‘Demon Slayer’: Nezuko Is Still a Demon, But It’s Complicated

Alongside her brother Tanjiro, Nezuko Kamado is probably the most important character in the Demon Slayer franchise. A deeply caring and benevolent character, Nezuko was turned into a demon by Muzan Kibutsuji, and Tanjiro made it his goal to find a way to return Nezuko to her human form. Being special, Nezuko retained a large portion of her initial humanity and never attacked humans, but she also has some other unique abilities as well, and one of them is her resistance to the Sun. This ability was finally revealed in the final episode of the third season of Demon Slayer, which also implied, in a way, that Nezuko might have regained her humanity. Did it really happen like that, or is Nezuko still a demon? Keep reading to find out!

As of the end of the Swordsmith Village Arc, Nezuko Kamado is still a demon. She managed to conquer the Sun, and that was yet another step towards her regaining her humanity in full, but as her repeating what Tanjiro said, she was still a demon, despite being more human at that point. This means that her journey as a demon will continue a bit more, but we can confirm that she will eventually regain her humanity later in the series, mostly thanks to Lady Tamayo.

The rest of this article will focus on Nezuko Kamado and her dual nature, that of a human and that of a Demon, especially in light of what happened at the end of the third season. You are going to find out why Nezuko was able to fight off her demonic urges while, at the same time, not regaining her human consciousness – there is a reason, as we have explained, and we shall expand on that explanation in this text. Nezuko Kamado is a uniquely special character in the Demon Slayer manga, so she deserves a standalone article, although we have to warn you that a lot of spoilers will be present, so be careful how you approach the text.

Nezuko made a step toward regaining her humanity, but it was still just a step

Every fan of Demon Slayer, and a lot of non-fans as well, knows that Nezuko was turned into a demon at the very beginning of the story, and her transformation remained one of the main plot elements of the Demon Slayer manga and anime. Namely, set on rescuing her sister and returning her to normal, Tanjiro Kamado embarked on an adventure to find a way to turn his sister Nezuko back into a human again, which is one of the most important plot elements in the whole series. Tanjiro will eventually succeed in that, but let us first go back to the end of Season 3.

We all know that a Demon’s main weakness is the Sun. That is why there are no Demons outside during the day because the Sun would burn and kill them. This is a very specific and innate weakness of theirs and an issue that Muzan had tried to remedy for ages; his search for the blue spider lily, the plant that saved his life, was in part because he thought that it would help him, as a demon, with his weakness to sunlight.

His other hope was a demon who would eventually develop such resistance on its own, but he had even less luck in that field. Well, at least until the end of the Swordsmith Village Arc.

Namely, a big thing happened during the battle against Hantengu, the Upper-Rank Four. As the fight drew near, the sun started to rise. At that moment, Nezuko was still on the battlefield, and while Tanjiro urged her to leave, regardless of what would happen during his fight with Hantengu, Nezuko decided to remain there and sacrifice herself, if needed, to defeat Hantengu. And that seemingly happened.

The sun then burned Nezuko, and with a crying Tanjiro, his sister seemed to be dying, as was expected from a demon. Tanjiro proceeded to kill Hantengu and then quickly returned to his seemingly dying sister, but a miracle happened. A fully recovered Nezuko stood up and greeted her brother, which shocked him and made him extremely happy because it had happened. No one knew what had happened, but aside from being alive and speaking, Nezuko looked much more human than before.

This prompted Tanjiro to ask her whether she managed to regain her humanity, but when Neuzko simply started repeating his words, he realized that she was still a demon; but that didn’t really matter, as they were all overjoyed with Nezuko being alive more than anything else. So, what actually happened?

Nezuko managed to conquer the Sun, which was a major moment in the life of a demon. She also proved that her human side was still quite potent, which helped her regain a part of her humanity, but she was still not completely human. Lady Tamayo explained the reasons behind this in her letter.

Namely, as Tamayo said in the letter – and she emphasized that it was only a theory of hers and nothing more – Nezuko retained her demonic features and did not become a full human again because she, deep inside herself, prioritized something over becoming a human once again. Tamayo did not say what it was specifically, but from the panels and the whole context, it can easily be deduced that she was referring to Nezuko’s wish to protect her brother.

While she did want to become a human once again, Nezuko was aware of the dangers that her dears were facing, and she also knew that she would be useless as a normal girl while – as a demon – she was exceptionally useful. In every battle she participated in, Nezuko actually helped a lot. So, knowing that her demonic form is something that made her more useful, Nezuko decided to prioritize his brother and help him, as well as the others, while she put her own re-humanization in second place.

So yes, Nezuko is still a demon, but as we’ve explained, the situation is complex, as she is back on track to become a human once again; Tamayo’s formula will still be necessary to fully complete the process.