akaza

akaza

Demon (manga)

Human

 Demon (manga)

Kanji

猗窩座

Romaji

akaza

Other names

Hakuji (拍治) Hakuji (Human)

Hakuji Soyama (素山狛治 Soyama Hakuji) (Kimetsu Academy)

Characteristics

Race

Devil

Kind

Male

Age

18 years old (Physically)

200 years old (Chronologically)

Cut

173cm (5'8")

Weight

74 kg (163 lbs)

Membership

Membership

Twelve Demonic Moons

Occupation

3rd Upper Demonic Moon

fighting style

Soryu Style Bloodthirsty Power

Personal status

Status

To show

Relationship(s)

Unnamed Father

Koyuki † (Bride)

Beginnings

manga

Chapter 62 (Partial Appearance)

Chapter 63 (Full Appearance)

Anime

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Infinity Train

voice actor

Japanese

Akira Ishida

Sebastien Desjours (French)

Akaza ( 猗 あ 窩 か 座 ざ Akaza ) is a major antagonist in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. He is a demon affiliated with the Twelve Demonic Moons , holding the position of Upper Third Moon [1] ( 上 じょう 弦 げんの 参 さん Jōgen no San ).

 

Centuries ago, Akaza was a human named Hakuji ( 拍 はく 治 じ Hakuji ) before being turned into a demon personally by Muzan Kibutsuji .

 

 

Summary

1  Appearance

2  Personality

3  History

3.1  Human life as Hakuji

3.2  Demonic life as Akaza

4  Synopses

4.1  Infinity Train Arc

4.2  Pleasure Quarter Arc

5  Skills & Competencies

5.1  Demonic Abilities

5.1.1 Blood  Power

6  Anecdotes

7  References

8  Browsing

Appearance

As a demon , Akaza took the form of a tall, muscular young man with skin so light it appeared white or gray, decorated with thick blue lines, resembling the tattoos of criminals he had as a demon. human. Akaza has short, bright pink hair that falls around her head. His eyes are slanted inward and have pink eyelashes, a blue sclera, and yellow irises, with the kanji for "High Rank Three" engraved on them. Three of his blue lines on his face cross his eyes vertically, from below his ears to above his temples. Another blue line runs from the center of his hairline to the bridge of his nose, two more lines feature around his neck, with three more branching from the bottom line towards his torso.

 

The central line runs straight down his chest to halfway down his stomach, and the other two branch out on either side of his chest to join the two lines on the pecs; this same three-line pattern also repeats around her waist. On his arms, there are other lines that run down the front of his shoulders and join two lines, which go around his biceps. They continue down to his wrists, below which each of his fingers can be seen to also be dark blue with an orange nail, his toes also sharing this unusual appearance.

 

He wears few clothes, only a dark pink-purple, short, sleeveless haori, cut at the waist, left open to expose his chest, which was decorated with a square pattern on his back. Underneath, he wears baggy white pants that he rolls up to the knee, with a blue rope sash to hold it at the waist. Akaza prefers to be barefoot, but wears a chain of large round beads around each of her ankles.

 

When human, as Hakuji , he had the same hair, but black rather than pink, and pale blue eyes with pale pink eyelashes of an unusual color. He was also very muscular as a human, and on each of his forearms he had three black criminal tattoos. He also wore a dark blue-gray yukata.

 

Personality

Akaza is a strong, stubborn and impulsive demon. He enjoys fighting, especially against powerful Demon Slayers . He despises anyone he deems weak, but sincerely respects those who are strong in his eyes, regardless of their species. As soon as he meets someone he deems fit to stand up to him, he demands to know their name and does not stop until he finds out; he remembers all the names he memorized in tribute to their strength .

 

Akaza has a deep-seated psychological need to get stronger, and doesn't get along with his high-ranking companions, seeing them as his rivals . He is somewhat jealous of the two Demon Moons above him, Doma and Kokushibo , going after the former [4] and swearing to kill the latter [5] . Even after being beaten and beheaded during his fight against Tanjiro Kamado and Giyu Tomioka , he was stubborn and kept fighting without even knowing why he wanted more power .

