Twelve Demonic Moons

Twelve Demonic Moons

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Twelve Demonic Moons

Anime

manga

 Anime

Information

Japanese

十二鬼月

Romaji

Junikizuki

Status

To show

Membership

Muzan Kibutsuji

Appearance

manga

Chapter 21

Anime

Episode 12

The Twelve Demonic Moons ( 十 じゅう 二 に 鬼 き 月 づき Jûnikizuki ) were a group of twelve very powerful demons who were under the direct command of the Demon Lord, Muzan Kibutsuji .

 

 

Summary

1  Preview

1.1  The Bloody Battle

2  History

3  Members

4  References

Overview

The Twelve Demon Moons are the 12 strongest fighters among the demons, second in strength and authority only to the demon lord himself, Muzan Kibutsuji . Each member of the Moons received a greater portion of Muzan's blood than the other demons, greatly increasing their powers.

 

The Twelve Moons are divided into two groups, the Upper Six Moons ( 上 じょう 弦 げん Jogen ), numbered from one to six, and the Six Lower Moons ( 下 か 弦 げん Kagen ), also numbered one through six. The number signifies their rank among the Moons, determined by each member's level of strength, with the Upper First Moon being the strongest and the Lower Sixth Moon being the weakest. The Lower Moons have their numbers and ranks engraved in a single eye, while the Upper Moons have their numbers in one eye and the kanji for "Upper Moon" ( 上 じょう 弦 げん Jôgen ) in the other.

 

Although the exact relationship between the two groups is unclear, Muzan himself says that the Upper Moons despise the Lower Moons.

 

The Upper Moons each possess a level of power that far exceeds that of the Lower Moons; as proof of their strength, the strongest of the Demon Slayer Army , the Pillars , have killed many Lower Moons over the years, while the Upper Moons have killed (and eaten) many Pillars. Kagaya Ubuyashiki states that it had been a hundred years since an Upper Moon had been killed after Gyutaro and Daki 's defeat . While the Lower Moons have been replaced countless times, the Upper Moons have not changed in the past 100 years.

 

The Twelve Moons were given three tasks to perform by order of Muzan:

 

Finding the Blue Lycoris (the key ingredient in experimental medicine that turned Muzan into a demon), but since Muzan's discovery (via Hantengu ) that Nezuko Kamado is sunproof, he's decided that the first objective of Higher Ranks was to capture her and bring her to him.

The destruction of the Demon Slayer Army .

After over a thousand years of failure at both tasks, Muzan decided that the demons would have to serve him with suicidal devotion to ensure success.

When a party member is expelled and removed from the Twelve Moons, Muzan Kibutsuji demotes those members by cutting where the number signifying their rank is, creating an "X" shaped scar on the number, signifying that they are no longer part of the Twelve Moons. The only example of this event is Kyogai , who had already reached his "limit" and could no longer consume human flesh. This gradually led to Kyogai losing his appetite for humans and beginning to lose the ability to evolve and grow stronger. Therefore, it was deemed too weak to remain in its lower 6 Moons position.

 

 

Muzan killing all Lower Ranks except Enmu.

After their most recent failure with the death of Rui (Lower Moons Five), Muzan decided to completely dismantle the Lower Moons. He then killed all of the Lower Moons, sparing only Enmu , Lower Moons 1, giving him a chance to redeem himself by killing a Pillar and bringing Tanjiro Kamado 's head to him . [1] With the death of Enmu by Tanjiro, the Lower Moons are functionally dissolved and all of their members are dead, [2] and with the death of Nakime by Muzan himself, the Upper Moons are also functionally dissolved with all of their dead limbs. [3]

 

The Bloody Battle

 

According to Kokushibo , if there is discontent among members of the Upper Moons, the Lower Ranking member must invoke the right to kill or defeat the desired target in order to change their position in the hierarchy. Anything that defies the rules will face retaliation, as seen when Akaza attacked Doma who was one rank higher than him, he then had his arm severed by Kokushibo as a warning for ignoring the pecking order.

