Demon Slayer | Character Analysis | Gyutaro, The Upper Rank 6 Demon

By: Prince Lammy

“The sufferings of my past were lessons on what to do to others as revenge”

- Gyutaro

We often remember different demons for different reasons, but one main reason Demon Slayer fans would remember Gyutaro is for being the ugliest demon in demon slayer. But looking past Gyutaro’s appearance, what else is there to uncover about him?

Grab a seat, join on me this journey, and unravel more about Gyutaro that you probably missed in the Demon Slayer anime or manga.

Profile

• Name: Gyutaro
• Gender: Male
• Species: Demon
• Demon Moon Rank: Upper-Rank Six
• Family: Daki (Sister)
• Status: Dead
• Anime Debut: Episode 40 (Season 2, Episode 7)
• Voice Actor: Ryota Osaka

Gyutaro's Appearance

As a Demon:

• Gyutaro's physical appearance before and after his transformation is not significantly different
• He has black spots on his gray skin, with water-like marks on his face
• His eyes bear the daiji for "Upper Rank" and "Six," appearing half-open and slanted
• He has green, scanty, and crooked hair
• He wears faded blue trousers that resemble bandages wound around him
• His teeth are missing and uneven, which grow sharper as a demon
• He adorns three big bangles on each arm: two on his biceps and one on his wrists

As a Human:

• Black Hair
• He had a muscular upper body and a very skinny waist
• The skin around his waist clung onto his pelvic bones
• His eyes were bloodshot and pale blue, with visible veins on the sclera
• As a child, he wore a dirty, tattered kimono. Later on, he wore a cleaner, short-sleeved wide-striped kimono

Who is Gyutaro?

Gyutaro is one of the demons in the Demon Slayer anime and manga series, and also the Upper-Rank Six of the Twelve Kizuki demons. He is Daki’s elder brother and protector. He was a primary antagonist in the Entertainment District Arc of the Kimetsu no Yaiba story.

Where is Gyutaro From?

Gyutaro was from the Rashomon Riverbank area of the Yoshiwara Entertainment District, which is in Modern day Taito district of Tokyo. The Rashomon Riverbank area is the poorest of the entire Entertainment District and is a place where children are despised, as they’re only seen as a burden on the parents and house they come from. Also, in this district, relevance and respect are always measured by beauty, and seeing as Gyutaro is just about the ugliest and most stinky in the area, he’s despised by all.

What Is Gyutaro’s Childhood Like?

Born in a place where relevance and respect were measured by how beautiful a person is, Gyutaro had a very hard life as a kid, as he was born very ugly. His unfortunate appearance was the result of congenital syphilis, inherited from his infected mother during pregnancy. Seeing how ugly her son was, his mother hated him and tried to kill him several times, even during pregnancy.

Abandoned and left to fend for himself, Gyutaro was also called lots of derogatory names and was treated harshly by the other villagers. He’d often go hungry for days, and would only be able to eat whenever he found rodents, insects, or snakes to kill.

But he became happier when Ume was born, as she was incredibly beautiful, captivating the attention of everyone around her. Her birth and beauty became a source of pride and dignity for Gyutaro. Since his mother died shortly after Ume’s birth, he had to fend for himself and Ume. He became a feared and despised debt collector, causing revulsion wherever he went.

How Did Gyutaro Become A Demon?

When Ume was thirteen, Gyutaro found her barely clinging to life, burned to a crisp as an act of revenge for stabbing a customer in the eye. While grieving, he was attacked by the vengeful samurai whom his sister had injured. Gyutaro later avenged his sister's torment by killing the samurai with his scythe.

While carrying his sister's nearly lifeless body, Gyutaro encountered Doma, who offered them both demon blood, saving their lives and turning them into demons. Gyutaro ascended the demon ranks by slaying humans and demon slayers, acquiring more of Muzan's blood along the way.

Personality

Gyutaro is a brutal and cold-hearted demon with a tendency to flare up over the smallest things. He’s also always jealous of those more handsome than him, or who’s had a better life than him. More often than not, Gyutaro's actions, especially against humans, have been driven by his desire to eliminate the very qualities he envies in them.

