Upper Moon 4, also known as a Hantengu, is one of the main demons in the Swordsmith Village Arc of the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba series. He is affiliated with the Twelve Kizuki and holds Upper Rank Four.
For the numerous crimes he committed while he was human, Hantengu was locked up in a cell and sentenced to death by a high ranking law official. Then he was approached by Muzan Kibutsuji who freed him and turned him into a demon. After becoming a demon, Hantengu sought revenge and killed the official who had locked him up in the first place.
With his immortal body, Hantengu was given the job of taking down the Swordsmith village with Gyokko. He can divide himself into six different personas and demons which each have a unique personality.
His primary form has the personality of a coward. He’s shown to be crying at the slightest inconvenience and if he thinks a threat is big enough he might just run away. He gets easily frightened and shows a lot of signs of fear, delusion and paranoia.
He’s said to be delusional because he thinks he’s innocent and should not be punished for anything, even though we’ve seen him killing people both in his demon form and as a human being. Hantengu loves to kill and destroy people but wholeheartedly expects the world to continue forgiving him.
In one of the more recent episodes Hantengu died, and Nakime was promoted to the position of Upper Moon 4. In this article I’ll explain everything there is to know about Upper Moon 4 as well as his recent replacement.
Upper Moon 4 Sekido, Karaku, Aizetsu, Urogi and Zohakuten
His other forms are Sekido, his anger form, which is vengeful and irritative even to his fellow demons. Karaku is his calm, laid-back and relaxed form. Aizetsu is his sorrowful form and also the most negative and sour personality.
Urogi is his joyous personality who thinks of his fights with enemies simply as entertainment. Zohakuten is his hateful side which is usually angry, spiteful and vengeful. Just like Seiko, he thinks his enemies are bullying him and are evil for doing that. This form is also the smartest and most intelligent.
Upper Moon Eyes
In the series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Upper Moon and Lower Moon demons have their number and rank engraved in their eyes. The number represents how strong each demon is. Lower Moon demons, which are less powerful, only have one of their eyes engraved.
Hangenu’s eyes constantly have an expression of terror and fear. He has a prominent brow ridge but has no eyebrows. His eyes lack a visible pupil and he appears to be squinting, making his eyes very narrow.
He has slanted eyes and eyebrows that further highlight the fear in his expression. Hantengu has the body of an old man, constantly hunched over, with the kanji for “fear” etched into his tongue.
Hantengu’s Power and Abilities Explained With Examples
Hantengu is an extremely powerful demon and holds the fourth highest rank of the Twelve Kizuki. Through Hantengu’s Blood Demon Art, he is able to create four clones of himself, all of them possessing the same caliber of strength as an Upper Rank demon.
His infiltration of the swordsmith village, one of their most vital and well fortified bases, shows just how powerful he is. He was even able to sneak into Muichiro’s and Tanjiro’s room without any of them detecting him, despite the former possessing the ability to sense the presence of demons.
Hantengu also possesses a body that is extremely durable, so durable that not even Genya’s bullets could leave a dent on his body. Even when Genya tried to cut off his body with his Nichirin Sword, his katana broke instead of doing any damage.
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Just like every other Upper Rank demon, Hantengu also possesses incredible speed and razor sharp reflexes. He displayed superhuman strength when he was able to pierce Nezuko’s durable body with a single kick. He also ripped her arms off with his bare hands.
In one fight Genya shot off his head with a shotgun, leaving his neck bones exposed and head dangling on a piece of flesh. Hantengu showed excitement instead of pain, even proclaiming that the encounter was fun. This and many other instances shows the infinite stamina and endurance that Hantengu possesses.
What About the Other Ranks?
The Twelve Kizuki is an organization of the twelve most powerful demons in existence and are under the direct command of the Demon King, Muzan Kibutsuji. All demons have received a portion of Muzan’s blood but each member of the organization has received a larger portion. This has increased their power and made them stronger than other demons.
Gyokko holds the position of the Upper Rank Five and is one of the two main antagonists, alongside Hantengu, of Swordsmith Village Arc. He has the most grotesque appearance in the form of a pale white abstracted humanoid figure with scales all over his body.
Muzan, after unsuccessfully trying to kill Gyokko, sends him and Hantengu to Swordsmen’s Village. Immediately upon his arrival, Gyokko attacks an innocent swordsmith. This incident causes both Gyokko and Hantengu to mutually agree to part ways, so that they can cause as much death and destruction as possible.
A List of All Upper Moon Demons Sorted By Power:
- Upper Moon 6: Daki and Gyutaro
- Upper Moon 5: Gyokko
- Upper Moon 4: Hantengu
- Upper Moon 3: Akaza
- Upper Moon 2: Doma
- Upper Moon 1: Kokushibo
Kokushibo is the most powerful Upper Moon demon. Dak and Gyuataro are the least powerful. Additionally to the six demons of the Upper Moon rank, there are six Lower Moon demons.
Why Hantengu Died And Was Replaced
In the end, Hantengu was killed by Tanjiro Kamado. He did this by killing the sixth clone of Hantengu inside which his soul resided after receiving his newly polished sword from Muichiro.
In his fast attempt, he sliced open the demon in which Hantengu’s shrunken body was present and chopped off his head in one single powerful stroke. But Hantengu was fast and tried to escape.
Tanjiro finally had to resort to thunder breathing for a while to catch up to him. When he located Hantengu’s real body inside of headless Hantengu’s heart, he slashed his torso. This final blow proves to be fatal and Hantengu eventually died
Upper Moon 4 Nakime: Hantengu’s Replacement After His Death
Nakime, initially a demon who served to summon other demons into the Infinity Castle on Muzan Kibutsuji’s command, is now a main antagonist in the Infinity Castle Arc of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. After the death of Hantengu, she replaced him and got promoted to the position of Upper Moon 4 in the Twelve Kizuki.
Nakime is a pale woman with a grayish look, sharp blue nails and red lips which contrast the tone of her skin. She has shiny, dark brown waist-long hair which she wears long and falling down her back. She is always seen holding a four stringed wooden biwa with a large bachi pick.
After attaining her new rank as Hantengu’s replacement, Nakime started wearing her bangs in a way that didn’t hide her face. This revealed that she has a single, large pink-colored eye that had the kanji for “Four” etched into its iris.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, is the manga series in which Hantengu and Nakime, also known as Upper Moon 4, appear. The manga series was created by Koyoharu Gotouge. The series follows a teenage boy called Tanjiro Kamado who wants to become a demon slayer.
Tanjiro wants to become a demon slayer because his family was slaughtered by a demon and his younger sister, Nezuko, turned into a demon herself.
After this incident Tanjiro is recruited and eventually accepted into the Demon Slayer Corpse. Demon Slayers are humans that fight demons. They possess “breathing styles” that give them special powers when in combat with demons.
They have special katana swords with different colors, such as the Nichirin katana sword of Zenitsu, a companion of Tanjiro and skilled demon slayer.
Demons can only be killed if they are decapitated with weapons crafted in a special way. In other words: Demon slaying is an entire art in itself, a tough skill few people ever learn.
Tanjiro, along with a few others, passes the exam to become a Demon Slayer. Eventually Tanjiro kills Upper Moon 4, along with many other less powerful demons on the way.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is one of the best-selling manga series of all time. It appeared in 23 volumes. Later on, a 26-episode manga series was produced for television. Overall, the manga sold over 150 million copies, including digital copies.
