Demon Slayer: Every Hashira's Fate At The End Of The Series - CBR

The Hashira started out as mysterious, seldom-seen characters in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. As the most powerful warriors in the Demon Slayer Corps, the Hashira are so strong that they fill the Lower Ranks of the Twelve Kizuki with terror. Even the Upper Ranks regard them with a healthy level of respect for their skills. As the series progressed, the Hashira became more and more involved, going from fleeting cameos to key players in several major story arcs. Unfortunately, not everyone made it to the end, leaving many to wonder which Hashira survived.

Demon slaying is dangerous, even for the Hashira. As the enemies they faced became more powerful, the Demon Slayer Corps watched many of its members fall, including some of the most powerful Hashira among them. The Demon Slayer manga concluded some time ago, so the ultimate fate of each Hashira has already been established, even as the anime soldiers on. In honor of the Hashira and their battles, here is an in-depth look at each of these characters' ultimate fates, including which Hashira died in Demon Slayer.

Updated on May 16, 2025, by Ajay Aravind: Demon Slayer is rightfully recognized as one of the best Shonen anime of the last decade. Boasting a diverse cast of characters, this story revolves around the explosive battle between demonkind and the warriors of humanity known as the Hashira. Given the importance of the Hashira in Demon Slayer, especially in the anime's upcoming Infinity Castle arc, we've updated this feature with some more relevant information.

The Hashira Will Play a Critical Role in the Infinity Castle Arc

Currently, There Are Nine Hashira Still Alive

Image via Ufotable

Although To the Hashira Training wasn't nearly as successful as 2020's Demon Slayer: Mugen Train, the 2024 movie helped contextualize the Hashira Training arc in the Demon Slayer anime. The early episodes of Season 4 start with each Hashira creating their own training protocols. The demon slayers are put through a rather grueling series of exercises in order to strengthen them as well as potentially activate their Demon Slayer marks.

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Arguably one of the most explosive fights takes place in the season's fourth episode, titled "To Bring a Smile to One's Face," where Obanai and Sanemi begin a duel. That said, the highlight of the Hashira Training arc occurred in the Season 5 finale, where Muzan was nearly killed. In fact, the Demon King would have likely died on the spot if not for his trump card: a portal straight to the Infinity Castle. Anime-only fans can't wait to see what else the Hashira have in store for them in the final arc of Demon Slayer.

Kyojuro Rengoku's Demise Shaped Demon Slayer's Ending

The Flame Hashira

Image via Ufotable

Kyojuro was the first of the Demon Slayer Corps' Pillars to enter the series' spotlight. During the Mugen Train arc, Kyojuro successfully saved the lives of 200 people on the Mugen Train when it derailed from Tanjiro's beheading of Enmu, the Lower Rank One. Although Kyojuro was killed by Akaza, his legacy carries on. More importantly, the Flame Hashira ensured that the Upper 3 demon would flee in terror.

Tanjiro Kamado, and even fellow Hashira Tengen Uzui, fight with their admiration of the fallen Flame Hashira close to their hearts. Tanjiro would affix Kyojuro's fiery hilt to his own Nichirin blade, a literal symbol of what the Flame Hashira had meant to him as well as the Demon Slayer Corps. Fans would have rather seen Kyojuro Rengoku perish in a violently explosive battle against Muzan, but his death was well-earned.

Tengen Uzui Retired to Live His Best (and Flashiest) Life

The Sound Hashira

Image via Ufotable

Tengen Uzui is the Pillar of focus in the series' Entertainment District arc. Squaring off against the demon siblings Daki and Gyutaro, Tengen thankfully survives this encounter, albeit just barely. Tengen's clash with Gyutaro cost him an arm and an eye, and the poison from Gyutaro's Blood Sickles would have taken his life had Nezuko not used her own Blood Demon Art to cure him. Surrounded by his wives, Tengen announced that he would retire from the Demon Slayer Corps, as he can't fight with one arm and one eye.

