The Demon Slayer has long shown that demons still have human aspects, but the Season 2 finale showed that humans can have just as much demon inside them.
One of Demon Slayer’s most alluring features is the nuance of each major villain. History clearly shows that demons are not purely evil, brainless monsters. In fact, they retain a lot of their human characteristics. Even the manner in which they are made differs depending on the situation. Others were little more than sick experiences, while some saw the power of being a demon and took it. A few, though, were not convinced by Muzan ‘s allure or the prospect of immortality.
While Rui was persuaded to become a demon by promises of a better body, and Akaza was probably swayed by the thought of being in peak fighting shape indefinitely, it wasn’t those ideals that swayed him. Their motivation was hinted at with the demon Kyogai in Demon Slayer Season 1, which contributed to his metamorphosis. Daki and Gyutaro became the feared demons they are because of how other humans treated them during their lives.
Daki and Gyutaro had a terrible fate in life. Born into the poorest community in their region, they were seen as burdens. Another mouth to feed greatly affects barely surviving families, and Gyutaro in particular was considered a curse. His mother attempted to murder him both in the pregnancy and after he was born, but both attempts failed. He ate whatever small animals he could find and was mocked by passers-by for being an ugly, smelly street rat. The adults threw stones at him and looked at him in disgust.
By comparison, Daki was a treasure. Her beauty made her immediately valuable, and she was working in the entertainment district before she was even 13. This value, however, did not last long. Daki became disposable as soon as she surpassed her employer’s bounds and was punished in one of the most heinous ways possible. Daki was tied up and burnt alive for attacking a customer.
After finding Daki charred in a hole, but still alive, Gyutaro is attacked in turn. Two badly injured children roam the streets, but no one stops to offer help, not even when Gyutaro collapses and it starts to snow. The only creature that approaches them is not human but a demon, an Upper Moon. He offers them some of his blood, and although Gyutaro shows no sign of approving, he doesn’t object either.
Gyutaro lets this demon do whatever he wants as he is the only one who noticed them and offered them something. He and Daki must have spent their entire lives taking and fighting for even the slightest mercy. All Gyutaro wanted was to live comfortably with his sister, the only person who wasn’t completely disgusted with him. Even that simple desire was ruined because of who and where they were. The demons did not slaughter his only family. They didn’t make his job as a debt collector his best option. They didn’t want him or Daki dead . The humans wanted it.
Upper Moon just capitalised on what mankind had previously done to Daki and Gyutaro. He didn’t trick them into becoming demons, and he didn’t promise them anything other than the chance to live. Gyutaro decided to become a monster after being informed he was a monster at every opportunity. In Demon Slayer, Kibutsuji Muzan is the creator of all demons and is responsible for the great majority of their creation. However, it wasn’t because of him that Daki and Gyutaro became monsters. It was their fellow human beings who did this to them, and if they had received any kindness from their fellow human beings, these brothers and sisters might not have taken the path they took.
