With its impressive storyline and breathtaking visuals, the Demon Slayer series has secured its position as one of the Big Three in the anime.
The whole series is great and has some of the greatest and strongest characters of all time having their unique strengths and powers.
Here are the top 20 strongest characters ranked from the strongest to the least.
1. Yoriichi Tsugikuni
Tsugikuni Yoriichi is one of the major supporting characters in the demon slayer series and the legendary Demon Slayer, who lived nearly five hundred years ago during the Sengoku Era.
He is considered to be a legendary Demon Slayer because he is the one who created the first ever Breathing Style, which would eventually become the Hinokami Kagura or the Sun Breathing.
Yoriichi was the younger brother of Michikatsu Tsugikuni, who later became a demon and joined the Twelve Kizuki. Not only is he the pioneer of all the known breathing styles to date but also he is also a great swordsman, who can perform all his thirteen forms with great accuracy and precision.
He is known as the greatest and strongest character in the series also because of his Demon Slayer Mark, which he was born with, while others had to awaken it by going through some extreme conditions.
Besides his natural mark, he also had the ability to access the Transparent World at a very young age and was able to defeat the great demon king, Muzan. Despite his extreme age and apparent blindness, he quickly gained the upper hand in battle in one move, even cutting his brother’s throat before he died on his feet.
2. Muzan Kibutsuji
Muzan Kibutsuji is the Demon King, the first of his kind and the forerunner of all other demons. As expected from the Demon King, Muzan is cold-hearted, ruthless, and intimidating but also exceptionally intelligent.
Being the leader of the Twelve Kizuki, an organization of the twelve strongest demons in existence, Muzan is exceptionally powerful. Just behind the creator of the Breathing Techniques, Yoriichi, Muzan demonstrates a wide variety of powers and abilities that are able to take down even the strongest Hashiras.
Throughout the series, Muzan has displayed his ability to absorb, assimilate and dissolve organic and inorganic objects. Also, when on the battlefield, he can adopt a more monstrous form with dark red scales covering most of his body.
The battle form even gives him sharp-toothed wide mouths all over his body, making him more scary and powerful. He was able to obtain all these powers through the experimental treatment, which allowed him to develop blood with unique mutagenic properties, that can transform humans into creatures known as demons.
Muzan is capable of controlling and manipulating demon physiology with molecular precision with his supernatural abilities, called the Blood Demon Arts. So, he is invulnerable to almost everything making him one of the strongest characters in the series.
3. Kokushibou
If anybody could come closer to the top two strongest characters of the series, Yoriichi and Muzan, it’s Kokushibou. He is the Upper-Rank One of the Twelve Kizuki and also the archenemy of his younger twin brother, Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
His real name is Michikatsu Tsukiguni, and he is the elder brother of the first Sun Breathing User, Yoriichi Tsugikuni. He is also the right-hand man of the Demon King, Muzan Kibutsujii.
Just this would be enough to consider him the strongest, but he is also speculated to be the memeber of the Breathing Style user because he is very skilled and created his own breathing style derived directly from the Sun breathing, also known as the Moon Breathing.
He is a mighty demon and an excellent swordsman. As one of the oldest demons in the series, he has fought many demon hunters and was easily able to defeat two of the greatest Hashiras.
Because of his demon physiology, he possessed a high level of strength and reflexes, which allowed him to go against the Demon slayer corps, easily crush two Hashiras and even go up against the strongest among them, Gyomei.
4. Gyomei Himejima
Gyomei Himejima is the most skilled Stone Breathing user, earning him the title of Stone Hashira. Despite his blindness, he is a very capable warrior. His heightened sense of hearing proves to be very advantageous to him on the battlefield.
Unlike other Hashiras, Gyomei wielded a Spiked Flail attached to an axe with chains, making his fighting style unique. In his fight against Kokushibo, he unleashed such attacks that his Stone breathing was a match to the demon’s Moon breathing.
As a Hashira he was a very skilled warrior that even Kokushibo was impressed by his abilities. He also remarked that he had not encountered a warrior like Gyomei in the past three hundred years.
During the fight, Gyomei was able to go up against the second-strongest demon for a short moment without his Demon Slayer Mark, which further revealed the extent of his skills.
On top of being the strongest, he is also the tallest member of the Corps. Although having a big physique, he has a soft side to him as well, earning him the name,” Gentle Giant.” He has a very caring and kind personality and is often given the role of leader.
