When I first started Kimetsu No Yaiba, otherwise known as Demon Slayer, I thought I had an idea about the deaths involved. I mean, I grew up in the era of the Big 3. So, a huge number of deaths in Shounen aren’t all that novel, right? Like, there are plenty of deaths in Naruto Shippuden that hit you harder than a truck in an Isekai anime (Rest In Power, Neji Hyuuga!), so I was prepared, right?

Okay, so who was going to tell me that there are a record 673 deaths in Demon Slayer, from start to finish? I am actually baffled right now, even though in hindsight? It makes sense. Like, there are so many wars and Battle Royale scenarios in Shounen, of course the casualties are, like, in the triple digits. There’s just no way that isn’t the case. But still, six hundred and seventy three deaths? Spoiler Alert: That’s insane. 

And of course, some of those deaths feel much more impactful than others. Like, an unnamed Final Selection aspirant getting culled has nothing on, say, the death of Tanjiro Kamado’s mother, right? But even if you take all the deaths that do matter, or were integral to the plot moving forward, it’s still a high number. Like, the fans weren’t kidding when they said that Demon Slayer is brutal, because consider me overwhelmed. 

But luckily, Kimetsu No Yaiba is a finished manga, meaning all the deaths that were supposed to happen, have already occured. Now it’s just a matter of seeing which one broke us down more. So, today, let’s take a look at all the deaths in Demon Slayer in another segment of Get Ranked! This is going to be a little different than previous Get Ranked sections, as I’ll be grouping some unnamed victims in certain ‘death events’ as one entry, and so on, and so forth. Let’s dive in! 

Eventually, she rotted away from ‘Ume’ disease, but her abuse impacted the children forever.

But confronting her alone was what sealed her fate, as Warabihime revealed her true self to be Daki and killed the poor woman in an act of defiance.

3 of these siblings died young, a product of extremely harsh training, and 4 more died before they turned 15, pitted against each other by Tengen’s father. In the end, it was just Tengen and his younger brother, who ended up becoming like their cruel father. Disgusted, Tengen defected from his clan.  

But the Gyokko we know was actually killed during the Swordsmith Village arc, by Muichiro Tokito, the Mist Hashira. While it felt like Gyokko might’ve had the upper hand at first, Muichiro ended up beating him with the help of Kotetsu.

So, its death was a little trickier than most. But all of their deaths happened at the hands of Tanjiro, using his Water Breathing Techniques. But what was special about Swamp Demon’s death in Demon Slayer was the amount of information we gained. Because this was where we saw the sheer infamy of Muzan Kibitsuji, with the Swamp Demon looking petrified at the mere mention of his name. 

Kamanue was devoured by Muzan in front of the other Demons, as retribution.

So, when her thoughts of fear at being killed by a Hashira came forward, that was the end for her. Muzan also killed her for not putting her service to him above her fear of the Demon Slayer Corps.  

Wakuraba realized what was happening and tried to make an escape thinking that Muzan was distracted while eating Mukago. However, his speed was no match for Muzan, who beheaded Wakuraba as he tried to flee.

Thing is, Rokuro genuinely tried. He said that he’d try to be more powerful, that all he needs is a portion of Muzan’s Demonic Blood to empower him. But it was too little, too late. Muzan took offense at his ‘ordering’ tone and killed the Lower Two Demon without question.

Except that didn’t matter much because he was eventually killed during the Mugen Train arc by Tanjiro and Inosuke Hashibira, who snapped his neck while he was fused to the train itself. 
Unnamed Demon Slayers Killed By Various Demons

Similarly, the amount of Demon Slayers who had laid their lives down in the pursuit of Demons, is many. There were plenty of unnamed Demon Slayers who were killed in action while trying to protect the general public from harm or while they were on a mission. 

Yahaba was the Arrow Demon, a stickler for poise and finesse. Even his killings had to be clean affairs, so naturally he considered Tanjiro an uncouth foe. But this is where he ended up underestimating Tanjiro, leading to his beheading before he could ever achieve his goals. 

