 |
This Article Contains Spoilers -
WARNING: This article contains major spoilers. If you do not wish to know vital information on plot / character elements in a story, you may not wish to read beyond this warning: We hold no responsibility for any negative effects these facts may have on your enjoyment of said media should you continue. That is all. |
  |
This article's content is marked as Mature The page contains mature content that may include coarse language, sexual references, and/or graphic violent images which may be disturbing to some. Mature pages are recommended for those who are 18 years of age and older. If you are 18 years or older or are comfortable with graphic material, you are free to view this page. Otherwise, you should close this page and view another page. |
|
The Twelve Kizuki (in Japanese: 十二鬼月, Jūnikizuki), also known as the Twelve Demon Moons, are the secondary antagonists of the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba franchise. They are an organization made up of the twelve strongest demons under the command of the Demon King Muzan Kibutsuji.
The Twelve Kizuki are divided into two groups, the six Upper Ranks and the six Lower Ranks. The members of both groups are ranked from one to six in order of strength, with one being the strongest and six being the weakest. The Lower Ranks have both their numbers and the kanji for "Lower Rank" engraved into only one eye, while the Upper Ranks have their numbers engraved in one eye and the kanji for "Upper Rank" engraved in the other (except for Nakime, who only has one eye). Each member of the Twelve Kizuki has also received a large amount of Muzan's blood, thus making them far stronger than the average demon.
As their leader, Muzan has absolute control over the Twelve Kizuki and tends to replace or kill any member of the organization once he thinks that they've grown weak and are no longer useful to his plans, as demonstrated when he eventually decided to purge the Lower Ranks altogether during the Taishō Era.
Members[]
Upper Ranks[]
The Upper Ranks each possess a level of power that far surpasses that of the Lower Ranks; as proof of their strength, the strongest warriors of the Demon Slayer Corps, the Hashira, have killed numerous Lower Ranks over the years, while the Upper Ranks have killed and eaten many Hashira. As a result of this, the Lower Ranks have been replaced countless times, while the Upper Ranks have not changed over the course of the past 100 years.
In the aftermath of Enmu's demise, Muzan ordered Akaza, the Upper Rank Three, to kill the Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku, and bring him Tanjiro's head. Although Akaza was able to mortally wound Kyojuro after a lengthy battle, he was forced to flee from the rising sun before he could get the chance to kill Tanjiro, leading Muzan to furiously berate Akaza for failing to fully carry out his orders when the latter returned to him to report his results.
Following the deaths of Gyutaro and Daki, the two holders of the position of Upper Rank Six, Muzan summoned the remaining Upper Ranks to the Infinity Castle for the first time in 113 years and ordered Hantengu and Gyokko, the Upper Ranks Four and Five, to destroy the Swordsmith Village to prevent its inhabitants from continuing to manufacture Nichirin Swords for the Demon Slayer Corps. Although Hantengu and Gyokko were both slain in battle, the former survived long enough to witness Nezuko conquer the sun. This prompted Muzan to give up on trying to find the Blue Spider Lily and order the three remaining Upper Ranks to capture Nezuko and bring her to him so that he could absorb her powers and finally achieve his longtime dream of becoming truly immortal.
Original Upper Moons (Pre-Infinity Castle Arc)[]
- One - Kokushibo
- Two - Doma
- Three - Akaza
- Four - Hantengu (Deceased)
- Five - Gyokko (Deceased)
- Six - Gyutaro and Daki (Deceased)
Replacements[]
Lower Ranks[]
The Lower Ranks are the weaker tier of the Twelve Kizuki. Among the Lower Ranks, the only one who was known to have been replaced was Kyogai, the former Lower Rank Six. At some point after being promoted to the Lower Ranks, Kyogai reached his limit as a demon and started to lose his appetite for human flesh, thus also losing his ability to evolve and become stronger. As a result, Muzan deemed Kyogai too weak to remain among the Lower Ranks and discarded him, leading the latter to begin obsessively searching for a human with marechi blood (a rare type of blood that can increase a demon's power 100 times more than normal human blood can) in order to reclaim his place among the Twelve Kizuki. He was ultimately unsuccessful in this endeavor and was slain by Tanjiro.