5. Doma
Doma is a demon affiliated with the Twelve Kizuki, holding the second highest position, Upper-Rank Two. Taking such an elite spot in the Twelve Kizuki, Doma is considered to be the third most powerful demon in the series.
As the holder of the second highest position in the Twelve Kizuki, Doma is an extremely powerful demon with a high level of combat skills and powerful cryokinetic Blood Demon Art.
His combination of fighting techniques and skills is what makes him a force to reckon with. With his abilities, she was even able to defeat Shinobu, the insect Hashira without much difficulty. Interestingly, he was the same demon who defeated her sister, Kanae Kocho, the former Flower Hashira.
Although there is a difference of one rank between him and Akaza, his power levels are on an exceptional level and are exponentially greater. As such, his martial arts skills even surpass Akaza’s bare fists.
He is the upper rank for nothing as with his Demon Art, he can unleash a wide range of techniques for offense and defense. The ice he creates from his blood Demon Art is poisonous and lethal to those who come in contact with it.
6. Sanemi Shinazugawa
Just behind the strongest Hashira is one of the major supporting characters of the series, Sanemi Shinazugawa. Being a Hashira, he is considered one of the most skilled combatants.
Sanemi earned the title of the Hashira after he defeated the former Lower Rank One, Ubume. Along with his excellent physical abilities, he also uses Wind Breathing.
He is believed to be the most skilled Wind Hashira of his generation. Even Kokushibo stated that Sanemi’s Wind Breathing reminded him of the First Wind Hashira during the Sengoku Era. This proved that his skills were indeed at their peak and unmatched.
He carried a Jagged patterned Nchirin Sword resembling a beast’s jaw. As a Hashira, his sword skills were genuinely unmatched. According to Kokushibo, Sanemi’s physical skills and techniques have peaked. Also, Sanemi’s blood is one of the rarest blood types, making it highly toxic to demons.
Because the demons killed many people that he loved and cared about, he developed an intense hatred toward them demons. This hatred can be seen as the driving force for Sanemi’s exceptional powers.
So, when he was first introduced to Nezuko, he was against keeping her alive. But later in the series, we can see his soft side as he gently places his hand on Nezuko and smiles gently.
He had a younger brother, Genya Shinazugawa, who joined the Demon Slayer Corps. Later on, during the fight with Kokushibo, he was killed.
7. Akaza
Akaza is a demon affiliated with the Twelve Kizuki, holding the third highest position, Upper-Rank Three. He is a mighty demon, as he was quickly able to defeat the Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku, along with other Hashiras, as well as countless Demon Slayers in the past.
Akaza possesses incredible abilities and powers along with his martial arts prowess, which can outmatch the swordsmanship of even the most skilled Demon Slayers. He has the ability to sense fighting spirit, which allows him to predict his opponent’s attacks and sense their weakness.
His unique abilities gave him a great advantage on the battlefield making him highly unbeatable and defeating more powerful opponents on equal terms. Even when Giyu used his demon Slayer Mark and Tanjiro used his Dance of the Fire God, Akaza was able to go up against them with ease.
As an Upper-Rank demon, Akaza’s body is exceedingly durable as he harbors an extremely high concentration of Muzan’s blood. During his fight with Kyojuro, the latter had trouble cutting various parts of Akaza’s body despite using a katana and possessing superhuman physical strength, showcasing Akaza’s immense durability.
8. Tanjiro Kamado
Tanjiro Kamado is one of the Demon Slayers in the Demon Slayer corps, who joined the Corps to find a remedy to turn his sister, Nezuko Kamado, back into a human and to hunt down the demon who was responsible for the annihilation of his family.
From the very start, Tanjiro can be seen to be an impressive fighter, standing up for his sister when Giyu tried to kill her as she was turned into a demon. Even before joining the corps, Tanjiro demonstrated exceptional skills such as a heightened sense of smell, immense willpower, and great intelligence.
With his impressive skills, he was able to convince Giyu, who sent him to his master believing he could surpass him and grow even stronger, which he was able to do under the guidance of Sakonji Urokodaki.
During the training, he was able to meet the spirits of Makomo and Sabito, who trained him to properly utilize Total Concentration Breathing and hone his swordsmanship skills. Throughout the series, he honed his skills and was able to go up against many upper-rank demons like Daki, Gyurari, and even the Demon King himself.
