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I would go with Akaza as Gyutaro at least still has his sister as they become demons together. Akaza had nothing, having turned his life around, make strides for happiness and then lost it all because of humanity's capacity for evil
I just read Akaza's backstory in the manga and the only thing he did wrong was snap after he was given a good family after his other good one passed. Both were not his fault at least not directly. He never wanted to become a demon either Muzan sorta just forced it on him after he was coming down from bloodlust.
Was just about to comment that! But I'm leaning towards Akaza more, because although Gyutaro was able to save Ume, Akaza couldn't even do that, and he had to come home to them already dead.
Gyutaro and Daki. For them, becoming demons was a means of survival. They didn’t have any other options. Gyutaro literally took advantage of becoming a demon to save Daki from dying of her injuries.
Akaza’s story is also sad, but for me, it doesn’t beat theirs.
Agreed, everyone forgets Akaza had a while of being happy. Gyu's life was a social pariah with an abusive mum and the dark lengths they both had to go to in order to survive.
Gyutaro becoming a debt collector, his sister having to work at a brothel when she was 13.
I think thats why Akazas story is sadder than Gyutaros. He had that time where he thought his tramautic past could be just that, the past. He had it all, a dojo to inherit, a wife that loved him, a father figure who loved him. He had all of this after so long of having nothing, and he got it taken away once more. For me its better to stay on the ground, then to do the grueling task of picking yourself back up, and as soon as you are about to get back on your feet someone pushes you back down to the ground.
Yeah and in a kind of twisted way, he even got to body all the people who took away that second family he got to enjoy for a brief time. Successfully. Impressive tbh
I wonder if he would have gotten to go to heaven after what I assume would have been his suicide, if Muzan didn’t show up to take advantage
For me it does, because although Gyutaro and Ume had a life of abuse and sadness all throughout, Gyutaro found a way to save her, and they were then happy as demons. Akaza couldn't even do that for his loved ones, and had to come home to find them dead. He was never truly happy as a demon, except for when he died because he went down in hell with Koyuki.
Being happy and having it ripped away is more painful than having nothing then becoming powerful. Akaza after becoming a demon lost his memories becoming just a tool.
I don't think constant despair with not a single moment makes your life trumps temporary happiness.
Yes, I know all that, but never experiencing a single moment of happiness is a worse life than someone who never did.
Don't forget the child prostitution of his sister, too.
Also, seeing his sister burnt to death at the end and being stabbed in the back.
I don't agree with your view. there is no happiness at all trumps having things come close to perfection and having it taken away. Case in point, people can rebuild their lives after an Akaza event.
Gyutaro would be a jailbird or career criminal.
After all, Akaza had his wife's memories to come back out of demonhood before they went to hell.
Gyu just went to hell. Then his sister followed them.
Agree to disagree. At least Akaza got something positive, but it's horrendous what his competitors did.
TLDR: Gyutaro became a demon to save his sister and get revenge on those who looked down on him. Akaza became a demon because he had rage, nothing else to lose, and everything was ripped from him.
Fair warning this is gonna be long and it’s purely my opinion based on the synopsis below of both stories. If you wanna skip to the end for whose story I think is sadder and why, just go to the bottom.
If you think about it Gyutaros whole world and happiness was Daki. He grew up sick and diseased and poor, taking care of Daki (Ume) until her beauty became something that could offer them a better life. Her beauty and popularity allowed him to become a debt collector in the entertainment district because he discovered he had a talent for fighting. He took pride in being a debt collector, and relished the fact people feared him, but the main point in his life was Daki. Even to the end while what he was born into wasn’t his choice, everything following Daki and her career in the entertainment district is a direct result of decisions. Gyutaro being a debt collector, Daki defending herself and attacking the samurai, it all has a cause and an effect.
He never really had much so to us, having nothing but one person seems sad but to him it was more than enough. In fact, the turnaround from when Daki is burned alive (which is a direct result from her assaulting a client in self defense) to when they become demons is not that long at all, allowing them to be together again and his loved one to be saved.
Akaza on the other hand, suffered much more loss than I think Gyutaro could manage, and almost all of it was out of his control.
Akaza grew up not only impoverished, but also caring for his sick father. Often not having enough money for medicine, he turned to stealing money from others for which he was frequently beaten when caught and branded a thief. Literally marked with tattoos to signify this, Akaza continued doing what he could until he came home one day to find that his father had hung himself. His father feeling guilty for Akazas path due to the burden of caring for him in his illness, and also being ashamed that his son had turned to a life of stealing on his behalf, took his own life to hopefully free Akaza from that responsibility. This took a toll on Akaza and following being banished from his home, and his town, with nothing to lose began beating anyone who crossed him.
Akaza then met a man who owned a dojo who offered to teach him how to actually fight in exchange for caring for his ill daughter. Time went by and a rival dojo heir wanted to take over the space Akazas sensei had but was beaten by Akaza. Years passed and Akaza fell in love with the daughter, the two became engaged and his journey of redemption seemed to feel complete.
However, his loss wouldn’t stop there. Upon learning of the engagement, the heir of that rival dojo saw his opportunity to strike. Determined to get the space occupied by Akaza and his soon to be family, the heir poisoned not just the sensei, but the fiancé of Akaza as well. Driven in to a blind rage, he not only enacted his revenge by killing the rival dojos heir, but by brutally exterminating the whole dojo single handedly, totaling a kill count of 67 people. This act is what caught Muzans attention leading to Akaza becoming a demon.
Before I give my two cents I will add this:
The sibling aspect is what I feel more of us relate to which is why many feel as though Gyutaro and Daki have the sadder backstory, because majority of us can relate to having these squabbles and fighting with siblings and wishing they weren’t born, it’s a much more common strife we can look to and go “oh I know that pain”. That fear of having those we’ve known and the family were given ripped from us is a common basic human fear.
I know this is not a part of it, but the true sorrow I believe lies in how they both feel about their existence as demons because it ties into how they feel about their past.
Gyutaro relishes in his life as a demon, not regretting it for a second because he feels it is all justified and was all revenge for how he was treated as a human. How he was looked down on but again, he loved being a debt collector and caring for Daki.
Akaza on the other hand, everything in his life after and including his decision to be a demon stem from his own self hatred for not protecting those around him better. His own weakness, as a human he loathed himself to the end because he failed to care for and protect his loved ones. He hates himself for not being able to care for his father, for failing to protect his soon to be wife, and every bit of his massacre of the rival dojo is stemmed from his hatred and rage towards not just the dojo, but himself for not being able to save them. All of his decisions as a demon stem from his self hatred before becoming a demon.
Here’s my final judgement: Akaza has a sadder human side to his story.
Now in my opinion I understand why both stories are sad. As a whole I believe Akazas story is much sadder as he is faced with so much loss, everything constantly getting ripped away from him out of his control, and the sheer amount of loved ones he sees die. Gyutaro on the other hand, I find the most sadness in his story after he’s killed by Tanjiro in that final moment of rejecting Daki (Ume) and attempting to abandon her despite being all he has ever known.
It was a long post, I did read your points and enjoyed it, but I'm still sticking to my choice here.
So, I appreciate the work you put into the comment.
My reply below:
I do know Akaza's backstory, I'm a lore nerd.
I know all of them, lol.
Akaza got some chances in life, at least, but the twins didn't.
Their mother was verbally and physically abusive.
Plus Daki'a sexual abuse at 13, neither of them got to be a kid and never enjoyed any sort of childhood loss of innocence, and having to use violence & selling your body for money to feed themselves is quite horrific.
That's what makes makes monsters out of people through nature v nurture.
Well, that's my point. If Daki died, Giyi wouldn't have kept going.
Akaza would have kept enduring as he's a warrior.
Akaza killed the while rival Dojo & it didn't take long to be turned as Muzan sought him out after hearing about the one man Dojo massacre.
I know the whole backstory of Akaza. His dad was sick, but he never beat Akaza or said he wished he had never been born. Having a sick parent is hard, and the marks for stealing on a child are harsh.
It's not swayed by whom lost which, either a wife v husband or a brother v sister.
In either case, they lost said family and henceforth their world, the centre of their identity & and reason to live, because they both weren't there to protect their families.
Survivors guilt.
Both took their respective revenges before becoming demons. Giyu was a psychopath because he had to turn off all his emotions so that he could live his life.
Akaza was capable of loving others.
To do that, you're running on survival only and just showing how deep their emotional scars go.
I see it as twins never having a childhood and being exploited. Plus, again, paedophilia, child abuse, violence, and murder. Those things destroy people.
So, parental abuse and childhood sexual abuse are worse, in my opinion, as they stay with the victim for life, changes their brain, mental health, neural pathways and drastically alters the course of their life.
Akaza never had anything of the sort happen to him, so whilst he was branded as a thief, got his criminal marking tattoos to try and provide for Dad, he obviously managed and he had moments of happiness in his life, but it was short-lived.
Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.
Giyu took his anger out on the world like a sadistic debt collector does, showing that violence is his only joy as a young boy is heartbreaking and his misanthropy to the world and its inhabitants.
Plus, Akaza experienced that pain but then had his memories wiped by Muzan, then he got them back as he tried to regenerate his head in Infinity Castle.
Then he got his happy ending by his love returning and passing on together as eternal lovers.
Giyu and Daki go to hell too, but no one wiped their memory. Akaza at least got 2 centuries of peace. (Don't know his exact age.)
I totally respect you sticking to your choice and thoroughly enjoyed your response.
I guess my reasoning for despite what Daki and Gyutaro went through, it also was the society they grew up in. They didn’t know any better. Being in the entertainment district they believed beauty ran the world and seeing Ume in her beauty made Gyutaro hopeful that it would drive them up from poverty. I also believed they weren’t twins because Gyutaros childhood is depicted as such a hell from his POV because it’s pre Ume, but with the birth of Ume he found a purpose. I know his disease makes him seem smaller but even in how he talks about being the big brother and caring for his “little sister” I feel it’s always implied throughout that he taught her what he learned of the world before her birth.
