Demon Slayer: Akaza’s hatred for Doma stems from his humanity

Akaza has always been a controversial character in Demon Slayer. Despite being one of the primary antagonists, he doesn’t use dirty tricks to achieve his goal. However, the one thing that’s the most confusing about him is Akaza’s insufferable hatred towards Doma.

Demon Slayer is set in a brutal world where demons consume humans to gain power. They prey on the weak and always hide themselves in the shadows. Though they are born as humans, they have all lost their humanity since they were transformed into demons.

However, the Upper Three demon Akaza may be the only one who still maintains some basic level of humanity. He doesn’t get along with the rest of the Twelve Kizuki, which is not unusual in an antagonistic organization. Nonetheless, it is unsettling how openly he expresses his disgust toward the Upper Two demon Doma.

In the first episode of Season 3, Akaza attacks him every chance he gets despite Doma’s friendly approach. He also goes against the Upper One demon Kokushibo who tries to maintain the hierarchy among the twelve. Though Doma claims that Akaza is jealous of their ranking, there’s more to it than that.

The real reason Akaza hates Doma

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In the first episode, Akaza doesn’t seem that welcoming toward Doma and expresses his disgust. However, one detail that strikes as odd is how Akaza clenches his fist as soon as he hears Doma bragging about eating women to gain more power.

Akaza doesn’t waste a second before brutally striking his superior upon hearing that. In fact, this is the only reason he can’t stand Doma’s existence. Akaza doesn’t get along with any of his peers, but he is unusually hostile toward Doma since most of the latter’s power originates from consuming women.

In fact, Akaza has more skills and potential than Doma, but since he doesn’t harm women and children, he doesn’t have that many resources to gain more strength. This is why, despite joining the Twelve Kizuki before Doma, Akaza is never able to surpass him.

Why doesn’t Akaza harm women like Doma does?

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Formerly called Hakuji, Akaza was born and raised in the slums. To get money for his father’s medicine, Hakuji starts stealing from people. He constantly gets in trouble and even gets marked with criminal tattoos. Unable to bear his son’s suffering, Hakuji’s father ends his life. He also leaves a letter asking Hakuji to live a decent life and earn money without immoral activity.

Upon his father’s death, Hakuji gets banished from Edo and constantly gets in fights with others. After a while, he is taken in Keizo, a local dojo owner who also teaches him martial arts. Two years later, he falls in with Keizo’s daughter, Koyuki and gets engaged with her. Sadly, Koyuki and Keizo pass away after drinking the water poisoned by one of the rival dojos.

After receiving the news, Hakuji battled barehanded with all sixty-seven other dojo members, pulverising their corpses. When Muzan learns of this incident, he offers to transform Hakuji into a demon. However, even though Akaza transforms into a demon, he subconsciously holds onto his human emotions. This is why, Akaza wouldn’t hurt women and cannot stand Doma doing the same.

Demon Slayer can currently be streamed on Crunchyroll. In the meantime, check out our other TV hubs below:

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