Many fans are curious about Demon Slayer‘s main antagonist, Muzan Kibutsuji. He is the leader of the demons, the antagonistic faction in the Demon Slayer world. His age is well over 1,000 years old. Muzan was also mentioned a lot of times by the demons, and they revered him. It is a mixture of great admiration and fear. Oftentimes, fans would liken his appearance to Michael Jackson, which led to a series of humorous memes.
Since our protagonists, Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke haven’t encountered him yet in battle, Muzan is shrouded in mystery. But there are already scenes on determining who Muzan is in the anime, and we’re here to list them down for you.
Rest assured that there will be no manga spoilers.
1. Responsible for Attacking the Kamado Family
He was the demon responsible for killing the entire Kamado family. Nezuko‘s demon transformation was also because of him. The motive of his attack is currently unknown, but there have been some implications in the anime. Tanjiro immediately recognized his demon scent when he and Nezuko went to the city. Muzan’s demon scent was the one lingering when the Kamado family was slain.
Read More: What Are Nezuko’s Demon Powers So Far?
2. He Has a Human Family
When Tanjiro first met Muzan among the city crowd, the latter was with a human wife and child. Tanjiro was greatly disturbed by this. Muzan also seemed to deceive his wife and daughter about his true nature. He even feigns a rather gentle and loving personality whenever he’s around them. He also seemed to have created a good relationship with them. They were obviously sad when Muzan is not coming home along with them; particularly his daughter.
3. He Hated Being Called ‘Sickly’
We first get to see Muzan’s cruelty onscreen when he was walking down the alleyway. There was a group of drunk people bugging him, and they noted how he looked so pale and sickly. They also commented how he looked close to dying, which is the final nail to the coffin. He immediately killed them without hesitation. He seemed to hate the notion of death and mortality being labeled to him.
4. Seeing Tanjiro’s Hanafuda Earrings Scared Him
Tanjiro’s Hanafuda earrings reminded Muzan of his enemy in the past. Because it was worn by an unnamed Demon Slayer who managed to subdue Muzan. Whoever that Demon Slayer was, he was very powerful enough to have left an impact on Muzan. Even if that has happened many years ago, Muzan still feels fear whenever he was reminded of that Demon Slayer. He immediately instructed some demons to kill Tanjiro when he saw the Hanafuda earrings.
It is important to note that Tanjiro’s Hanafuda earrings are considered a family heirloom. It was passed down to him by his father. It can be possible that whoever the Demon Slayer Muzan was afraid of, he was connected to the Kamado family. Maybe he was a member of the Kamado family as well. Muzan probably knows this as well, which is why he attacked the Kamado family in the first place. Currently, in the anime, there are still no concrete answers. We will have to wait for future seasons to find out.
5. He Can Change His Appearance
Muzan has the ability to change his appearance. He first appeared as a beautiful woman when he confronted the Lower Moons. The Lower Moons themselves did not even recognize him at first. He also appeared as a young boy when he confronted Akaza, the Third Upper Moon demon. What is interesting is that his eye color can change in accordance with his appearance, as seen when he was a young boy. It only reverted back to his steely red pupils when he talked to Akaza. This meant that Muzan can change his appearance completely without leaving a trace of his real identity.
6. Muzan is a Man
While Muzan can change his appearance to a woman’s, he is really a man. Some fans may be confused of his actual gender when he appeared as a woman.
Yet his woman appearance is just a disguise because he is in hiding. His discovery of Rui’s death on the hands of Tanjiro may have actually scared him. Remember that he fears Tanjiro’s legacy of the Hanafuda earrings.
His young boy appearance may be presumably from his fear again. Enmu has been killed, and he changed his disguise so he won’t be recognized.
In many flashbacks and scenes, he appears as a man. The only difference is his fashion and style, which he adapts to the current era.
7. Tamayo Used to Work for Him
When Tanjiro confronted Muzan in the city crowd, Muzan transformed a passerby into a demon as a distraction. This was when Tamayo had first entered the scene with her Blood Demon Art of Blood Bewitchment. Tamayo is a demon and a skilled doctor, with Yushiro as her right-hand man. When she took in Tanjiro and Nezuko, she revealed something about herself. She used to be a close ally of Muzan, and now she wanted to end him. Though it was heavily implied that she was kept as a pet by him, considering her resentment towards him.
8. He Rules His Demons with Fear
It was made clear that the demons respected and admired Muzan mainly out of fear. He is utterly cruel to his demons, easily disposing of them if they are not strong enough. Even the Twelve Kizuki is not safe from it. He slaughtered all of the Lower Moons when Rui was killed, leaving only Enmu behind. He sadistically stated that the Twelve Kizuki would be better off without the Lower Moons. He also threatened Akaza, an Upper Moon, for failing to locate the Blue Spider Lily and kill Tanjiro. Zenitsu, and Inosuke. He also inflicted pain on Akaza as punishment.
It is safe in saying that Muzan does not really care for the demons under his hand. He has this air of superiority over them. Even the Twelve Kizuki was not considered his equals so far in the anime, even the Upper Moons. Although to be fair, we haven’t met the Upper Moons so far yet. Who knows if there is an Upper Moon demon who he really viewed as an equal?
9. He Takes Advantage of Human Weaknesses
In the course of the series, we may get the feeling of empathizing with the demons – most especially when they’re on the brink of death. Demons will somehow remember their past lives as humans, and how they became demons. There were instances when Muzan was the one who transformed them. This applies to Rui, a Lower Rank Five demon. Rui was a sickly child who wanted to get better. Muzan deceived Rui and his parents by being a doctor with a cure. What they didn’t know is that Muzan transformed Rui into a demon, thus inflicting pain on the family.
The Twelve Kizuki also takes advantage of human weaknesses as well. This is what Douma did to Gyutaro and Daki when they were almost dying.
This only meant that Muzan lacks regard for the harm he may inflict in all aspects. He only seemed to care about expanding the demon population to become stronger. He has no humanity left in his heart.
10. He Is Extremely Powerful
Muzan, being the lord of all demons, is extremely powerful. His abilities were evident when he slaughtered the entire Lower Moons without batting an eye. He was also able to hear the Lower Moons’ inner thoughts. He was able to torture Akaza physically just by saying the latter’s name. There are many more that he showcased in the anime that deserved a separate article.
A lot of demons expressed the desire to have more of Muzan’s blood as it will make them more powerful. They were also scared of disappointing him because of his incomparable power. He is like their god who grants and punishes with just a wave of a hand.
Conclusion
These are the notable traits and things about Muzan so far. There will obviously be more to him in the next anime seasons. He most likely still has more demonic abilities to show because Tanjiro had not met him yet on the battlefield. Would Tanjiro and the others even stand a chance against him? Who is the Demon Slayer who almost killed Muzan? Guess we will just figure that out soon!
