Akaza, as we meet him for the first time in ‘Demon Slayer: Mugen Train,’ is a cold-blooded killer. It is not difficult for us to loathe Akaza at this stage, as he represents everything that the Demon Slayers are struggling against. But as the story of Akaza finally has a chance to develop in the Infinity Castle, it appears that our own moral boundaries start to become clouded, and we are left wondering what it truly means to be a monster. There is more to Akaza than what we have seen.
Akaza did not have to be a demon. He was once a human being, and his name was Hakuji. He was living a poor life, stealing from others to support his ill father. Every time he stole, it was out of love, but it also had an element of guilt and shame. When he was caught by the police, his father found out about his circumstances, and he could not take the fact that his son was stealing for him. His father took his own life and left a note for Hakuji. The note was an appeal from his father to change his ways and become an honest man. This was the incident that broke him. It was more than just the loss of a father because it was the loss of the only person who ever loved him unconditionally.
Hakuji’s Memories Remind Us That Morality Isn’t Black and White
After being banished from his home, Hakuji wandered until he was found by a kind-hearted martial arts master named Kaiso. Instead of reviling him for his past, Kaiso offered him the opportunity to start a new life. Kaiso taught Hakuji martial arts and the principles of discipline and meaning. Hakuji also met Kaiso’s daughter, Koyuki, who was sick but had extreme kindness and resilience. As she recovered from her illness, the two grew very attached to each other, and finally, Kaiso asked Hakuji to marry her. For the first time in his life, Hakuji had something to look forward to. However, peace is not meant to last in a world filled with envy and cruelty. A second dojo, jealous of the fame of Kaiso and the swift increase of strength of Hakuji, had poisoned the well that Hakuji used in his home. When Hakuji came back, he found that Kaiso and Koyuki were dead. Everything he had worked for was gone in an instant. He had lost his teacher, his love, and his reason for living. In a burst of overwhelming grief and rage, he killed every member of the rival dojo by his own hand. This was a revenge born of despair and not malice. However, this marked the end of Hakuji’s humanity. However, when Muzan Kibutsuji found him in the middle of all this carnage, Hakuji had lost everything that still tied him to the human world. Muzan Kibutsuji offered Hakuji a chance to leave the pain behind and become stronger than ever before and never lose again. Broken and empty, Hakuji took the deal, and Akaza was born. After that, his power was what defined him, and violence became the only language he knew.
Demon Slayer’s Story, Along with MAPPA’s Illustration, Shows That Every Villain Has a Story Worth Understanding
The tragedy of Akaza is the fact that he is a demon and yet there was still some of Hakuji left in him. This is shown by the fact that he does not kill women, which was apparently an order given to him by his memory of Koyuki. This is shown by the fact that he is obsessed with fighting strong opponents, perhaps because he has a twisted memory of Kaiso’s teachings. It is when he kills Rengoku that he realizes that strength is the only truth left in the world. He offers Rengoku immortality, not because he enjoys doing evil deeds but because he cannot bear the thought of seeing strength die just as he once saw love die. It is what Demon Slayer is trying to tell us in Akaza’s storyline: evil is not always the child of hatred. Sometimes, it is the child of pain. This series loves the metaphor that the world is split between good and evil, but every bad guy has a story to explain why they chose to fall. The Demon Slayers are fighting for justice, but the demons they fight for justice against were also once living beings who suffered and made choices that we, as viewers, can understand if we were in their shoes. Ultimately, when Akaza faces his past, then the illusion of power is gone, and what is left is Hakuji, the boy who wanted to protect his father, the man who loved Koyuki, and the soul who could never find peace. His story does not excuse his misdeeds but gives us a reason to look further.