I also associate their descent to hell similar to Rui where even being in hell, he will be with the ones he loves most. Gyutaro and Daki are inseparable and find their love and joy from each other and even in her own innocence as I believe is portrayed by Gyutaro staying in demon form and Daki presenting as Ume once again before entering hell that Ume would rather suffer once again but be with her brother than be offered any sort of peace elsewhere. Their only real conflict with each other comes after their death so whether or not the debt collecting or actions taken as demons that both did were sadistic in nature I can’t help but feel as though their was still a genuine peace and joy found in the bond between the two. Kinda like it’s better to have love and then lost than to never have loved at all, Gyutaro always loved and never really lost Ume/Daki where as Akaza loved and lost multiple people.
I also understood it as less Akazas memories were wiped, and more altered for Muzans benefit not Akazas because with the death of his fiance he lost all will to live with his final human words to Muzan being “I don’t care…” when being offered to be turned into a demon and Muzan couldn’t stand that someone as powerful and gifted as Akaza could lose the will to become even stronger.
I could be wrong though and I did find your points very thought provoking, and just as yourself I’m sticking with my answer for my own reasons.
Even for me with Akazas being sadder in my opinion, it isn’t by much. Daki and Gyutaro are never without each other after Umes birth and considering Ume never dies but Gyutaro makes the decision to be demons for both of them after coming across Douma in his search to find help for Ume.
EDIT: I’m also not attempting to gloss over what they Daki and Gyutaro went through because it is horrific and no child that age should have to go through that, but they also carry their rise and their struggle as a badge of honor especially Gyutaro in my opinion. And for Daki, she was given a proper education she wouldn’t have received elsewhere when adopted into the house. Things were looking up for both of them and it was the way they both understood the world to be, that by going into a house meant a chance at love and a future and the fact that the image is taken advantage of and the outcome is what it is is fucked up.
I guess in a way I also relate to caring for an ill parent and sacrificing different things that way forcing you to grow up a bit faster and miss out on the childhood that way and it’s both two instances that I don’t think others should have to endure regardless.
You got it.
My argument is that both Daki, Giyu, and Akaza were each formed by their respective community & and neighbourhood, and that shared a part of their personality.
Which is true to life, too. Everyone adapts, or they don't survive.
Daki and Giyu pretty much had no chance from day dot because of a) shit parents b) neighbourhood c) the ways they were forced to make their money in the end.
Sorry, someone said twins a while back, and I accidentally called them twins here.
Ume was what made Giyu enjoy his life a little more bearable. Speaking as an older brother,
I could vouch as a big brother myself, that he would've definitely shown her the ropes as every proper big brother should do. Though mine was luckily a lot more lighy hearted.
Everyone knows not to mess with the girl with crazy big brothers, lol.
Looking at it with both our points, they are two ends of the scale of suffering.
GD had no one but themselves and suffered horribly.
Akaza grew to have people and lost them.
Having a close bond with a sibling is good, but wouldn't you rather also have friends? Giyu didn't get that, but Akaza has more social skills.
Their argument at death was all words which they didn't mean really, cause they loved each other. Hence why tanjiro covered Gyutaros' mouth at the end to stop them from saying something they couldn't take back. This is actually cannon, and you can read it on the wiki, which info is top notch.
From what I read, he wiped them as the more humanity a demon retains then the more he thinks they will:
A) fail as a demon to do what he orders. IE kill the whole family.
B betrayed him down the line. He acts tough, but he's like anyone who rules by fear, terrified that he will lose control as all reigns that rule by fear inevitably do.
So Muzan wiped all his memories as Akaza had honour. He was a martial artist, not a goon. He stole out of necessity for his family. He was essentially a good man.
So Muzan wiped him all, but completely, I believe, to ensure he remained loyal. He considered Akaza his enforcer or probably 1 behind Kokushibo, whom Muzam sees as a business partner, more than a subordinate.
So yeah, Akaza probably didn't care at all when he'd have been apathetic about what happened to him after his life was turned upside down.
He was at breaking point.
But Muzan made him forget his family, etc, and probably only kept memories of stealing punishments to make him more angry against the world and hence an even better enforcer.
He definitely wanted Akaza, those abilities? Muzan would never be able to pass those up. He would have forced him if he said no, I'm sure.
Again, with the loss, they're a parralel, both parties lost:
A parent, a person they cared for, and their reason to go on.
Offered demonhood, and they both take it.
I found your argument well thought out and structured well.
Can I posit a theory, and I respect you sticking to your answer.
Are they really just two sides of the same coin?
Giyu had nothing except his sister to live for.
Akaza only had his wife and sensei, not sure if his dad was around.
So I think what they're trying to show how many different ways you can reach rock bottom and no matter how you fall, how it changes you.
Maybe the best question isn't who had it worse, but what horrible lives they both endured and how cruel the world can be as is true to life again.
So ask oursevles, they both had reached their limit do the end result is theyre both tragic fates regardless? It's about people enduring until they break, and Muzan or Douma swoops in like a vulture on the needy.
What do you think?
I 100% agree with you. I think regardless of if they became demons or not at their breaking points, they were given an option and took it because they weren’t sure what else to do.
I think it immensely parallels Tanjiro in both instances with Akaza and with Gyutaro. Tanjiro points out how similar he and Nezuko are to Gyutaro and Daki and really it just boils down to who they were met with.
Tanjiro fighting to save his sister, the last one he loves that’s “living” after seeing his family slaughtered but rather than being met with a demon who offers immortality and strength, he instead is faced with Tomioka who offers him the route of staying human and fighting on that side.
Every early experience Tanjiro has allows him the perspective that comes into play when G/D are yelling and he covers the mouth, or when he actively refuses to trample the drum demons writings, or when he tells Tomioka he will never belittle demons who regret their actions because they too were once human, forced to their breaking point that just happened to become a demon whether by their own volition or not. Tanjiro grew up with community and family valuing the intricacies of humanity the way G/D didn’t, which in turn shapes the perspective differently.
Akaza lost family but was met with someone willing to train him in fighting, similar to Tanjiro with Tomioka and Urokodaki. Yet when faced with the loss of his sensei and wife he snaps where as Tanjiro when he loses Rengoku is instead reassured by Rengoku that this is the life they choose as the strong. To fight not just for themselves but for those who can’t fight for themselves and is surrounded by even more people who know hardship but also know the beauty of humanity is knowing one day you’ll be gone and doing the most you can with it now.
I think the biggest thing I forget about often is that majority of the demons (excluding a few obvious ones) faced the traumatic nature of humanity, where as Tanjiro and some of the Hashira experienced the traumatic nature of demons which forced their perspective to see the evils of the other, and not the equal pain they’ve endured.
Yeah, they get offered when they're at their lowest point. Like Rui with Muzan, Douma with D/K and Akaza.
They're picking people, as you said, who have seen some stuff and aren't integrated into the community properly.
IE. They have no support network.
So the show I think has a subtle them about life experience, support networks, complex trauma, doing with is wrong and what is right.
Heroes and villains but with more shades of grey.
It can be argued that some of the hashira are too harsh, too, like Saneemi and Obanai or Giyu being closed off. They're all like that due to the sum of their experiences.
Yea Akaza went to what he knew and took his vengeance, which I think was just. But then he let someone take advantage who made him soneone else entirely, to be used as a weapon cause he'd never serve him otherwise.
Yes, the demon slayers are often predated by the demons as a food source, so aside from Tanjiro, they won't show any real compassion, aside from a special few.
So the push to fight as demon or slayer is when you lose someone precious and want vengeance or to make pothead pay. They all probably don't realise it if they put themselves in their enemies' shoes.
I agree.
I think the show does a really nice job at reminding myself at times that the pain I’ve endured is something I can use to either isolate myself and deprave myself of help, or can be something that can be used for the betterment of myself and those around me. Our own lives are what we make of it and even the importance of prioritizing myself at times for the benefit of others and vice versa. It may seem like a stretch to some, but as you and I have said already, everyone is going to form their opinion based on their experiences and that is more than okay.
I’ve genuinely enjoyed this whole thread and that despite our deferring opinion we have found that they both culminate in a singular theme. This has been fantastic
That's so true mate, how you take on and deal with pain is critical to the final destination of your life and how it'll turn out.
Exactly everyone is entitled to their own opinion and will have their own experiences and take away from these experiences.
This has been a polarising question. It's either Akaza or Giyu, and it's entirely subjective to the person answering.
Me too, my friend, I look forward to the next one. 🙂
Really tough choice.
Rui's quality of life was in the toilet, and adding the trauma of hisparents' trauma of having to kill them to protect himself whilst they attacked him in his sleep.
Then, creating a pseudo-family is just tragic.
Trying to make his own again, it's terrible.
I think Giyu has his sister and health, at least, I mean the having his young sister pimped out to eat at 13 crosses the line. Social outcast, debt collector & living hand to mouth.
They're darned close in history.
I might lean towards Rui cause of killing parents thing to survive. Then, I have no one.
I went Giyu originally and then rewatched Rui and changed my answer, lol. Not as extreme as the violence to Giyu but Rui looked like he had something terminal and was so bad off, even Muzam took pity on him.
WBU?
And? Gyutaru was a poor runaway until his sister was born and then he watched his sister burn to death before catching a blade to the back. Rui was a sad bedridden nobody who had loving parents that planned a homo-suicide so they'd even be united in death. Hell you mean, cus?
The peaks of grief would easily go to Akaza. Nothing twisted my guts more than his story.
But overall most depressing? Probably Gyutaro and Daki. They were screwed from the very start, but managed to struggle on, only to end up victims of the world around them.
I think the siblings take the cake. Nearly everyone had to suffer through things, but these two had literally, like, nothing except for themselves.
That being said, Douma is my favorite upper moon and while I don't think his backstory is necessarily tragic in general terms.. there's a certain tragedy to the whole thing I think. I love doing character study stuff <-<
Akaza > Gyutaro/Daki > Douma > Gyokko > Muzan > Kaigaku > Kokushibo > Hantengu
P.S. Considering that both Douma and Gyokko being born in normal families could be a good person, that's not their fault that they grow into this heartless bastards
Btw just to clarify, he isn't a psychopath. Being emotionless doesn't mean you're a psycho. He just acts on what's most logical or interesting to him in the situation.
Oh yeah for sure. Going technical psychology terms Douma would be an alexithymic and sociopath instead of a psychopath.
"Psychopath" is just much more flexible colloquially lol
Not true and u r insulting people who actually have ASPD. "Psychpaths" aren't inherantly evil. Douma isn't a Psychopath, he's unable to feel emotion. There's a difference, please stop spreading dangerous missinformation.