 

As a human, Hakuji possessed the same stubborn personality, with a big heart and resilience . He valued others more than his own well-being, and hated himself for having a life "full of empty words and promises". Even after becoming a demon and losing his memories of his human life, certain reminiscences influenced Akaza's decisions; he refuses to eat women, even though he knows it would make him stronger . His hatred of weak and cowardly people stems from a corruption of his human memories, where a rival dojo poisoned his dojo's well because he was never able to beat it .

 

After remembering his entire past and all of his regrets as a human, he begins to regret his actions as a demon. He realizes that he hates himself for all the times he wasn't there to save or protect those he loved, and that he was the person he really wanted to kill all along.

 

Story

Human Life as Hakuji

 

Hakuji was born and raised in the slums by a sick father whom he loved dearly. In order to be able to pay for his medicine, Hakuji robbed people in town, but he got caught three times. The magistrate beat him and gave him tattoos, threatening to cut off his arms the next time he was caught and calling him "a demon child". When Hakuji returned home after his third beating, a villager informed him that his father, having learned of his arrest, had hanged himself. In the letter he left, he stated that he wanted Hakuji to live his life to the fullest and that he didn't want to take drugs if they were won through dishonest means.

 

With his criminal tattoos and no home to return to, Hakuji was eventually banished from Edo. Devastated by the loss of his father and enraged by this society in which he could not support himself, he got into fights with people and beat them. One day, after nearly killing seven adult men in a village, he was approached by Keizo , the owner of a local dojo. Annoyed by the man's jovial attitude, Hakuji challenged him to a fight, but was beaten easily.

 

Keizo then took him in so he could take care of Koyuki , Keizo's sick daughter. Her mother, who cared for her before, had drowned due to stress and Keizo had to do some DIY work to keep them afloat, so Hakuji was assigned to look after her. Already used to taking care of his father, he didn't have too much trouble, even if he found it embarrassing that she burst into tears apparently for no reason. One of those times, unbeknownst to her, he had indirectly motivated her by telling her that “there will be a next year” to see a local fireworks display.

 

One day, he discovered that Koyuki had been forced out and left there by the heir of the nearby kenjutsu dojo who had always sought to appropriate Keizo's lands and prevented him from having students before Hakuji. Enraged, Keizo and Hakuji fought the dojo, and after defeating nine people, Hakuji made them promise never to interfere with the Soryuu dojo or Koyuki again. The heir to the rival dojo became enraged and swung a sword at the young boy, but the latter punched the side of the blade and broke it. The other members of the dojo were so moved by the beauty of this technique that they accepted their loss and apologized for the heir's rudeness , leaving the Soryuu dojo in peace .

 

Two years later, Koyuki's health had improved enough that she could stand up and do household chores. Hakuji continued to train as a student of Keizo in the Soryu style, and the dojo began to grow. One day, Keizo offered Hakuji to take over the dojo and take Koyuki as his wife, much to the young man's surprise and embarrassment. He agreed, silently vowing to protect them both, even at the cost of his own life. At a festival, Koyuki told him about his past and asked if he was really okay with the proposal, to which he responded by reaffirming his commitment to her, promising to protect her for the rest of his life.

 

The heir to the rival dojo heard about Hakuji and Koyuki's marriage, and gathered some angry disciples to fight Hakuji, but they lost; this victory was short-lived. The young man went to pray at his father's grave to inform him of his marriage, but he quickly realized that something was wrong when he returned. A dojo student informed him that the rival dojo had poisoned the well where Koyuki and Keizo drank water. Both had died shortly after drinking this water, while Hakuji was away.

 

Enraged, Hakuji killed all sixty-seven members of the rival dojo with his bare hands, pulverizing them to the point that their bodies were unrecognizable. This incident caught the attention of Muzan Kibutsuji and, although he was disappointed to find out that it was a human and not a demon who had committed such a horrible act, he decided to make Hakuji one of the Twelve Demon Moons. . Hakuji, having nothing left to protect and having lost the will to live, accepted and became the demon Akaza .

 

Demonic Life as Akaza

 

After transforming, Akaza lost his memories of when he was still human, only wanting to get stronger, though he doesn't know why. Despite this, as noted by Doma , he refused to eat or harm women. Due to his strength, loyalty and willingness to get stronger, he became one of Muzan's favorites who only sent him on special missions.

