General Information
Japanese Voice Actor: Toshiko Seki
English Voice Actor: Greg Chun
Age: 10,000+
Manga Debut: Chapter 11
Anime Debut: Season 1 Episode 6
Race: Demon
Gender: Male
Status: Deceased
Demon Slayer’s main antagonist, Kibutsuji Muzan, is the king of the demons and the one who initiated a series of murders throughout the storyline, which provoked the Demon Slayer Corps to take action. However, the homicide he committed toward the Kamado family and the conversion of Nezuko led to the development of Tanjiro as a Demon Slayer.
Muzan is an ancient demon over a thousand years old and the creator of the demonic race. He converted into one as a way to cure his incurable disease. From then on, his main objective was to live without fear of death and truly achieve eternal life or immortality. He becomes one of the most powerful progenitors and gives others abilities such as regeneration.
This article will focus on covering topics such as Muzan’s history and character development, his fears, his relationships, his abilities and power, the reason behind why he killed Tanjiro’s family, why he turned Nezuko into a demon, and some additional interesting facts that are relevant to the plotline.
Demon Slayer Muzan Kibutsuji
Muzan’s Life Story And Character Development
Before understanding how Muzan became the most powerful demon, it is necessary to understand where he came from.
Kibutsuji was born to a noble family in ancient Japan during the Heian period, also known as the Golden Age of Japanese history. He was initially a fragile human since he was born. He was always fearful of the idea of death. The main reason is that when he was in the developing stage of birth, he was medically declared a “stillborn upon birth” since he had no vital signs. If he didn’t cry aloud, he would’ve ended up in the funerary.
This sense of weakness prolonged his adulthood, making him unable to do common daily activities. At the time, he had an incurable disease, and it was predicted he would pass away when he turned twenty years old. However, his doctor enrolled in a journey through Japan to find a cure, and he found a mythical flower, “Blue Spider Lily.”
Although it helped with his illness, it didn’t heal him fully, which caused intense anger toward his doctor and ended in killing him, which was later discovered that it did improve his physical abilities. As a consequence, he couldn’t walk when the sun was out and also had the desire to eat human flesh. That’s how he turned into a demon that eats humans, and one of his first victims was his family.
Once he became one of the most powerful demons, he still considered himself not perfect and wanted to find a way to remove his sensitivity to the sun. He decided instead to focus on creating strong demons that could potentially overcome this so, in the end, he could devour them to get rid of this flaw.
That’s how he created the strongest group of demons called “Twelve Demon Moons.” He felt secure until he was almost killed by a samurai warrior with the ability known as “Breath of the Sun,” Later on, he developed a grudge towards any practitioner of this skill.
Muzan’s Personality
Kibutsuji can be described as a cold-hearted, narcissistic, intimidating, and insensitive person who sees no value in human life and his subordinates. He is also a perfectionist since he wants to achieve that himself. He can also be self-absorbed, extremely detached from people, and views himself as superior.
Muzan shows strong traits of egocentrism and considers anything useless unless it involves finding the cure for walking in the sun, which is his main objective. As a result, he acquires a god complex that makes him unable to see his failures and can be delusional if someone mocks him, as he believes that everybody needs to serve him, which is the main reason for their existence.
In addition, he has no tolerance for failure, which can be visible in several episodes of how he treats his Lower Moon group when they fail to do his dirty work. He also likes corrupting vulnerable human beings into becoming demons, just like Daki or Akaza.
Muzan’s Abilities
Since he is the creator of the demonic race, he is the strongest demon and possesses incredible abilities such as strength and controlling his subordinates. However, Kibutsuji has even more impressive skills, which we will explain:
- Physical Abilities: He possesses incredible speed, stamina, strength, and endurance, which can be shown in his battles. He was capable of holding five Hahshiras and four demon slayers, all at the same time. He also almost killed Tanjiro by utilizing his poison with only one attack.
- Ability to absorb objects: Muzan has this incredible skill of dissolving both inorganic and organic matter. Similar to what he did with Tamayo and her drug. He can also access people’s memories and force out people’s desires against their own will.
- Intelligence: Another interesting fact about Kibutsuji’s ability is that he possesses five brains and is a brilliant demon. In addition to his thousand years of living, he acquired vast knowledge and experience, which he applied to combat tactics and chemistry.
- Demonic blood: the progenitor of the demon race has powerful blood that, if digested by humans, can transform them into demons, but it largely depends on whether they handle the brusque genetic changes made to their body. Aside from this, it also gives regenerative abilities, rapid growth, immortality, incredible strength, and access to the Blood Demon Arts, which he uses to empower other demons by enhancing their existing abilities and giving them new powers. He also uses this to his advantage by injecting his blood into the opponent. As a result, the dosage would be too much for them to handle, and it would end up destroying their human cells.
- Demon Curse: He can easily put a curse on any demon he creates by simply just sharing blood. This is why they can’t say his name out loud since it will automatically activate the spell, ending in self-destruction.
- Telepathy and Manipulation: He can also read the thoughts of all demons that share his blood by looking at them. In addition, he can easily manipulate and control demons by using extensive concentration. He can also crush a demon’s head by just closing his fist, indicating his strength.
- Shapeshifting: one of the most impressive qualities he possesses is his ability to transform into anything he wants. So far, there are three forms we can see in the anime: the child version, the woman, and the adult, which is how he usually presents himself.
Interesting Facts About Muzan Kibutsuji
Does Muzan Kibutsuji Love His Wife?
As you may know, Muzan is married and has a daughter. However, this is only to ensure his survival and to be able to fit in easily into society.
Who Is Muzan’s Voice Actor?
The voice actors of Muzan Kibutsuji in Japanese are Toshihiko Seki and Greg Chun in the English version.
Is Muzan Kibutsuji A Woman?
Some people question Muzan’s gender as he appeared in a couple of episodes in his female version or form. He is primarily a man most of the time, but it is speculated that towards the second season, he shapeshifts into a woman to hide his true identity.
Who Is Muzan Scared of?
Muzan is undeniably the most powerful demon in the anime. However, even four hundred years later, he fears Yoriichi, and every time he sees his hanafuda earrings, he feels threatened and scared of death again.
Why Did Muzan Turn Nezuko?
Regarding this question, some people speculate that he did this to get his revenge, and if he turns Nezuko into a demon, he will get rid of the Kamado family. He also wanted to use her since she could walk in the sun, which is his main desire.
Who Killed Muzan Kibutsuji In The End?
The person that can eliminate Kibutsuji is Gyomei, one of the most prominent figures among the Demon Slayers.
How Did Tanjiro Know Muzan Killed His Family?
When Muzan murdered the Kamado’s family, Tanjiro picked up on the peculiar smell that was left after he committed the murder and quickly identified his scent among the crowd.
A Final Thought About Muzan Kibutsuji
Muzan Kibutsuji is one of the most dangerous and powerful demons in Kimetsu No Yaiba, popularly known as Demon Slayer. He is a memorable antagonist due to his incredible character development, recognizable physique, abilities, and superpowers. He can easily shapeshift and control organic and inorganic matter and have an incredible intellect which he uses as combat tactics.