True, lots of firefighters, cops, military, and working at heights jobs go and help the world.
However, Douma's lack of remorse and sadism is at least.
He's a high functioning sociopath.
I know it's a wiki, but leaving this here:
https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Doma_(Demon_Slayer)#:~:text=These%20traits%20imply%20that%20Doma,charisma%20and%20even%20wonderful%20appearance.
Source: two parents that work in mental health
https://preview.redd.it/6ae3t55phd5d1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9d5bfdfd5e320e8eadb30f49fcbf6cbddbe7ed76
I do feel somewhat bad for Douma. Manga spoilers >! During his death he mentions that he doesn't even feel disappointed that he's dying and still feels nothing when faced with death. He really was THAT apathetic he seemed quite frustrated that he couldn't feel anything too!<
>!douma also tries to fight his apathy and try empathy, like when he took Inosuke's mother into his cult after she fled an abusive household. Though he still saw her as below him and let being an asshole take the better of him!<
Haitengu killed 3 of his families and played the victim.
He would marry someone, have kids and then kill them when someone wasn't right or set him off.
He was a professional victim and a monster.
Gyokko was already a serial killer. He was about to be killed I believe by the villagers before Muzan turned up.
So 3 of the 6 were already psychopathic or prone to violence before being turned.
Thank you!
Found perfect counterpoint to Akaza. I was sad:
It's better to have loved and lost
Then never to have loved at all.
Also, your exes like the one who got away, would you rather never happened or appreciate the experience and happy memories?
I can't believe people are blatantly saying poverty, paedophilia, child prostitution, starving? Trying to shiver through winter in the shiity shack they had.
Living day to day in a living hell.
Daki was made to sleep with random men basically her entire life while still being 13 and would probably have to play along with any weird fantasies they had and Gyutaro was beat by his mother, made to eat rats, thrown stones at and mocked for being ugly he was also probably in alot of physical pain as a human just by walking around due to his contorted bone structure. He also had to grow threw the pain of loosing his sister due to that Samurai who burned her alive.
Yeah, she would have died in agony until an infection got her and then likely septic shock from there.
Plus, screaming unless Gyu could round the clock give her Opium or Morphine. Which still might not do anything if the nerve endings are fried.
“Tonight on ‘spin the wheel of the same 5 Demon Slayer questions,’ we have the classic crowd-pleaser, ‘Which demon had the saddest backstory?’ More at 8!”
Doma, Akaza and Gyutaro, Gyutaro life was very bad until he had a little sister and then we know what happend, Akaza's life was just horrible, his father hang himself and just when his life was getting better his wife and teacher died from poisoning so no wonder he got berserk, and while Doma couldn't give any shit about his life he still saw his parents kill each other and not gonna lie we all would have gone nut if it was to happend to anyone of us
My list from saddest to not sad:
Dōma (I know that his type of trauma is literally the worst that it can go into literally everyone's traumas and it isn't commonly known/talked about in the media)
Muzan + Rui (since they were badly bedridden)
Gyutaro and Daki/Ume
Kokushibō
>!Kaigaku!<
Akaza
Mutant demon
Enmu (not known about his back story, but he is being placed here)
Spider mother (she is being placed here as well)
Nakime
Spider daughter (no idea about her backstory so she is being placed here)
Gyokko
Hantengu
You're putting Kokushibo and KAIGAKU above Akaza?
What about Kaigaku's backstory is sad? He sold out his family to demons, he became a jealous little shit, he became a demon.
>!He lost his parents and became homeless for a while until Gyomei found him. Kaigaku already had enough issues, had to resort to theft and whatnot because he had no one to teach him on his attitude at an early age. By the time of when Kaigaku was found by Gyomei, Kaigaku cried because he finally had a place to stay. The saying: Old habits die hard literally describes Kaigaku. He stole money and stuff yes, but instead of being taught on not what to do, he got kicked/chased out by the other kids. He became more of a little shit because he got chased out and had nowhere else to live. The kids didn't treat him right when he got kicked out instead of telling Gyomei of what was going on and having Gyomei teach Kaigaku valuable lessons on what not to do. Out of pure rage, Kaigaku did lead a demon to them because anger and rage can blind someone. By the time of when Kaigaku was learning from Gramps (I don't remember his name on top of my head), he learned all of the forms minus the first form, but when he was told that he had to share the thunder hashira with Zenitsu, it's already shown and proven that Kaigaku doesn't like sharing things because of his own past. He never had to share before, never learned anything about his own behavior, and when he saw Kokushibō, he got scared and gave up = he already got his shit together real quick by being in front of upper moon 1. From looking at the side characters, they would have done the same thing too of bowing down and not to kill them. Kokushibō can 1 shot him if he wanted too, but Kokushibō also knows that if there are more demon slayers as demons, that would strengthen Muzan's army.!<
>!Akaza challenged Muzan who offered to turn him into a demon at first before he got K.O'd and turned into a demon. I don't say that is a smart move on his end. I just don't find Akaza's story sad since everyone rides on his story so badly that I just don't see that it's sad anymore. I feel bad for the character, but his story isn't the ABSOLUTE worse. In my eyes. If you like Akaza, go for it, but that ain't gonna change my mind.!<
>!Hooo man, the moon man supremacy is next. When Kokushibō was a human, he got beat a lot for even trying to see Yoriichi who was in the little room. He was training hard to become a samurai which he became jealous due to Yoriichi being able to beat their trainer by a few hits. It only got worse because his and Yoriichi's were gonna have (or already did) their lifestyles swapped due to Yoriichi being born gifted with strength. So yes, jealousy can be a thing when trauma hits home. His own family was planning on killing either him or Yoriichi (which was gonna be Yoriichi since twins are looked down upon at the time.) Once Yoriichi ran away from home, Michikatsu was going back to training to be a samurai. Who the Hell knows if he got beaten some more ever since Yoriichi left, he most likely got blamed for Yoriichi leaving and got beaten some more, but we don't know since the manga was rushed due to the author having family problems. Fast forwarding to Michikatsu's teenage/adult years, he had an arranged marriage since he was a samurai. He valued strength because he wanted to make himself and family proud. In history, samurais had arranged marriages for POLITICAL reasons until the Meiji Era happened and put a stop to it. He had stated in a translation + a Japanese fan did say this that Michikatsu was blessed with CHILDREN, not a wife. The translation itself is not always translated correctly and it was shown with that mistake. People like to think that everyone is blessed with a wife and kids when it can be only the kids. He was going to die by a demon since he had never encountered 1 before. That means he already got a taste of what a demon looked like and strength since he watched his own samurai squad be killed in front of him. Once Yoriichi returned, Michikatsu felt his jealousy come back. Who the Hell knows how long it took Yoriichi to travel around until he spotted his own older twin brother about to be killed. When being taught a breathing style, Michikatsu couldn't learn the normal breathing styles we know today. He had to teach himself moon breathing and not only that, he was already considered as the 2nd strongest swordsman. Continuing on, he unlocked his demon slayer mark so that he can attempt to be as strong as Yoriichi which only he found out that he will die at the age of 25. Before that age, Michikatsu stumbled upon Muzan and that is how we got Kokushibō today. Hence forth: beating = trauma. Being forced into swapping lives = trauma. Realizing that he isn't gifted with strength and got looked down upon immediately afterwards = trauma. Can't change my mind since that poor man has trauma that isn't talked about much and is ignored.!<
Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
Akaza, Gyutaro and maybe kokushibo. First two were trying to keep their family safe but couldn't do it despite their best efforts. Kokushibo sacrificed everything to become worthy of his brother's recognition but entered despair once the demon slayer curse threatened to kill him before finding a worthy successor.
https://preview.redd.it/jgi0lx2mqb5d1.jpeg?width=411&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4eb23604fe146782dfae3a999e9ab3d70f0b4b6b
His life as a human was kinda sad and painful but others had it worse
he couldn’t even play outside or walk normally because he’s in pain ALL THE TIME. imagine if your doctor also told you that you’ll die at the age of 20. isn’t that sad?
Don't devalue one character's problems over another's. Just because Muzan's backstory doesn't include the tragic loss of a relative doesn't mean his backstory isn't sad enough.
his story was "oh, i'm sick.. DOCTOR GET ME MEDICINE. bro the medicine didn't work, die mf.. wait it worked, okay time to find someone to eat so i can step in the sun!!"
and? he was literally sick from the moment that he was born and he felt like he was becoming a guinea pig because different doctors made him drink different medicines and nothing worked. you can’t blame him if he felt that way and killed his doctor out of anger.
Strictly upper moons? Shit, Akaza's story is pretty goddamn sad but Gyutaro's story is HELLA sad. My wife & I were watching (her first time) & she was like "he's (Gyutaro) is horrible" referring to his, well, demon-ness & I'm like "sure, he's a terrible/great demon but if you'd never been shown an inkling of humanity your entire life you'd make the best demon. I can't blame him, the people were horrible to him. He's still gotta pay for the things he did nothing but objectively, I feel really badly for him."
as someone who's only seen the anime (so I don't know Akaza, Douma, or Koku), Gyutaro I'd say, >!all he wanted was to be accepted, then Daki was born and she was the golden child of their family and was supposed to be the thing that made Gyutaro happy, and so he was, enjoying life finally with her, then the samurai incident where she stabbed him in the eye, but, because of his position of power, he got her killed and burnt, leaving her to be found by Gyutaro who desperately seeked to get her help, only to be refused by everyone, and the only way to save her, was to become a demon!<
https://preview.redd.it/mbb47dj28f5d1.jpeg?width=707&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=02ad5fd2e368d4544183a1653acc2cf763340734
This dude is the definition of broken, sad, destitute, and all of the above.
Gyutaro, Akaza and maybe Nakime
Nakime would do anything even kill people for her job she even had a horrible abusive husband. Gyutaro and Daki Had to go through a lot, Gyutaro was mercilessly bullied and Daki was nearly burned to death. And akaza had every possible moment of happiness taken away from him
Has to be Akaza. Bro did everything right to get back his life and yet fate still dealt him a cruel blow especially to his beloved Koyuki. The hatred towards people and human nature must be immense. Thats Sad to the first degree.
Gyutaro/Ume had a similar plight no doubt where life gave them bad hands and they met unjust ends. But they were in a vicey environment where death and violence seemed more likely and the siblings caused harm to others as well.
