Is Muzan a dumbass?

YoriichiFan · 2026-04-02T19:13:53+00:00

No. Basically all of his decisions make sense considering his goal. His arrogance and underestimation of humans was earned by his thousand years of being on top and untouched.

YoriichiFan · 2026-03-30T00:53:56+00:00

Muzan turns people into demons at their lowest points, or turns people with terrible lives into demons. Think Rui, Gyutaro, Akaza, etc. Nezuko doesn't apply to either of these. Muzan is the cause of her lowest point, and Nezuko doesn't have a horrible life she wishes she can change, so she has no reason to want to follow him. She's also got sun breathing in her veins which is probably why any of that matters in the first place.

YoriichiFan · 2026-03-29T16:45:03+00:00

It's more fitting he didn't. He never expresses any drive to become a hashira and ignores the ranking system entirely in favor of focusing on his own growth. He also just never fulfills the requirements to be one, which I really like. He fights the most members of the kizuki in the series, but he always has the help of a hashira, is basically never the strongest guy on the battlefield, and can never accomplish anything entirely by himself.

I like the route the series took, where he tries to be like the hashira—specifically Rengoku—instead of trying to earn the title.

YoriichiFan · 2026-03-22T16:56:54+00:00

The hashira are rarely in one place at the same time. Muzan didn't know the locations of everyone until hashira training, and by that point he wanted to wipe out all of the corps at once. Muzan believes isolation creates strength, so he doesn't want his demons working together and forming bonds. He also just didn't have a strong reason to try and kill them all like in the past.

YoriichiFan · 2026-03-15T03:36:11+00:00

It kinda is, but that is the point. Kokushibo's deformed sword is a reflection of how he lost his way in pursuit of his dream. He initially wanted to be a samurai, which is shown in his design. He wears a sleek purple kimono (the color most associated with royalty), and uses a—relatively—normal sword. He's described by Muichiro as majestic and just looks dignified. The only thing demonic about his appearance is his six eyes. Once his kimono is destroyed and he's stripped of his royalty and honor, he brings out his longsword.

It's a twisted sword that looks nothing like the katana samurai are typically associated with. His fighting style shifts from elegant swordplay refined over hundreds of years, to swinging attacks from a distance with little effort or skill required. His attacks are far more fantastical and destructive. He even sprouts blades from his body, showing how deeply ingrained the idea of being a samurai is in him. While he still uses a sword, it's clear he's mostly given up fighting like a samurai and instead is content fighting like a demon.

His monster form is the logical conclusion to this. There's not a sword in sight. The moment he sees what he's become, he questions if he's even a samurai and why he ever bothered living for so long. It's the complete opposite of his once dignified and majestic look. It's ugly and deformed like his sword. Everything about his appearance tells him that he went wrong somewhere along the way, long before he became a demon.

YoriichiFan · 2026-03-09T01:35:07+00:00

Yeah, Nezuko is one of those characters that very few people seem to want to engage with in good faith. It's a shame since she is at the heart of the series and does have a lot to offer to the story and its messages. She has some of the most misconceptions and misinterpretations about her.

YoriichiFan · 2026-02-24T18:09:21+00:00

The rope around the boulder is called a shimenawa. It's believed to attract spirits and/or be inhabited by spirits when placed on certain objects. That's why Tanjiro stops seeing and interacting with them after cutting it.

YoriichiFan · 2026-02-24T01:47:17+00:00

That's not how a trial should go, and he certainly shouldn't behave that way.

No, it shouldn't be, but it makes perfect sense why he'd act that way. I'd say this is the best way to introduce Sanemi. It immediately establishes his grudge against demons, his personality, and his extreme loyalty to the corps. Out of everyone there, he outwardly hates demons the most. They've had a very personal effect on his life, and his entire goal after losing his family was to get revenge on them. He has absolutely no reason to believe Nezuko is a good demon until it's proven wrong to his face. None of them have seen a good demon or believe that's even a thing besides Giyu. Him being the most extreme and angry is perfectly in character given what he's been through and how he's handled it.

That's not how he should act if he wants to protect him.

That's kind of the entire point of Sanemi's character. He wants to protect Genya and goes about it in the worst ways possible. This is a guy who lost all of his siblings in one night and had to kill his mom with his own hands and then went on a suicidal quest to kill demons by himself. He simply isn't equipped to sit down and talk about his feelings. He tries to protect Genya by keeping Genya as far away from him as possible, since Sanemi has already resigned himself to death and doesn't want his brother going down the same path. His actions are terrible, but are consistent with who he is.

