Summary
Demon Slayerhas become one of the most popular and beloved shōnen action series of the last few years, thanks to its incredible fight scenes, its many emotional moments, and itscreative power system. However, there’s another specific area in which this anime and manga franchise stands out, and it often goes unnoticed: its high-qualitycharacter designs.
Author Koyoharu Gotouge has successfully created some of the most recognizable characters in the industry, seeing as all of them have inventive and good-looking designs that perfectly reflect their personality and/or fighting style, regardless of whether they are humans or demons. Naturally,Demon Slayeris brimming with characters that look great, but the following are the absolute best ones in the entire series.
8Nezuko Kamado
An Adorable Girl With A Dark Secret
Nezuko Kamadoalready had a solid design from the get-go, back when she was a human, since her pink kimono, her big pink eyes, and her long black hair made her look as adorable and friendly as she was. However, everything changed during the story’s inciting incident, when Muzan Kibutsuji forcibly turned her into a demon.
While Nezuko fortunately kept what already made her character design so appealing, she received a new and important accessory: a bamboo muzzle that prevents her from attacking humans. This sole item is a brilliant addition from Gotouge’s part, because it makes it immediately evident that she’s not a regular human and that there’s something she wants to hide. Furthermore, the huge contrast between her cute appearance when she’s resting inside Tanjiro’s box and her fierce demonic design whenever she engages in battle is fascinating, and it effectively turned Nezuko into one of the most distinctive female characters in the entire anime/manga industry.
7Gyokko
An Evil Artist Who Looks Like A Twisted Piece Of Art
As the story ofDemon Slayerwent on, the antagonistic demons began looking less and less humane, which Koyoharu Gotouge used to their advantage to experiment with weird and unique designs.One of the most noteworthy examples of this phenomenon wasGyokko, Upper Rank Five of the Twelve Kizuki.
To even think that this powerful demon was once a human feels weird, because he now looks like a disturbing amalgamation of mouths, eyes, and legs, not to mention that he literally resides in a porcelain vase. Not only is Gyokko’s extravagant character design supposed to look unnerving (seeing as he’s one of the most despicable villains in the series), but it’s also brilliant because it ties perfectly with his backstory and his motivations. In life, he was a talented artist who murdered people and eventually grew obsessed with human corpses, so, as a result, his demonic appearance is based on abstract art.
6Tengen Uzui
An Over-The-Top Look For The Most Flamboyant Hashira
The Sound Hashira, Tengen Uzui, is the self-proclaimed “god of flashiness"who actively wants to look as flamboyant as possible to stand out and grab other people’s attention, and he has obviously succeeded. While at first, his demon slayer uniform may seem surprisingly dull and mundane, he clearly puts a bigger focus on all the other accessories that he wears on his arms and head all the time.
Golden bracelets, a headband with gemstones, two diamond chains, red and green nail polish, a splash of red make-up in one eye, and two giant swords connected with a chain. All of these elements by themselves may feel unnecessarily over-the-top, but they work surprisingly well together, especially when they’re combined with Uzui’s natural physical bulk and shiny white hair. There’s no doubt that he’s one of the flashiest and most interesting-looking Hashira in the Demon Slayer corps.
5Shinobu Kocho
A Lovely Woman With Darkness In Her Heart
Shinobu Kocho, the Insect Hashira, is one of the most beloved and recognizable female characters inDemon Slayer, and her flawless character design certainly contributed to her reputation. For starters, her short black and purple hair and her big purple eyes make her look both lovely and alluring. But this ends up working in her favor, because Shinobu actually hides a lot of anger and resentment inside of her, making the ensuing contrast all the more fascinating.
And that’s not all, because she also possesses a butterfly/insect motif that makes her stand out even more. The accessory on her head is adorable and her modified stinger Nichirin is a clever addition that makes up for her lack of physical strength, but the most astounding part of Shinobu’s character design is her kimono, which has a beautiful and ingenious insect-based pattern that makes her look like a flying butterfly whenever she jumps in the air.
4Tanjiro Kamado
One Of The Most Iconic Anime Protagonists Ever Created
Designing an easily recognizable protagonist for an action shōnen series is not an easy task, since they’ll be forced to share a space with many other icons of the genre, like Monkey D. Luffy or Naruto. Nevertheless, Koyoharu Gotouge succeeded on that front with the main character ofDemon Slayer,Tanjiro Kamado, who quickly became one of the most recognizable figures in the entire medium.
Everything about Tanjiro is supposed to make him look both friendly and strong, seeing as he’s a talented warrior who often tries to empathize with demons before they die. His hair, his eyes, and his uniform all look very good, but his design also has three specific things that make him stand out even more: the huge scar on his forehead, his beautiful hanafuda earrings (which actually are important to the plot), and his classic black and green checkered haori. Thanks to all of these clever design elements, Tanjiro’s simplistic design can serve many purposes: whenever he’s engaged in battle, he looks determined and heroic, but when he’s goofing around with his friends in comedic scenes, he can look silly and adorable.
3Kyojuro Rengoku
Perfectly Represents His Fiery Fighting Style And His Enthusiastic Personality
Every single Hashira has an excellent design that reflects their unique fighting style and title, butthe Flame Hashira,Kyojuro Rengoku, has possibly the best character design in the entire group. After all, he’s a kind, enthusiastic, and passionate warrior with a lot of fire in his heart, so it makes sense that he embodies the themes of fire and flames.
As a result, his yellow and red hair, his long red and white cape, his socks with flame patterns, and his red Nichirin sword fit him perfectly and make him look absolutely incredible, especially when he summons giant burning flames while using his signature Flame Breathing Style in battle.
2Kokushibo
The Most Powerful Kizuki Looks Like A Human (With A Disturbing Twist)
Even though Muzan Kibutsuji’s Twelve Kizuki are mostly made up of creepy-looking demons with incredible supernatural abilities, the most powerful and intimidating one looks a lot like a regular human being.Upper Rank One,Kokushibo, was the twin brother of the legendary Yoriichi Tsugikuni, and, as a result of his long-lasting resentment, he maintained most of his human features.
At first glance, Kokushibo is one of the most imposing sword fighters in the series, thanks to his long red and black hair, his beautiful purple and black kimono, and his long black hakama pants. But his most distinctive feature is his collection of six demonic eyes that perfectly reflect the hatred and bloodlust in his heart. And if that wasn’t enough, his katana covered with eyes makes him look even more like a terrifying monster. With such a simple but effective design, Gotouge managed to create the best-looking demon enemy in the entire series.
1Inosuke Hashibira
One Of The Most Brilliantly Executed Character Designs In All Of Anime
Among the huge collection ofDemon Slayercharacters with noteworthy designs,Inosuke Hashibirastands out a lot, mainly because nobody else in the series looks like him. When taking a look at Inosuke, his most notorious feature immediately pops out: he’s always wearing a hollowed-out boar head like a mask, which is as strange as it is hilarious.
Because of his particular upbringing, Inosuke often acts like a wild beast, and his boar mask flawlessly reflects his temperamental, overconfident, and unpredictable personality. On top of all that, his bare-chested look, his belt made out of fluffy deer fur, and his two broken Nichirin swords complement his design and successfully make him look even more like a human beast. But the most brilliant aspect of Inosuke’s design is what lies underneath that mask, seeing that he’s actually a beautiful and feminine-looking young man. This part of his design not only explains his need to hide behind a mask, but the obvious contrast often results in a bunch of funny comedic scenes between him and his friends.
