Demon Slayer Tier List: Strongest Characters Ranked

Yoriichi Tsugikuni is the strongest character in Demon Slayer. Alone, he cut a healthy Muzan apart, and Muzan survived only by scattering his body and fleeing (chapter 187). Muzan is the strongest demon, followed by the Upper Ranks in their official order: Kokushibo, Doma, then Akaza. Gyomei Himejima is the strongest Hashira. Below those fixed points, any tier list is opinion, so ours is labelled as our read and tied to the manga chapters and anime episodes where each fighter proves themselves.

Last checked: September 23, 2026 against VIZ Media's English chapter and volume pages, Shueisha's volume summaries, and the official Demon Slayer anime site.

Full manga spoilers. The anime has adapted the story through the first Infinity Castle film, which ends with Akaza's defeat. Doma's death, the Kokushibo battle and the fight with Muzan are not animated yet. For adaptation status, see the Infinity Castle movie guide.

Demon Slayer tier list at a glance

Our read, based on each character's peak demonstrated performance in the finished manga.

Top 15 strongest Demon Slayer characters

Chapter numbers follow the Shueisha/VIZ numbering (205 chapters in 23 volumes). Episode numbers count within each anime arc.

How we ranked

• Peak demonstrated ability. A power-up counts only if the character reaches it in the story (a Mark, a red blade, the Transparent World). Potential doesn't count.
• Team wins are team wins. Most late-series kills are group efforts. We credit who created the openings, but a shared victory doesn't mean each participant beat the demon alone.
• Upper Rank numbers stand unless the story clearly overturns them. Muzan assigns the ranks, and nothing in the manga contradicts Kokushibo over Doma over Akaza.
• Matchups matter but don't decide everything. Poison, sunlight and Sanemi's rare Marechi blood can swing one fight without changing a character's overall level.

S+ and S: Yoriichi and Muzan

Yoriichi Tsugikuni was born with the Mark and the Transparent World, and he created Sun Breathing, the first Breathing style, from which all the others descend. In the flashback in chapter 187, he reads Muzan's body with the Transparent World, cuts him apart faster than he can regenerate, and leaves the Demon King no option but to burst into fragments and run. No other slayer ever corners Muzan alone or at full strength.

Muzan Kibutsuji is the progenitor of every demon. The final generation doesn't beat him in a straight fight. Tamayo injects him at the cost of her life, and Shueisha's volume 23 summary describes her four drugs weakening him and driving him into a corner. The surviving Hashira and slayers then pin him in place until sunrise (chapters 199–200, "Millennial Dawn" and "The Price of Victory"). Mitsuri, Obanai and Gyomei die in this battle. That price is why he sits alone in S tier.

A tier: Kokushibo, Doma, Gyomei, Akaza

Kokushibo (Upper Rank One) was once Michikatsu Tsugikuni, Yoriichi's older twin, and fights with Moon Breathing and a sword grown from his own flesh. VIZ calls him the most powerful of Muzan's demons (volume 20). It takes two marked Hashira, Muichiro's sacrifice and Genya's demon-eating ability to finish him, and even after being beheaded he regenerates. He finally crumbles when he sees his monstrous reflection in Sanemi's blade (volume 20). Muichiro is a descendant of Kokushibo's human family, not of Yoriichi.

Doma (Upper Rank Two) uses ice-based Blood Demon Art that damages the lungs of anyone who breathes it in. He kills and absorbs Shinobu (chapters 141–143). Her body was loaded with wisteria poison, and it slows his regeneration enough for Kanao and Inosuke to behead him (chapters 161–163). The VIZ volume 17 page sets up the fight. Our read: he stays above Akaza on rank. Placing him above Gyomei is a judgment call, because Doma never fights a marked Hashira.

Gyomei Himejima (Stone Hashira) is the one human near this tier. The anime's Hashira Training Arc names him outright in episode 6, "The Strongest of the Demon Slayer Corps," and his training in chapter 135 ("Himejima Hell") backs it up. Against Kokushibo he fights with a chained spiked flail and axe instead of a sword. He awakens his Mark at 27, although Kokushibo points out that Mark bearers die by 25, and reaches the Transparent World. Kokushibo praises him as the best swordsman he has seen in about 300 years (chapters 169–170, "The Immovable Hashira"). Our read: he ranks above Akaza because he holds off Upper Rank One, a harder task than the fight Tanjiro and Giyu win against Upper Rank Three.