After the demise of Rui, the Lower Rank Five, Muzan was furious by the constant failures of the Lower Ranks and summoned the ones who were still alive to the Infinity Castle, where he rebuked them for their incompetence and eventually decided to wipe them out altogether. Despite their pleas for mercy, Muzan started killing them off one by one until Enmu, the Lower Rank One, was the only one left. However, unlike the others, Enmu showed no fear over his seemingly inevitable death and even nonchalantly accepted it for pure excitement, as well as taking great pleasure in witnessing the deaths of his fellow Lower Ranks. Enmu's sadistic streak and unwavering loyalty impressed Muzan, and he decided to give him another chance by injecting him with a large amount of his blood and ordering him to bring him Tanjiro's head on the promise that he would be given even more blood if he was successful.
After Enmu was slain by Tanjiro and Inosuke during his battle with them on the Mugen Train, Muzan did not bring in anyone to replace him and turned his full attention to the Upper Ranks, preventing the Lower Ranks from ever building back up again.
Current (All Deceased)[]
Former[]
Trivia[]
- Nakime, Daki, Mukago, and Ubume are the only known members of the Twelve Kizuki who are female.
- Gyutaro and Daki are the only members who are biologically related to each other, as they are brother and sister.
- Kokushibo and Kaigaku are the only members who were formerly Demon Slayers. They are also the only two members of the Twelve Kizuki who wield swords, and thus the only characters in the series to actually exhibit their Breathing Styles as elemental powers.
- Rui is the only member who is confirmed to have retained his human name as a demon, as his mother called him by his name shortly before she died from the fatal wounds that he inflicted her with.
- However, it's likely Kaigaku retained his human name as well, due to Zenitsu referring to him as such without being notified of Kaigaku's name.
- Kyogai, Rui, and Enmu are the only Lower Ranks who were shown fighting against a Demon Slayer in the anime.
- Akaza is the first Upper Rank to make his debut in the anime and the first one to be shown killing a Hashira on screen.
- Enmu is the first member to be shown surviving decapitation via Nichirin sword, although this was due to the fact that he had already fused with the train and moved his real neck elsewhere.
- Given that Kokushibo, the oldest and strongest member of the Twelve Kizuki, was born during the Sengoku Era, it can be presumed that the Twelve Kizuki was founded at least 400 years before it was effectively eradicated by the Demon Slayer Corps during the Taisho Era.
- Coincidentally, each of the Upper Ranks carry aspects of Muzan’s personality.
- Out of all the Upper Ranks, Hantengu, Gyokko, and Kaigaku are the only members who served as the antagonists of their own backstories.
- Kokushibō wanted to be stronger than his twin brother Yoriichi, but became a demon so that he avoid dying young from his Demon Slayer Mark and live long enough to achieve his dream of becoming the strongest samurai in history.
- Dōma was neglected by his parents, despite being the centre of a cult that was created to worship him.
- Akaza lost his fiancée and her father (who was also his martial arts teacher and a dojo master) when the two of them were fatally poisoned by the members of a nearby rival dojo.
- Nakime lost everything she had to her deadbeat husband, who sold all their belongings to fuel his gambling addiction.
- Hantengu was a lifelong murderer who was so delusional that he always believed that he was innocent and took to blaming others for his crimes as a way to gain sympathy for himself.
- Gyokko developed a morbid obsession with human corpses after the mangled bodies of his parents, who died on a fishing trip out at sea, washed up onto the beach near his village and eventually murdered a child who made fun of him for his disturbing behavior.
- Gyūtarō and Daki grew up in extreme poverty in the slums of Yoshiwara and suffered from severe abuse due to their low social standing.
- Kaigaku was a selfish coward who betrayed his fellow orphans, his classmate Zenitsu, and his teacher Jigoro in order to save his own skin.
External Links[]
[]
 Villains
| ||
|
Demons Twelve Kizuki Replacement Upper Moons Lower Moons Former Lower Moons Muzan's Lesser Followers Humans | ||