Akaza’s Backstory: What Circumstances Turned Akaza into Demon? Know about Akaza’s Complete Backstory here.

Demon Slayer, or Kimetsu no Yaiba, is the most popular anime series of recent times.

Written by Koyoharu Gotouge and based on the manga series of the same name, the anime series is about the tragic story of Tanjiro Kamado and his little sister Nezuko.

If you have watched the anime series and the movie Demon Slayer: Mugen Train, you will probably be aware of the character called Akaza.

Akaza is the upper rank 3 Demon of Muzan Kibutsuji‘s 12-moon demon army.

Expert in martial artist Akaza, too, like the other demons in the upper moon 12 ranks, had heart-wrenching backstories.

He was previously known as Hakuji before transforming into a demon.

In this article, we will discuss all the details related to the backstory of Akaza, his early life, how he was transformed into a Demon and his love story with Koyuki.

Every detail related to Akaza will be discussed in this article. So, without further ado, let’s discuss the details.

Akaza’s Backstory: The Love Story between Akaza and Koyuki

Akaza’s early name was Hakuji Soyama; he was born and raised in slums in his early childhood and had difficulties managing his family.

Hakuji’s father had a serious ailment. To provide for his father’s medicine, Hakuji did unethical work such as pickpocketing and stealing from the townspeople.

For this, even he was caught could of times, and the magistrate beat him up, marked his head with tattoos, and called him names such as Demon Child.

One day, Hakuji’s father hanged himself because some villagers told him that his son got arrested again for stealing and pickpocketing.

Hakuji’s father wanted his son to live a straight life, but the circumstances for Hakuji were such that in order to provide for his father’s medicine, he had to steal.

Hakuji’s father left the last letter to Hakuji; he told his son that he wanted him to live a straight life and earn by honest means, not by pickpocketing or stealing.

After his father was gone, Hakuji now had no one and no place to live, and devasted by his father’s loss, he became very angry with the people of the village.

He started beating people and even killed several men in the village; then, he was approached by Keizo, who used to run a loco dojo centre in the village.

Keizo saw something in Hakuji, but Hakuji, on the other hand, was annoyed with Keizo and challenged him to a fight.

Keizo defeated Hakuji with ease and then told him he would give him shelter to live in and food every day, but he would have to take care of his daughter, who is currently sick.

Hakuji previously cared for his father, so he knew how to take care of Keizo’s daughter.

Although Hakuji was an expert in taking care of ill patients, this wasn’t a problem because, in the past, he had taken care of his father, but Koyuki wasn’t like most other girls. She used to burst into tears for tiny things.

But Hakuji knew how to motivate her; he once promised to take her to a local firework once she recovered from her ill health.

One day, Hakuji discovered that Koyuki was forced outside and was left by the nearby Dojo owner. The nearby dojo owner had always been eyeing Soryuu dojo and was always jealous as they used to get more students.

But Hakuji prevented them, fought them, defeated nine people, and eventually made them apologize to Keizo and told them never to look back to this Soryuu dojo or Koyuki again.

After that, the rivals apologized for leaving Soryuu Dojo in peace and promised they would never harm Koyuki.

Hakuji’s Tragedy, which turned him into Akaza: How did Akaza become a Demon? 

After this, two years passed, and Koyuki’s health improved significantly. The love blossomed between Hakuji and Koyuki.

Hakuji was now teaching the students in the Soryuu dojo, and it became popular locally, and more and more students eventually visited the Soryuu dojo to learn skills from Hakuji.

Then, one day, Keizo offered Hakuji the proposal he said to Hakuji to take over his Dojo and marry Koyuki.

Hakuji agreed and promised him that he would take care of Koyuki for the rest of his life.

Then, at the festival, Koyuki told Hakuji about her past and asked him if he was okay with the proposal. And he also reaffirmed his vows to her and promised her that he would protect her with all his life.

Then, rival Dojo heard about Hakuji’s marriage to Koyuki, and he was furious; he gathered some students from his Dojo and tried to fight Hakuji, but they lost.

Then starts the sad part of the entire story; after the whole incident with the rival Dojo, a few days later, he visits his father’s grave to get his blessings and show him that he has chosen a good life and is about to be married with the love of his life Koyuki.

Then, soon after returning to the village, he sensed something wrong.

He could feel that something must have happened while he was gone, and then one of his students told him that the rival Dojo that he had defeated had poisoned the well from where Koyuki and Keizo used to drink water. Both of them were now dead.

This all happened while Hakuji was out of the village.

