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| “ | You humans are so miserable. No matter how hard you try, this is all you got. How unfortunate. | „ |
| ~ Daki to Tanjiro Kamado. |
Daki (堕姫 Daki) is a major antagonist in the manga/anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. She is the secondary antagonist of the Entertainment District Arc and its season two adaptation. She is a member of the Twelve Kizuki, holding the position of Upper Rank Six, which she shared with her older brother Gyutaro.
As a human, Daki lived over a century ago during the Edo period and was a sex worker by the name of Ume (梅 Ume) who lived in the Rashomon Riverbank of Yoshiwara, the lowest class of the Entertainment District, with her brother before they were nearly killed by a corrupt samurai and subsequently turned into demons by Doma.
After her transformation, Daki would become one of the most prominent oirans in Yoshiwara and use her position to kill and devour anyone that she desired until she was finally slain by Zenitsu Agatsuma and Inosuke Hashibira. Her death along with her brother's would serve as a turning point in the war between mankind and demon-kind, as they were the first Upper Ranks at that point to have been slain in over 100 years.
She is voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro in Japanese and Erica Lindbeck (who also voiced Jericho in The Seven Deadly Sins, Pakunoda in Hunter x Hunter, Lady Nagant in My Hero Academia, Loona in Helluva Boss, Hrist in God of War: Ragnarok and Black Cat in Marvel's Spider-Man) in English.
Appearance[]
| “ | You are the most beautiful creature there is... | „ |
| ~ Muzan Kibutsuji to Daki. |
Daki was a tall, curvaceous, and attractive young woman with pale cracked skin, long eyelashes, and lime green eyes with the kanji for "Upper Rank" and "Six" carved across them. Her initially black hair was styled in a full, long ponytail with three kanzashi hairpins holding up the ponytail on each side. She sported two pink flower demon crests on her face and wore a two-piece version of her kimono consisting of magenta pink panties tied with long black bows on the sides and two magenta pieces of cloth on her chest, magenta thigh-high stockings with black flower patterns, tall three-legged sanmaiba shoes, and a pink flower-patterned obi wrapped around her waist, which she used for her Blood Demon Art. After Daki's obi sashes returned to her, black cracks would appear on various parts of her body and her hair would shift from black to pale white with lime green tips, matching her original hair color when she was human.
As a human, Daki was a young girl with long, disheveled white hair with messy bangs, pale lipstick, and lapis blue eyes with long lashes. She wore a torn, pale pink kimono with an irregular square patterns with a horizontal lines across it and was said to be so beautiful that even grown adults would reel in shock at the sight of her face.
Personality[]
| “ | Blah, Blah, Blah...Don't you ever stop your prattling? I don't remember such things. The past is the past. I'm a demon now, that's all that matters. We don't get old. We don't need money to eat. We don't get sick...and we never die. We never lose anything! We never fade. We're eternally young and beautiful. And we're strong! Demons can do whatever we want!! | „ |
| ~ Daki to Tanjiro, reflecting on her own troubled past life as a human. |
Daki was a vain, cruel, and arrogant individual who took great enjoyment in toying with her victims and seemed to have very little tolerance for failure, a trait she shared with her master Muzan Kibutsuji. She was also somewhat seductive, as seen when she flirted by Tanjiro by saying that he was "cute but ugly", and also possessed a childish streak due to having transformed into a demon when she was only thirteen years old, causing her to throw tantrums and cry hysterically when things didn't go her way. Unlike many other demons, she was also picky with her food, preferring to only eat people that she viewed as beautiful or strong; as for the others, she would simply kill them and leave their bodies behind without eating them, which people often mistook as suicide.
As an oiran, Daki displayed a spoiled and disdainful attitude that led her to bully many of her fellow workers into committing suicide purely because they annoyed or offended her in some way. Her great pride meant that she had no respect for anyone, not even her managers, as she would rub it in their faces as she was their central source of income to both display her status as an oiran and silence any complaints they had towards her. She was also so drunk on her status and power over the Entertainment District that people had to resort to bowing their heads in order to calm her outbursts, to which she responded to with a much more polite and affable stance.