He already had supernatural abilities, and by perfecting the breathing techniques he was able to awaken his Demon Slayer marks, and was able to defeat many powerful demons throughout the series.
9. Giyu Tomioka
Giyu Tomioka is the Water Hashira and one of the strongest Hashira in the Demon Slayer Corps. He is actually the first Hashira that we are introduced to. Before becoming a Hashira, Giyu used to train with the Former Water Hashira, Sakonji Urokodaki, in order to become a Demon Slayer.
After defeating the Father Spider Demon, a member of the Twelve Kizuki, Giyu moved up to the rank of the Hashira. Being an excellent swordsman among the Hashiras, Giyu carried a deep blue-colored Nichirin Katana. Even the Upper-Rank Three demon, Akaza complimented Giyu’s swordsmanship skills.
The higher-ranked demon, Akaza was amazed by Giyu’s skills to the point that he even offered the Hashira to transform him into a demon, which Akaza only offered to the most worthy of his opponents.
Along with his swordsmanship, Giyu possessed high physical strength and mastered all forms of Water Breathing techniques as well. He might be the strongest, but he suffered from Survivor’s guilt and often wondered about his existence.
10. Muichiro Tokito
Despite being only 14 years old, Muichiro Tokito became a Hashira and ranked among the top five strongest Hashira of all time.
Muichiro Tokito, The Mist Hashira, was considered to be one of the most powerful and skilled combatants along with being a child prodigy. Within two months of joining the Corps, he was promoted to the rank of Hashira. Furthermore, he also mastered the Mist Breathing Sword Style.
Just like other Hashiras, Muichiro carries a Nichirin Katana that is white in color. On the later arcs, his sword changed color to a bright red, with the help of his Demon Slayer Mark. Muichiro’s Katana has the words Destroy Demons(惡あっ鬼き滅めっ殺さつ Akki Messatsu) engraved on the blade.
With his Demon Slayer Mark, Muichiro defeated, Gyokko, Upper-Rank Five, all by himself. This shows that even at a young age, he was already strong enough to take on high-level opponents. Sadly, Muichiro dies during his fight with Kokushibo, Upper-rank One.
Kokushibo happened to be Muichiro’s Ancestor.
11. Kyojuro Rengoku
Kyojuro Rengoku is the Flame Hashira and one of the strongest combatants in the Demon Slayer Corps. Along with mastering Flame Breathing, he had excellent skills and abilities. He wields a red Nichirin Blade, made specially from scarlet ore, and has the words, “Destroyer of demons” engraved in it.
After his father, Shinjuro Rengoku, the former Flame Hashira, stopped training him, he started to train on his own. By training hard enough, he was able to join the Demon Slayer Corps and quickly attain the rank of a Hashira.
He valued human life very dearly and always had a belief, that the stronger ones must protect the weaker ones. He followed his belief to the very end, as he fought against Akaza, Upper rank Three, in order to protect Tanjiro and his friends.
Just like Giyu, Akaza was very much impressed with Kyojuro’s strength that he even suggested, the hashira become a demon so that he could transcend his human limits and become stronger, which Akaza only offered to swordsmen, whose abilities, in his opinion, were perfected.
12. Nezuko Kamado
Nezuko Kamado was the little sister of Tanjiro, who was turned into a demon after the annihilation of her family by the Demon King, Muzan. Although she was not the memeber of the Twelve Kizuki, she was still a very powerful demon.
Her fighting style mainly revolved around the use of her powerful legs and sharp nails along with her Blood Demon Arts. Her most prominent trait was her extraordinary growth rate, which was possibly due to the high amount of blood she receive from Muzan when he turned her into a demon.
Also, even though Nezuko is a demon, she doesn’t consume human blood to survive and her Blood Demon Arts often makes her fall asleep so she doesn’t use it as often. In many battles, she was able to defeat her enemies despite being overwhelmed by them in the beginning.
Considering the fact that she had an immense amount of blood given to her by Muzan, she was an extremely powerful demon who defeated her enemies by increasing her own physical capabilities, enhancing her regeneration, or developing her own Blood Demon Art in dire situations.
So, just like any other Upper Ranked demon, Nezuko was an exceptional demon. With her demonic abilities and supernatural physical strengths, she was also skilled enough to fight back the likes of the powerful demons.