Hakuji, after hearing this, was heartbroken.

The person who gave him a good life and the girl he loved with all his life was no more. 

Hakuji was no longer normal at that time.

Maddened by the whole situation, he killed all 67 members of the rival Dojo, including the owner, with his bare hands.

He made sure all of their corpses were also not recognizable; this news caught the attention of Muzan Kibutsuji, whom we all know is the main antagonist of Demon Slayer.

He soon goes to the scene and witnesses what havoc Hakuji has caused and decides to make him one of the Twelve Kizuki.

Hakuji now had no one to protect. The love of his life was gone, and his father figure, Keizo, was also no more, so he accepted Muzan’s offer and became one of the strongest demons of all time, the Upper Rank 3 Akaza.

This is how Hakuji turned from a normal human being to a demon.

The Most Powerful Demon Moons Ranked in Demon Slayer

Who Beats Akaza in Demon Slayer/Kimetsu no Yaiba?

Tanjiro and Giyo beat Akaza at the much later stages of the manga; during the “Final Battle Arc,” Tanjiro and Giyu Tomioka, also known as the Water Hashira, meet Akaza within the Infinite Castle.

This final battle was one of the most memorable battles in Demon Slayer.

In this battle, Giyu was able to awaken his Demon Slayer mark, and Tanjiro used Hinokami Kagura (the dance of the fire god, which is only known to the Kamado family).

The powerful technique was used with Tanjiro’s Transparent World technique; through this, they cut off Akaza’s head in half.

Despite all of that, Akaza fought on with only his head, but while he was attacking Tanjiro and Giyu, he started recalling memories before he was turned into a Demon by Muzan.

He started to recall his real name, Hakuji, and the struggle he had to provide medicine for his sick father.

He remembered the violent beatings he took from the magistrate and the unfortunate death of his father.

He remembered how he met Keizo, then Keizo gave him shelter and food while he was asked to take care of his ill daughter. He recalled the moments he spent with Koyuki and how both of them fell in love with her.

He recalled all the moments they spent with each other in the local firework show, the time they reaffirmed their vows to one another, and then, at last, he remembered the horrifying death of his lover when he went to his father’s grave to get the blessing for the new chapter he was about to start with Koyuki.

When he returned to the village, he remembered that he was given the news that his loved ones were no more and how the rival dojo owner poisoned Koyuki and Keizo. 

Also, he remembered how he took his revenge on the 67 members responsible for the death of his loved ones; he also recalled the moments with Muzan when he was turned into a demon by him.

Akaza finally realizes that all this hatred was because he couldn’t protect his loved ones, and fate was cruel to him; he lost everyone he had ever loved.

He was not able to be by their side at crucial times when it was needed. In the fight’s final moments, we see Akaza acknowledging the defeat and starts attacking himself while Muzan urges him to fight with his demon side.

Finally, Akaza listens to his humanity and meets his father, Keizo, and the love of his life, Koyuki.

His loved ones meet him and welcome him to join them in hell, and then with flames swirling Akaza, now finally he becomes Hakuji and dies. His demon body also crumbles away.

Why did Akaza kill himself? 

During the fight with Tanjiro in the Final Battle Arc of Demon Slayer, we witnessed Tanjiro awaken his Transparent World technique, and Giyu Tomioka also awakened his demon slayer mark with which both Tanjiro and Giyu used their powers to decapitate the head of Akaza.

Once that was done, Akaza had a flashback of his past life, how his father committed suicide as he couldn’t see his son earn by dishonest means.

Then, how he met Keizo, who gave Akaza a chance to better himself, and how he eventually, while taking care of Keizo’s daughter Koyuki, fell in love with her.

Then, the time when Keizo gave Akaza a proposal to marry her daughter Koyuki and then the time they reaffirmed their vows. 

Akaza then sees Koyuki from a distance; he also recalls the moments the rival dojo had poisoned the lake from which Koyuki and her father, Keizo, used to drink water from. 

Akaza was outside the village during that time. 

Then, he remembered his interaction with Muzan after he killed all the enemies who had killed Keizo and Koyuki. 

Akaza finally saw Keizo in the afterlife, just like Daki and Gyutaro had interacted with each other in their afterlife. 

He couldn’t stop his tears after seeing her.

He remembered how all this hatred and the guilt of not being able to protect his loved ones had turned him into a demon, 

Akaza finally acknowledged that fate had been cruel to him and for the last time.

Hakuji thought of doing the right thing and started attacking his own body and tried to kill himself. 