Akaza (Upper Rank Three) is a martial artist rather than a swordsman. His Destructive Death: Compass Needle reads an opponent's fighting spirit. He kills Rengoku in the Mugen Train fight (chapters 63–66; Mugen Train Arc episodes 6–7). In the Infinity Castle he keeps marked Giyu and Tanjiro on the defensive until Tanjiro reaches the Transparent World and suppresses his fighting spirit so the Compass Needle can't read him (chapter 152, "The Transparent World"). Even headless, Akaza keeps regenerating. He ends it himself when his human memories return (chapter 156). This fight is in the first Infinity Castle film.

B+ tier: the late-series Hashira and Tanjiro

Sanemi Shinazugawa (Wind Hashira) stays in the fight against Kokushibo from start to finish. His rare Marechi blood makes demons drunk, and it briefly staggers even Kokushibo. He awakens his Mark in the same battle and is still on his feet for the Muzan fight. He fights beside Gyomei as a partner, not a passenger (volume 20).

Tanjiro Kamado (peak) starts with Water Breathing and ends with the Hinokami Kagura, his family's version of Sun Breathing. By the finale he has the Mark and a red blade. He reaches the Transparent World against Akaza (chapter 152) and links the twelve Sun Breathing forms into a 13th form meant to wear Muzan down until sunrise (volume 22). Our read: his Transparent World and Selfless State answer Akaza in a way Giyu can't, which is enough to put him narrowly above Giyu.

Giyu Tomioka (Water Hashira) created Water Breathing's 11th form, Dead Calm, which only he uses. He awakens his Mark against Akaza and keeps fighting through the Muzan battle (chapters 147–156, volume 18). His case rests on consistent, repeatable swordsmanship rather than a matchup trick.

Obanai Iguro (Serpent Hashira) uses Serpent Breathing and a curved blade. His snake Kaburamaru helps him track opponents. Against Muzan he activates his Mark, turns his blade red, and keeps attacking after Muzan destroys his eyes, with Kaburamaru guiding him (volume 22). Our read: he's close to Giyu. We put him fourth among the Hashira because his best fight comes against a Muzan already weakened by Tamayo's drugs.

B tier: Muichiro, Hantengu, Mitsuri, Gyokko

Muichiro Tokito (Mist Hashira) has the cleanest solo Upper Rank kill of any Hashira. Once his memories and Mark return, he uses his own Mist Breathing 7th form, Obscuring Clouds, and kills Gyokko alone (volume 14; Swordsmith Village Arc episodes 8–9, "The Mu in Muichiro" and "Mist Hashira Muichiro Tokito"). Against Kokushibo he loses an arm early, but later turns his blade red and drives it into Kokushibo, which opens the way for the finishing blows. He dies in that battle.

Hantengu (Upper Rank Four) is hard to beat because the demon you can see isn't the one you need to kill. He splits into emotion clones, which combine into Zohakuten, while his thumb-sized true body hides. Tanjiro, Genya and Nezuko finally catch him at dawn (chapters 126–127; Swordsmith Village Arc episode 11, "A Connected Bond: Daybreak and First Light"). Our read: he ranks below Muichiro because it took a team of non-Hashira, with Mitsuri holding the line, to beat him, while Muichiro beat Upper Rank Five alone.

Mitsuri Kanroji (Love Hashira) created Love Breathing from Flame Breathing. Her unusually dense muscles and thin, whip-like blade give her range nobody else has. With her Mark active, she holds Zohakuten alone so the others can hunt Hantengu's real body (Swordsmith Village Arc episode 10, "Love Hashira Mitsuri Kanroji").

Gyokko (Upper Rank Five) attacks from his vases with fish-based summons, and in his final form his skin hardens into scales. Marked Muichiro beats him one on one, which is why he sits at the bottom of this tier.