 

During his life as a demon, Akaza noted that he had encountered and fought several Demon Slayer Pillars over his hundreds of years of life. During these encounters, Akaza had invited each of them to become a Demon, as he appreciated the natural strength, genius, and skills of the Pillars, and wished to continue fighting against them forever. However, Akaza received a refusal from each of them, which left him very perplexed as he did not understand their desire to remain human.

 

Although not exactly specified, Akaza stated that none of the Pillars he fought used Flame Breath , proving that his fight against Kyojuro Rengoku was a first for him.

 

Fifty years before his fight and death against Tanjiro Kamado and Giyu Tomioka in the Castle of Infinity , Akaza had encountered and faced a powerful Pillars of Water, endowed with remarkable skill and power in the use of the style. of breathing. He had successfully killed him, and for the next half-century hadn't encountered anyone else of the same skill level until his duel against Giyu.

 

Synopsis

Infinity Train Arc

 

Akaza appears shortly after Tanjiro , Kyojuro , Inosuke , Zenitsu , and Nezuko defeat Enmu and save the passengers. Noticing Tanjiro on the ground, he immediately rushes forward to kill him, but the Pillar of Flame stops the attack and cuts his arm in half. After quickly healing the wound and complimenting his blade, Akaza is asked why he attacked someone who was already injured, to which he replies that he just wanted to get rid of them quickly before talking to Kyojuro. Believing that he is at the peak of his fighting spirit as the Pillar, he attempts to persuade him to become a demon. He claims that as a human he would eventually age and die, whereas as a demon he could continue to grow more powerful. When Kyojuro repeatedly refuses the offer and refutes his claims; Akaza, annoyed, declares that he will kill him instead, and activates the Destructive Kill, Compass .

 

Akaza and Kyojuro fight fiercely, with Tanjiro and Inosuke watching from afar, knowing that the two are on a completely different power level. Akaza is wounded several times but instantly regenerates his wounds, while taunting Kyojuro, saying that all the Pillars he killed never accepted his offer of change. The demon soars into the air and hits Kyojuro with Destructive Kill , Void , knocking him back temporarily, though the attack is quickly repelled. Knowing that a ranged fight will be difficult, the Pillar of Flame rushes forward and attempts to attack at close quarters, but all his blows are deflected and dodged. Akaza again mocks his waning human stamina compared to his demonic physiology and again attempts to persuade Kyojuro to change, which again fails. They trade attacks again, with Inosuke even remarking that if he tried to help Kyojuro he would be too slow and killed instantly. Akaza begins to physically touch his opponent, severely injuring him. All of Kyojuro's sword swings are futile in the face of the demon's rapid healing and he begins to despair, despite his multiple Flame Breath attacks. The Demonic Moon against the Pillar Flame Tiger using her Destructive Kill technique, Maelstrom . Akaza suddenly recoils, allowing Kyojuro to catch his breath, but Tanjiro and Inosuke see him bleeding profusely, unlike Demonic Moon who is completely healed.

 

Akaza, once again, taunts Kyojuro for his many injuries, while his had already healed instantly due to his demon nature. Kyojuro's body suddenly flares up, declaring that he will fulfill his duty as a Pillar, much to the demon's confusion and astonishment. He decides he will try to hurt him as much as possible, even if he has to die, and rushes forward with his secret technique. Akaza is stunned by his opponent's fighting spirit, and wishes he could fight with him forever. Declaring that he is the Pillar of Flame, he uses Ninth Movement: Purgatory , and dashes forward. Akaza responds with Destructive Kill, Eradication . They hit each other; Kyojuro slices Akaza's arm, his torso, and nearly smashes through his neck, and the demon rams his arm into Rengoku's solar plexus, until it smashes through it.