Despite being forced into early retirement, Tengen made a handful of cameos during later arcs. When the Hashira Training mini-arc began, Tengen was the first Hashira that the Corps members had to train with. During the Infinity Castle arc, Tengen stood guard outside Corps Headquarters with Shinjuro Rengoku, as Kiriya Ubuyashiki oversaw the battle against Muzan and the Upper Ranks. After Muzan's defeat, Tengen visited a wounded Tanjiro and requested that Tanjiro come visit sometime

Shinobu Kocho Scored a Victory from Beyond the Grave

The Insect Hashira

Image via Ufotable

During her introduction, Shinobu appeared to be cool-headed, but this was a mask to disguise her eternal hatred of demonkind. That said, the Insect Hashira met with an untimely death in Demon Slayer's climactic storyline, the Infinity Castle arc. When she encountered Doma, the Upper Rank Two and the demon who killed her sister Kanae, Shinobu was quickly overpowered and consumed.

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As Kanao Tsuyuri and Inosuke Hashibira battled on and began to lose ground, Doma's body suddenly began to melt. A flashback revealed that Shinobu had 37 kilograms of Wisteria poison coursing through her veins. By consuming Shinobu, Doma ingested every drop of poison in her blood. Even the Upper Two could not overcome such a stunning amount of Wisteria. This allowed Kanao and Inosuke to decapitate Doma, ending Shinobu's quest for vengeance.

Muichiro Tokito's Ancestor Dealt His Violent Death

The Mist Hashira

As the youngest of the Hashira — younger even than Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Zenitsu — Muichiro Tokito was easily one of the strongest Demon Slayer characters. Furthermore, the awakening of his Demon Slayer Mark was the impetus for the other Hashira to attempt the same. Unfortunately for Muichiro, the Mist Hashira suffered an unspeakably gruesome demise in the "Infinity Castle" arc during the fight against Kokushibo, the Upper Rank One.

Even though the Moon-Breathing demon deduced that Muichiro was his descendant, he still cut off Tokito's arm, stabbed him through the chest, sliced off his legs, and blew off his remaining arm during their fight. Muichiro dealt Kokushibo a lethal wound with his burning-red katana, thus enabling Sanemi and Gyomei to finish the job. That said, the Mist Hashira died as just a head attached to a limbless torso, a rather heartbreaking demise for such a fan-favorite character

Gyomei Fought Kokushibo & Muzan Knowing He'd Die

The Stone Hashira

Image via Ufotable

The Stone Hashira, the most powerful of the Demon Slayer Corps' Pillars, was a force of nature in the Infinity Castle arc. Unfortunately, he was a force of nature with an expiration date. Before the final showdown with Muzan and the Upper Ranks, the Hashira began training to become "Marked Ones." Developing Marks that vastly increase their strength and stamina, the tradeoff is that the Marked Ones always die by their 25th birthday. This was especially a problem for Gyomei, who was 27 years old when he manifested his Mark.

Kokushibo informed Gyomei that manifesting the Mark beyond the age of 25 meant that the Stone Hashira wouldn't live to the end of the day. Regardless, Gyomei fought and defeated Kokushibo before taking on Muzan with the remaining Hashira. The Stone Hashira was taken out of the fight quickly when he lost his left leg to Muzan's attacks. After Muzan's defeat, Gyomei succumbed to his injuries and his Demon Slayer Mark, passing away peacefully with the ghosts of his foster children at his side.

Iguro & Mitsuri Were Together Until the Very End

The Serpent & Love Hashira

Image via Ufotable

The Serpent Hashira Iguro and the Love Hashira Mitsuri operated as a unit for most of Demon Slayer's Infinity Castle arc. Although they battled Nakime, the newly promoted Upper Rank Four, they couldn't make any headway thanks to her confusingly frustrating Blood Demon Art. Once Muzan killed Nakime to handle the Hashira himself, Iguro and Mitsuri joined the fight. Mitsuri was critically wounded right off the bat.

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Iguro rushed her to safety before rejoining the fight, longing to tell her how he felt about her. Iguro spent several chapters as one of the last two men standing against Muzan along with Tanjiro, fighting together to keep Muzan from escaping. Once Muzan was defeated, Iguro held a dying Mitsuri as his own life force drained from him. After they professed their love for each other, the Love and Serpent Hashira died in each other's arms.

Sanemi's Father Refused to Let Him Go to Hell

The Wind Hashira

Image via Ufotable

The Wind Hashira Sanemi Shinazugawa was one of the few survivors of the bloodbath known as the Infinity Castle arc. Losing a few fingers along the way, Sanemi managed to deal the final blow on Kokushibo in unison with Gyomei before he passed out. Tragically, Sanemi regained consciousness just in time to see Genya disintegrate into a demon's death, as his brother's ability to become demonic by eating the flesh of demons couldn't save him from having been cut in half by Kokushibo.