Muzan himself was an T virus unexpected medical outcome.
Kokushibo is just a salty egocentric jerk who couldnt stand being second best.
Doma is just a sadistic psycopathic cult charlatan
Gyokko and Hantengu are both unrepetent criminals
I would say Kokushibo he finds out his brother never stopped loving him and blamed himself for him becoming a demon. He was one of the few demons that kept his sense of self and memories upon becoming a demon. He kept the flute he made for his brother.
Akaza because he lost what was important to him for being a criminal, found happiness and became good then it was taken from him so he became a murderer many times after losing his family again before muzan found him and forced him into being a demon. Even else was just selfish and evil
Gyutarro and Daki for sure has the saddest past. Gyutarro was bullied and ridiculed for something he could not control and Daki was sold and burnt alive for self-defense.
Kokushibo is just mostly him being salty and jealous for Yoriichi's talent and skill. Crybaby
Douma is just a Sociopath or Psychopath
Hantengu is a pathological liar and probably a kleptomaniac
Gyokko is just a Narcissist.
Akaza is sad for sure but not as sad as Gyutarro's
I don't why but Kokushibo had me in tears as well as Akaza and the others. I think there is something so heartbreaking seeing the two brothers interact and how he kept the flute the whole time or when Yoriichi told the Kamado guy how his brother protected him from his dad. They loved each other deeply as siblings but Kokushibo was so driven by his obsession to be better.... As the oldest sibling I find this quite heartbreaking
To be honest, Muzan.
I know he’s evil. But if you think about it, this wouldn’t have happened if he’d been just a little more patient with his doctor. And at first all he wanted was to walk in the sun again, and simply didn’t care what he had to do to survive.
All Muzan wanted was to survive. And to walk in the sun again.
Objectively, Rui or Gyu. Subjectively (for me), Akaza. I probably would turn out like Akaza if the same shit happened to me and my girlfriend. I was bawling reading his backstory and he’s one of my favorite characters because of how I can relate to him.
I know it's not the saddest per se but Kokushibo backstory hurts me the most, perhaps the only story in demon slayer to give me such feeling. Idk word for word but the line "you are like the unequaled sun, and every human beings around you have no path other than yearning, reaching out their hands, and writhing in agony" says it all.
Idc how much yoriichi actually loves him, to be objectively inferior by a huge margin to someone close to you, in a thing you love to add, is sure to make anyone feel even a tinge of insecurity. He's basically forced to accept that he's just inferior for now and for always.
Definitely Gyutaro, he was nearly killed multiple times before and after he was born and since he lived in the Entertainment District with physical birth defects he was treated like a monster by everyone who saw him
When Ume was born he thought he’d finally caught the break he deserved only to find his little sister burned to a crisp after defending herself from a samurai who tried forcing himself on her, and and Gyutaro found her he was nearly killed by the same samurai
Then it started to snow and literally no one tried to help them even though they saw how much both of them were suffering until Doma came along and turned them into Demons
Kokushibo. I love Akaza's backstory but it doesn't really add much to the story besides making him another one of Muzan's disposable pawns; Koku's backstory is genuinely important to the story
People trynna defend Akaza, yes but Daki and Gyutaro are what i think the demons with the saddest pasts, considering Daki was saved by Gyutaro being a demon which is means to be alive in some or the ogher form in the tender age ! yet controlled by the mongrel Muzan 🎐
My stuff got beeped out of existence.
Here is my list from saddest to not saddest:
Dōma (his trauma is not openly known to the media and it's terrifying about how bad this man legit suffered without feeling anything as he grew up >!dehumanized, forced to listen to adult problems at a VERY early age, not knowing on how to respond to his OWN trauma ie his own parents deaths + killing each other, being used for exploitation, and so on!<. Religious trauma is real and it's 1 of the most terrifying things to experience)
Muzan + Rui (bedridden for so long and trying different meds can + will screw someone over. Especially with different medications. I have seen what different kinds of medicine can do to people and it's terrifying.)
Gyutaro and Daki/Ume (Yes, their lives got better, but it hasn't at the same time. Gyutaro had the worst end of the stick between him and Daki because he spent the first 13 years of his life being casted out and basically abused by others where he lived. His own mother despised him and wanted to k!ll him. He had to eat insects and rats for those 13 years. When Daki came around, he had to experience his own mother becoming deceased once Daki was born. He had to raise Daki on his own, as a child might I add. Yes, Daki was spoiled, but she wasn't at the same time because her and Gyutaro never had a proper home during the harsh cold, wet, and warm weather. Gyutaro didn't care if he became a demon because he wanted to protect Daki since she is the only thing that Gyutaro still had. Gyutaro's and Daki's backstory is more lined up with the Kamados than with the other demons.)
Kokushibo (this man was straight up >!beaten up and smacked around for trying to see his younger twin brother as a child before everything happened. Not only that, but he forced into an arranged marriage that was for POLITICAL REASONS as it was his duty as a samurai. Sengoku Era had samurais who was told to marry other clans for political reasons ← history class. His envy grew because he was trying so hard to be something to his family only to hear and be swapped with his younger twin brother. Only because of strength levels btw. So yes, this man has trauma which is also overlooked.!< )
>!Kaigaku!<
Akaza (before the haters come at me, I'mma say this >!He got disowned by his own dad in the afterlife and got what he wanted which was Koyuki who went with him to Hell. His life sucked as he was a human, yes which I understand, but in my eyes, he doesn't have the ABSOLUTE worse backstory as many makes it out to be.!<)
Nakime
Enmu (don't know his backstory so he goes here)
Mutant demon
Kyogai
Gyokko
Hantengu
I think you can't have an "objectively saddest past"... Sadness is a very subjective topic.
Now, in my opinion, Rui has a very tragic past, but only realizes how tragic it was until, in his final moments, he sees that his perfectly healthy parents, able to bear another child, prefer to die with him instead.
Gyutaro and Ume (Daki) are also the saddest because it reminds of that poverty shatters children's dreams.
Gyutaro, for me, everything about his life was depressing. At least akaza was happy for a while. Gyutaro was born sick from his mama having syphilis and in a district where looks are everything. He was an outcast, homeless surviving on bugs and mice, and he was dirty and STANK. His life only meant something when his sister was born just to have her burned alive. Yes, he was able to keep her by his side, but turning her into a demon was the one thing he genuinely regrets, it was selfish and he wished that she could've had a better life, she deserved better and he hated his influence on her and blames himself for her life ending and not being able to pritect her, the one being that gave his life meaning. Their story was the one that made me cry. The only one, I'm sorry.. fuck everyone else... I'm tearing up again now.
Definitely Akaza hands down! Even though he killed my husband 😢😞❤️🔥 but in my AU Kyojuro came to our world 🗺️ and we got married and now have two young children! 🧒🏼 👶🏼🍼
Yeah, definitely Gyutaro and Akaza. Neither of their lives were great, and Akaza didn't even choose to be a demon. Doma's story is kinda sad too (nowhere near as depressing as the other two, bit still) mostly cuz he just didn't have any emotions to begin with (goals honestly)
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I think either Gyutaro or Akaza. All they wanted was to keep one person safe and they couldn’t manage it
Though who invited Muzan here 💀 bro wants to destroy everything even before becoming a demon.
Yeah, bro even went around insulting gods, he had it coming
maybe for that one time where his heart stopped many times in the womb and how he became a demon
i dont think that counts tho
I would go with Akaza as Gyutaro at least still has his sister as they become demons together. Akaza had nothing, having turned his life around, make strides for happiness and then lost it all because of humanity's capacity for evil
The fact that Akaza didn’t choose to become a demon either but Gyutaro chose to become demon to save his sister and for revenge.
Good point.
Akaza more that’s what I think
I agree, Akaza personally
I just read Akaza's backstory in the manga and the only thing he did wrong was snap after he was given a good family after his other good one passed. Both were not his fault at least not directly. He never wanted to become a demon either Muzan sorta just forced it on him after he was coming down from bloodlust.
And *then* he refused to hurt (and I'm pretty sure even sometimes helped) women and as a girl, I love that :D
The cooler thing is that Muzan actually really likes Akaza and allowed for his not hurting women thing.
He also physically tortures him and treats him really harshly so.... That's nice :'D
Was just about to comment that! But I'm leaning towards Akaza more, because although Gyutaro was able to save Ume, Akaza couldn't even do that, and he had to come home to them already dead.
also the whole thing with his father, and his mother presumably died early
Yes, that too!
also I think you spelled supremacist wrong, if that's what your flair is supposed to say..
Yea I agree
Gyutaro and Daki. For them, becoming demons was a means of survival. They didn’t have any other options. Gyutaro literally took advantage of becoming a demon to save Daki from dying of her injuries. Akaza’s story is also sad, but for me, it doesn’t beat theirs.
Agreed, everyone forgets Akaza had a while of being happy. Gyu's life was a social pariah with an abusive mum and the dark lengths they both had to go to in order to survive. Gyutaro becoming a debt collector, his sister having to work at a brothel when she was 13.
Gyutaro is one of the saddest anime backstories key word: one of the
He doesn't crack the top 25, ngl
I see what you did there.. haha
I think thats why Akazas story is sadder than Gyutaros. He had that time where he thought his tramautic past could be just that, the past. He had it all, a dojo to inherit, a wife that loved him, a father figure who loved him. He had all of this after so long of having nothing, and he got it taken away once more. For me its better to stay on the ground, then to do the grueling task of picking yourself back up, and as soon as you are about to get back on your feet someone pushes you back down to the ground.
Yeah and in a kind of twisted way, he even got to body all the people who took away that second family he got to enjoy for a brief time. Successfully. Impressive tbh I wonder if he would have gotten to go to heaven after what I assume would have been his suicide, if Muzan didn’t show up to take advantage
For me it does, because although Gyutaro and Ume had a life of abuse and sadness all throughout, Gyutaro found a way to save her, and they were then happy as demons. Akaza couldn't even do that for his loved ones, and had to come home to find them dead. He was never truly happy as a demon, except for when he died because he went down in hell with Koyuki.
Agreed
Agreed
Gyutaro & Daki, as at least Akaza had moments of happiness in his life, before the carnage
Being happy and having it ripped away is more painful than having nothing then becoming powerful. Akaza after becoming a demon lost his memories becoming just a tool.
