Hey Demon Slayer Fans, You’re Missing the Anime’s Most Important Trio

With Demon Slayer‘s first final trilogy movie released, fans finally had to face the dreaded showdown between Doma and Shinobu. To make Shinobu’s death even more painful, Kanao shows up just in time to witness her older sister get devoured. But, manga fans know that there’s a silver lining to Shinobu’s death.

However, more than just a silver lining, the three Kocho sisters actually represent Demon Slayer‘s core themes and messages. Although their story seems tragic, starting with Kanae’s death, the three girls portray something much grander. In a way, the Kocho sisters are the most important characters to look at when analyzing Demon Slayer‘s overarching narrative.

Demon Slayer’s Hopeful Message Is About Pushing Forward & Remembering the Lost

Despite the countless bouts of misery spread across Demon Slayer, the series is meant to inspire, not discourage. Even in the face of hardship and insurmountable challenges, one must keep going, no matter the cost. This is portrayed almost immediately at the beginning of the series, with Tanjiro realizing he must save his sole surviving family member, Nezuko. Tanjiro never wavers in his choice to protect Nezuko, something which is extremely commendable when it’s taken into account just how vicious and deadly demons can be. Tanjiro trusts his sister, and he trusts the love he has for her.

One of the central aspects of Demon Slayer is its dissection of family, or familial bonds. There’s Tanjiro and Nezuko, the Kocho sisters, Genya and Sanemi, and so forth. Even the distant relationship between Muzan and Ubuyashiki is extremely important to the narrative. But, family doesn’t always have to mean blood, as seen with Kanao and the Kochos.

Regardless, Demon Slayer consistently dives into tough family struggles, but the most apparent are the sibling dynamics. If anything, the varying older sibling/younger sibling relationships are far more necessary to Demon Slayer‘s story than parent/child ones, which typically end up taking center stage in most anime. This is because siblings can be a plethora of things for one another. Being protectors to one another, mentors, parent figures or even rivals, sibling bonds can be extremely complex.

With that in mind, the core family theme also applies to how Demon Slayer pushes ambition and drive. All the characters in Demon Slayer are fighting for something or someone. Everyone has lost something dear to them; even many of the strongest demons come from tragic histories. Thus, most of the characters find their reasons to keep going as a way to honor the past and those that they’ve lost. Or, that drive is turned into a strong sense of duty, devotion, loyalty and the need to protect the future. Preventing more tragedy is what the Demon Slayer Corps stands for.

While these ideas are reflected in most of Demon Slayer‘s characters, the Kocho sisters encapsulate them almost perfectly. While they’re not the most prominent characters in the series, they’re very important when it comes to understanding what Demon Slayer is really all about. Kanae, Shinobu and Kanao each represent something different, but they come together to explore what love, loss and triumph truly mean.

Kanae, Shinobu & Kanao Show That Sacrifice Is Necessary for Victory

Demon Slayer‘s dark world is set up for a give-and-take nature. One death might mean one life is saved — this also applies the other way. The way the world is with Muzan and his demons, happiness and peace cannot exist without suffering. There’s an awful balance that Muzan has created; each good thing that happens is counteracted with something bad. That is, until Muzan is eventually defeated. This terrible cycle perpetuates the idea that survival requires sacrifice and that sacrifice will in turn be used to the advantage of those remaining in the hopes of a peaceful world.

This cycle is, without a doubt, heavily illustrated through the Kocho sisters. The first sacrifice is Kanae Kocho, the oldest sister. She dies at the hands of Doma, one of the most sinister demons in Demon Slayer. Shinobu arrives too late to do anything but mourn her older sister. However. Kanae’s death doesn’t set Shinobu back — it lights a fire inside of her. Already, that death has become something new; it becomes Shinobu’s will to live and her burning desire, pushing her forward so that she can avenge Kanae’s death.

And, more than just drive, Kanae’s death changes Shinobu. While she hides her fury behind a gentle smile, Shinobu tucks away her fiery demeanor to become an identity more in line with Kanae’s personality. Becoming more approachable and doting, Shinobu is able to fulfill Kanae’s role, becoming the older sister figure to more than just Kanao. In death, Kanae pushes Shinobu forward into a different version of herself, one that will work towards a brighter future and one that will never fail.

The domino effect reflected through the sisters continues then onto Kanao. Kanao, unfortunately, is the sole surviving sister, having no choice but to live through both deaths. But, this tragic scenario is one that perfectly hones in on what Demon Slayer has to offer. Just as Shinobu doesn’t make it to Kanae on time, the same happens with Kanao. Kanao arrives as Shinobu’s broken body is eaten by Doma.

But, unlike Shinobu having to make sure someone can take of Kanao, Kanao is the Kocho legacy. All the anger and sadness from Kanae and Shinobu’s deaths pours into Kanao, finally triggering the end of the cycle. Thanks to Shinobu’s poison knocking Doma down a few pegs, Kanao is able to defeat Doma with the help of Inosuke. At long last, Kanae has been avenged, and so has Shinobu.

Doma’s defeat is the result of three generations of women. Each sister lived and died to pass something onto the next. As such, the three Kocho sisters stand to be the greatest examples of Demon Slayer‘s story. When Ubuyashiki is confronted by Muzan, Ubuyashiki tells Muzan that demons can never win against humanity — humans are resilient and determined and, above all else, are filled with hope. This message is exactly what the Kocho sisters are all about. They deliver a complete version of Demon Slayer‘s story all on their own.

The Kocho Sisters Illustrates the Past, Present and Future

One of the most interesting aspects about the Kocho sisters is that fans don’t really know Kanae at all. Kanae Kocho dies before the beginning of Demon Slayer. She’s a character who haunts the narrative, as she drives Shinobu but also continues to influence other characters, such as Sanemi, who was sweet on her. Kanae’s death happens off-screen, but it’s not any less important because it shapes the present. Kanae Kocho is a mirror of the past — a world in which people are used to loss and grieving. A world in which Muzan’s defeat seems unlikely, and that demons are truly evil. Fans only get to know the aftermath of Kanae’s death, something is shown through Shinobu.

If Kanae is the past, then Shinobu is representative of the present. Shinobu is a prime example of Muzan’s dastardly world. She hates demons with a passion. Rage is what pushes her. She doesn’t wish for peace with demons, she wishes to see them exterminated. She exists to defeat Doma and to ensure that Kanao can live a better life. Shinobu is everything she needs to be in order to survive, but, because of that, she’s destined to die.

Shinobu’s sacrifice is necessary because she’s too connected to the past. She must find a way to the future, but Shinobu’s future isn’t her own life, it’s Kanao’s. As such, Shinobu faces Doma knowing that she will die, but also knowing that Doma will die as well. Shinobu ties off the loose ends of the Kocho lineage, leaving Kanao to handle whatever comes next.

So, of course, Kanao is the future. The future of the Kocho family and the future of Demon Slayer. She bore witness to the tragedies, suffered alongside them and came out on the other side. Her sisters lived and died for a better future, one that Kanao gets to experience. She is the new generation, one that has been saved enough to carry on with the memories of everything they’ve lost. There’s no more revenge to be had. Kanao starts with a fresh plate, knowing that her life is the product of Kanae and Shinobu’s love for her.

As sad as it is to witness Shinobu’s death in Demon Slayer, it’s necessary not just for the story, but for her character and for her family. The Kocho sisters are everything that Demon Slayer has to offer, with each one of them standing for something different in terms of the narrative. Their history ends up aiding in shaping a world without Muzan.