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Sanemi managed to survive the battle against Muzan, just barely. Unconscious and straddling the edge of death, Sanemi chose not to go to Heaven with his siblings, but to lovingly join his mother in Hell because she'd killed most of her children after she became a demon. However, the spirit of his abusive father emerged from Hell and essentially kicked Sanemi back into the land of the living. Sanemi's survival was a bittersweet ending because he also manifested his Mark, meaning that he would die by his 25th birthday.

Giyu Tomioka Fulfilled His Promise to Protect Tanjiro

The Water Hashira

Image via Ufotable

The Water Hashira Giyu survived the Infinity Castle arc after fighting beside Tanjiro against Akaza and Muzan. Though his sword was snapped by Akaza and he lost an arm to Muzan, Giyu fought with Tanjiro and his fellow Hashira with everything he had. When it appeared as though Tanjiro died defeating Muzan, Giyu was devastated to have failed once again in protecting someone important to him.

When Tanjiro is reanimated as a demon, Giyu prevented Tanjiro from killing anyone, refusing to allow further taint upon Tanjiro's soul. Once Tanjiro returned to being human and the threat of demons was erased from Japan, Giyu attended the final Hashira meeting alongside Sanemi, where the Demon Slayer Corps was officially disbanded. Unfortunately, manifesting his Mark in the battle against Akaza also doomed Giyu to die by his 25th birthday.

Every Hashira Who Died Fighting Muzan Was Reincarnated

The Others Had Descendants of Their Own

In Demon Slayer Chapter 205, set generations after the events of the series, the characters all live on through their various descendants and reincarnations. Kyojuro's spirit is carried on in Tojuro Rengoku, a descendant of Senjuro Rengoku, Kyojuro's younger brother. Tojuro is close friends with Sumihiko Kamado, Tanjiro's descendant. Sound Hashira Tengen's descendant Tenma Uzui is shown to be an Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics, apparently just as flashy as his ancestor. At one point, the descendants of Zenitsu Agatsuma and Nezuko Kamado pass a pair of students on the street — the reincarnations of Shinobu Kocho and her sister, Kanae. Later, a woman is seen pushing a stroller containing infant twins, the reincarnations of Muichiro and his twin brother Yuichiro.

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The scene showing a preschool with a hulking teacher wrangling students highlights the reincarnation of Gyomei, who always loved taking care of children. Mitsuri and Iguro's reincarnations have opened a bakery, fulfilling their deathbed promise to reunite. Since Sanemi survived Infinity Castle, the police officer who looks exactly like him is probably a descendant. However, there's no doubt that the cop's partner is a reincarnated Genya. An ending this hopeful was the only way Demon Slayer could pay respects to the Hashira who risked and sacrificed their lives. These reincarnations allowed the Hashira to live as freely as the ordinary people they were sworn to protect — and it's what they all deserved.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

Like Follow Followed TV-14 Animation Action Fantasy Horror Release Date 2019 - 2024-00-00 Network Fuji TV, Tokyo MX, Gunma TV, BS11, Tochigi TV, Kansai TV, Tokai Television Broadcasting, Fukui TV, Hokkaido Cultural Broadcasting, Iwate Menkoi Television, Sendai Television, SAGA TV, TNC, OHK, Ishikawa TV, Kochi Sun Sun Broadcasting, TV Shizuoka, UMK TV Miyazaki, Television Shin Hiroshima System, NST, NBS, Sakuranbo TV, TSK, Ehime Broadcasting, KTS, NIB, Fukushima TV, TOS, AKT, Toyama Television, TV Kumamoto, Okinawa Television Broadcasting Directors Hideki Hosokawa, Shinya Shimomura, Akihiko Uda, Takuro Takahashi, Shuji Miyahara, Masaru Takeuchi, Toshiyuki Shirai, Takuya Nonaka, Yuki Ito, Ken Takahashi, Takahiro Majima, Yusuke Shibata

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• Natsuki Hanae Tanjiro Kamado (voice)
• Akari Kito Nezuko Kamado (voice)

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