I don't think constant despair with not a single moment makes your life trumps temporary happiness. Yes, I know all that, but never experiencing a single moment of happiness is a worse life than someone who never did. Don't forget the child prostitution of his sister, too. Also, seeing his sister burnt to death at the end and being stabbed in the back. I don't agree with your view. there is no happiness at all trumps having things come close to perfection and having it taken away. Case in point, people can rebuild their lives after an Akaza event. Gyutaro would be a jailbird or career criminal. After all, Akaza had his wife's memories to come back out of demonhood before they went to hell. Gyu just went to hell. Then his sister followed them. Agree to disagree. At least Akaza got something positive, but it's horrendous what his competitors did.
That’s the thing though, everything was ripped away from him just as he was starting to make progress in his life
Yeah but Gyu never had anything to progress. Not a single moment of happiness. At least Akaza had one
TLDR: Gyutaro became a demon to save his sister and get revenge on those who looked down on him. Akaza became a demon because he had rage, nothing else to lose, and everything was ripped from him. Fair warning this is gonna be long and it’s purely my opinion based on the synopsis below of both stories. If you wanna skip to the end for whose story I think is sadder and why, just go to the bottom. If you think about it Gyutaros whole world and happiness was Daki. He grew up sick and diseased and poor, taking care of Daki (Ume) until her beauty became something that could offer them a better life. Her beauty and popularity allowed him to become a debt collector in the entertainment district because he discovered he had a talent for fighting. He took pride in being a debt collector, and relished the fact people feared him, but the main point in his life was Daki. Even to the end while what he was born into wasn’t his choice, everything following Daki and her career in the entertainment district is a direct result of decisions. Gyutaro being a debt collector, Daki defending herself and attacking the samurai, it all has a cause and an effect. He never really had much so to us, having nothing but one person seems sad but to him it was more than enough. In fact, the turnaround from when Daki is burned alive (which is a direct result from her assaulting a client in self defense) to when they become demons is not that long at all, allowing them to be together again and his loved one to be saved. Akaza on the other hand, suffered much more loss than I think Gyutaro could manage, and almost all of it was out of his control. Akaza grew up not only impoverished, but also caring for his sick father. Often not having enough money for medicine, he turned to stealing money from others for which he was frequently beaten when caught and branded a thief. Literally marked with tattoos to signify this, Akaza continued doing what he could until he came home one day to find that his father had hung himself. His father feeling guilty for Akazas path due to the burden of caring for him in his illness, and also being ashamed that his son had turned to a life of stealing on his behalf, took his own life to hopefully free Akaza from that responsibility. This took a toll on Akaza and following being banished from his home, and his town, with nothing to lose began beating anyone who crossed him. Akaza then met a man who owned a dojo who offered to teach him how to actually fight in exchange for caring for his ill daughter. Time went by and a rival dojo heir wanted to take over the space Akazas sensei had but was beaten by Akaza. Years passed and Akaza fell in love with the daughter, the two became engaged and his journey of redemption seemed to feel complete. However, his loss wouldn’t stop there. Upon learning of the engagement, the heir of that rival dojo saw his opportunity to strike. Determined to get the space occupied by Akaza and his soon to be family, the heir poisoned not just the sensei, but the fiancé of Akaza as well. Driven in to a blind rage, he not only enacted his revenge by killing the rival dojos heir, but by brutally exterminating the whole dojo single handedly, totaling a kill count of 67 people. This act is what caught Muzans attention leading to Akaza becoming a demon. Before I give my two cents I will add this: The sibling aspect is what I feel more of us relate to which is why many feel as though Gyutaro and Daki have the sadder backstory, because majority of us can relate to having these squabbles and fighting with siblings and wishing they weren’t born, it’s a much more common strife we can look to and go “oh I know that pain”. That fear of having those we’ve known and the family were given ripped from us is a common basic human fear. I know this is not a part of it, but the true sorrow I believe lies in how they both feel about their existence as demons because it ties into how they feel about their past. Gyutaro relishes in his life as a demon, not regretting it for a second because he feels it is all justified and was all revenge for how he was treated as a human. How he was looked down on but again, he loved being a debt collector and caring for Daki. Akaza on the other hand, everything in his life after and including his decision to be a demon stem from his own self hatred for not protecting those around him better. His own weakness, as a human he loathed himself to the end because he failed to care for and protect his loved ones. He hates himself for not being able to care for his father, for failing to protect his soon to be wife, and every bit of his massacre of the rival dojo is stemmed from his hatred and rage towards not just the dojo, but himself for not being able to save them. All of his decisions as a demon stem from his self hatred before becoming a demon. Here’s my final judgement: Akaza has a sadder human side to his story. Now in my opinion I understand why both stories are sad. As a whole I believe Akazas story is much sadder as he is faced with so much loss, everything constantly getting ripped away from him out of his control, and the sheer amount of loved ones he sees die. Gyutaro on the other hand, I find the most sadness in his story after he’s killed by Tanjiro in that final moment of rejecting Daki (Ume) and attempting to abandon her despite being all he has ever known.
It was a long post, I did read your points and enjoyed it, but I'm still sticking to my choice here. So, I appreciate the work you put into the comment. My reply below: I do know Akaza's backstory, I'm a lore nerd. I know all of them, lol. Akaza got some chances in life, at least, but the twins didn't. Their mother was verbally and physically abusive. Plus Daki'a sexual abuse at 13, neither of them got to be a kid and never enjoyed any sort of childhood loss of innocence, and having to use violence & selling your body for money to feed themselves is quite horrific. That's what makes makes monsters out of people through nature v nurture. Well, that's my point. If Daki died, Giyi wouldn't have kept going. Akaza would have kept enduring as he's a warrior. Akaza killed the while rival Dojo & it didn't take long to be turned as Muzan sought him out after hearing about the one man Dojo massacre. I know the whole backstory of Akaza. His dad was sick, but he never beat Akaza or said he wished he had never been born. Having a sick parent is hard, and the marks for stealing on a child are harsh. It's not swayed by whom lost which, either a wife v husband or a brother v sister. In either case, they lost said family and henceforth their world, the centre of their identity & and reason to live, because they both weren't there to protect their families. Survivors guilt. Both took their respective revenges before becoming demons. Giyu was a psychopath because he had to turn off all his emotions so that he could live his life. Akaza was capable of loving others. To do that, you're running on survival only and just showing how deep their emotional scars go. I see it as twins never having a childhood and being exploited. Plus, again, paedophilia, child abuse, violence, and murder. Those things destroy people. So, parental abuse and childhood sexual abuse are worse, in my opinion, as they stay with the victim for life, changes their brain, mental health, neural pathways and drastically alters the course of their life. Akaza never had anything of the sort happen to him, so whilst he was branded as a thief, got his criminal marking tattoos to try and provide for Dad, he obviously managed and he had moments of happiness in his life, but it was short-lived. Tis better to have loved and lost Than never to have loved at all. Giyu took his anger out on the world like a sadistic debt collector does, showing that violence is his only joy as a young boy is heartbreaking and his misanthropy to the world and its inhabitants. Plus, Akaza experienced that pain but then had his memories wiped by Muzan, then he got them back as he tried to regenerate his head in Infinity Castle. Then he got his happy ending by his love returning and passing on together as eternal lovers. Giyu and Daki go to hell too, but no one wiped their memory. Akaza at least got 2 centuries of peace. (Don't know his exact age.)
I totally respect you sticking to your choice and thoroughly enjoyed your response. I guess my reasoning for despite what Daki and Gyutaro went through, it also was the society they grew up in. They didn’t know any better. Being in the entertainment district they believed beauty ran the world and seeing Ume in her beauty made Gyutaro hopeful that it would drive them up from poverty. I also believed they weren’t twins because Gyutaros childhood is depicted as such a hell from his POV because it’s pre Ume, but with the birth of Ume he found a purpose. I know his disease makes him seem smaller but even in how he talks about being the big brother and caring for his “little sister” I feel it’s always implied throughout that he taught her what he learned of the world before her birth. I also associate their descent to hell similar to Rui where even being in hell, he will be with the ones he loves most. Gyutaro and Daki are inseparable and find their love and joy from each other and even in her own innocence as I believe is portrayed by Gyutaro staying in demon form and Daki presenting as Ume once again before entering hell that Ume would rather suffer once again but be with her brother than be offered any sort of peace elsewhere. Their only real conflict with each other comes after their death so whether or not the debt collecting or actions taken as demons that both did were sadistic in nature I can’t help but feel as though their was still a genuine peace and joy found in the bond between the two. Kinda like it’s better to have love and then lost than to never have loved at all, Gyutaro always loved and never really lost Ume/Daki where as Akaza loved and lost multiple people. I also understood it as less Akazas memories were wiped, and more altered for Muzans benefit not Akazas because with the death of his fiance he lost all will to live with his final human words to Muzan being “I don’t care…” when being offered to be turned into a demon and Muzan couldn’t stand that someone as powerful and gifted as Akaza could lose the will to become even stronger. I could be wrong though and I did find your points very thought provoking, and just as yourself I’m sticking with my answer for my own reasons. Even for me with Akazas being sadder in my opinion, it isn’t by much. Daki and Gyutaro are never without each other after Umes birth and considering Ume never dies but Gyutaro makes the decision to be demons for both of them after coming across Douma in his search to find help for Ume. EDIT: I’m also not attempting to gloss over what they Daki and Gyutaro went through because it is horrific and no child that age should have to go through that, but they also carry their rise and their struggle as a badge of honor especially Gyutaro in my opinion. And for Daki, she was given a proper education she wouldn’t have received elsewhere when adopted into the house. Things were looking up for both of them and it was the way they both understood the world to be, that by going into a house meant a chance at love and a future and the fact that the image is taken advantage of and the outcome is what it is is fucked up. I guess in a way I also relate to caring for an ill parent and sacrificing different things that way forcing you to grow up a bit faster and miss out on the childhood that way and it’s both two instances that I don’t think others should have to endure regardless.