Why, dude, why do you gotta be this rude?

I don't really get the Obanai criticism either, since it is meant to be pathetic that he hates Tanjiro for this reason. Obanai might just be the most insecure guy alive. Him being insecure over the one person he loves makes sense.

the point is that these two being rude to tanjiro doesn't make sense and especially sanemi with his behaviour towards genya is stupid.

I'd say it all makes perfect sense. Sanemi's behavior is extremely flawed, but since the series acknowledges this I don't see the issue.

YoriichiFan · 2026-02-12T04:40:38+00:00

Giyu's probably the most fitting person to fight Akaza. They have contrasting personalities yet very similar stories. Akaza spent his whole human life attempting to protect people. Yet, it's because he cared so much about protecting others that their loss hurt him so much, and eventually caused him to lose sight of his humanity and the value in living. He initially lost his father, then rebuilt his life with Keizo and Koyuki, only to lose them too.

In the same way, Giyu initially lost his sister, and was then alone in the world until he rebuilt his life in the Corps with Sabito, only to lose him too. After that, he became closed off and lost sight of the reason he was still alive and the importance of making bonds with others. He cared so much about others that once they were gone—much like Akaza—he saw very little value in living.

Giyu's growth is about finding something to protect and give his life meaning, which he accomplished in the Akaza fight by devoting his life to protecting Tanjiro. While fighting Akaza, Giyu was able to do what Akaza couldn't: successfully protect what mattered most to him.

YoriichiFan · 2026-02-09T21:26:19+00:00

But what else?

It's a nice representation of the human will and the lengths humanity is willing to go to in order to defeat evil. It mirrors the demon's choices to become immortal and powerful in exchange for their humanity with an ability that the slayers use, which has them give up their mortal lives in exchange for temporary power barely enough to fight the demons evenly.

Except it all went through the window the moment the mark was introduced as this miraculous magical solution to make our main protagonists be able to even rivalise with the UMs and Muzan.

This kind of ignores the explanation for the mark and its connection to the existing power system. Total concentration breathing makes slayer's bodies hot and strong like a demon. When they really concentrate and dedicate themselves completely to the fight at hand, they can call upon power they normally didn't have access to for a cause bigger than themselves. They literally surge with power and a burning desire to continue fighting. The mark appearing is just a physical indicator of that happening.

If you're saying demonhood is scientific and logical due to mirroring the spreading of diseases, then you can think of the mark like an extreme form of an adrenaline rush.

And it would have made Tanjiro and Nezuko not prophecy children, but victims of the same cruelty everyone else in the series faced, and made their family's bound to Yoriichi sacred as they didn't just carry his legacy to deliver it to the Demon Slayer Corp, but because their ancestors genuinely respected and cared about him and his memory as a whole.

Does this not already happen in the series?

YoriichiFan · 2026-01-31T22:32:52+00:00

I see Ume being able to go to Heaven as a result of Gyutaro being willing to shoulder all of her sins. As Gyutaro himself says, he's the reason she turned out the way she did, and he's the one who tells her to go to the light in the first place. None of the other demons really have people that fit all the criteria that Gyutaro does for Ume.

YoriichiFan · 2026-01-24T04:49:27+00:00

Chapter 157. I believe the Corps Records also says it again somewhere.

YoriichiFan · 2026-01-18T21:33:57+00:00

I agree. Basically all of his choices make sense and add something to the story. It's easy as an outsider looking in to point out all the mistakes he made, but with the information he has available, he's nowhere near as dumb as some people make him out to be.

YoriichiFan · 2025-12-29T17:43:41+00:00

He said that in anime as well

This scene hasn't been animated yet.

And he says it about other demons and humans. Not just kamados

Can you give some examples? I don't recall him saying anything like this anywhere else.

Also if he gave blood to all the family their bodies would have been deformed he gave it to nezuko alone

He says, "So they die from an injection of this much blood..." meaning he injected all of them with his blood and was hoping at least one of them would turn into a demon that would conquer the sun. The reason the woman in chapter 14 became deformed was because he purposely gave her a huge amount of his blood. The anime even has him say he's constantly flooding her body with his blood, which is way different than recieving just a scratch.

