'Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train': Who is Akaza?
'Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train' picks up where Season 1 of the anime left off. Tamado Tanjiro is on a quest to find and kill the demon Muzan after he killed his entire family and turned his sister, the sole surviving member of the massacre, into a demon. Tanjiro soon joins the demon slayer corps, an organization determined to end demons and Muzan himself. Tanjiro encounters many strong demons during his journey, and one of his strongest opponents to date happens to be Akaza, the demon featured in this movie.
If you're looking for more anime like 'Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba', consider checking out 'Yasuke', 'Record of Ragnarok', 'The Seven Deadly Sins' and 'Castlevania'. Season 1 of 'Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba' is also available on Netflix if you want to binge-watch it before the movie.
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Who is Upper Moon Three, Akaza?
The third upper moon serving the series antagonist, Muzan, Akaza is one of the strongest demons in the Kimetsu no Yaiba universe. He appears as a muscular young man in his demon form, with pale skin with a tint of green. In addition, he has thick blue lines running across his body, which is an exaggerated version of the criminal tattoos he had when he was a human. He has bright pink hair and yellow eyes, with the kanji 'Upper Moon Three' etched into them, denoting his status among Muzan's Upper moons — a group of his strongest demons.
With unparalleled strength and fighting techniques, Akaza doesn't use weapons and prefers hand-to-hand combat. He looks down upon the weak and has a deep respect for those who are strong enough to fight him. If he determines an opponent is strong enough, he insists on learning their name to honor their memory after he has killed them. Akaza also has some odd principles as a demon, seeing that he refuses to devour women. Many of his characteristics come from his ideologies as a human, although he is unaware of losing all his human memories.
How did he become a demon?
Before he became the demon Akaza, he was a human man named Hakuji. Hakuji came from a destitute family, where it was only him and his father, who was deathly ill. Hakuji spent all his life taking care of his father but often resorted to unlawful means to help him with medicines and food. Having been caught three times, he received the marks of a thief, which were tattoos wrapped around his forearms.
After the third time and his trial, Hakuji returned home only to find out that his father had killed himself, seeing that he didn't want to burden his son any longer and hoped that he could live a better life. After his father's death, Hakuji felt as though he didn't have much to live for and went on a rampage, nearly killing a group of people, until he stopped and was defeated by Keizo, the owner of a dojo.
Despite his circumstances, Hakuji always possessed unfathomable strength and Keizo recognized the young man's prowess and offered him a chance at a better life. Under Keizo's care, Hakuji's main duty was to care for Koyuki, his sickly daughter. Having cared for his father, Hakuji knew how to help the young woman and soon she began to get better. Seeing just how well he was thriving as a martial artist and a person, Keizo not only offered for Hakuji to take over the dojo but also offered Koyuki's hand in marriage, seeing that his daughter had fallen in love with him.
Hakuji accepted, seeing that he also felt the same way. However, on hearing this news, the owner of a rival dojo and his disciples attacked Hakuji, who defeated them with ease. Determined to get his revenge, the owner poisoned the well in Keizo's home while Hakuji was away, visiting his father's grave. Upon returning, he found Koyuki and Keizo dead, sending him into a rampage, where he killed all 67 members of the rivaling dojo with his bare hands. He destroyed their bodies to a point where they were no longer recognizable. Muzan, upon hearing this news, was impressed, but seeing that Hakuji was human, he decided to turn him into a demon. Hakuji, who felt as though he failed to protect the people he truly loved, lost all purpose in life and thus became the demon Akaza.
In 'Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train', Akaza and Rengoku Kyojuro go up against each other. Although strong, Rengoku manages to hold his own against Akaza. owever, the demon's regeneration abilities make it impossible to strike him down truly. The face-off between the two is the movie's highlight and sets up the plot for season 2 of the anime.
'Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train' is now streaming on Funimation. You can also watch Season 1 of the anime on Netflix.