C+ and C tiers

Gyutaro and Daki (Upper Rank Six) share one rank and one weakness: both must be beheaded at the same time. Gyutaro's poisoned blood sickles cost Tengen his left hand and left eye. Tanjiro beheads Gyutaro while Zenitsu and Inosuke take Daki (volume 11; Entertainment District Arc episodes 10–11). Tengen survives because Nezuko's Blood Demon Art burns the poison out. He then retires as a Hashira.

Kyojuro Rengoku (Flame Hashira) fights Akaza without a Mark or red blade after protecting all the train's passengers. His Flame Breathing 9th form, Rengoku, is his last attack. He dies at dawn (chapter 66, "Scattering Into Dawn"; Mugen Train Arc episode 7, "Set Your Heart Ablaze"). Our read: he ranks above Tengen among the Hashira because he fought Upper Rank Three alone. He sits below the marked Hashira because he died before the Marks appeared.

Tengen Uzui (Sound Hashira) fights with twin cleavers and explosives, and his Musical Score reads an opponent's rhythm. He fights on after being poisoned (volume 11). He's a strong fighter who lacks late-series power-ups.

C tier. Zenitsu uses Thunder Breathing's First Form, then invents his own 7th form, Flaming Thunder God, to kill Kaigaku, the former fellow disciple who became the new Upper Rank Six (chapters 144–145). Inosuke (self-taught Beast Breathing) and Kanao (Flower Breathing, whose Final Form: Equinoctial Vermilion Eye costs her the sight of one eye) finish Doma together. Genya uses no Breathing style. He eats demon flesh to gain their abilities, which is vital against Kokushibo. Shinobu is too physically weak to behead demons, so she fights with a wisteria-poison stinger instead. As a pure fighter she ranks low, but her plan is what kills Doma.

Hashira tier list

All nine Hashira in one place, ranked by the strongest demon each one meaningfully fought. Our read.

Only Gyomei's first place is firm. The middle changes with the question you ask. On base, unmarked skill, Rengoku and Tengen rise. On strategic value, Shinobu rises sharply, because Doma dies to her plan. On solo Upper Rank kills, Muichiro moves up. Giyu and Obanai are close enough that a reader who weighs the Muzan fight more heavily can reasonably swap them.

Why Demon King Tanjiro, Nezuko and Nakime are unranked

Our read: Demon King Tanjiro is interesting as a what-if, but nothing he does outranks Yoriichi's demonstrated feat.

Where to read or watch it

The manga is complete in 23 volumes from VIZ in English. You can compare listings for Demon Slayer volume 23, the final volume. As an Amazon Associate, PrimeTime Anime earns from qualifying purchases; the price is unchanged for you.

For the anime and film release status, use the Infinity Castle movie guide. For more rankings, see the strongest Jujutsu Kaisen characters, the strongest anime characters overall, or the rankings hub.

Frequently asked questions

Who is the strongest character in Demon Slayer?

Yoriichi Tsugikuni. He cut up a healthy Muzan by himself in chapter 187. The final generation needed Tamayo's drugs, the whole Corps and sunrise to finish a weakened Muzan.

Who is the strongest demon?

Muzan Kibutsuji, the first demon. Among his subordinates, Kokushibo (Upper Rank One) is the strongest, followed by Doma and Akaza.

Who is the strongest Hashira?

Gyomei Himejima. The anime's Hashira Training Arc titles episode 6 "The Strongest of the Demon Slayer Corps," and in the manga Kokushibo calls him the finest swordsman he has seen in about 300 years (chapters 169–170).

Is Tanjiro stronger than Giyu?

At his peak, narrowly, in our read. Tanjiro's Transparent World and Selfless State beat Akaza's Compass Needle, and he leads the final push on Muzan with Sun Breathing. Giyu's experience keeps it close.

Who killed Kokushibo?

Gyomei and Sanemi land the finishing blows, with Muichiro's red blade and Genya's demon abilities creating the opening. Kokushibo's body finally crumbles after he sees his own monstrous reflection. Muichiro and Genya die in the fight (volumes 19–20).

Did Tengen Uzui die?

No. Gyutaro's poison nearly kills him, but Nezuko's Blood Demon Art burns it out. He loses his left hand and left eye and retires as a Hashira.

Is Demon King Tanjiro stronger than Muzan?

The manga never shows it. The form lasts one scene and is cured, so we leave it unranked.