Who Is Hantengu In Demon Slayer? All Of His Forms Explained
During his life as a human, he was a despicable and irredeemable man. Stealing, lying, and cheating were part of his daily routine.
The Demon Slayer, season 3, episode 3, featured two upper moons infiltrating the Swordsmith village arc. Currently, Tanjiro and his sister are fighting the Upper Moon Four, Hantengu.
Hantengu is a very unique demon, as he gives very Gytaro (Upper Moon Six) vibes but acts cowardly.
Even when The Mist Hashira Muichiro cut his head off, he did not die but was divided into two more demons, like some slime monsters in video games.
Then, after Genya killed one of the two, he again divided into two more, and all four used different techniques. What is going on? Who is Hantangu? What’s his technique?
Don’t worry, guys! In this article, we will tell you all about Hantengu as we go balls deep into Upper-Rank Four, Hantengu.
So let’s dive in!
Who is Hantengu?
Other than being the primary antagonist of the current season alongside Gyokko, he is one of the twelve Kizuki and holds the position of Upper-Rank Four.
Hantengu is a short, frail man with a skeletal body covered with veins and wrinkles, usually seen kneeling.
His most distinguishing characteristic is the big bulge on top of his head, which is complemented by two curving horns.
The demon has a slender face with a pointed chin and always wears a terrified and fearful expression.
His tiny eyes appear to be squinting frequently, with no discernible pupils. Hantengu’s tongue also has the kanji for “fear” engraved into it.
During his life as a human, he was a despicable and irredeemable man. Stealing, lying, and cheating were part of his daily routine.
He would marry women by lying to them, and then, when discovered, he would kill the women and the children he had with them. He was scum through and through.
After being caught by the police, he started playing innocent by pushing the blame on them. After listening to such false arguments, the officials decided to cut his arm off, but after learning of the deeds he had done throughout the entire nation, they decided to behead him.
Muzan appears just before he is about to die and makes him a demon; thus, Hantengu the demon was born.
What are Hantengu’s abilities?
Being an upper-rank four, Hantengu is extremely powerful, and his blood demon art is called emotional manifestation.
It allows him to manifest any and all emotions he is feeling. The kanji for manifested emotion gets etched on the tongue of the demon.
In the series, we see him manifest about six emotions: fear, anger, pleasure, sorrow, joy, hatred, and resentment. Each of these manifest demons holds power equivalent to that of an upper-rank demon.
Let’s know more about these demons!
Sekido (Anger)
Sekido represents Hantengu’s anger and bears the anger kanji on his tongue as a symbol. He consistently displays his anger and is always in a state of rage and irritation.
He directs his fury towards other forms of Hantengu. In addition to his anger manifestation, Sekido possesses the blood demon art of generating electricity using his staff, known as a Khakkhara, which is adorned with rings.
His powerful electric attack is called Crazed Cry of Thunder Death.
Sekido’s electricity is highly potent and capable of paralysing even demons as strong as Nezuko.
It can immobilise opponents in midair and is particularly effective when used on the ground.
The electric shocks can cause enemies to lose consciousness. With his wide range of attack, he is able to strike multiple foes simultaneously.
Karaku (Pleasure)
Karaku represents Hantengu’s emotion of pleasure. This makes Karaku the most easygoing and carefree of all the forms of Hantengu.
Karaku displays his laid-back nature by even requesting a switch with Aizetsu to fight Genya, finding him more interesting than Nezuko.
He wields an Uchiwa fan in the shape of a maple leaf, which allows him to generate powerful gusts of wind capable of causing widespread destruction.
Karaku is a tactical fighter who uses the wind pressure from his fan to immobilise his opponents, enabling himself or other forms of Hantengu to finish them off.
Karaku can unleash a blast of wind powerful enough to throw Muichiro into a forest in a second, make massive craters, and level an entire building.
He could even crush Demon Slayer and demon alike under its great pressure, even knocking them unconscious, by merely swinging his Uchiwa down.
However, one drawback of his ability is that anyone who possesses his fan and uses it with his flesh can harness its power, as demonstrated when Nezuko used it against him.
Due to his emotional attribute of pleasure, Karaku prioritises enjoying life’s experiences. This is evident in his fight against Nezuko, where he focused on torturing her rather than immediately killing her.
Aizetsu (Sorrow)
Aizetsu represents the sorrow of Hantengu and is depicted as a melancholic and gloomy demon.
He wields a Jumonji Yari, a Japanese spear with two smaller blades resembling a trident, and among all the manifestations, he is the most collected and composed.
While Urogi and Karaku indulge in entertainment and Sekido easily succumbs to anger, Aizetsu calmly analyses his opponents and strategies.
He first discerns their abilities and weaknesses before launching his attacks.
Aizetsu’s blood demon art allows him to thrust his spear multiple times, striking opponents from a considerable distance.
His perpetual sadness even extends to his interactions with fellow demons, as he obediently follows Sekido’s orders to cease yelling.
Urogi (Joy)
Urogi represents the joy of Hantengu and possesses bird-like features such as wings and talons.
He is always depicted in a joyful state, enjoying battles and cracking jokes, even though his humour is only amusing to himself.
Utilising his avian attributes, Urogi effectively employs his talons and wings in combat. His talons are harder than diamonds and can effortlessly slice through things.
Urogi’s Blood Demon Art enables him to generate powerful sound waves from his mouth.
His scream possesses enough force to make Tanjiro bleed from his nose and ear, momentarily stunning him. Remarkably, Urogi can even utilise this ability when partially separated.
It was demonstrated when his severed leg remained attached to Tanjiro, allowing him to manipulate his flesh into a makeshift mouth and unleash the scream once more.
Urami (Resentment)
Urami represents the resentment of Hantengu and shares similar physical features with Hantengu, but Urami is much larger in size.
His role is primarily to serve as a decoy, allowing Hantengu to hide within his heart.
Urami has the ability to increase his size and can pretend to be dead, luring demon slayers to behead him while Hantengu remains hidden.
While not much information is provided about Urami’s abilities or personality, it is heavily implied that he possesses the abilities of all the other clones since Hantengu resides within him.
Urami’s character is depicted as hypocritical and delusional, expressing anger towards Tanjiro for not recognising his perceived innocence and portraying himself as a victim of unjust punishment and persecution.
Zohakuten (Hatred)
Zohakuten is the most powerful clone of Hantengu. After Hantengu is driven into a desperate situation, Sekido absorbs the flesh of all the other forms except Urami, creating Zohakuten.
This combination demon takes the form of an angry-looking child with floating drums behind his back. He represents Hantengu’s hatred, and its kanji is inscribed on the drums.
Zohakuten wields a bone-like object in each hand to utilise the drums, enabling him to perform various attacks. Zohakuten can only be defeated by directly killing Hantengu; otherwise, he will keep respawning.
He shares many personality traits with Sekido, exhibiting anger, spite, and hatred towards his enemies.
The demon is foul-mouthed and insults his opponents, particularly Mitsuri. Zohakuten shows loyalty only to Muzan and follows his orders without question.
Being a combination of the previous forms, Zohakuten possesses the Blood Demon Art of each form, but with far greater power than the originals.
In battle, Zohakuten demonstrates high intelligence and analytical skills. He quickly discerns Mitsuri’s unique body composition and devises a strategy to defeat her.
Realising that Love Hashira can easily dodge his attacks and counter-attack, he then focuses on wearing down her stamina before launching a final assault.
In addition to the blood demon arts inherited from other forms, Zohakuten possesses his own blood demon art, which allows him to manipulate and create wood within a 20-metre range. This ability is called the Countless Striking Tree.
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