Due to the extreme poverty and the near-death experiences that she faced as a human, Daki believed that her transformation into a demon was the greatest thing that ever happened to her, which led her to openly denounce her humanity in front of Tanjiro and claim that she had the right to do whatever she wished. However, at the same time, due to having been burned alive during her human life, Daki had a deep fear of flames, as shown when she screamed hysterically when Nezuko set her ablaze with her Blood Demon Art.
The only person that Daki truly cared for was her older brother Gyutaro, who she depended on for help whenever she was beaten back and driven into a corner. However, despite their bond with each other, it didn't stop Daki from insulting and lashing out at him out of frustration, as shown when she spoke cruelly of him upon their defeat, even insulting his appearance and viciously claiming that someone so ugly like him couldn't possibly be her brother.
However, underneath her spoiled and bossy attitude towards her brother, Daki had a strong and genuine familial love for him, even though neither of them remembered much of their human lives when they became demons. This was primarily seen during her reunion with Gyutaro in the afterlife; when he tried to cut ties with her and send her to Heaven for a chance to live a better life without him being a part of it, she stubbornly refused to leave him and tearfully reminded him of the promise he'd made her to her long ago that he would always be by her side, claiming that no matter how many times they died and how many times she was reborn, she'd always be his little sister.
As noted by Gyutaro, Daki had a very impressionable, naive, and honest personality as a human, which led her to take up the personality traits and words of those she trusted and admired to heart. As a result, he came to believe that it was his negative influence on her that caused her to become the selfish and spoiled girl that she is today. He also believed that had she been raised with someone else other than him with the proper morals and the right teachings, she could have lived a wonderful life and would have become the polar opposite of her current self.
Biography[]
Human Life[]
| “ | In this town, women are properties. Mere things. Owners can buy, sell, or smash them any way they want. Ugly wenches don't even deserve to eat. Those who can't do anything are less than human beings here. | „ |
| ~ Daki, reflecting the harsh reality of life in the Entertainment District. |
Daki was born many years ago with the birth name of "Ume" in the Entertainment District's Rashomongasi (Lowest Caste) area, where only sick prostitutes, geishas and oirans who could no longer work in the brothels were sent and left to die. Her birth mother was a prostitute there, having given birth to her elder brother a few years before. Her biological father is never mentioned, but was likely one of her mother's customers. Her brother noted their mother to be severely mentally unstable (most likely due to the district's extremely harsh and poor living conditions), having attempted to kill herself and her son numerous times as well. She also physically abused him due to not having the finances to keep him fed, forcing him to fend for himself. When Ume was born, their mother hated her due to her hair color and eyes and would try and kill her. One day, their mother tried to cut Ume’s hair off with a razor, but Gyutaro became enraged and went on a rampage. This led to their mother distancing herself from them. Ume was primarily raised by her elder brother until her early teen years when her mother passed away from the disease Ume, the same sickness she was then named after.
Gyutaro noted that, even as a young child, Ume had an incredibly beautiful face that even grown men and women would falter from looking at. She was so beautiful that if she smiled, she would be given things; leading to the nickname Shiraume. This gave him hope that both of them could rise from poverty and be able to lead a better life by being scouted and eventually recruited to work in one of the most prestigious Brothels in the district. And just as he had hoped, Ume, in her early teen years, was finally chosen to work in one of the Entertainment District's High Class Brothels. She began receiving proper education, was taught the proper skills, and fed the finest foods in her training to become an Oiran, and even before her training was even completed, Ume had already begun making a fortune by attracting many suitors and customers to the brothel, due to her beauty. At the same time, her elder brother began working as her "Collector" and would collect money and debts owed to the brothel.
However, this all came to an end when Ume, poked out the eye of a samurai, a customer of hers when he insulted her brother while her brother was away collecting debts. In retaliation to this, she was tied, bound, burned alive and left to die in a ditch. She was then discovered by her brother, who began to hysterically panic upon seeing her near-death state. They were then discovered by the same samurai she blinded, accompanied by the Manager of the House she worked in. The pair attempted to kill both Ume and Gyutaro, only to be killed by her brother instead, who then picked up his sister’s charred body and carried her around town in search of help. His struggle turned out to be in vain, as he came to the realization that no one would help them.