Although Muzan was urging him to fight, Hakuji had a brief moment with Keizo, Koyuki and his father.

He thanked them and apologised for all the devastation he had caused.

Therefore, he kills himself by attacking his body, and then we see his loved ones welcoming him, and a black flame swirls, and Akaza (Hakuji) dies.

What chapter is Akaza’s backstory? When will Akza’s backstory be animated?

Akaza’s backstory is part of Infinite Castle Arc. The backstory is covered in Volume 18 of the Demon Slayer Manga. Volume 18 covers Chapters 152-160 in the Manga.

As of now, the Demon Slayer Season 3 has just completed the Swordsmith Village Arc. 

The Demon Slayer Season 4 will be going to follow the Hashira Training Arc and probably some part of the Infinite Castle Arc.

After that, there will be one more arc, the Final Battle Arc. 

The Final Battle Arc is divided into two parts. Part 1 is the Infinite Castle Arc (which might be covered in Season 4 of Demon Slayer), and Part 2 is the Sunrise Countdown Arc. 

Akaza’s backstory part will be part of Infinite Castle Arc. So we can probably see his backstory in the fourth season of Demon Slayer, or else we will surely see his backstory in the fifth season.

So, this was the tragic past of Akaza. I hope you enjoyed this article; for more such articles, stay tuned to MediaScrolls. 

Frequently asked questions: 

Here are a few frequently asked questions that the fans still have about Akaza. Below is our explanation for the same. 

Who is Akaza’s wife?

Akaza’s name in his past life was Hakuji, and Hakuji didn’t have a wife. Hakuji fell in love with Koyuki, but before he could get married to her, they were killed by rival dojo owners. (You can go through Akaza’s backstory portion of this article to find the complete details). 

Who is Akaza in love with?

Akaza is in love with Koyuki, who is the daughter of Keizo. They fell in love with each other while Akaza was taking care of her. He never got the chance to marry her, as she was taken from him when he was just 18 years old.

How old was Akaza when he became a demon?

Akaza was 18 years old when he was turned into a Demon by Muzan. After the rival dojo gang took Koyuki and her Keizo. Hakuji was enraged and killed almost 68 people from the rival dojo gang. This caught the attention of Muzan, who then offered Hakuji to become a demon and be more powerful. As Akaza had no one to protect at that point, all the people that he cared about were gone, so he accepted Muzan’s offers and became a demon.

You can read it in detail in this portion of our article.

How old is Akaza as a Demon?

When Akaza was turned into a Demon by Muzan, he was 18 years old only, and as time progressed, he consumed more humans and became one of the strongest demons in anime (Upper Moon 3). By the time of the final arc, i.e. The Infinite Castle arc, it is said that Akaza was 200 years old. 

Who is Keizo? and How did Keizo die?

When Akaza’s father died, Akaza was clueless about his life, and Keizo approached him to join his local Dojo as a trainer.

Keizo saw the goodness in Hakuji and instructed him to take care of his daughter Koyuki and work as a trainer in his Soryuu Dojo.

At first, Keizo was unaware of Akaza’s real name, but when he got to know the real name of Hakuji, he told him that Haku in Hakuji reminisced to “Koma” in Komainu, which means guarding a shrine.

He told Hakuji that he was destined to be the protector of his daughter and his Dojo. Hakuji’s upbringing was similar to Keizo’s because he was sympathetic to Akaza.

At an early age, Keizo learned the Soryuu technique, a bare-fist martial arts fighting style, and fell in love with it.

He became fascinated by the technique and ended up learning it.

One day, Keizo saved a man from bandits, who gave him his lands and Dojo as a gift.

He then also married that man’s daughter and had a daughter, Koyuki, who was ill.

Keizo wanted to pass his knowledge to Akaza (Hakuji) as he had no successor.

He wanted Hakuji to take over the Dojo and also marry his daughter Koyuki.

The Kenjutsu Dojo owners who had killed Koyuki were always jealous of Soryuu Dojo owner Keizo.

Because Akaza the Soryuu Dojo got more students, they became cruel and killed both Keizo and Hakuji’s lover, Koyuki, out of jealousy.

It is tragic what happened to Hakuji and how he became Akaza. Keizo gave him a better life, and Koyuki gave his life meaning, but their deaths indeed turned Hakuji relentless after their deaths, and he ended up killing all 67 members of the rival Dojo Kenjutsu.

This attracted Muzan, who offered Hakuji to give up his life and turn into a powerful demon. Hakuji agreed to Muzan’s terms and turned into the demon Akaza.