The cost of hubris: Muzan’s fall in Demon Slayer

In the world of Demon Slayer, the main antagonist is one of the most important and dangerous villains. Muzan Kibutsuji became a demon as a result of ingesting a medicine that was supposed to cure him from a chronic illness. From that day on, he became obsessed with cheating death, and this obsession led him to create more demons. But this only led to more chaos, pain, and suffering.

For generations, it seemed impossible to stop such a fearsome force. In the end, he fell, and it was all because of his hubris. Characters with hubris usually meet a gruesome ending, and it is a result of their own making. Muzan had made a lot of bad choices because of his pride and arrogance.

All of these accumulated over the years and finally became the reason for his demise. From the beginning of Demon Slayer, he behaved like a final boss. This was evident as he kept his movements in shadows and made his loyal retainers finish any tasks he asked of them. Muzan always believed himself to be perfect and above everyone else.

Even the demons he created, Muzan never cared for them. They were just tools who would get the job done for him. At a point, it seems like Muzan saw himself as a God. This led him to make the biggest mistake of his life, and he fought against Yoriichi Tsugikuni, the greatest Demon Slayer who ever lived.

Only if he was aware of who he was about to fight could he have fled. But his pride and ego blinded him, and this mistake caused him to feel fear for the first time. He had never faced anyone like Yoriichi before. From that moment on, Muzan became obsessed with avoiding death.

Although even after this encounter, he could not get himself to openly admit that Yoriichi was better than him. Instead of learning from the defeat, Muzan let his hubris grow stronger. He told himself that it wasn’t his fault.

Another trait about him was that he never cared about who he turned into a demon. Muzan wanted them to be strong and gave them an illusion of choice. He just expected them to be his loyal servants, and never did he try to be a good leader. Interestingly, Nezuko was proof that Muzan was not in control. She didn’t eat humans. She kept her emotions. She even resisted his orders.

For countless years, Muzan in Demon Slayer wanted to find a cure to be able to walk in sunlight without being burnt to a crisp. But the answer was right in front of him, and he ignored the possibility entirely. He thought the answer was in blood, and kept on experimenting.

Only if he did not want to conquer all, and took the time to understand why a demon managed to achieve something that had been taking him generations to find an answer, could he have also been immune to the sun. But because of his hubris, he chose control over understanding.

Muzan in Demon Slayer was too afraid to die and too arrogant to live

At the core of Muzan, it was clear that he is afraid of only one thing, and that is to die. He wanted to live forever. That was why he became a demon in the first place. That’s why he created others. That’s why he was always hiding, always planning, always destroying anything that looked like a threat.

But here’s the irony: while he was afraid of death, he didn’t respect life either. He has lived for a long time, yet he has never been at peace. He believed that he was strong enough to take over everyone, and the second that thought took over him, he stopped realising he was alone. That is why everyone from the Demon Slayer Corps worked together, and finally, they were able to defeat him for good.

Final thoughts

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Unfortunately for Muzan, even during his final second of life, he refused to let go. He tried to take over Tanjiro's body to live on. In the end, Muzan was erased in Demon Slayer. Not just physically, but spiritually. No one cried for him. No one remembered him with love. He died alone, as he had lived. And this is the cost he has to pay for his hubris.

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