As Gyutaro collapsed from exhaustion and fatigue from his severe wounds, Doma, who was Upper Rank Six at the time, happened upon the siblings while wandering the district in search of beautiful Geishas to devour. Taking pity on them, he offered to help the pair by turning them into Demons, claiming that it was because he was a "nice guy". He then challenged them to become strong enough to be chosen by Muzan Kibutsuji and join the Twelve Kizuki alongside himself.
Demon Life[]
Many years after becoming a Demon, Daki had already gained a reputation for her cruelty, such that senile elders remembered her ill-temper and demanded that "hime" (meaning "princess") should be added to her name. The activities of both her and her brother eventually caught the attention of Muzan Kibutsuji, who acknowledged their strength and power and officially allowed them to join the Twelve Kizuki and both were given the rank of Upper Rank Six.
At some point, Daki fought, killed and ate seven Hashira.
Two days before Tanjiro Kamado and company infiltrated the Entertainment District, Daki was confronted by Omitsu, the manager of the Kyogoku House, over her mistreatment of the staff. When the hostess revealed her knowledge of Daki's past and extended lifespan, the Upper Rank seized her. Carrying her far above the district, Daki mocked Omitsu for her stupidity, labeled her as inedible, and dropped her to her death. Returning to her room, Daki was surprised to see Muzan Kibutsuji. Bowing to her master, she listened as he praised her for her newfound strength, cautioned her against getting careless, and stated his high hopes for her as a special Demon.
Entertainment District Arc[]
Walking with several assistants, Daki passed under Tengen Uzui's watchful gaze undetected in her oiran guise. Later, using her Demonic sash, she questioned Makio about the letters she had been sending. Sensing Inosuke Hashibira's presence, Daki's sash fled.
Daki appeared behind Zenitsu Agatsuma as Warabihime, demanding to know what he was doing in someone else's room, and quickly grew irritated at his lack of a response. She extended this irritation to two girls who tried to defend Zenitsu, insulting the young Demon Slayer before viciously abusing a crying girl for not cleaning a room fast enough. Her anger grew as Zenitsu grabbed her wrist to stop her cruelty.
Daki hit the youth through several walls, threatening him with further discipline, but stopped when the master of the brothel begged her to. Apologizing to him, she ordered Zenitsu's wounds to be treated and the mess from her fit of anger cleaned up. The Upper Rank then pondered over Zenitsu's identity, noting he might be a Demon Slayer. Later, in her room, she gloated over the success of her plan, promising to kill and eat all of her enemies.
Daki then appeared behind Koinatsu, seeking to eat her before she left to be married. She was then confronted by Tanjiro Kamado while restraining her fellow oiran and questioned him about the amount of backup he had, including when the Hashira would arrive. Dismissing the youth for his weakness, Daki soon grew enraged when he demanded she released Koinatsu and attacked the Demon Slayer with her sashes. Noting that he had survived, she complimented Tanjiro's eyes, wishing to eat them. She briefly clashed with the young Demon Slayer again, noting his skill in only severing the section of sash containing Koinatsu, but confidently proclaimed his doom regardless.
She then expressed irritation at her foes' interfering actions, asking Tanjiro about his backup again. Despite his refusal, she offered to let him live if he told her, noting that in their brief clash his sword had been chipped. She also stated that whoever had forged the blade was a terrible blacksmith, and quickly grew irritated once more when her opponent denied this, promising to kill him with her next attack. Launching said attack, Daki was shocked when Tanjiro cut through her sashes with a Hinokami Kagura technique. Noting the change in his sword style, she dodged his next attack, countering with an attack of her own. Missing due to another Hinokami Kagura technique, the Upper Rank turned to face her opponent just as his blade struck her neck.
