Demon Slayer’s latest episode shows the full strength of the creepiest Upper Moon

Demon Slayer has been firing on all cylinders with its third season, and one of the biggest selling points of the series has always been the Upper Moons. Antagonist Muzan Kibutsuji has surrounded himself with centuries-old demons with tremendous power. Now, two of them have assaulted the Swordsmith Village, the place where the swords of the Demon Slayer Corp are done, leading to a massive confrontation with protagonist Tanjiro Kamado and his allies.

However, there is also no denying that the creepiest Upper Moon in Demon Slayer is the one that has been fighting the Mist Hashira Tokito, Gyokko. Due to its appearance and the way it operates, its slithery nature lends itself to that, but now he has proven that he is much more than that, going full strength against Tokito in the process.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the third Demon Slayer season.

---

Demon Slayer's latest episode shows what Gyokko is capable of

Tanjiro and Genya are dealing with the other Upper Moon, Hantengu, and his clones, and the Love Hashira, Mitsuri, is dealing with many of the demons that are invading the Swordsmith Village. At the same time, Mist Hashira, Tokito, is left to fight with the Upper Moon, Gyokko. And this, at least at the moment for anime-only viewers, has proven to be quite disastrous.

Tokito was also with two swordsmiths that promised to hand him the sword that they forged specifically for him so he could fight in top condition, but they are attacked by demons and Gyokko as well. Then the Upper Moon decides to show how he tortures his victims and the way he revels in that.

This is where his creepiest ability is shown: another vase is shown the dismembered bodies of several smiths from the village, connected by a sword that is having them in tremendous pain. Gyokko starts twisting the sword to torture them a bit more, causing one of the smiths with Tokito to cry and Tokito himself to attack enraged.

This, however, proves not to be the best idea at the moment.

Another ability of Gyokko is that he can go from one vase to another, much to Tokito’s annoyance. As the battle ensues, and Tokito has a sudden flashback of a painful memory of his youth, Gyokko shows yet another ability that proves to be deadly: a water prison cages the Mist Hashira, and the Upper Moon enjoys knowing that he will die in suffocation.

---

Final thoughts

Gyokko has put Tokito in check (Image via Ufotable).

Demon Slayer is entering a period of the source material that is quite exciting, and the first couple of episodes of this season are certainly delivering on that promise in the Swordsmith Village arc.

In that regard, Gyokko is proving to be quite the foil for the heroes, and Tokito, a generational genius of the Demon Slayer Corp, who became a Hashira while being younger than Tanjiro, has been struggling massively in this battle so far.

However, there are also those that are manga readers and know full well what Gyokko’s fate is going to be, but that doesn’t mean that the character hasn’t left a massive impression so far.

When it comes to appearance, abilities, and sheer sadism, there is no denying that Gyokko has proven to be the creepiest and most disturbing Upper Moon in what has been seen in Demon Slayer, at least as far as the anime has gone.