold into slavery, but remained completely devoid of any will or feeling. During her time as a slave, she was bound and dragged around her slaver like an animal. She was never bathed or cared for as a human being, wearing tattered clothing covered in grime.
She was saved from this brutal existence by Kanae and Shinobu Kocho, who adopted her. Shinobu voiced doubts about Kanae’s decision to take Kanao in, as Kanao’s trauma was so deep that she could barely move. Kanae reassured her sister and Kanao, giving her a coin to flip as a tool to learn to make decisions. Her backstory is a powerful testament to the crippling effects of extreme neglect and the long, difficult path to reclaiming one’s own heart and agency.
6) Giyuu Tomioka
Water Hashira, Giyuu Tomioka, lost his older sister, Tsutako, on the day before her wedding when she sacrificed herself to save him from a demon. This early loss left Giyuu with overwhelming guilt that she traded her happiness for his life. Soon after, he was taken in by retired Water Hashira, Sakonji Urokodaki, along with another orphaned boy the same age as Giyuu named Sabito. During Final Selection, Sabito—the one who Giyuu believed was the more talented of the two and worthy of taking up their master’s place as Water Hashira—died protecting him and the other recruits.
These two defining losses left Giyuu with an immeasurable amount of survivor’s guilt, reflected in the unique design of his haori that he made with half of his sister’s haori and half of Sabito’s. Though he did eventually succeed Urokodaki, Giyuu doubted his worth as a Demon Slayer and a Hashira, believing he did not deserve the honor that was meant for Sabito and hoping Tanjiro would take his place. Giyuu’s dark mood and isolationist tendencies are reflections of the weight of the lives sacrificed for his own. In Giyuu’s mind, being distant and alone is a shield against the pain of a life marked by the sudden, violent loss of his loved ones.
5) Gyomei Himejima
The Stone Hashira, Gyomei Himejima, is the biggest and arguably strongest/deadliest out of the entire group. However, he is a gentle and caring soul who lived as a caretaker for nine orphaned children in a temple in his youth. His life was shattered one night when one of the children broke a rule and extinguished the wisteria that kept them safe, letting a demon into the temple. This act led to a brutal massacre, with Gyomei fighting the demon throughout the night until the sun rose, causing the demon to disintegrate. Only Gyomei and one small girl survived.