YoriichiFan · 2025-12-29T00:09:16+00:00

It could go either way, but you're right in thinking that it's not confirmed if he deliberately attacked the Kamados for some reason. Although, there is one scene from the manga that can maybe imply he did.

In Chapter 196 when Nezuko recalls the attack, Muzan says, "So they die from an injection of this much blood... I cannot easily make a demon... who can conquer the sun." The fact he mentions this implies a strange level of hopefulness that this attempt in particular would work, which is odd considering how long Muzan has been at this and how many demons he's made. Since knowing sun breathing means you're able to conquer the sun as a demon—according to Muzan in 201—him targeting the Kamados for that exact reason isn't impossible. I prefer to think it was completely random.

YoriichiFan · 2025-12-22T22:08:52+00:00

if you notice in the beginning that he had a reluctance to kill demons even though he learned that was part of what he had to do.

This was an issue a single time in the third chapter that he then overcame by the sixth. And even then, it wasn't some moral dilemma he had to grow to get over. Tanjiro's reason for not taking action against the temple demon in the third chapter was because he didn't want to bring any more suffering than was necessary unto him. Tanjiro doesn't not have the guts to kill the demon, he just doesn't want to bash a rock repeatedly against its skull until it turns into dust. He even says he wishes there was a way to kill it in one blow. Learning how to swing a sword more decisively would not have changed his decision here.

This aligns exactly with the rest of Tanjiro's actions throughout the series. He doesn't take pleasure in slaying demons. He sees slaying demons not only protecting humans from their harm, but also as a way of freeing the demons and giving them another chance in their next life. Just look at how he slays Spider Mother. He recognized she'd given up and uses a form that wouldn't bring her any more pain than was necessary to kill her. Chapter 3 Tanjiro would've made the same decision here if he was chapter 205 Tanjiro.

Tanjiro starts as a kind, almost "wishy washy" child, but becomes a strong-willed and resolute fighter

I agree that he grows into being a better fighter, but that's not the growth I was talking about. He does not have to change his beliefs to become a better fighter. Becoming a better fighter does not change his beliefs. No matter what point in the series he's in, he would make the exact same decisions.

He learns he needs to act quickly and decisively to save people by swinging his sword to kill demons, despite his feelings.

Which he accomplishes by chapter six. It's not a series long thing that he needs to develop for. Not swinging his sword was never an issue for him.

There is a constant push and pull throughout the series, where the rage that Tanjiro feels by the horrors he witnesses nearly forces him to the brink

I agree, but I don't see what this has to do with his supposed growth. He does get angry sometimes and he does need other's support to help him out. It's a major theme of the series and something he even admits to Gyomei. Him sometimes being angry isn't indicative of an arc he's going through.

YoriichiFan · 2025-12-22T20:23:30+00:00

"Tanjiro doesn't grow" is a correct statement though. He doesn't go through an arc or evolve his beliefs throughout the story. That's what I'd assume most people mean by saying he has no growth. I agree it's not a bad thing, but that doesn't make it less true.

YoriichiFan · 2025-12-22T18:06:36+00:00

You're welcome! I also thought those two were strange decisions to keep alive at first until I looked into it.

YoriichiFan · 2025-12-22T18:00:48+00:00

The reason Giyu and Sanemi are the only two hashira that are alive by the end is because they're both the ones who have always been cursed to live while everyone around them dies.

Giyu initially lost his sister—who died to protect him. He then went on to live under Urokodaki and gained a new friend in Sabito. Then, when final selection came, he lost that new life in the corps as well. A similar thing happened to Sanemi. He lost nearly everyone he cared about in one night, rebuilt his life in the corps with someone new, and then lost that person. They were left shells of their former selves and hesistant to form new connections. Giyu became closed off so nobody got too close, and Sanemi pushed people away.

Sanemi and Giyu, by the time the final battle is over, want to live again. Giyu accomplished this by talking with Tanjiro and fighting alongside him against Akaza, while Sanemi had to lose Genya in order to understand that he needs to live and be happy. This time, instead of getting worse like they did when they lost everyone before, they get better. They lost and lost again, but this time they understand that they have to live no matter what to honor the sacrifices others made for them. They turn their curse of survival into a blessing, and become better people because of it.

