Is Akaza truly evil in Demon Slayer? Explained

Modified Jun 11, 2024 11:30 GMT

Demon Slayer and the question regarding if Akaza is truly evil or not (Image via Ufotable).

Fans of Demon Slayer have mostly wondered about Akaza's nature and whether he is truly good or evil, given his death in the series' final arc. While the demon was introduced as a fairly evil character near the end of the Mugen Train arc, particularly because he was responsible for Rengoku's death, his backstory in the Infinity Castle arc revealed a different side to his character.

Most Demon Slayer manga readers are already familiar with Akaza's life before he became a demon, when he was known as Hakuji, and the tragedies he endured, from his father's death to the murders of his surrogate father figure and his soon-to-be wife. All of these factors contributed to Akaza becoming a far more tragic figure, though it is worth noting that this does not make his actions very justifiable in the grand scheme of things.

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

Akaza's life as a human explored

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Born Hakuji, Akaza was raised in Edo by his sickly father. Hakuji primarily attempted to steal from people in order to pay for his father's medications, which eventually led to his arrest and branding with the tattoos he has become known for, even being labeled a "demon child."

His father eventually passed away, and Hakuji grew resentful of the world, picking up fights with adults until he met a man named Keizo, who was a martial artist and took him under his wing in his dojo after beating the young man in a fight. Keizo hired Hakuji as the nurse for a sick girl he was caring for, Koyuki, and the two began to fall in love and even decided to marry several years later.

However, because of some disputes they had with a rival dojo, the latter poisoned the water Koyuki and Keizo drank, leading to their deaths. Hakuji was enraged by this and killed all of the members of the rival dojo with his bare hands, attracting Muzan's attention and getting the offer to become a demon.

Akaza's life as a demon in Demon Slayer

Akaza in the anime (Image via Ufotable).

As he turned into a demon, Hakuji forgot his human memories and became the individual most people know as Akaza. He became one of Muzan's Upper Moons and showed extreme loyalty to him, which is something that the villain seems to appreciate based on their interactions.

Doma has also stated that Akaza doesn't like to fight or eat women. He always craves fights with powerful opponents instead, which is a running theme of his character. This was shown during his battle with Rengoku, the Flame Hashira, as he proposed for the latter to become a demon so they could fight forever.

Akaza has made this proposal to countless Hashira, but they all rejected it, with the former not understanding why they didn't want to become demons.

Is Akaza good or evil, explained

Akaza fighting in the anime (Image via Ufotable).

A lot of Demon Slayer fans, even those who have read the manga, still wonder if Akaza is good or evil. That is because of the nature of his backstory, which is extremely tragic, and the vast majority of what happened to him wasn't his responsibility.

However, it is worth noting that even if Akaza's life was indeed heartbreaking, he still decided to take the lives of possibly thousands of innocent people for Muzan's cause and even for his own pleasure. It is very likely that most of the people Akaza has killed in Demon Slayer were not responsible for what happened to him, thus making him a noticeable evil person even if his origins are indeed unfair.

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Edited by Babylona Bora