He believed that since life gave him nothing but misery as a child, it was okay to forcefully take from others who had what he lacked. And since he’s already ugly, he has no issues causing more harm to himself to make his appearance more revolting. He also often scratches himself, inflicting harm upon himself whenever something irritates him, or whenever Daki complains about someone or something to him.

As a human, his pride lay in two things: having a very beautiful sister, and being feared by all as a debt collector, showing how much he relishes being feared.

His arrogance and pride after becoming a demon went up in leaps and bounds, and since he is the number six demon in the Twelve Kizuki, he always sees every demon slayer and human as being below him.

However, his love and admiration for his sister, Ume / Daki is ever-so strong; he often gives her free reign to do whatever she pleases. As such, he takes it upon himself to fend for and protect her, but he also knows her to be pretty stupid.

Physical Abilities And Strengths

As an upper-rank demon, Gyutaro possesses supernatural abilities which surpass those of even normal demons. His speed, agility, reflexes, and movements far surpass those of normal humans. Even Tengen Uzui, the Sound Hashira, could only barely keep up with Gyutaro's speed.

He is also partially immune to being beheaded, as killing him would require simultaneously beheading him and Daki. Additionally, he has a very strong resistance to toxins that would normally render any human immobile and motionless in seconds.

He possesses the ability to merge with Daki, residing within her without altering her physical appearance. This biological fusion enables him to connect his core essence as a third eye, facilitating coordination and communication during battles against their enemies.

Blood Demon Art

He wields two Kamas crafted from his own skin, often utilizing them to generate boomerang-shaped blood projectiles with incredible speed and deadly precision. His blood possesses potent toxicity, making it highly lethal upon contact.

Additionally, he can unleash waves of this poisonous blood in either controlled loops originating from his arms or chaotic patterns, wreaking havoc on his surroundings. Furthermore, he possesses the ability to create a dome-shaped shield made of solid blood, providing him with formidable defense.

Equipment

Flesh Kama: Gyutaro possesses a pair of Kama that were crafted from his blood and flesh. The two Kamas were his only weapons, and they were very sharp and highly durable, allowing them effortlessly cut through flesh and still effectively defend against attacks from NIchirin Swords. The Kamas possess a fleshy outer layer and have a vivid red hue like blood.

He could also control them telekinetically, making them curve and make patterns after being thrown out, and also return to him.

Interaction With Other Characters

Gyutaro’s interaction with demon slayers is the typical demon–demon slayer interaction: kill them! As demon slayers are natural enemies of demons, it often gives him joy to kill them. However, he also likes to see his victims or opponents in anguish before finally killing them.

The only relationship that matters to him is with his sister, Daki. His relationship with her is the typical sibling type: filled with doting on, loving, caring for, looking out for, and also disagreements. But seeing as Daki is the more childish one, Gyutaro is usually on the receiving end of her barrage of insults and getting blamed for her faults and mistakes.

Symbolism And Themes

Gyutaro’s presence in Demon Slayer is symbolic of a few notions, which include regret, familial love, loyalty, and the struggle for identity. Born in the slums of Yoshiwara, Gyutaro grapples with his lowly origins, and seeing as his physical appearance is making people despise him, he resorts to violence, all in a bid to be recognized by his immediate neighbors.

This way, he feels nature has already robbed him of all the joys of life, as he had a very unhappy and sad childhood, and had nothing or anyone to himself, asides from Daki. His physical appearance is also symbolic of the sort of defects he was born with, which become a burden he must bear, even after becoming a demon. And as such, he gets jealous whenever he sees people with more beauty or wealth than him.

Lastly, Gyutaro’s story examines the concept of regret. In his final moments, he contemplates the decisions he made, especially how they affect Daki’s life. He sees Daki’s cunning and power-crazed personality as a demon as a consequence of his own wrong decisions and wished she’d chosen another path, and become someone better.

Conclusion

And there you have it folks! A simple yet comprehensive look into Gyutaro, the Upper-Rank Six Demon in Demon Slayer, the demon that sent the Sound Hashira into retirement. He truly was a force to reckon with, and despite how evil he was, I couldn’t help but pity him in his final moments.

But moving on, he’s down now, and I doubt you’d ever come across another demon as ugly as he is. And until we see another piece on demon slayer, I say Sayonara!