Daki from Demon Slayer (Kimetsu no Yaiba) has become a fan favorite since her character made a partial appearance in episode 34. She is on our list of 20 top female characters from Demon Slayer. She is one of the primary antagonists and is the partial holder of the Upper Rank Six of the Twelve Kizuki created by the demon king, Muzan. The other holder is her brother, Gyutaro. She is an extremely powerful demon who was fully introduced in episode 36, ‘What Are You?’
Character backstory
Daki started her life as an innocent 13 year old girl named Ume. She possessed breathtaking beauty with white hair and blue eyes. She was also sweet and impressionable.
She was born in the lowest cast section of the entertainment district. Her father is not known, but her mother worked as a prostitute. Ume’s brother described their mother as mentally unstable and would abuse to the point of almost killing him. Ume’s mother would also try to kill her too due to her beauty. It was ultimately Gyutaro who raised her.
After her mother passed away, Ume was named after the disease that ended up killing her. The disease was most likely syphilis. The Japanese term for syphilis is Baidoku which Ume can be used as an alternative reading for the character of Bai. This makes Ume’s name have a double meaning from “Plum” to a much darker association. Gyutaro even briefly mentions this.
Ume was eventually recruited to one of the most prestigious brothels in the Entertainment District, where she was trained to be an Oiran or a high-ranking courtesan who would attract customers with her skills along with her body. She would meet a tragic fate when she would lose her temper and attack a customer who insulted her brother. She was burned alive at the stake but still remained alive even after being abandoned in a ditch. In a desperate attempt to help her, Gyutaro killed the offended customer and the owner of the brothel.
A member of the Twelve Kizuki, Doma, happened to find them and turn them into demons. They would eventually replace him as Upper Rank 6.
First appearance in Demon Slayer
Daki’s first full appearance came in episode 36. Although you wouldn’t recognizer her at first. At the start of the episode, an assistant to a brothel house confronts an Oiran about her ties to the strange disappearances in the house. Yet another strange disappearance occurs when the assistant completely vanishes, and the Oiran is left to do her business. This Oiran is Daki.
She looks completely different from her usual demon form here. Instead, she takes the appearance of a beautiful woman with black hair tied up in a traditional date-hyogo style and makeup to match.
She starts to reveal her true form later in the episode when killing the houses’ owner, Omitsu. After the woman’s death, she is greeted by the demon king himself and gently chastised for her careless behavior.
Context & Relationship with other characters
Daki is an affiliate of the Twelve Kizuki, an organization of the most powerful demons known to man. The 12 are divided into two ranks, Lower and Upper, with Daki sharing a spot with her brother as the sixth of the Upper Rank.
Even as a demon, she enjoys a profoundly close bond with her brother, Gyutaro. Their bond is so close that because of him, even when decapitated, Daki is able to survive, whereas most demons would die instantly. She would even share his fate with him as a demon. As a human in Limbo, she would cling to him instead of going to heaven, proclaiming that they would always be brother and sister no matter what happens.
The only other character she respects in the anime is her ‘creator’, Muzan, who has given her his blood to increase her power. Muzan is the demon king and is the founder of the Twelve Kizuki. Muzan is the only character Daki will grovel for, which is a stark difference from her usual personality. He, in turn, only seems to pretend to like her.
Around anyone else, she is depicted as an arrogant, spoiled brat. She is abusive to her housemates, even going so far as to kick Zenitsu across two rooms when he confronts her about her bad behavior towards one of the maids. In addition, she has no qualms about killing anyone.
Abilities and Powers
Daki possesses numerous abilities as a demon, such as super speed regeneration and super strength. Being a member of the Upper Rank, she is exceptionally stronger than most other demons possessing the ability to use Blood Demon Art.
Her main Blood Demon Art is using her flesh to create sentient sashes that are capable of slashing through her victims. They are described as being soft yet sharp. They are also powerful enough to deflect damage by creating a shield around her for protection.
Her signature technique is referred to as the Eight Layered Obi Slash, where she creates eight sashes and uses them to fight her opponents at long range. The attack is tough to counter due to the lack of blind spots.
Notable quotes
Notable scenes
One of the most notable scenes is her and Gyutaro’s death. The siblings were finally defeated by Tanjiro and had both of their heads decapitated to permanently kill them. Daki was quite disappointed with her defeat, and she tended to blame her brother, who she felt couldn’t be a worthy partner. However, as their heads began to disintegrate and crumble, Daki screamed at him while they were still alive.
Gyutarou started to shout at his sister, and Tanjiro begged him to stop. He was saddened by how they were fighting and hoped that they would try and patch things up before it was too late. He urged them to remember their inseparable bond as siblings.
Daki started crying as her head disintegrated, leaving Gyurato to reminisce about their former life. As he too began to fade, Daki came to him in her original human form, hoping to stay with her brother. He initially rejected her so she could spend her life in heaven. She clung to her brother to beg him to take her with him and to apologize for all the nasty words and things she’d done to him.
Gyutaro finally relented and hoisted her onto his back just like when they were kids and carried her with him to hell.
Character traits
Daki is a curvy woman with striking green eyes and long eyelashes. She also has silver hair that resembles the color of her human form, with the exception of the end, which transitions into a light-colored neon green ombre that she keeps in a long ponytail.
Her outfit is a rendition of her Oiran kimono, except it is more revealing. It is composed of two pieces, with black stripes of fabric covering her breasts. She has magenta, pink stockings with bows on the tops. Her outfit is mainly magenta and orange and is tied together by a long, black bow on each side. She sports various flower patterns on her outfit.
She has three separate forms-her human form, Oiran disguise, and her true demon form.
Conclusion
As much as a spoilt brat as she is, her character is a tragic one who gained much sympathy from fans all over the world. What started off as an innocent life quickly turned horrific due to her circumstances. At least at the end of all things, she got what she wanted-Following her beloved brother even into the depths of hell.
See our meaning of kimetsu no yaiba article here, Demon Slayer Pillars here and Demon Slayer cosplay here.
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