 

Akaza desperately begs him to become a demon, knowing that the wound he inflicted is fatal and stunned by his opponent's will to fight, and describes him as one of the chosen few. Kyojuro once again refuses, remembering his mother's promise to protect the weak, and drives his sword deeper into his opponent's neck, even catching his fist when Akaza attempts to strike him with his free hand, shocking the demon. . The sun begins to rise and Akaza attempts to flee but is held in place by Kyojuro who refuses to surrender. Tanjiro and Inosuke attempt to help the Pillar, with Inosuke using the Beast's Breath first charge  : Puncture to attack the demon. Akaza suddenly cuts his own arms from Kyojuro's body to flee the dawn. He enters the nearby forest, Tanjiro frantically rushes after him and throws his saber at the Upper Moon, piercing his chest. Akaza hears Tanjiro's screams, who calls him a coward for retreating, which infuriates him as he whispers to himself that he was running from the sun, not the Slayers. Deciding that the battle is over and that Kyojuro will soon die, Akaza takes refuge in the forest, leaving Inosuke and Tanjiro with a dying Kyojuro.

 

Pleasure District Arc

 

Akaza appears in front of Muzan and reports to him that he couldn't find the Blue Lycoris, instead he shot down one of the Pillars. Muzan retorts that there was only one Pillar and stating that his wish is for all of them to be dead. Angered by his failure, Muzan takes control of Akaza's cells and causes him to bleed profusely. The Demon Lord mocks him for acting proud while three other Demon Slayers were still alive and he could have killed them too, ending his rant by claiming that "even the Upper Third Moon was knocked down ". When fired by Muzan for his failure, he notices the blade near Tanjiro. Remembering how he called him a coward, he angrily smashes him to pieces and declares that he'll spill his brains out the next time they meet.

 

Sometime later, Akaza is suddenly transported to Infinity Castle by Nakime. He is greeted by Gyokko and Hantengu but is uninterested in talking to them. He asks the demon Biwa where Muzan is and where the Upper First Moon is when he is happily greeted by Doma. Annoyed by her attempts to have a conversation with him, he angrily asks Doma to pull his arm away, then violently breaks his jaw when he doesn't. An unfazed Doma keeps trying to talk and even thinks the attack is just a sign of their "friendship". Nakime answers his question and states that the Upper First Moon is the first to arrive, which then heralds the appearance of Muzan. Muzan expresses his disappointment in Gyutaro and wonders aloud why the Upper Moons are still there aimlessly, shocking them all; Akaza himself does not respond knowing his recent failure. Gyokko suddenly states that he has new information for their leader and Doma unwittingly asks if he can go on a mission, causing Akaza to angrily destroy his superior's head for "disobeying Muzan's orders". .

 

Suddenly, his hand drops and Kokushibo appears in front of him, berating him for disrupting the hierarchy. A regenerated Doma tries to calm the Upper First Moon down but he angrily tells Akaza if he wanted to take Doma's place and beat him, he would have to do it in a real battle. A silent Akaza overhears Doma's statement that such a battle would be fruitless, as even the newer Doma is much more powerful than him, earning him anger. Doma keeps trying to defend Akaza but Kokushibo directly asks him if he understood what he said. Akaza complies but quietly threatens to kill him as well. As Kokushibo disappears, Akaza rushes out of the Infinite Dimensional Fortress, ignoring Doma's attempts for another conversation.

 

Skills & Competencies

Demonic Abilities

 

Enhanced Speed  : Akaza is extremely fast as shown during his fight with Kyojuro when he moves at super fast speeds, moving so fast that even Tanjiro Kamado and Inosuke Hashibira couldn't perceive his blinding movements, this the latter remarking that he was in "another dimension". [11] This is further exemplified by the fact that he could move so quickly that it felt like he was teleporting, which he frequently displayed, managing to do so even for Tanjiro who can sense the future . Even Giyu Tomioka, one of the fastest Demon Slayers, was instantly matched by Akaza in speed despite awakening the Demon Slayer Mark moments before. [12]

Enhanced Strength  : Akaza notably possesses phenomenal physical strength. His incredulous strength has been demonstrated many times, most notably when punching or kicking, which is strong enough to generate powerful shockwaves and shatter the ground. Akaza also easily broke Giyu's sword in half with a single sideways punch despite the latter swinging his blade downward [13] and destroying the head and jaw of the Second Upper Moon, [14] Doma , with his arm, and even pierce Kyojuro's solar plexus. [15] Combined with his Blood Power, his strength is further increased, allowing him to cause craters in the ground by simply punching it. [16]

