Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba fans will know that Doma and Akaza are members of the Twelve Kizuki or the 12 Demon Moon, an organization comprising the strongest demons apart from the Demon King, Muzan, himself.
Doma and Akaza are both part of the Upper Ranks of the Twelve Kizuki, and serve as primary supporting antagonists to Tanjiro and the other Demon Slayers.
Both prove to be monstrous foes with crazy-powerful abilities throughout the series. But when it comes to which one of them is stronger, we have a clear winner.
Who Is Stronger Between Akaza Or Doma?
Doma is stronger than Akaza in Demon Slayer. He’s the Upper Moon 2 while Akaza is only Upper Rank 3 in the Twelve Kizuki.
Akaza was UM2 but was defeated by Doma in a blood battle and pushed to UM3. Doma’s Blood Demon Art of Cryokinesis smashes Akaza.
Doma is a beast in long and short-range combat, while Akaza only has close-range moves. Doma says that one of the reasons he is more powerful than Akaza is that he eats more women.
Maybe that’s why he is unfazed by the ordinarily fatal wisteria; it required the joined efforts of three demon slayers – Shinobi, Inosuke, and Kanao – plus a whole lot of poison, to finish him off in the final arc.
How Strong Is Doma?
1. Doma’s strengths
Doma can make ice clones of himself that are as lethal as the original. The ice, if inhaled, can crumble a person’s lungs.
Shinobu and Kanao both face the icy perils of Doma’s cryokinesis powers. Doma uses these freezing abilities in conjunction with tessenjutsu, a martial arts style that uses sharp war fans.
Doma has the advantage of incredible speed and reflexes – he steals Kanao’s sword and Inosuke’s mask in the blink of an eye; he also fatally wounds Shinobu, who has proven to be one of the fastest Hashira.
He has limitless endurance, durability, and stamina, along with immense regenerative capabilities. He adapts to any outer or inner wounds and can fight tirelessly. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was unstoppable.
What’s worth a mention is the fact that Doma is explicitly unbothered by pain. The gravest of injuries do not elicit a reaction from Doma – he’ll fight calmly, no matter the degree of injury.
He displays almost psychopathic tendencies – showing no true emotion towards anyone or anything; his boredom and apathy only fuel his bloodlust and primal instincts.
This lack of mental and physical feeling is his biggest strength as a demon.
2. How strong is Doma compared to Kokushibo?
According to the Upper Moon/Ranks, Doma is just a single rank below Kokushibo. But does that make a huge difference? Apparently so.
Kokushibo is far stronger than Doma in terms of combat experience, skills and power. While it can be argued that Doma’s freezing techniques can render Kokushibo’s Moon Breathing useless but it’s unlikely. Kokushibo is also faster than Doma.
He even awakens a Demon Slayer Mark, enhancing his abilities, and can see into the Transparent World.
He can fight four marked Hashira simultaneously, including Gyomei and Sanemi, who are two of the strongest demon slayers in the series.
Theoretically, Kokushibo trumps Doma – he has hundreds of years of more experience and has won more Blood Battles than Doma. Something that cannot be overlooked is the fact that Kokushibo owns a Nichirin katana.
He has the knowledge of how a demon slayer fights since he was one himself. He has more experience in killing demons, and can also predict movements. He’s faster, wiser, and stronger.
3. Can a Hashira beat Doma in a 1v1?
A Hashira cannot beat Doma in a 1v1. Doma defeated Kanae Kocho, the Flower Hashira, and also evaded Shinobu Kocho, the Insect Hashira, multiple times before she gets him in the end.
I think the reason we only see Doma go against “weaker” pillars/Hashira, is because if he went up against stronger ones, there’d almost be no fight.
He could take on Gyomei, Sanemi, Muichiro, and Genya – but then Kokoshibo would have no one to fight against.
If it weren’t for Shinobu’s poison (70 times the original lethal dosage) that finally weakens and kills him, Doma would be kicking and killing in all his psycho glory.
How strong is Akaza?
1. Akaza’s strengths
Akaza is Upper Rank 3, which means he is the third powerful demon in the Twelve Kizuki and the fourth after Muzan. He is also the fourth demon in the series ever to resist Muzan’s mind control.
In that aspect, I’d say he was pretty strong-headed (pun intended); he even regenerates half of his head, surprising Kokushibo.
Akaza reaches new heights with his evolution, and in this respect, he is stronger than Doma, who couldn’t regenerate his head.
We also see Akaza fight against really strong Hashira like Tanjiro, Giyu, and Rengoku. Not many can beat Akaza when it comes to hand-to-hand combat.
He excels in a bare-fisted martial arts style called Soryu, and can combine shockwaves with it, which is his Blood Demon Art. This makes him unparalleled in 1v1 unarmed combat.
Akaza is possibly the most loved demon because of his tragic backstory. He redeems himself in the end by resisting Muzan and killing himself.
2. Can a Hashira beat Akaza in a 1v1?
No – Akaza can defeat and kill Kyojuro Rengoku, the Flame Hashira, in the Mugen Train arc. In his base form, though, Akaza can be defeated by Giyu and Sanemi with their Demon Slayer Marks.
But this feat is impossible after Akaza acquires his evolved form, that prevents him from being killed even after decapitation.
In the Infinity Castle arc, Akaza faces Awakened Tanjiro and Awakened Giyo in the final battle where he loses and commits suicide, in the same way Kokushibo had.
Conclusion
We see Akaza in his final form, where he is able to grow back his head and resist Muzan. Doma never showed his full power – he toyed around with Kanao, Inosuke, and Shinobu, until the latter’s poison finally kicked in.
Doma was possibly the biggest threat to all the Hashira due to his invisible cryo-techniques that could cause instant death, and his remorseless, unfeeling nature.
So even though Akaza is terrifyingly strong, Doma has a higher rank, deadlier powers, and a supremely advantageous character trait that allows him to remain unshackled to the past.
About Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Koyoharu Gotoge. Its publication in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump began in February 2016 and ended in May 2020 with 23 collected tankōbon volumes.
In a world filled with demons and demon slayers, Kimetsu no Yaiba follows the lives of two siblings Tanjiro and Nezuko Kamado after— the murder of their family at the hands of a demon. Their hardship does not end there, as Nezuko’s life is spared only for her to live as a demon.
As the oldest sibling, Tanjiro vows to protect and cure his sister. The story traces the bond of this brother-sister or better yet, demon slayer and demon combo against the odds of an arch antagonist and the society.
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