Who is Kyogai?
Kyogai is the main antagonist in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba’s Tsuzumi Mansion Arc. He was a Demon who used to be a member of the Twelve Kizuki’s Lower Ranks, holding the rank of Lower Rank 6 until Muzan Kibutsuji excommunicated him for not being strong enough.
Voice actor of Kyogai?
In Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Steve Blum provides the English dub voice for Kyogai, while Junichi Suwabe provides the Japanese voice.
Appearance
Due to his hair being rolled up to the back of his head, Kyogai takes on the appearance of a tall, muscular Demon with grayish skin, black hair, razor-like teeth, blood red sclera, deep blue pupils, and hidden irises.
His right eye had the Kanji for the number Six, indicating his position as the Lower Rank 6 of the Twelve Kizuki, but he was kicked out of the group due to being deemed too weak, and Muzan slashed the eye containing his mark apart, leaving a white X scar covering the number, indicating that he was no longer one of the Twelve Kizuki.
Another of his distinguishing physical features is that he has drums protruding from his stomach, shoulders, hips, front chest, and back, which he uses for his Blood Demon Art Techniques.
Personality
Despite being a bloodthirsty demon, Kyogai is a quiet, nervous, and soft-spoken individual. Instead of screaming or roaring, Kyogai quietly murmurs about whatever is bothering him. People barging into his home offend him, and he will destroy them if they get in his way. Kyogai will raise his voice and insult his opponents if he is sufficiently irritated.
Kyogai thought Kibutsuji’s blood would make him infinitely stronger when he first became a demon. Kyogai was cast out by his master when his strength became finite after he was unable to gain strength by eating humans. Kyogai became obsessed with consuming “Marechi,” humans with rare blood, in order to please Master Kibutsuji and prove the worth of his Blood Demon Art.
Kyogai, in reality, aspires to be recognized for his abilities. He yearned for people to appreciate his writing and was heartbroken when he was told to abandon it. Kyogai tries to prove himself as a powerful demon in the Twelve Kizuki to atone for his humiliation. This is why he fights so hard to reclaim his position. Tanjiro recognizes Kyogai’s talent after his death and allows him to rest in peace.
History
Kyogai was lectured by an unknown individual about the quality of his writings after he became a Demon. This individual stated that he had become monotonous, only playing his drum and never leaving his house, and that he lacked the ability to teach others. As he walked away, he stepped on one of the Demon’s papers, prompting an enraged Kyogai to murder him.
Kyogai gradually lost his ability to eat humans while still a member of the Twelve Kizuki. Muzan Kibutsuji came to see him and removed his number because the Drum Demon had reached his limit. As a result, Kyogai became obsessed with rejoining the Twelve Kizuki.
Kyogai kidnapped Teruko and Shoichi’s older brother, Kiyoshi, and took him to the Drum House because he possessed “rare blood.” He was attacked by two other Demons who were also after Kiyoshi’s rare blood, and he suffered an injury that dislodged the drum from his back before he could eat him.
Arc of Tsuzumi Mansion
Kyogai played the drum on his left shoulder while Tanjiro Kamado and his group attended to an injured boy thrown out of the Drum House.
Enraged by the presence of all the intruders in his territory, he passed by Tanjiro and Teruko’s room, slapping the drum on his right shoulder when the former attempted to attack him, causing the room’s orientation to change.
When Inosuke Hashibira arrived, the Drum Demon struck his right shoulder once more, but his opponent deftly maintained his balance and used the other two as footholds. Kyogai struck the drum on his stomach twice as Tanjiro and Inosuke fought, each time launching a slashing claw attack.
He then repeatedly struck his shoulder drums, scattering his opponents in a jumbled mess. As soon as he took a step in the direction of Inosuke, he and the rest of the group were whisked away to different rooms.
Kyogai’s right eyeball rolled forward to reveal that he was once a member of the Twelve Kizuki, and he was obsessed with obtaining “rare blood” elsewhere. In the course of his wanderings, he came across Tanjiro, who was striking a drum to turn the room upside down, striking another to start his claw attack, and a slew of other things to confuse his opponent. Despite the combination of new and old injuries, he growled menacingly as Tanjiro stood up.
Memories from the past caused Kyogai to snap, triggering his Rapid Drumming technique and a maelstrom of effects as he continued to strike his drums to keep his Demon Slayer opponent away from him. Apart from a scrape on the chin, Tanjiro managed to avoid a collection of manuscripts that had fallen from a shelf on the ceiling, surprising the former Kizuki.
Despite Kyogai’s continued slash attacks and changes in room orientation, his opponent continued to close in on him by employing a Water Breathing technique. Before being decapitated, Tanjiro complimented the former Kizuki’s Blood Demon Art, which surprised him even more.
He inquired as to whether the youth believed his techniques were effective, which he was told they were, but he was told that eating humans was unforgivable. With tears streaming down his face, Kyogai reflected on how Tanjiro had seen the value in all of his work as he faded into oblivion.
Abilities and Power
Drumming: Kyogai has six Tsuzumi Drums embedded in various parts of his body, each of which has a different effect on his surroundings when played. His drums, on the other hand, only have an effect on the interior of his mansion.
Right Shoulder: Rotates the room around him to the right.
Left Shoulder: Rotates the room around him to the left.
Right Leg: Rotates the room in which he is standing forward.
Left Leg: Rotates the room in which he is standing backward.
Navel: Launches a three-claw slash attack.
Back: Transports him or others to a different room within his mansion.
The room rotation caused by Kyogai’s drumming has no effect on him, and he remains standing on the floor as if nothing is happening, no matter how much the room spins.
Rapid Drumming: Increasing the speed of his drumming boosts all of his techniques, increasing the number of claws from three to five.
Trivia
- With 130 votes, Kyogai was ranked 20th in the first character popularity poll.
- Kyogai’s Blood Demon Art is similar to that of the new Upper Rank 4, Nakime, though she has far superior abilities.
- Kyogai, like Nakime, uses a musical instrument for his Blood Demon Art, and it is for this reason that he was given his epithet.
Also read Garrett Overboe,Jennie Pegouskie