13. Zenitsu Agatsuma
Although Zenitsu is portrayed as a kid always crying and in a constant state of anxiety, he is one of the strongest characters in the series. At first look, Zenitsu looks like a timid kid, always trying to run away from trouble but he is an extremely powerful character.
From the very beginning, Zenitsu showcased his potential and skills as a Demon Slayer though he denied it. However, Zenitsu’s true strength only awakened when he was asleep because that was when the nerves that normally suppressed his true strengths gave out.
Zenitsu was also able to advance to the highest point of the Hashira training and had a very heightened sense of hearing. Using his skills and powers he was able to instantly decapitate the Tongue Demon and defeat the Son Spider Demon by himself.
His true strength seemed to manifest when he was able to fight while awake. Not only did he gain superhuman strength but was also able to go against the new Upper-Rank Six, Kagaku, and also decapitated him.
It wasn’t an easy feat to achieve as he also sustained several severe injuries, but taught by the very best former Thunder Hashira, Jigoro Kuwajima, Zentisu had immense powers and he also came up with his own Thunder Breathing Technique; Seventh Form: Honoikazuchi no Kami.
14. Gyutaro
Gyutaro was Daki’s older brother and a demon affiliated with the Twelve Kizuki, holding the position of the Upper-Rank Six as the primary holder of the position, a position he shared with his younger sister Daki.
He was an extremely powerful demon from a very young age his potential and skills were very impressive. Even as a child with no combat training, he managed to defeat an adult swordsman by himself.
Gyutaro was the true Upper Rank six and an immensely strong demon with over a century worth of combat experience under his belt. With his strengths, he was able to slay fifteen Hashiras in the past, and some of the strongest and most skilled Demon Slayers.
When he went up against one of the strongest Hashiras, Tengen Uzui, he was able to easily defeat him by severely injuring him. Even when the battle turned in the favor of the Demon Slayers, he quickly managed to take control of the situation and overwhelm them.
Despite being killed in the battle, Gyutaro still managed to severely injure them and crush them. Unique to other demons, Gyutraro possessed a rather abnormal trait, which was that he and his sister shared a single body. However even though, he remained inactive for the majority of the time, he was still more powerful than his sister who was an active predator.
15. Daki
Daki was a demon affiliated with the Twelve Kizuki, and the secondary holder of the position of Upper-Rank Six, a position she shared with her older brother, Gyutaro, who was the primary holder of the position.
Even though she was the secondary holder of the Upper Rank six, she was a very powerful demon, whom Muzan personally recognized as a special Demon. Her powers were in the top-ranked demons as she was able to kill and eat seven Hashira’s in the past, which ended up amplifying her strength.
She possessed all the powers that were common with the Demons like supernatural strengths, regeneration, and even Blood Demon Arts. However, she also possessed the ability to manipulate her own hair, possibly as an extension of her shapeshifting and flesh manipulation abilities.
Turning her hair into a weapon she was able to showcase her incredible powers when she went up against the demon slayers. She was able to detach her flesh in the form of a conscious Obi stash, strong enough to hold off strong attacks from opponents.
Although her rank and position among the Moons were only due to her brother’s powers, which enhanced her own, even when weak and injured she was a force to be reckoned with.
16. Obanai Ishiguro
Having an intimidating look, with a serpent around his neck and heterochromia, makes our Serpent Hashira, Obanai Iguro stand out from the crowd. Not to mention, despite his looks he is still one of the strongest Hashira in the series.
Despite being blind in one eye and having a smaller physique, Obanai has a superhuman level of speed and senses. He even mastered the Serpent Breathing style, giving him the title of the Serpent Hashira. However his disabilities didn’t stop him, and finally, he was able to obtain the Hashira Position.
He wields a lavender-colored Twisted Nichirin Sword, which resembles that of a serpent. Aside from being good with swords, he also developed a combat technique using his snake, Kaburamaru. He used Kaburamaru’s abilities to read and predict targets’ attacks, which helped him a lot on the battlefield.
Obanai has a harsh and cold nature, often being strict even with his fellow members. Despite that, he is helping out his comrades on the battlefield and mercilessly killing any enemies that try to attack them.