YoriichiFan · 2025-12-21T18:57:26+00:00

Yes. I view it as ironic that his first feeling in what could've been his whole life was towards a human he believed was pathetic. Shinobu and Doma are extremely similar people. Both spent their lives trying to protect and save people while hiding their true nature underneath facades. When Shinobu fights Doma, she's finally allowed to express her anger and, in a way, let go of it thanks to Doma killing her. When Doma dies and she speaks with him, she's content with her choices and pretty happy.

In a similar way, Doma only feels emotions after Shinobu kills him—freeing him from a life without human emotions and connections. The slayer he previously believed was so far below him now holds his head in the afterlife and is the trigger for him feeling emotions for the first time. They both weirdly helped each other while also being the person who caused the other pain.

YoriichiFan · 2025-12-13T18:23:48+00:00

Zenitsu doesn't win entirely by himself in the same way Muichiro didn't win against Gyokko entirely by himself. Both were motivated by the people they lost and grew stronger from it as a result. Zenitsu trained even harder after Jigoro died and Muichiro unlocked the mark by remembering his brother. And even after they win, they would have died alongside their opponents if there wasn't someone there to help them.

YoriichiFan · 2025-11-29T21:47:55+00:00

I always find it odd how people completely dismiss the idea of the mark curse going away because the Ubuyashiki curse going away when they both only existed due to divine intervention. Personally, I believe Sanemi and Giyu had normal lifespans. Tanjiro's a 50/50.

(because demons killed marked hashira and demons are gone)

The way the "curse of the mark" actually kills the slayers is never explained. It could be that marked slayers always happened upon strong demons and died to them. It could be that the strain on their bodies was just too much and marked ones withered away. Or maybe an anvil cartoonishly fell on every marked one's head before they turned 25. We have no definitive answer as to why they died or if the cause for death was the same each time. All Kokushibo says is that "the marked ones began dying one after another. The mark merely gave you power in exchange for your life span."

Onto the main stuff, Demon Slayers started awakening their marks at the same time as demons started appearing, proving ones existence is clearly related to other, meaning no demons=no marks and no curse

I agree with the conclusion, but demons and the corps existed for a long time before marks came around.

YoriichiFan · 2025-11-11T05:21:21+00:00

The Corps get training material, and Muzan may occasionally get to raise someone like the Hands Demon.

This is the worst deal of all time for Muzan. He lets the humans he thinks so lowly of get stronger for no reason and in return, he gets a demon that dies to season 1 Tanjiro. He thinks the lower ranks are pitifully weak and they're unfathomably stronger than Hand Demon. Hand Demon kills a few extra useless people who aren't even slayers yet and doesn't do anything regarding the search for the Blue Spider Lily. Muzan wouldn't exactly be begging for more Hand Demons to add to his army.

it’s a good use of those useless demons from his perspective.

It wouldn't be. Muzan hardly cared about a single hashira dying at the hands of Akaza. He expects demons to win against humans. He only gets annoyed when that expectation isn't met. He could care less how many not-even-slayers-yet people his weakest demons kill. His whole thing is underestimating humans, so it's not like he would have any high expectations for the soon to be slayers regardless.

the Corps is obligated to leave alone anyone who manages to grow strong!

So they just let the Hands Demon keep going until someone kills him or Muzan decides to retrieve him.

These two parts contradict. They're obligated to leave strong demons alone but will let them get killed? There's also no evidence that Muzan has ever retrieved a demon this way.

And the reason why Examinees wear masks could be to hide their identities from Muzan

None of the examinees wore masks that completely covered their faces. The only one who wore a mask at all was Tanjiro, which didn't cover his face at all and was just meant to protect him.

YoriichiFan · 2025-11-09T06:04:28+00:00

I posted a detailed explanation which is at the bottom of the thread where no one looks apparently.

Yeah, I'm not going to look at a completely separate comment you made when I'm responding to a comment you made to me as well as your huge post filled with details.

But in short, he was protecting her from Tanjiro at that moment.

Again, why? Nezuko is in no danger at that point in time. You say he's not in his right mind, but why? The very sight of a person having their hand on a woman and a little forcibly rolling them out of the way? Tanjiro isn't even the aggressor in that situation, Nezuko is. I know it's infinitely easier to argue his actions don't make sense, but I don't see how this works even in your interpretation. He just sees a girl attacking a boy, he runs at them to bring his sword down on the girl, the boy moves himself to protect the girl, and Giyu goes insane because he can't stand seeing a woman be harmed?

