InDemon Slayer, the Hashira are some of the most powerful and respected Demon Slayers around. One doesn’t gain a title like Hashira without killing their share of demons, and that applies to every one of them, from the weakest Hashira to the strongest.
When one looks at the number of demons killed throughout the series, the numbers are actually quite low. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the character responsible for the most on-screen demon kills is in fact Tanjiro, due largely to the fact that he is the viewpoint character. Still, though, one can’t help but wonder: which Hashira killed the most demons?
Ranking the Hashira by On-Screen Demon Kills
In order to keep this fair, a demon kill only counts if the Demon Slayer finishes off the demon with his/her sword. Deaths by sunlight exposure, or other factors like Muzan’s curse, don’t count in their favor. By those limitations, Tanjiro has a whopping 9 kills on-screen, far more than any other character.
Among the Hashira, the number of killed demons is much lower. The Hashira don’t even show up until late in the first season, and are usually assigned to missions where they must face one or two powerful demons, rather than hordes of weaker demons. As such, they have fewer kills, but the ones they have are more impressive.
Considering side-stories and special chapters, the Hashira with the most kills is actually Kyojuro Rengoku, the Flame Hashira.In his side story, Rengoku kills a demon by the name of Hairo. In another special one-shot, he defeats a demon known as the Flute Demon. In a special episode of the anime,Rengoku also defeats Slasher.
That gives Rengoku three demon kills to his name, although two of them are from side stories. The next closest Hashira is Giyu Tomioka, who kills both Rui and the Spider Demon Father during the Mount Natagumo arc, giving him two kills. Shinobu, Muichiro, Sanemi, and Gyomei come in third, with one on-screen kill each.
Incidentally, that means Mitsuri Kanroji, Obanai Iguro, and Tengen Uzui never kill a true demon on-screen.
How Kyojuro Rengoku Ended Up as the Toughest Hashira
With Three Kills, Rengoku Is the Toughest
It’s a tad ironic that Rengoku has the most kills, asRengoku is the first Hashira to be killed by a demon, the Upper Rank demon Akaza. This leaves Tanjiro and his friends devastated, but it also leaves the audience devastated as well. As such, a special episode ofDemon Slayer, revealing what Rengoku did beforeMugen Train, was created.
Rengoku was already such a fan favorite, even beforeMugen Trainbecame a movie, that he was given a spinoff alongside Giyu Tomioka, called “Stories of Water and Flame.” It’s here that he defeats Hairo, then a member of the Twelve Kizuki. The Flute Demon appears in a “Special One-shot” which focuses on Rengoku and was released forMugen Train.
It’s pretty clear that Rengoku’s status as the deadliest Hashira is a direct result of his popularity. Though he may have been killed off first, Rengoku was clearly a highly skilled Hashira and one ofDemon Slayer’s finest.