Her decapitated head then fell to the ground, facing the head of Gyutaro. As their heads began to disintegrate, Daki screamed at her brother, blaming him for their defeat and claiming that "an unsightly thing like [him] could never be [her] sibling", while Gyutaro retaliated that Daki was weak and did nothing to help. Saddened by the siblings' bickering, Tanjiro then stepped in, covering Gyutaro's mouth to stop him from screaming abuse at his sister and pleading with them to try and get along, as they only had each other left in the world. Daki began to cry, wailing that she didn't want to die; however, her head finally disintegrated, leaving Gyutaro alone. As Gyutaro began to remember their life before becoming demons, Daki appeared to him in her original form as Ume, asking him where they were going and to take her along with him. He initially rejected her, sharply telling her not to follow him, just to spare her from joining his fate in Hell. However, Ume suddenly embraced him tightly, apologizing for her past words and crying out that they were siblings and she would never let him go. The pair then departed to the afterlife of flames and darkness, with Gyutaro carrying Daki on his back as he had always done before.
Beyond the Sanzu River[]
When asked by how it felt to be killed by a user of Sound Breathing, Ume states that while she respects Uzui for his strength, claiming that he was "a real ninja through and through," she still hates him.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Overall Abilities: Daki is noted to be a powerful Demon, having been personally acknowledged by Muzan himself as being a "special Demon". This is further given credence as she was able to devour 7 Hashira and overwhelm and hold the advantage over Tanjiro Kamado, Nezuko Kamado, Zenitsu Agatsuma and Inosuke Hashibira—all of whom were talented combatants, backing up her initial claims as being one of the Twelve Kizuki. However, her rank and position among the Upper Ranks are only thanks to her brother's powers and abilities that enhance her own.
- Enhanced Strength: As a Demon who harbors an extremely high concentration of Muzan Kibutsuji's blood, Daki possesses incredible physical strength. This is shown when she punched a hole through a roof and could lift up an elderly woman with her bare hands.
- Flesh Manipulation: Daki's main Blood Demon Art is to freely manipulate her flesh into various structures, mainly a cloth sash, which complements her beauty and looks. She can even morph and shift her flesh to have the properties of a cloth sash, as seen when she transformed her neck into a long sash of cloth to avoid being decapitated by Tanjiro.
- Hair Manipulation: Daki also displayed the ability to manipulate her hair as a weapon, as she attempted to attack Inosuke with clumps of her hair after he successfully decapitated her and took her head from her body to prevent her from reattaching it. She can also change its color, as seen when she transformed her hair from black to silver.
- Immense Speed and Reflexes: Daki is extremely fast, especially in terms of her attack speed, being capable of evading the senses of several Demon Slayers at once with her blinding attacks.
- Immense Regeneration: Daki is shown to have powerful regenerative abilities, as seen when she was able to easily heal herself after being burned alive by Nezuko's Blood Demon Art and was able to regrow her severed sash tentacles seconds after they were cut off. Daki was also shown to be able to easily reattach her severed head despite being repeatedly decapitated by Tengen and Inosuke.
- Psychic Connection: Daki has the ability to share her senses and mind with her elder brother, and also allow him to control her body by implanting one of his eyes into her forehead. Through this eye, she can send him logistical information through this link in order for them to better coordinate their attacks. At the same time, this ability also enhances all of Daki's own existing abilities and enhances her own sense of sight, due to her being implanted with one of her brother's eyes. This is seen when she's able to easily keep up with Zenitsu while he's using his incredibly fast Thunder Breathing techniques.
- Decapitation Immunity: While her brother is "sleeping" inside of her or when his "core" is implanted inside of her body, Daki is completely immune to death by decapitation. This is showcased when, despite being repeatedly decapitated by Tengen and Inosuke, Daki's body showed absolutely no signs of disintegration. As the Demon Slayers quickly realize, the only way to bypass this immunity is if Gyutaro himself is simultaneously decapitated alongside her, or at least before her head is reattached.
- Unlimited Stamina and Endurance: Daki possesses absolute and infinite stamina and vitality, never tiring and always remaining in optimal physical and mental condition.
Blood Demon Art[]
- Sash Manipulation: Daki can manipulate the sashes she dons on because they are made using her flesh. When engaging in combat, she shapes her clothing into dozens of sashes as sharp as blades and as durable as shields, making it a perfect blend of offense and defense.
