Demon Slayer: The Biggest Weakness Of Every Upper Moon

The demons of Demon Slayer are powerful monsters that are capable of killing humans with ease, and Kibutsuji Muzan's six Upper Moons are the strongest of them all. Their physical abilities and Blood Demon Arts make them incredibly deadly, allowing them to survive for the last 100 years. Powerful enough to kill multiple generations of Hashira, the Upper Moon demons are the biggest threats in the series outside Muzan himself.

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Despite their immense power level, the Upper Moons were eventually defeated by Tanjiro and the rest of the Demon Slayer Corps. However, while the Corps' efforts played a huge part in this achievement, these battles were ultimately decided by the demons' personal weaknesses, which were often traits from their lives as humans. This list will explain the weaknesses of each Upper Moon and the way it shaped their battle, leading to their eventual death.

Daki and Gyutaro

The Harms Of Codependency

As a demon duo, Daki and Gyutaro seemed to be unstoppable, but behind their flawless teamwork and impressive powers was a fundamental issue: the inequity of their relationship. Since their time as humans, Gyutaro has acted as Daki's caretaker and provider. Not only did this place the brunt of the responsibilities on his shoulders, but it also allowed Daki to be generally carefree and irresponsible. This resulted in their egregious difference in strength as demons.

Due to their codependency, both siblings made mistakes at key moments in their fight against the slayers during the Entertainment District arc. Instead of confirming Tengen's death, Gyutaro chose to save his sister from Inosuke. Due to her confidence in her brother, Daki let her guard down, giving Zenitsu and Inosuke time to recover. While these aren't the only factors that led to their deaths, their complex relationship played a huge role in the outcome of the battle.

Kaigaku

The Rookie Demon

In the final arc, former Thunder Breathing user Kaigaku takes up the role of Upper Moon Six after being defeated and offered Muzan's Blood by Kokushibo. By combining his swordsmanship with a powerful electricity-based Blood Demon Art, he became a very strong demon, but despite this increase in strength, he still lost to Zenitsu in the Infinity Castle arc. However, this doesn't mean he's weak.

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Yushiro explains later that the only reason Zenitsu won that fight was because Kaigaku hadn't fully learned to use his Blood Demon Art. If he had just one more year to learn his new abilities, he would have been able to kill Zenitsu in an instant. Although he was incredibly arrogant and rude, Kaigaku's biggest weakness as a demon was his lack of experience.

Gyokko

An Artist's Pride

Overconfidence is the bane of many villains, and in Demon Slayer, Gyokko is its primary victim. Due to his identity as an artist and his placement as Upper Moon Five, Gyokko is incredibly proud of his physique and abilities, especially his Blood Demon Art, which is extremely powerful. However, this causes him to make plenty of mistakes and underestimate his enemies, leaving him open to counterattacks and defenseless. For example, he leaves Muichiro alone after trapping him, assuming the slayer would eventually die.

Gyokko's pride and confidence in his art makes him waste time promoting his own work and praising himself, giving enemies the opportunity to plan and strategize. It also makes him incredibly easy to anger, causing him to act in an impulsive and predictable manner. Muichiro was able to defeat him after awakening his Slayer mark and goading him into haphazard attacks.

Hatengu

It's A Numbers Game

Of the Upper Moons, Hantengu's weakness is probably the most obvious. It's clear by his rank that he holds great power, but instead of harnessing that power himself, he chooses to divide it into clones instead to escape direct confrontation. While the clones are still very strong, after splitting multiple times, their power level drops drastically, so they must rely on numbers to defeat their opponents. However, against multiple high-level enemies, that wouldn't be a problem.

Splitting himself also leaves his core extremely vulnerable and unable to protect itself, allowing most skilled breath-users to swiftly decapitate him if given the chance. The characters present during the Swordsmith Village arc only struggle due to a lack of information and strong fighters. If even one more Hashira (or Zenitsu or Inosuke) had been present, Hantengu would likely have been defeated much more easily.

Nakime

Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind

Compared to Hantengu's Blood Demon Art, Nakime's abilities are much simpler, but they're still quite powerful. Using a biwa, she is able to manipulate the space of the Infinity Castle, moving platforms, doors, and other objects with the pluck of a string. This makes her completely unstoppable inside the Castle, where she can easily trap people by using a well-timed door. However, she can only manipulate what she can see.

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After having her powers expanded, this became less of a problem, but she's still limited by her reaction time. She was able to stall against Iguro and Mitsuri, but with enough distractions or threats, it'd be much easier to approach her. Characters who have great speed, like Zenitsu, would also be able to catch her off guard. In the end, she is defeated by Yushiro who uses his Blood Demon Art to turn invisible, making her powers essentially useless.

Akaza

The Consequences Of His Actions

In terms of pure fighting ability, Akaza is probably the second strongest among the Upper Moons, and in his battle against Giyu and Tanjiro, he was primed to win. He reached a point where his body could act without his head, and his regeneration improved significantly, which would have allowed him to kill the weakened slayers. However, that didn't happen because he regained his memories, recalling the details and regrets of his past.

While it can be said that Akaza lost the fight when Tanjiro decapitated him, that alone didn't end the battle. Akaza's greatest flaw was actually his overwhelming hatred of his own weakness, and if he hadn't felt that way, he would likely have recovered and continued fighting. Instead, he lost his will to fight and chose to kill himself as a means of atoning for his life as a demon and all the harm he'd caused.

Doma

A Lack Of Empathy

By Muzan's standards, Doma was the perfect demon, a creature lacking humanity capable of killing and eating others without issue, and with his icy Blood Demon Art, he was the natural counter to all slayers. Unfortunately, his psychopathic nature not only made him annoying, but also served as his primary weakness. Having been born without the ability to empathize, Doma was never able to understand others, whether they were friend or foe.

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While this trait made him an incredible killer, it also made him prone to underestimating his opponents. His defeat at the hands of Kanao and Inosuke is the result of him failing to understand Shinobu's genius and determination. While he knew of her hatred for him, he could never understand the depths of her feelings, which motivated her to act as a sacrifice for his death.

Kokushibo

An Unfulfilled Dream

As the oldest Upper Moon and a trained samurai, Kokushibo is the third-strongest character in the series behind Yoriichi and Muzan. However, despite having an incredible fighting style and the benefits of demon stamina and strength, he was still defeated by the current generation of slayers. It should have been an easy battle for him to win, but in the end, it was his own insecurities that led to his undoing.

At the moment he overcame death by decapitation, Kokushiba witnessed his true monstrous form, and at the same time, his mental fortitude faltered. Similar to Akaza, he questioned his choice to become a demon, and realizing his inferiority complex took him down the wrong path, he was unable to recover mentally. Although he wanted to continue fighting, the lapse in willpower left him unable to regenerate, causing him to die.