She fought alongside Yahaba when it came to their battle with Tanjiro, but her style was much more mocking and playful. However, just like Yahaba, she also failed to kill Tanjiro. But instead of her being killed by Tanjiro, Susamaru was revealed to be manipulated by Muzan, who killed her for her insolence.  

Aboard the Mugen Train, he was found by Kyojuro Rengoku, sent by the Demon Slayer Corps to investigate a string of deaths in the nearby area. Of course, Slasher looked down at him as well, using hostages to further vilify him. But the Flame Hashira is no one to underestimate, proving that fact true when Kyojuro reacted faster than Slasher and beheaded him. 

This one gets points in comedic timing!

While on the prowl for his prey, Kiyoshi, the Tongue Demon comes across Zenitsu and Kiyoshi’s little brother, Shoichi. At first, Zenitsu faints because he didn’t expect the Tongue Demon to look like he did. But in a complete U-Turn, Zenitsu suddenly shoots up to cut out his tongue, his entire demeanor completely changed. He instantly beheads the Tongue Demon with a single use of his Thunder Breathing Technique. 

But Kyogai met his death at the hands of Tanjiro. The Drum Demon would use his Blood Demon Art to corner the young Demon Slayer, but didn’t expect that Tanjiro would be able to evade his maneuvers. But Tanjiro was a gracious winner, complimenting his techniques and giving Kyogai the validation he never got from the King Of Demons.  

Each of the family members died a separate death. The Mother was killed by Tanjiro, while the Father was taken care of by Giyu. The Spider Demon Son was exterminated by Zenitsu, but the last remaining Spider Daughter was killed by Rui himself. 

Afterwards, Gyutaro became an Envious Demon, while Ume became an Urban legend in the Entertainment District, a deadly Oiran known for her hunger and anger. In the end, both siblings were killed by Tanjiro, Zenitsu and Nezuko, aided by Tengen Uzui. 

While Rui looked much younger in age, he made up for his stature by being one of the most terrifying Demons. However, when he faced Tanjiro and Giyu Tomioka, he was outnumbered. Sure, he had exhausted Tanjiro before, but with the help of Giyu, Tanjiro came back swinging.

In the end, death became Rui’s salvation as he was finally given what he longed for in his afterlife: a life with his family. 

However, Muzan turned him into a Demon. And as a Demon, Rui’s hunger grew until he was found devouring someone by his parents. That night, he woke up to his parents trying to kill him, horrified at what their son had become. He hurts them fatally, but they revealed they already planned on following him into the afterlife by killing themselves as well.  

It’s gut wrenching to see children die, but that is on par for Demon Slayer. 

The Flower Hashira was mortally wounded by Doma while on a mission . As she lay dying, she asked her sister, Shinobu, to leave the Demon Slayer Corps, but Shinobu stayed adamant on avenging her sister. 

Sanemi’s mother, Shizu, was married to an abusive man, but she held on for her 7 children. However, one day she went missing and Sanemi found her, but she was turned into a Demon. She returns home, only to be discovered after killing 5 of his siblings. Sanemi had to kill his own mother in the end, left with a Genya who thought him a murderer. 

So, it’s only fitting that he met his end at Zenitsu’s blade. In the Infinity Castle, Zenitsu and Kaigaku are hunting each other out, but then Kaigaku is beheaded by Zenitsu using his Honoikazuchi no Kami technique. 

Nakime’s fate was sealed when she was blindsided by Yushiro. However, realizing that he couldn’t take back Nakime and keep all the Demon Slayers away at the same time, Muzan chose to sacrifice Nakime himself. 

Akaza technically gave up, remembering his past and regretting his action as an Upper Rank Three in the Twelve Kizuki. After realizing he doesn’t want to kill Tanjiro or Giyu, Akaza used his own technique on himself. As he lay there, his body does try to regenerate but eventually gives into the ashes. 