When he was a human at the age of 11, he is able to completely knock out several adult men in a fight with nothing but his bare fists and legs. [17] At the age of 18, even before becoming a demon, he is easily able to decapitate, dismember and mutilate 67 armed adult kendo masters with his bare fists [18] , to the point that even Muzan thinks it It is a demon who performed these exploits. [19]

Enhanced Regeneration  : Akaza possesses one of the most incredible regeneration abilities in the series due to assimilating a massive amount of Muzan Kibutsuji's blood. He is able to instantly regenerate from minor and severe injuries caused by Tanjiro and even lost limbs inflicted by Giyu and Kyojuro with little effort. During his battle against Giyu and Tanjiro, his regeneration further evolved as he didn't die even after having his head cut off by a Sun Sword [20] and then completely repelling a new one afterward [21] , a feat considered impossible for demons and only Muzan, the Demon King, had accomplished before.

Blood Power

 

For the main article, see Blood Power

 

Akaza has a unique ability called Technique Deployment ( 術 じゅつ 式 しき 展 てん 開 かい Jutsushiki Tenkai ). [22] Akaza begins by initiating a unique Soryu-style stance. Currently, there are 2 versions of the position. The first position is achieved by bending his knees into a half-squat position, extending his right arm with a half-clenched fist facing his body, and bending his left arm with an open palm; the second version is nearly identical except he opens his palm over his right arm while fully clenching his fists in a downward bend over his left arm. Afterwards, Akaza uses his Destructive Kill fighting style ( 破 は 壊 かい 殺 さつ Hakai satsu ) while unleashing shockwave-enhanced martial arts techniques.

 

Compass ( 羅 ら 針 しん Rashin ) [23] : Akaza deploys a light blue snowflake-shaped compass beneath him with numbers from 1 to 12 that can detect and track his opponents' locations and incoming attacks by sensing " Fighting Spirit ( 闘 とう 氣 き Tōki )" of a person. This technique can also be used to discern an opponent's weak spots, as stated by Tanjiro when Akaza always instinctively aimed for his vital signs as if his fists were magnets drawn to them. Akaza has always activated this technique when he engages in combat, making all of the other techniques he uses extremely difficult to counter and dodge while making his attacks all the more deadly.

Empty ( 空 くう 式 しき Kūshiki ) [24] : Akaza punches the empty air in front of him, creating a shockwave from the pressure of his fists, then sends it flying towards his enemies. These airborne shockwaves can be created multiple times in a row.

Maelstrom ( 乱 らん 式 しき Ranshiki ) [25] : Striking in front of him, Akaza creates a barrage of ranged shockwaves capable of overwhelming Kyojuro's Fifth Movement: Tiger of Flames technique.

Anecdotes

Akaza's alias contains the respective kanji for "lush growth" (猗a ), "cave" (窩ka ), and "seated, cushion" (座za ).

His name as a human contains the kanji for "komainu" (狛Koma/Haku ) and "cure/cure" (治ji ).

Akaza was the only demon in the Twelve Demon Moons who refused to eat or kill women, and he was given special permission to do so.

Akaza was one of Muzan's favorites as he was loyal and serious.

Despite his loyalty, Akaza never felt respect or admiration for Muzan. He only saw him as someone who gave orders and saw himself as someone who had to obey.

Akaza's Compass technique forms the shape of a snowflake; possibly due to the influence of his fiancée (Koyuki's name contains the kanji for "snow", and she wears three snowflake-shaped hairpins).

Many of Akaza's attacks and techniques are named after fireworks, a reference to his promise to Koyuki to see the fireworks.

Akaza is the only deceased upper ranks who met the people he knew in life while disappearing. There are two members of the Twelve Demonic Moons who have been shown going through this, the other being Rui .

Akaza's Japanese voice actor has the role of Gaara from Naruto: Shippūden.

Akaza's English voice actor has the role of Mahito from Jujutsu Kaisen.

Akaza ranked 17th in the second popularity poll with 1982 votes.

It is implied that Akaza retained most of his human traits as a demon, including his tattoos. As his crimes increased more and more by killing and devouring people, his arm tattoos became more and more common to symbolize the number of crimes he committed.