Demon Slayer never gave Tanjiro his biggest test, and it's a sin

Modified Nov 23, 2024 05:31 GMT

Demon Slayer should have given Tanjiro a greater and specific threat (Image via Ufotable).

Demon Slayer has a fairly straightforward plot with a clear separation between the heroes and the villains, which makes the concepts of the demons a bit wasted. While they turn into more violent and sadistic versions of themselves, there have been exceptions to the rule, and one of them being a criminal-eating demon would have been a major test for the protagonist, Tanjiro Kamado.

Tanjiro has a very understandable vendetta against demons because Muzan murdered most of his family, and throughout Demon Slayer defeats several of these beings without being much of a moral conundrum for him. However, a demon of this type with a stronger moral compass would have been an interesting conflict for the protagonist to have and would have even elevated the series' world-building.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the series. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author and not Sportskeeda as a publication.

A criminal-eating demon would have been Tanjiro's biggest test in Demon Slayer

Tanjiro's hatred of demons is a major aspect of his character (Image via Ufotable).

As mentioned earlier, Tanjiro Kamado never truly had to make strong moral decisions when fighting demons in the series. They were mostly evil beings who had lost their humanity and had to be taken down no matter the circumstances, which is a logical process but wastes the possibility of more complex ideas, such as a criminal-eating demon.

When considering that Doma only eats women and that Akaza doesn't eat them, this presents the canon idea that demons can control their urges to a degree if they are of a higher tier of power. Therefore, a powerful demon who controls his or her urges to the point of only eating criminals would be a fascinating foil for Tanjiro Kamado, who stands out because of his kindness and empathy.

If this demon is only eating criminals, it would be interesting to see if Tanjiro's morality would keep him from taking his life. Perhaps individuals such as Sanemi Shinazugawa and Giyuu Tomioka would be a lot more ruthless, but the protagonist is certainly different from them and would have a moral conundrum for that.

More details of this problem

Tanjiro Kamado as seen in the anime (Image via Ufotable).

While Demon Slayer made a very clear distinction between heroes and villains, examples such as Akaza and Doma show a degree of self-control and even humanity within these demons, for better and worse. Therefore, it is a shame that author Koyoharu Gotouge didn't explore this idea with demons, thus giving them a greater sense of variety as antagonists and perhaps even depicting that some of them can have redemption.

Some fans may argue that demons can't be redeemed, but the series still shows their human lives when they are dying, which could be interpreted as a double standard. On the other hand, it is no coincidence that Doma, Akaza, and Kokushibo are often regarded as some of the best characters in the series and are the most complex demons throughout the story.

It is an example of the lack of world-building in the series and is a concept that would have allowed Tanjiro to have greater character development. He certainly had to overcome a major tragedy, but his hatred of demons is never fully challenged.

Final thoughts

Demon Slayer presented Tanjiro with several threats, but a criminal-eating demon could have been a great opportunity to provide more variety and different types of moralities with these beings. Moreover, it would have made Tanjiro's mission statement a lot harder to fulfill in this situation, leading to a tenser conflict.

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Edited by Somava