 

Story

The first of the Twelve Demon Moons encountered in the series was former Lower Rank Six, Kyogai, who is killed in battle by Tanjiro Kamado. Tanjiro and his companions would soon after embark into the Natagumo Mountains to confront the lower-ranked Rui, who was manipulating a group of demons into forcibly acting like his family and helping him kill the Demon Slayers. Tanjiro nearly succeeded in decapitating Rui, but the demon outwitted him by using his threads to cut off his head. He is then saved by the timely arrival of the Water Hashira, Giyu Tomioka, who quickly decapitates Rui for good. Rui's death would later cause Muzan Kibutsuji to lose all his faith in the faction's ability and proceeded to disband the remaining lower ranks by cold-bloodedly annihilating all members except for the first lower rank, Enmu.

 

Enmu then receives an additional injection of blood from Muzan and is tasked with killing the Hashira and Tanjiro as a last chance offer to save his life, with the promise of even more blood should he complete his mission. Enmu then intercepted Tanjiro with his companions on a train. He planned to feast on the over 200 passengers by combining his body with the train and using his Blood Demon Art to trap them in their dreams. Through the joint efforts of Tanjiro Kamado and Inosuke Hashibira, Enmu is defeated, but their short-lived victory is cut short by the unexpected arrival of Upper Rank 3, Akaza. Akaza would start the battle with the Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku. After a long battle, Akaza claims Kyojuro's life and quickly escapes to avoid the rising sun.

 

Daki, Upper Rank Six, is the next high rank demon encountered. After learning that a demon is claiming his feeding ground in the entertainment district, Tengen Uzui (Sound Hashira) leaves with the help of Tanjiro, Nezuko, Inosuke, and Zenitsu. The group manage to locate Daki and sever her neck, only for her to reveal her older brother and the real Upper Rank Six, Gyutaro. Gyutaro and Daki are then revealed to share bodies and are ultimately both defeated after their simultaneous decapitation.

 

Immediately after the deaths of Gyutaro and Daki (Top Rank Six), Muzan summoned the remaining members of the Top Ranks and gave Hantengu and Gyokko (Top Rank Four and Five, respectively) a mission to exterminate the Blacksmith Village, to reduce the power of the Demon Slayer Corps by removing their ability to fight on par with swordless demons. Both Hantengu and Gyokko were killed, but not before Hantengu saw (before dying) Nezuko standing in the sun and telling Muzan. This shifted Muzan's main interest to devouring Nezuko to conquer the sun.

 

After his attack on the Ubayashiki Mansion, Muzan escaped to Infinity Castle thanks to Nakime. It is revealed that Nakime replaced Hantengu as the new top rank four and that Kaigaku (a former Demon Slayer and superior of Zenitsu Agatsuma) became the new top rank six after an encounter with Kokushibo, thus replacing Gyutaro and Daki. It's unclear who the new Upper Rank Five were, or if Muzan was even able to find a replacement in the first place.

 

Shortly after arriving at Infinity Castle, Shinobu Kocho would stumble across the upper second rank, Doma, feasting on his female cult followers in his room. An unmarried woman survived, only to be ruthlessly mutilated by Doma despite Shinobu's hasty efforts to save her. The battle began between the Hashira and Upper Rank. However, Shinobu's poison assortment proved useless against Doma's power. The demon would then proceed to defeat and quickly absorb the Hashira, only for Kanao Tsuyuri to arrive too late to save her.

 

Zenitsu then encountered Kaigaku and had a duel to the death with his former classmate, resulting in Kaigaku's death and Zenitsu nearly dying. Elsewhere in the castle, Tanjiro and Giyu Tomioka are located near Akaza. Akaza proved to be a formidable opponent, nearly killing both of them. Even after cutting off his head, Akaza out of sheer willpower managed to keep his body from withering. It was only through the memories of his previous life and his human name (Hakuji) and seeing important figures from his past that he was finally put to sleep and passed on.

 

Doma continues his fight against Kanao, who is unexpectedly assisted by Inosuke Hashibira. He initially overwhelms the two with his Ice-attributed Blood Demon Arts, but was unexpectedly weakened by the lingering effects of Shinobu's wisteria flower poison after absorbing his body. The two, through their combined efforts, were then able to detach Doma's head, effectively ending him.