So his death? It’s one of the most satisfying deaths in all of Demon Slayer. While Kanao and Inosuke struggle initially against the powerful Upper Rank Two Demon, Inosuke comes up with a Beast Breathing, Sudden Throwing Strike Technique on the fly, strengthening Kanao’s blades and beheading Doma. 

During the Infinity Castle Arc, Kokushibo finds himself facing the conjoined might of the Shinozugawa brothers, Muichiro and Gyomei Himejima, the Stone Hashira. At first, it looked like he won, but then Gyomei crushed his head with a flail. However, this time Kokushibo could not regenerate, due to Muichiro’s red blade still stuck inside him. And so, he crumbles away.

Of course, we learn Muzan was the killer, who targeted Nezuko as a potential ‘Chosen Demon’ and devoured Tanjiro’s mother and his younger siblings. The only one left alive was Nezuko, transformed into a Demon. We didn’t spend much time with them, but the feeling of disbelief was unreal. 

Of course, we see him enter the afterlife, surrounded by the Monastery kids he left behind. It was a bittersweet end for sure. 

Which is why her death hits so hard. Tamayo makes the prototype for the Anti-Demon Drug and injects it into Muzan. However, it ended up not working and Muzan killed her. But her sacrifice is not forgotten or gone in vain.

Zenitsu’s mentor, Jigoro Kuwajima, ended up committing seppuku once he learned the fate of his senior disciple, Kaigaku and his betrayal to the Demon Slayer Corps. He slowly bled to death, with no one to put him out of his misery. 

It doesn’t end up killing Muzan, but makes him weak enough for the Anti-Demon Drug to be injected into him. This is what opens up the window for his downfall later on, so at least the sacrifice wasn’t in vain. What’s worse is Muzan was probably an ancestor to the Ubayashiki Family.

She was absorbed by Doma, but not only did she warn Kanae about Doma’s fighting techniques, but she had also been experimenting with Tamayo and ingesting Wisteria Flower extract. Which is a poison to Demons, and she was holding a lot of it when Doma consumed her. This led to Doma’s inevitable demise. 

His death was an admirable one, being integral in the downfall of Kokushibo. His unpredictable style throws off Kokushibo long enough to have him get killed, but the price is his own life. As Sanemi watches his younger brother crumble to ashes in front of him, you can’t help but feel alongside him.

I mean, Mitsuru had just realized that she and Obanai loved each other in the Sunrise Countdown Arc, and the two fought valiantly against Muzan, only to be one of the many that ended up being fatally wounded by him. They didn’t even get the time to process the fact that they were soulmates, but they promised to find each other in the next life. 

I mean, how do you not cry over something this heartbreaking? 

Previously we talked about his mother, but the Flame Hashira also astounded everyone he met. I mean, Akaza literally asks him to become a Demon alongside him while they fight, but Kyojuro refuses. In the end, we see Akaza impale Kyojuro’s stomach, and the end is near. But Kyojuro just. Keeps. Fighting. 

He uses his dying breaths to swing the sword and behead Akaza, refusing to surrender. And the wisdom Kyojuro impacts on Tanjiro, asking him to visit Rengoku house, to live with his head held high, even as he’s fading away? God, no wonder people were crying in theaters when the scene happened. 

Literally, a horde of Demon Slayers from every corner was used to push him into the breaking dawn, making him panic and run around finding any out. But of course, this was not meant to be. Sanemi appears, slicing one arm off and demanding him to die. And then Gyomei throws a chain around his neck, forcing him to struggle and burn under the sunlight. He tries digging his way out, only to be stopped by Giyu, Sanemi and Obenai.

But it was Tanjiro, who was initially absorbed when Muzan transformed, that awakened his blade and killed the Demon King from the inside. And so, he crumbled and burnt to ashes in the sun, his reign of terror finally at an end.   

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This has been one of the hardest lists for me to compile, solely because of the sheer volume of lore I had to work with. But I’m pretty sure these are all the deaths in Demon Slayer, from start to finish. If you don’t agree with the ranking, or feel like a character is missing? Sound off below and let us know!