“I became a demon and lost my memories. I wanted strength once again. Even though there wasn’t a single thing I wanted to protect. I didn’t want to live in a world where I lost my family. For over a hundred years, I committed pointless acts of carnage. It’s a sad, laughable, and ridiculous story.”
General Information
- Japanese Voice Actor: Akira Ishida
- English Voice Actor: Lucien Dodge
- Age: 18 (Human) 133+ (Chronologically)
- Manga Debut: Chapter 62 (Partial Appearance) Chapter 63 (Full Appearance)
- Anime Debut: Season 2 Episode 6
- Race: Demon
- Gender: Male
- Status: Deceased
History
Hakuji (Akaza) received his criminal tattoo when he was caught pickpocketing for the third time. The magistrate had him beaten and given the criminal tattoo. After hearing that his son was caught committing a crime, his ailing father hung himself.
His father was ill, and Hakuji, being born in a slum and having nothing, would pickpocket so he could buy medicine for his father after his father hung himself and left a note that he did not want any medicine from money obtained from committing a crime and that he would rather die.
After his father’s death, he had nowhere to go. He got a criminal tattoo, and his father was dead. With no one to protect or go home to, Hakuji would beat up anybody who came his way. While he was off beating everyone, he came across Keizo, who owned a local dojo.
Keizo easily beat Hakuji. Keizo is cheerful that it annoys Hakuji. After he lost to Keizo, he was asked to join his dojo and take care of Koyuki. Koyuki is the daughter of Keizo, and she is very sickly.
The mother of Koyuki was the one who took care of her, but she died of stress. While Hakuji was taking care of Koyuki, he motivated her by telling her that they would be watching the fireworks the following year. One day, Koyuki was forced outside by the heir of the kenjutso dojo.
They also prevented Keizo from getting any more students. They wanted his land for themselves. Enraged, Keizo and Hakuji fought the dojo and defeated nine people. After the dojo’s defeat, they promised never to bother Keizo and his dojo again.
Koyuki got better two years later and started doing house chores. The sengutso dojo, owned by Keizo, started to flourish as they admitted more students.
Keizo told Hakuji that he wanted him to be Koyuki’s husband and the dojo’s heir. Hakuji embarrassed, agreed to it. He embarked on a journey to visit his father’s grave. On his way back to the dojo, he discovered that Koyuki and Keizo had died of poison.
When the heir of the neighboring dojo heard that Koyuki and Hakuji were getting married, he poisoned the well of the dojo. Keizo and Koyuki drank from the water and died on the same day.
When Hakuji learned about this, he went to the neighboring dojo and killed 67 people. He beat the people to a pulp so badly that those who had witnessed the scene said they could no longer recognize the faces of those people.
When Muzan heard about the incident, he was disappointed to discover that it was done by a human and not by a demon. He then offered Hakuji to be a demon. When he became a demon, he lost all his memories and was given a new name: Akaza.
Akaza The Demon
Akaza, as a demon, always desired to be stronger. He did not know the reason behind it. His desire to be stronger makes him crave stronger opponents. He acknowledged the natural strength of every Hashira that he battled.
He even invited each of them to be a demon. When Hashira, even in their death, refused Akaza, he could not understand the beauty of being a human.
Doma noted that Akaza would never eat nor harm women, which was later revealed as part of his unconscious desire. Akaza is loyal and strong. He is one of Muzan’s favorites and is entrusted with a special mission to look for the Blue Spider Lily.
During the Infinity Castle Arc, Akaza told Giyu that 50 years before the event, he battled a strong Water Breathing style user, and he could kill him easily. Akaza also told Giyu that he had not met another user who had the same level until he met Giyu.
Physical Appearance
His skin is so fair that it is green-tinged white, decorated with thick blue lines. These thick blue lines resemble his criminal tattoo when he was still human. He has bright pink hair, inward-tilting yellow eyes, and pink eyelashes.
His blue sclera looks like cracked glass. His eyes have the kanji of Jogen (Upper Rank) and San (Three) on each of his irises. There are three curves on each side of his face. Each of the curves passes through the eyes. A straight blue line also passes his forehead to the top of his nose.
Akaza is muscular and tall. There are two circular lines around his neck. He wore little clothing. He wears a purple sleeveless haori that exposes his chest and is cut off above the waist.
He pairs this with baggy white pants rolled just a few inches below the knee. His pants were tied with a blue rope to secure them around his waist. He is barefoot, but he wears pearls around his ankles.
Personality
Akaza enjoys fighting against strong demon slayers. He is stubborn and strong-willed. Akaza likes dragging out fights. He wants to see the excellent swordsmanship and abilities of Hashira. He would purposely join the fight against Hashira, and he would compliment them when they land a blow on him.
He hates weak opponents but shows respect for those stronger than him, demons or Hashira. Akaza always saw those with higher ranks than him as rivals, so he never got along with them.
When he fought Hashira, who had strong skills and abilities, he always offered them to become demons. He complimented their skills when he fought Tanjiro and Giyu during the Infinity Castle Arc. He remembers that Tanjiro was far weaker than he is now the first time they met.
He told Giyu about the Water Breathing style user he fought 50 years ago, who equals Giyu in strength, skills, and abilities. Akaza wanted to become the strongest, and he overcame his weakness of being decapitated with a Nichirin Sword.
Abilities
Akaza is one of the strongest demons, being able to hold the Upper Moon 3 rank. His martial arts skills are better than most, so he can use this to outmatch the swordsmanship of Hashira he came face to face with.
Akaza can sense fighting spirit so he can predict his opponent’s moves. This was proven true when he defeated the Flame Hashira and countless Hashira before Kyujuro. His opponents must create countermeasures, or else he is almost impossible to defeat because he can easily discern the weakness of his opponents.
Akaza honed his sensory abilities. His Compass Needle can easily identify where his enemies are. He can sense them. Even after being beheaded, he can still easily locate Giyu and Tanjiro’s location. When he gets caught, he can manipulate his flesh.
He can detach parts of his body and regrow them. His body is also highly durable. even the Nichirin Sword could not easily slice through it. If a style is strong enough to detach a part of his body, he can use his regeneration to ensure that he will be able to grow those parts.
Strength, reflexes, and speed are a few of his other abilities, similar to most demons. His Blood Demon Art is Destructive Death which combines his martial arts, which he learned when he was human, and shockwave-like attacks that are proven fatal and deadly.
Akaza also uses Technique Development. At the beginning of the battle, he would use a stance unique to the Soryu style. He is a master of hand-to-hand combat.