 

The Love Hashira, Mitsuri Kanroji and Serpent Hashira, Obanai Iguro take on Nakime, the new top rank four. The demoness foiled the pair's attempts by using her Blood Demon Art which warps and controls the entire infrastructure of Infinity Castle as she sees fit. Simultaneously, the Mist Hashira, Muichiro Tokito was separated from the Stone Hashira, Gyomei Himejima by Nakime's Blood Demon Art, falling to the location of the most powerful Upper Rank One Demon, Kokushibo.

 

Kokushibo instinctively sensed the blood relationship between him and Muichiro. Impressed by Muichiro's skill with his breathing style, Kokushibo unsheathed his sword and revealed his moon breathing form. The attack would sever Muichiro's left arm and he is quickly defeated with minimal effort. Instead of killing the boy, Kokushibo decides he will turn Muichiro into a demon due to the sentimentality in their blood relationship and respect for his fighting ability. Genya Shinazugawa, waiting for an opportunity to ambush Kokushibo from behind, fires his shotgun in an attempt to save Muichiro. Faster than Genya can follow with his eyes, Kokushibo immediately dismantles him; both arms are severed and he is bifurcated at the waist. Kokushibo mentions encountering a Demon Hunter with very similar physiology around 300 years ago, and prepares to kill Genya by decapitation. Before he can administer the final blow, Genya is saved by the timely arrival of his older brother and Wind Hashira, Sanemi Shinazugawa.

 

Sanemi manages to trade blows against Kokushibo, but only for a short while. After receiving a brutal injury during an attack, Sanemi reveals that he has "rare blood". He intended to use the intoxication of his premium blood as a distraction during battles, and although Kokushibo is momentarily caught off guard by the smell, it has little to no effect afterwards. . Using everything he could think of and at his wit's end, Sanemi is nearly killed by a barrage of blade blows. The Hashira is saved by the intervention of his comrade, Gyomei Himejima, the Stone Hashira and the strongest Demon Slayer of the Demon Slayer Corps.

 

A difficult battle ensues between the top rank 1 and the Hashira with the demon exploiting his extraordinary sight abilities as well as his blades of flesh. As he is pushed further into a corner, Kokushibo's blade lengthens greatly expanding several smaller blades, further increasing his already massive range and attack power, slowly overpowering the Hashira. A weakened but still alive Genya, manages to recover and remembering Tanjiro's words that being weaker gives him the unique advantage of being unnoticed by their enemies, uses the element of surprise to draw demon bullets at Kokushibo who is immobilized and weakened by Muichiro's blade ramming the demon's abdomen along, the bullets causing trees to grow inside Kokushibo, further robbing him of his movement and strength. He becomes increasingly desperate in his desire to win, and Gyomei takes the opportunity to smash his head into the ground. This does not end the top rank who pushes back the head and greedy for victory develops blades of flesh on his own body, becomes much more aggressive and monstrous.

 

The demon, however, has an internal conflict after witnessing his ugly form through his reflection on Sanemi's blade, and how what he has become contrasts dramatically with what he wanted to be. As his thoughts of seeking to avoid defeat and resentment towards himself clash strongly with him, his body begins to break down, exactly at the point where Muichiro stabbed him, struggling for one last time, the body of the 'Upper Rank 1 crumbles, as he realizes that all he wanted was to be like his younger, more talented brother, spelling the end for the highest-ranking member of the Twelve Kizuki.

 

Obanai and Mitsuri later showed that they still had great difficulty reaching Nakime's position; constantly thwarted in their attempts by her bloody demon art for the duration of the Demon Slayer Corps' battles with the higher ranks. Soon after, the two are able to reunite with Tanjiro and Giyu again with the helpful help of the recently killed Doctor Demoness, Tamayo's assistant Yushiro. Yushiro manages to ambush Nakime using his Blood Demon Art: Blindfold while she was distracted and takes control of her body by altering her vision. Yushiro declares his intention to get revenge on Muzan for killing Tamayo; vowing to use his higher rank ability against him to dismantle the castle and bring it to light.