- Flesh Obi (蚯蚓帯 Mimizu Obi): Daki has also displayed the ability to create sentient flesh detachments from her own body, as seen when she was able to create living Flesh Sashes to guard and protect her "store house" and watch over her "meat", and again when she created another living sash to monitor and watch over Hinatsuru as she suspected her of being a spy for the Demon Slayers.
- Telepathic Connection: Daki has also shown the ability to telepathically communicate and monitor things through her living sashes, as seen when she was able to easily observe Inosuke's battle against her Sash detachment and was later able to have a full on conversation with it to give it new orders on how to deal with him.
- Flesh Storing: Whenever Daki's finds a "beautiful" human that she wants to eat, she would usually "store" them inside her Flesh Sashes. Seemingly trapping them within the sashes and transforming them from 3 dimensional beings into 2 dimensional flat designs within her Obi Sashes, that also puts them into a deep sleep while they're trapped inside, allowing Daki to store a considerable amount of "food" in storage for later consumption. However a weakness to this is the fact that in order to free someone from the sashes one must simply cut it apart while making sure to avoid cutting the people trapped inside, immediately freeing anyone and returning them to their previous form.
Fighting Style[]
Techniques[]
Daki's attacks revolve around using her flesh tentacles that are shaped and retain the properties of sashes. Since her flesh is the source of her sashes, she can generate dozens of them to overwhelm the enemy while still properly defending herself.
- Eight Layered Obi Slash (八重帯斬りYae Obigiri)- Daki uses 8 extensions of her obi to create simultaneous sash attacks in order to cut down her opponent.
Quotes[]
| “ | They say the secret to living a long life... is to keep silent when you see horrible things. That's how everyone around me managed to survive. | „ |
| ~ Daki about to kill Omitsu, her madam, for discovering her true identity. |
| “ | You humans are so miserable. No matter how hard you try, this is all you got. How unfortunate.. | „ |
| ~ Daki to Tanjiro Kamado. |
| “ | No! No! No! You can't leave me! You mustn't leave me! We have to stay together! No matter how many times I might be reborn, I'll always be your little sister! | „ |
| ~ Daki to Gyutaro. |
Etymology[]
- The name Daki means "fallen/tainted princess" (堕姫) in Japanese.
- The name Ume means "Japanese apricot, plum" (梅).
- Ume is a Japanese slang for syphilis.
- The name Yatamahime, the first of the two aliases that Daki used in her oiran disguise, means "roof, house, shop, dealer, seller" (屋) (ya), "bead, pearl, gem, jewel" (珠) (tama) and "princess, young lady of noble birth" (姫) (hime).
- The name Warabihime, the second of the two aliases that Daki used in her oiran disguise, means "bracken, fernbrake" (蕨) (warabi) and "princess, young lady of noble birth" (姫) (hime).
- Bracken is a tall fern with coarse lobed fronds, which occurs worldwide and can cover large areas.
Trivia[]
- Yoko Hikasa was contemplated for Daki's role before it was handed to Miyuki Sawashiro.
- Daki is essentially a foil to Nezuko Kamado in the sense that both of them are younger sisters that care deeply for their older brothers and have suffered tragedies during their brothers' absence, and did not choose to be demons. However, while Nezuko is a compassionate individual who avoids harming innocent people intentionally, Daki is an egotistical person who enjoys hurting and killing her victims.
- Daki’s vain nature mirrors that of her master Muzan.
- Despite showing her affection, Muzan Kibutsuji was not very fond of Daki, as he considered her to be a "stupid child" and only ever considered Gyutaro to be the true Upper Rank Six. He was also aware of her gullible personality and took advantage of that by emotionally manipulating her into doing his bidding.
- In the manga, Daki's hair is completely white, but in the anime her hair fades to green at the tips. This was likely meant to somewhat resemble her brother's hair, which also fades green at the tips.
- Ironically, Erika Lindbeck also voiced Sahori Itsukishima, a teenage girl who was also emotionally manipulated by a demon king.
External Links[]
- Daki on the Demon Slayer Wiki
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 Villains
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Demons Twelve Kizuki Replacement Upper Moons Lower Moons Former Lower Moons Muzan's Lesser Followers Humans | ||