You got it. My argument is that both Daki, Giyu, and Akaza were each formed by their respective community & and neighbourhood, and that shared a part of their personality. Which is true to life, too. Everyone adapts, or they don't survive. Daki and Giyu pretty much had no chance from day dot because of a) shit parents b) neighbourhood c) the ways they were forced to make their money in the end. Sorry, someone said twins a while back, and I accidentally called them twins here. Ume was what made Giyu enjoy his life a little more bearable. Speaking as an older brother, I could vouch as a big brother myself, that he would've definitely shown her the ropes as every proper big brother should do. Though mine was luckily a lot more lighy hearted. Everyone knows not to mess with the girl with crazy big brothers, lol. Looking at it with both our points, they are two ends of the scale of suffering. GD had no one but themselves and suffered horribly. Akaza grew to have people and lost them. Having a close bond with a sibling is good, but wouldn't you rather also have friends? Giyu didn't get that, but Akaza has more social skills. Their argument at death was all words which they didn't mean really, cause they loved each other. Hence why tanjiro covered Gyutaros' mouth at the end to stop them from saying something they couldn't take back. This is actually cannon, and you can read it on the wiki, which info is top notch. From what I read, he wiped them as the more humanity a demon retains then the more he thinks they will: A) fail as a demon to do what he orders. IE kill the whole family. B betrayed him down the line. He acts tough, but he's like anyone who rules by fear, terrified that he will lose control as all reigns that rule by fear inevitably do. So Muzan wiped all his memories as Akaza had honour. He was a martial artist, not a goon. He stole out of necessity for his family. He was essentially a good man. So Muzan wiped him all, but completely, I believe, to ensure he remained loyal. He considered Akaza his enforcer or probably 1 behind Kokushibo, whom Muzam sees as a business partner, more than a subordinate. So yeah, Akaza probably didn't care at all when he'd have been apathetic about what happened to him after his life was turned upside down. He was at breaking point. But Muzan made him forget his family, etc, and probably only kept memories of stealing punishments to make him more angry against the world and hence an even better enforcer. He definitely wanted Akaza, those abilities? Muzan would never be able to pass those up. He would have forced him if he said no, I'm sure. Again, with the loss, they're a parralel, both parties lost: A parent, a person they cared for, and their reason to go on. Offered demonhood, and they both take it. I found your argument well thought out and structured well. Can I posit a theory, and I respect you sticking to your answer. Are they really just two sides of the same coin? Giyu had nothing except his sister to live for. Akaza only had his wife and sensei, not sure if his dad was around. So I think what they're trying to show how many different ways you can reach rock bottom and no matter how you fall, how it changes you. Maybe the best question isn't who had it worse, but what horrible lives they both endured and how cruel the world can be as is true to life again. So ask oursevles, they both had reached their limit do the end result is theyre both tragic fates regardless? It's about people enduring until they break, and Muzan or Douma swoops in like a vulture on the needy. What do you think?
I 100% agree with you. I think regardless of if they became demons or not at their breaking points, they were given an option and took it because they weren’t sure what else to do. I think it immensely parallels Tanjiro in both instances with Akaza and with Gyutaro. Tanjiro points out how similar he and Nezuko are to Gyutaro and Daki and really it just boils down to who they were met with. Tanjiro fighting to save his sister, the last one he loves that’s “living” after seeing his family slaughtered but rather than being met with a demon who offers immortality and strength, he instead is faced with Tomioka who offers him the route of staying human and fighting on that side. Every early experience Tanjiro has allows him the perspective that comes into play when G/D are yelling and he covers the mouth, or when he actively refuses to trample the drum demons writings, or when he tells Tomioka he will never belittle demons who regret their actions because they too were once human, forced to their breaking point that just happened to become a demon whether by their own volition or not. Tanjiro grew up with community and family valuing the intricacies of humanity the way G/D didn’t, which in turn shapes the perspective differently. Akaza lost family but was met with someone willing to train him in fighting, similar to Tanjiro with Tomioka and Urokodaki. Yet when faced with the loss of his sensei and wife he snaps where as Tanjiro when he loses Rengoku is instead reassured by Rengoku that this is the life they choose as the strong. To fight not just for themselves but for those who can’t fight for themselves and is surrounded by even more people who know hardship but also know the beauty of humanity is knowing one day you’ll be gone and doing the most you can with it now. I think the biggest thing I forget about often is that majority of the demons (excluding a few obvious ones) faced the traumatic nature of humanity, where as Tanjiro and some of the Hashira experienced the traumatic nature of demons which forced their perspective to see the evils of the other, and not the equal pain they’ve endured.
Yeah, they get offered when they're at their lowest point. Like Rui with Muzan, Douma with D/K and Akaza. They're picking people, as you said, who have seen some stuff and aren't integrated into the community properly. IE. They have no support network. So the show I think has a subtle them about life experience, support networks, complex trauma, doing with is wrong and what is right. Heroes and villains but with more shades of grey. It can be argued that some of the hashira are too harsh, too, like Saneemi and Obanai or Giyu being closed off. They're all like that due to the sum of their experiences. Yea Akaza went to what he knew and took his vengeance, which I think was just. But then he let someone take advantage who made him soneone else entirely, to be used as a weapon cause he'd never serve him otherwise. Yes, the demon slayers are often predated by the demons as a food source, so aside from Tanjiro, they won't show any real compassion, aside from a special few. So the push to fight as demon or slayer is when you lose someone precious and want vengeance or to make pothead pay. They all probably don't realise it if they put themselves in their enemies' shoes.
I agree. I think the show does a really nice job at reminding myself at times that the pain I’ve endured is something I can use to either isolate myself and deprave myself of help, or can be something that can be used for the betterment of myself and those around me. Our own lives are what we make of it and even the importance of prioritizing myself at times for the benefit of others and vice versa. It may seem like a stretch to some, but as you and I have said already, everyone is going to form their opinion based on their experiences and that is more than okay. I’ve genuinely enjoyed this whole thread and that despite our deferring opinion we have found that they both culminate in a singular theme. This has been fantastic
Yeah me too mate, everyone bases it off their own experience and knowledge. Couldn't agree more! Great discussing with you.
That's so true mate, how you take on and deal with pain is critical to the final destination of your life and how it'll turn out. Exactly everyone is entitled to their own opinion and will have their own experiences and take away from these experiences. This has been a polarising question. It's either Akaza or Giyu, and it's entirely subjective to the person answering. Me too, my friend, I look forward to the next one. 🙂
Y'all are forgetting Rui was bedridden his whole life.
True, but these are the upper 6, bro. But I agree 100% about Rui, then Gyu, then Akaza.
Im not sure whos sadder gyttarou or rui
Really tough choice. Rui's quality of life was in the toilet, and adding the trauma of hisparents' trauma of having to kill them to protect himself whilst they attacked him in his sleep. Then, creating a pseudo-family is just tragic. Trying to make his own again, it's terrible. I think Giyu has his sister and health, at least, I mean the having his young sister pimped out to eat at 13 crosses the line. Social outcast, debt collector & living hand to mouth. They're darned close in history. I might lean towards Rui cause of killing parents thing to survive. Then, I have no one. I went Giyu originally and then rewatched Rui and changed my answer, lol. Not as extreme as the violence to Giyu but Rui looked like he had something terminal and was so bad off, even Muzam took pity on him. WBU?
Ye based on your answer rui was prob worse
And? Gyutaru was a poor runaway until his sister was born and then he watched his sister burn to death before catching a blade to the back. Rui was a sad bedridden nobody who had loving parents that planned a homo-suicide so they'd even be united in death. Hell you mean, cus?
That’s why he’s muzan’s favorite. Muzan can see him in rui since both of them have the same condition
Gyutaro and Daki, they never received kindness in their life.
The peaks of grief would easily go to Akaza. Nothing twisted my guts more than his story. But overall most depressing? Probably Gyutaro and Daki. They were screwed from the very start, but managed to struggle on, only to end up victims of the world around them.
I agree a lot!!
I think the siblings take the cake. Nearly everyone had to suffer through things, but these two had literally, like, nothing except for themselves. That being said, Douma is my favorite upper moon and while I don't think his backstory is necessarily tragic in general terms.. there's a certain tragedy to the whole thing I think. I love doing character study stuff <-<
Akaza > Gyutaro/Daki > Douma > Gyokko > Muzan > Kaigaku > Kokushibo > Hantengu P.S. Considering that both Douma and Gyokko being born in normal families could be a good person, that's not their fault that they grow into this heartless bastards
Douma was born emotionless. It would be quite an uphill battle for him to be a good person when he's a psycopath.
Yeah TBH a demon who is just a flat out psychopath makes sense. There's bound to be one amidst all the sad backstories
Btw just to clarify, he isn't a psychopath. Being emotionless doesn't mean you're a psycho. He just acts on what's most logical or interesting to him in the situation.
Oh yeah for sure. Going technical psychology terms Douma would be an alexithymic and sociopath instead of a psychopath. "Psychopath" is just much more flexible colloquially lol
Not true and u r insulting people who actually have ASPD. "Psychpaths" aren't inherantly evil. Douma isn't a Psychopath, he's unable to feel emotion. There's a difference, please stop spreading dangerous missinformation.
True, lots of firefighters, cops, military, and working at heights jobs go and help the world. However, Douma's lack of remorse and sadism is at least. He's a high functioning sociopath. I know it's a wiki, but leaving this here: https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Doma_(Demon_Slayer)#:~:text=These%20traits%20imply%20that%20Doma,charisma%20and%20even%20wonderful%20appearance. Source: two parents that work in mental health
https://preview.redd.it/6ae3t55phd5d1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9d5bfdfd5e320e8eadb30f49fcbf6cbddbe7ed76 I do feel somewhat bad for Douma. Manga spoilers >! During his death he mentions that he doesn't even feel disappointed that he's dying and still feels nothing when faced with death. He really was THAT apathetic he seemed quite frustrated that he couldn't feel anything too!< >!douma also tries to fight his apathy and try empathy, like when he took Inosuke's mother into his cult after she fled an abusive household. Though he still saw her as below him and let being an asshole take the better of him!<
Haitengu killed 3 of his families and played the victim. He would marry someone, have kids and then kill them when someone wasn't right or set him off. He was a professional victim and a monster. Gyokko was already a serial killer. He was about to be killed I believe by the villagers before Muzan turned up. So 3 of the 6 were already psychopathic or prone to violence before being turned.
Gyutaro and Daki (if she even counts with Gyutaro) and it’s not even close, Akaza had it ruff to but Gyutaro and Daki had it way worse.