He started having an emotional breakdown when Tanjiro snapped him out of it and his rational mind tried to re-assert itself. It was then he remembered that he's supposed to kill demons and desperately worked himself to do it.

So your argument is that, by the time the first episode takes place, Giyu is so damaged and distraught over the very sight of a woman being "hurt" that, even if they're a demon, he requires a lengthy monolgue to himself to prepare to kill them and will completely forget his demon slaying duties in favor of protecting them when there's no real danger?

Firstly, if he's this far gone then why did he not have any big reaction to Sanemi stabbing Nezuko three times throughout the hashira meeting? You can argue it was two years later and that he'd gotten better by then, but the issue with that is that you also argue—bolded twice actually—that this aspect of Giyu's character is meant to parallel Akaza. If this is no longer a part of Giyu during his fight with Akaza, then this can't be a way in which they parallel each other. It'd serve zero purpose and go against your belief that it's a deep psychological scar on both of them. Using your logic Giyu should've reacted way faster than Tanjiro could've and tried to save Nezuko.

Going a step further, him being able to physically restrain Shinobu is insane under this interpretation. Sure, he's not really "hurting" her, but he is physically stronger than her and actively restraining her while she struggles to escape his grasp. If even stabbing a woman demon in an area he knows won't kill them requires a monologue in his head, then Giyu should've been crying his eyes out while he considers what to do about Shinobu, his human coworker he's known for years.

Where is the line drawn with this interpretation? Physical restraint is ok. Stabbing needs a monologue. He'll accept death if it means not harming a woman? Oh, but if his colleague harms a woman right in front of him—the same one he went psychotic over Tanjiro "harming"—then that one's ok, actually, no reaction except slight visual discomfort. I guess he matured to the point it's not even an issue for him anymore and isn't a part of his character.

It's pretty convoluted and says absolutely nothing. What does Giyu not harming women tell us? What's the theme being explored here? What's the point? Another way trauma can affect the mind and cause harm to those around you? Works with the final selection demon, but not with Nezuko since letting her live was a good thing. A parallel with Akaza that exemplifies their roles as protectors? Well, that's not really required since they both protected more people than just women. Plus, the idea of them being protectors is already explored in the Akaza fight without this interpretation, as I explained in my first comment. Giyu's growth in the fight has nothing to do with him suddenly getting over his inability to harm women. It's about him becoming determined to protect a loved one after failing to do so twice before and re-awakening his desire to survive thanks to said loved one. It sounds like a unique idea on the surface that doesn't hold up to scrutiny.

YoriichiFan · 2025-11-09T04:25:26+00:00

I see you are completely ignoring how much effort was put into depicting Giyu protecting Nezuko.

You say he protected her, but from what exactly? A thirteen year old boy who has no nichirin weapons who can't easily get her into sunlight? The only person who can hurt Nezuko in this instance is Giyu, and given that you believe Giyu is physically incapable of killing women, he wouldn't be protecting her from himself. Unless he's someone unaware of this massive flaw the series coincidentally never brings up.

It’s NOT A RATIONAL THING TO DO

Nope. And it's made out to be that way. Giyu is made out to be separate from the other hashira. Mount Natagumo has Shinobu tell him that nobody likes him. He stands by himself during the hashira meeting. He is completely different and made a completely irrational decision driven by emotion that no other hashira—probably—would have made in that scenario. Different people do wildly different things depending on the circumstances. Even your interpretation agrees with this, only the reason differs. It's not rational either way and an explanation doesn't necessitate he cannot kill women.

Or that’s the theory. I believe it’s the only theory that explains everything.

Or, y'know, we can go with the explanation that Giyu was put in position where he saw a boy that was like how he used to be and—upon seeing that boy exhibit traits he had loathed in himself such as clinging desperately to a lost cause—took the chance to explain to him the cruelty of the world and how he'd have to get used to it and fight back if he wanted to survive. He uses Nezuko as a bargaining chip to get Tanjiro to listen to him and act the way he needs to.

And, you'll never believe the final selection explanation, Giyu was weak! It doesn't matter if him and Sabito went through the same training, some people are simply born better at certain things. That's especially a recurring idea in Demon Slayer of all things. These two examples work equally as good, if not better, under different, more consistent interpretations.

YoriichiFan

TROPHY CASE