17. Hantengu
Hantengu is a demon affiliated with the Twelve Kizuki, holding the position of Upper-Rank Four he is also considered to be one of the strongest demons. His main specialty is his Blood Demon Art, which allows him to create four clones of himself.
The clones were very special kind as all of them possessed the same caliber of strength as an Upper-Rank Demon and were able to hold off and overwhelm the combined efforts of some trained warriors like Tanjiro and Nezuko.
Further when his clones fused into one form, Zohakuten, Hantengu was able to face off against some of the strongest Demon slayers and one of the strongest Hashiras like Mitsuri Kanrioju.
Even one of the skilled demon slayers, Genya stated that Hantengu was particularly difficult to defeat as Demon Salyers would have to play cat and mouse, looking for the main body while being chased down by four Upper Rank-level demons.
Additionally, his clones which possessed incredible physical strength and durability, never died as long as the main body is still alive, making it nearly impossible to fight and defeat Hantengu alone.
18. Nakime Otokawa
Initially, Nakime was a demon, who served to summon other demons to the Infinity Castle on Muzan Kibutsuji’s command but after the death of Hantengu, she got promoted to the position of Upper-Rank Four.
She didn’t display much in terms of fighting abilities, but as the Upper Rank four of the Twelve Kizuki, she was an extremely powerful demon. Using her small eyeball familiars, she was able to track down the Demon Salyers and even determine their locations and hideouts.
Also, just like any other demon, she was able to use her Blood Demon Art with which she was able to prevent attacks from opponents and even stall two Hashiras without even taking small damage to her.
She was often complimented by Muzan for her rapid growth. So, although she was not as active as the other Upper Moons, she still had great abilities that made her superior to the rest in terms of utility and strength.
Furthermore, she was also able to control and manipulate an entire fortress at will as if they were her limbs.
19. Inosuke Hashibara
Raised by a wild boar, after losing his mother to the attacks of the Upper Ranked demon Doma, Inosuke Hashibara is regarded as one of the strongest characters in the series. Sporting a Boar mask, Inosuke is a member of the Demon Slayer Corps and uses his self-made sword-style Beast Breathing.
Before joining the Demon Slayer Corps, Inosuke grew up in the mountains and trained by himself. He was a very skilled and talented swordsman as he was able to learn Total Concentration Breathing on his own and develop his very own Breathing Style.
Since he was taken in by a wild boar and grew up with them, he adopted their habits and started incorporating them into his fighting styles. As a result, even his combat style and swordsmanship style was very similar to that of animals and beasts.
Thanks to his self-training that he did with his own instincts and upbringing in the mountains, he even passed the Final Selection to become a Demon Slayer all without formal training. He was more than capable of hunting and slaying demons on his own as he was able to kill powerful demons such as the Horned Demon without any trouble.
Furthermore, he has proved his extraordinary strengths time and again by going up against some of the strongest demons of the Twelve Kizuki, including Upper-Rank Six, Gyutaro, and Daki as well as the much stronger Upper-Rank Two, Doma.
He is also a great fighter as he has inhuman senses such as an incredible sense of touch, superhuman flexibility, and a natural aptitude for combat. With such impressive abilities, he was even able to fend off the Demon King, Muzan along with his fellow Demon Slayers.
20. Shinobu Kocho
The current insect Hashira, Shinobu Kocho, is one of the strongest characters in the series. With her abilities as a Hashira, she is able to defeat many demons during her time in the Demon Slayer Corps.
She joined the Corps after a demon killed her family. Relying on her intellect and creativity, Shinobu uses the Insect Breathing style to decapitate the demons. Since she doesn’t hold power in her physical strengths as that of the other Hashiras, she uses a modified version of Katana, that injects lethal Wisterai Poison into the Demon’s body.
Often she is shown having a calm and composed look on her face. She even talks very calmly to the demon and shows empathy to them, only to kill them slowly with her lethal poison. Turns out the look on her face is just a facade and deep down she is burning with hatred toward the demon.
Shinobu carries a heavily modified, Lavender blue, Stinger Nichirin Katana as her weapon, with the words Evil Demons engraved in it. Though the Katana is not strong enough to cut through the demons, it is used to inject the poison as is equally powerful.
Because of her weak physical strength and weak Katana, she is considered the lowest among the Hashiras but that doesn’t mean she is weak.
These are some of the strongest characters in the whole series with Yoriichi being the strongest out of them, who has not yet been matched.