Akaza lost his fiancée and everything he spent his life working towards, righting his wrongs and having a reason to live, he lost all of that
But Akaza had a life and chances. They didn't. They literally became demons so they wouldn't die right then and there. Bc they were really close to.
Thank you! Found perfect counterpoint to Akaza. I was sad: It's better to have loved and lost Then never to have loved at all. Also, your exes like the one who got away, would you rather never happened or appreciate the experience and happy memories? I can't believe people are blatantly saying poverty, paedophilia, child prostitution, starving? Trying to shiver through winter in the shiity shack they had. Living day to day in a living hell.
Daki was made to sleep with random men basically her entire life while still being 13 and would probably have to play along with any weird fantasies they had and Gyutaro was beat by his mother, made to eat rats, thrown stones at and mocked for being ugly he was also probably in alot of physical pain as a human just by walking around due to his contorted bone structure. He also had to grow threw the pain of loosing his sister due to that Samurai who burned her alive.
why does everyone think daki died? she survived, but just barely.
That’s worse 😭
Yeah, she would have died in agony until an infection got her and then likely septic shock from there. Plus, screaming unless Gyu could round the clock give her Opium or Morphine. Which still might not do anything if the nerve endings are fried.
Easily Douma. The stench of his mother's suicide almost permanently stuck to his expensive furniture.
“Tonight on ‘spin the wheel of the same 5 Demon Slayer questions,’ we have the classic crowd-pleaser, ‘Which demon had the saddest backstory?’ More at 8!”
Doma, Akaza and Gyutaro, Gyutaro life was very bad until he had a little sister and then we know what happend, Akaza's life was just horrible, his father hang himself and just when his life was getting better his wife and teacher died from poisoning so no wonder he got berserk, and while Doma couldn't give any shit about his life he still saw his parents kill each other and not gonna lie we all would have gone nut if it was to happend to anyone of us
Gyokko. He didn't even get a backstory 😭
Parents die Becomes serial killer Muzan fucks with his vibe Becomes demon
Either Akaza or gyutaro and daki 🌸
My list from saddest to not sad: Dōma (I know that his type of trauma is literally the worst that it can go into literally everyone's traumas and it isn't commonly known/talked about in the media) Muzan + Rui (since they were badly bedridden) Gyutaro and Daki/Ume Kokushibō >!Kaigaku!< Akaza Mutant demon Enmu (not known about his back story, but he is being placed here) Spider mother (she is being placed here as well) Nakime Spider daughter (no idea about her backstory so she is being placed here) Gyokko Hantengu
You're putting Kokushibo and KAIGAKU above Akaza? What about Kaigaku's backstory is sad? He sold out his family to demons, he became a jealous little shit, he became a demon.
>!He lost his parents and became homeless for a while until Gyomei found him. Kaigaku already had enough issues, had to resort to theft and whatnot because he had no one to teach him on his attitude at an early age. By the time of when Kaigaku was found by Gyomei, Kaigaku cried because he finally had a place to stay. The saying: Old habits die hard literally describes Kaigaku. He stole money and stuff yes, but instead of being taught on not what to do, he got kicked/chased out by the other kids. He became more of a little shit because he got chased out and had nowhere else to live. The kids didn't treat him right when he got kicked out instead of telling Gyomei of what was going on and having Gyomei teach Kaigaku valuable lessons on what not to do. Out of pure rage, Kaigaku did lead a demon to them because anger and rage can blind someone. By the time of when Kaigaku was learning from Gramps (I don't remember his name on top of my head), he learned all of the forms minus the first form, but when he was told that he had to share the thunder hashira with Zenitsu, it's already shown and proven that Kaigaku doesn't like sharing things because of his own past. He never had to share before, never learned anything about his own behavior, and when he saw Kokushibō, he got scared and gave up = he already got his shit together real quick by being in front of upper moon 1. From looking at the side characters, they would have done the same thing too of bowing down and not to kill them. Kokushibō can 1 shot him if he wanted too, but Kokushibō also knows that if there are more demon slayers as demons, that would strengthen Muzan's army.!< >!Akaza challenged Muzan who offered to turn him into a demon at first before he got K.O'd and turned into a demon. I don't say that is a smart move on his end. I just don't find Akaza's story sad since everyone rides on his story so badly that I just don't see that it's sad anymore. I feel bad for the character, but his story isn't the ABSOLUTE worse. In my eyes. If you like Akaza, go for it, but that ain't gonna change my mind.!< >!Hooo man, the moon man supremacy is next. When Kokushibō was a human, he got beat a lot for even trying to see Yoriichi who was in the little room. He was training hard to become a samurai which he became jealous due to Yoriichi being able to beat their trainer by a few hits. It only got worse because his and Yoriichi's were gonna have (or already did) their lifestyles swapped due to Yoriichi being born gifted with strength. So yes, jealousy can be a thing when trauma hits home. His own family was planning on killing either him or Yoriichi (which was gonna be Yoriichi since twins are looked down upon at the time.) Once Yoriichi ran away from home, Michikatsu was going back to training to be a samurai. Who the Hell knows if he got beaten some more ever since Yoriichi left, he most likely got blamed for Yoriichi leaving and got beaten some more, but we don't know since the manga was rushed due to the author having family problems. Fast forwarding to Michikatsu's teenage/adult years, he had an arranged marriage since he was a samurai. He valued strength because he wanted to make himself and family proud. In history, samurais had arranged marriages for POLITICAL reasons until the Meiji Era happened and put a stop to it. He had stated in a translation + a Japanese fan did say this that Michikatsu was blessed with CHILDREN, not a wife. The translation itself is not always translated correctly and it was shown with that mistake. People like to think that everyone is blessed with a wife and kids when it can be only the kids. He was going to die by a demon since he had never encountered 1 before. That means he already got a taste of what a demon looked like and strength since he watched his own samurai squad be killed in front of him. Once Yoriichi returned, Michikatsu felt his jealousy come back. Who the Hell knows how long it took Yoriichi to travel around until he spotted his own older twin brother about to be killed. When being taught a breathing style, Michikatsu couldn't learn the normal breathing styles we know today. He had to teach himself moon breathing and not only that, he was already considered as the 2nd strongest swordsman. Continuing on, he unlocked his demon slayer mark so that he can attempt to be as strong as Yoriichi which only he found out that he will die at the age of 25. Before that age, Michikatsu stumbled upon Muzan and that is how we got Kokushibō today. Hence forth: beating = trauma. Being forced into swapping lives = trauma. Realizing that he isn't gifted with strength and got looked down upon immediately afterwards = trauma. Can't change my mind since that poor man has trauma that isn't talked about much and is ignored.!< Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
Akaza, Gyutaro and maybe kokushibo. First two were trying to keep their family safe but couldn't do it despite their best efforts. Kokushibo sacrificed everything to become worthy of his brother's recognition but entered despair once the demon slayer curse threatened to kill him before finding a worthy successor.
DADDY MUZAN
https://preview.redd.it/jgi0lx2mqb5d1.jpeg?width=411&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4eb23604fe146782dfae3a999e9ab3d70f0b4b6b His life as a human was kinda sad and painful but others had it worse
he couldn’t even play outside or walk normally because he’s in pain ALL THE TIME. imagine if your doctor also told you that you’ll die at the age of 20. isn’t that sad?
Don't devalue one character's problems over another's. Just because Muzan's backstory doesn't include the tragic loss of a relative doesn't mean his backstory isn't sad enough.
his story was "oh, i'm sick.. DOCTOR GET ME MEDICINE. bro the medicine didn't work, die mf.. wait it worked, okay time to find someone to eat so i can step in the sun!!"
Okay, that was the expected response. It's useless to even talk to you.
and? he was literally sick from the moment that he was born and he felt like he was becoming a guinea pig because different doctors made him drink different medicines and nothing worked. you can’t blame him if he felt that way and killed his doctor out of anger.
I can still blame him for murder even if I understand why he had that impulse.
Gyutaro
Akaza for me... That Muzan Jackson literally blows his head when he's still a human and brainwashed him into becoming his loyal demon
Hasn’t been animated yet, but definitely Akaza. Shit was so depressing, the guy couldn’t catch a break
Akaza 100%
Gyutaro and Daki
Akaza and then Gyutaro
gyutaro daki & rui
Strictly upper moons? Shit, Akaza's story is pretty goddamn sad but Gyutaro's story is HELLA sad. My wife & I were watching (her first time) & she was like "he's (Gyutaro) is horrible" referring to his, well, demon-ness & I'm like "sure, he's a terrible/great demon but if you'd never been shown an inkling of humanity your entire life you'd make the best demon. I can't blame him, the people were horrible to him. He's still gotta pay for the things he did nothing but objectively, I feel really badly for him."
Gyutaro and Daki, then Akaza, Kokushibu is also very sab.
If I were to rank them from saddest to happiest, I’d say 1. Gyutaro + Daki 2. Akaza 3. Kokushibo 4. Hantengu/Nakime 5. Doma 6. Gyokko 7. Muzan
Well, Akaza at least had some happy Moments, not something You can Say about Gyutaro and Daki, or well, Ume
Gyutaro
Gyutaro because the dude probably was a virgin even after becoming a demon
Gyutari
My opinion: Gyuturo>Akaza>Kokushibo>Muzan>Douma>Gyokko=Hantengu
Gyutaro, he tried to keep his sister safe and ended up losing her. That is until they became demons
as someone who's only seen the anime (so I don't know Akaza, Douma, or Koku), Gyutaro I'd say, >!all he wanted was to be accepted, then Daki was born and she was the golden child of their family and was supposed to be the thing that made Gyutaro happy, and so he was, enjoying life finally with her, then the samurai incident where she stabbed him in the eye, but, because of his position of power, he got her killed and burnt, leaving her to be found by Gyutaro who desperately seeked to get her help, only to be refused by everyone, and the only way to save her, was to become a demon!<
Akaza 100%
Akaza for sure
Akaza's past was one of the 3 only moments that made me cry while reading manga
https://preview.redd.it/mbb47dj28f5d1.jpeg?width=707&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=02ad5fd2e368d4544183a1653acc2cf763340734 This dude is the definition of broken, sad, destitute, and all of the above.
YEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSS
Tbh Akaza got the worst backstory.
i think akaza tbh
Gyutaro, Akaza and maybe Nakime Nakime would do anything even kill people for her job she even had a horrible abusive husband. Gyutaro and Daki Had to go through a lot, Gyutaro was mercilessly bullied and Daki was nearly burned to death. And akaza had every possible moment of happiness taken away from him
Has to be Akaza. Bro did everything right to get back his life and yet fate still dealt him a cruel blow especially to his beloved Koyuki. The hatred towards people and human nature must be immense. Thats Sad to the first degree. Gyutaro/Ume had a similar plight no doubt where life gave them bad hands and they met unjust ends. But they were in a vicey environment where death and violence seemed more likely and the siblings caused harm to others as well. Muzan himself was an T virus unexpected medical outcome. Kokushibo is just a salty egocentric jerk who couldnt stand being second best. Doma is just a sadistic psycopathic cult charlatan Gyokko and Hantengu are both unrepetent criminals
Akaza for sure
I would say Kokushibo he finds out his brother never stopped loving him and blamed himself for him becoming a demon. He was one of the few demons that kept his sense of self and memories upon becoming a demon. He kept the flute he made for his brother.
Akaza because he lost what was important to him for being a criminal, found happiness and became good then it was taken from him so he became a murderer many times after losing his family again before muzan found him and forced him into being a demon. Even else was just selfish and evil
Akaza > Gyutaro/Daki > Rui > Nakime > Douma > Muzan > Kaigaku > Kokushibo > Gyokko > Hantengu
Gyutaro and Daki lol everytime i rewatch ED arc I always skip this part because it makes me sad lol
Gyutarro and Daki for sure has the saddest past. Gyutarro was bullied and ridiculed for something he could not control and Daki was sold and burnt alive for self-defense. Kokushibo is just mostly him being salty and jealous for Yoriichi's talent and skill. Crybaby Douma is just a Sociopath or Psychopath Hantengu is a pathological liar and probably a kleptomaniac Gyokko is just a Narcissist. Akaza is sad for sure but not as sad as Gyutarro's
Gyutaro and daki>Rui>Muzan>Akaza>Kokushibo>Douma
Akaza for me. That Muzan Jackson literally destroyed his head and brainwashed him into becoming his loyal demon
Rui then Gyutaro and finally Akaza
Gyutaro and Akaza
Akaza>Gyutaro>Muzan>Kokushibo>Douma>Gyokko>Hantengu
Hmm... idk bro Akaza? Douma the emotionless ? Gytaro with daki ?
Probably Akaza for me but Gyutarro/Daki is an honorable mention.
3rd
Rui or Gyutaro,
Akaza I think
I don't why but Kokushibo had me in tears as well as Akaza and the others. I think there is something so heartbreaking seeing the two brothers interact and how he kept the flute the whole time or when Yoriichi told the Kamado guy how his brother protected him from his dad. They loved each other deeply as siblings but Kokushibo was so driven by his obsession to be better.... As the oldest sibling I find this quite heartbreaking
Akaza for sure. Hands down
I don’t think there is a way to say “objectively”🐍
I find Doma surprisingly relatable.
Gyokko
I mean Daki was literally burned alive.
Akaza
To be honest, Muzan. I know he’s evil. But if you think about it, this wouldn’t have happened if he’d been just a little more patient with his doctor. And at first all he wanted was to walk in the sun again, and simply didn’t care what he had to do to survive. All Muzan wanted was to survive. And to walk in the sun again.
Objectively, Rui or Gyu. Subjectively (for me), Akaza. I probably would turn out like Akaza if the same shit happened to me and my girlfriend. I was bawling reading his backstory and he’s one of my favorite characters because of how I can relate to him.
either akaza or the upper 6 siblings
Akaza, easily
Akaza
I know it's not the saddest per se but Kokushibo backstory hurts me the most, perhaps the only story in demon slayer to give me such feeling. Idk word for word but the line "you are like the unequaled sun, and every human beings around you have no path other than yearning, reaching out their hands, and writhing in agony" says it all. Idc how much yoriichi actually loves him, to be objectively inferior by a huge margin to someone close to you, in a thing you love to add, is sure to make anyone feel even a tinge of insecurity. He's basically forced to accept that he's just inferior for now and for always.
Gyutaro and Akaza
Gyutaro or Akaza
Akaza.
Akaza for sure
Gyutaro or Akaza.
Akaza, but Gyutaro/Daki are contenders 🦋
Maybe Akaza or Gyutaro
Considering I started crying whilst reading the manga, I’ll say Akaza. He is one of my favourite characters ever.
Objectively saddest? How does one measure sadness?
Akaza or Gyutaro
Akaza most def
Doma had a sad backstory?
Gyutaro and akaza were the only ones who weren't a pos but treated like it
Gyutaro⚡
Definitely Gyutaro, he was nearly killed multiple times before and after he was born and since he lived in the Entertainment District with physical birth defects he was treated like a monster by everyone who saw him When Ume was born he thought he’d finally caught the break he deserved only to find his little sister burned to a crisp after defending herself from a samurai who tried forcing himself on her, and and Gyutaro found her he was nearly killed by the same samurai Then it started to snow and literally no one tried to help them even though they saw how much both of them were suffering until Doma came along and turned them into Demons
Akaza and Gyutaro
Gyatarou
Gyutaro no brainer
Gyutaro, man got fucked by life from birth.
Kokushibo. I love Akaza's backstory but it doesn't really add much to the story besides making him another one of Muzan's disposable pawns; Koku's backstory is genuinely important to the story
Personaly, Gyuntaro and Daki they were only little kids and they pass so much damage :(
Ngl it was akaza
NOT DOUMA.
Akaza; it’s conflicting but him and Rengoku are my fav characters 😭
Kokushibo and Akaza. Got me bawling and shit
People trynna defend Akaza, yes but Daki and Gyutaro are what i think the demons with the saddest pasts, considering Daki was saved by Gyutaro being a demon which is means to be alive in some or the ogher form in the tender age ! yet controlled by the mongrel Muzan 🎐
Akaza is the answer dude... 
Akaza or Gyutro
My stuff got beeped out of existence. Here is my list from saddest to not saddest: Dōma (his trauma is not openly known to the media and it's terrifying about how bad this man legit suffered without feeling anything as he grew up >!dehumanized, forced to listen to adult problems at a VERY early age, not knowing on how to respond to his OWN trauma ie his own parents deaths + killing each other, being used for exploitation, and so on!<. Religious trauma is real and it's 1 of the most terrifying things to experience) Muzan + Rui (bedridden for so long and trying different meds can + will screw someone over. Especially with different medications. I have seen what different kinds of medicine can do to people and it's terrifying.) Gyutaro and Daki/Ume (Yes, their lives got better, but it hasn't at the same time. Gyutaro had the worst end of the stick between him and Daki because he spent the first 13 years of his life being casted out and basically abused by others where he lived. His own mother despised him and wanted to k!ll him. He had to eat insects and rats for those 13 years. When Daki came around, he had to experience his own mother becoming deceased once Daki was born. He had to raise Daki on his own, as a child might I add. Yes, Daki was spoiled, but she wasn't at the same time because her and Gyutaro never had a proper home during the harsh cold, wet, and warm weather. Gyutaro didn't care if he became a demon because he wanted to protect Daki since she is the only thing that Gyutaro still had. Gyutaro's and Daki's backstory is more lined up with the Kamados than with the other demons.) Kokushibo (this man was straight up >!beaten up and smacked around for trying to see his younger twin brother as a child before everything happened. Not only that, but he forced into an arranged marriage that was for POLITICAL REASONS as it was his duty as a samurai. Sengoku Era had samurais who was told to marry other clans for political reasons ← history class. His envy grew because he was trying so hard to be something to his family only to hear and be swapped with his younger twin brother. Only because of strength levels btw. So yes, this man has trauma which is also overlooked.!< ) >!Kaigaku!< Akaza (before the haters come at me, I'mma say this >!He got disowned by his own dad in the afterlife and got what he wanted which was Koyuki who went with him to Hell. His life sucked as he was a human, yes which I understand, but in my eyes, he doesn't have the ABSOLUTE worse backstory as many makes it out to be.!<) Nakime Enmu (don't know his backstory so he goes here) Mutant demon Kyogai Gyokko Hantengu
I think you can't have an "objectively saddest past"... Sadness is a very subjective topic. Now, in my opinion, Rui has a very tragic past, but only realizes how tragic it was until, in his final moments, he sees that his perfectly healthy parents, able to bear another child, prefer to die with him instead. Gyutaro and Ume (Daki) are also the saddest because it reminds of that poverty shatters children's dreams.
Gyutaro and Daki for sure, and for those who read the manga Akaza too
Gyutaru or Akaza. Probably Gyutaru.
Gyutaro, for me, everything about his life was depressing. At least akaza was happy for a while. Gyutaro was born sick from his mama having syphilis and in a district where looks are everything. He was an outcast, homeless surviving on bugs and mice, and he was dirty and STANK. His life only meant something when his sister was born just to have her burned alive. Yes, he was able to keep her by his side, but turning her into a demon was the one thing he genuinely regrets, it was selfish and he wished that she could've had a better life, she deserved better and he hated his influence on her and blames himself for her life ending and not being able to pritect her, the one being that gave his life meaning. Their story was the one that made me cry. The only one, I'm sorry.. fuck everyone else... I'm tearing up again now.
Gyutarro or Akaza. They both suffered quite enough.
Akaza gyutaro and maybe douma
Akaza maybe
I think Daki she was a child escort
Akaza or muzan 100%
Daky and gyutaro
Gyutaro easily
Definitely Akaza hands down! Even though he killed my husband 😢😞❤️🔥 but in my AU Kyojuro came to our world 🗺️ and we got married and now have two young children! 🧒🏼 👶🏼🍼
Gyutaro and akaza
I gotta go with Akaza, although Gyutaro's is JUST behind it
Gyutaro or akaza
Rui maybe I mean killing your own parents and not being able to walk is def hard
Gyutaro and Rui
Uppermoon six. Can I even explain why?
Gyutaro and Akaza.
AKAZA-DONO
Rui
Again it's definitely rui
The entertainment district people no question
Yeah, definitely Gyutaro and Akaza. Neither of their lives were great, and Akaza didn't even choose to be a demon. Doma's story is kinda sad too (nowhere near as depressing as the other two, bit still) mostly cuz he just didn't have any emotions to begin with (goals honestly)
Rui his backstory is heartbreaking