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Warning: The following contains spoilers for the Demon Slayer manga. Demon Slayer is now streaming onCrunchyroll.
InDemon Slayer, a demon’s main diet consists of human flesh and blood. One of the biggest and most frightening changes that occurs to a person upongetting turned into a demonis the urge to consume humans. The urge isn’t just for want either, because demonsneedto consume human flesh and will eventually starve to death if they don’t. However, is human flesh really the only way to satiate a demon’s hunger and keep them from starving? Could a good bento or plate of sushi have been enough to keep the biggest threat to Japan’s people in the series at bay?
It’s hard to imagine that they can, because then some demons would have probably already done so. Of course, it would also be a silly answer to the biggest and darkest threat inDemon Slayer. But it’s still an interesting question to ponder, and rest assured, there is an answer.
Can Demons Eat Human Food?
And If Not, Is Human Food Poisonous to Them?
Demons cannot eat regular human food, and if a demon were to try, they’d find it revolting and quickly vomit it, similar to how theghouls fromTokyo Ghoulare. Unfortunately, there is no instance of a demon eating human food and throwing it up in the anime and manga. The only reason why that fact is known is that it’s written in theKimetsu no Yaiba Official Fanbook 2.
That said, you probably can’t poison a demon and kill them by force-feeding them human food. Even if the food somehow manages to enter their bodies without them throwing it up, they’ll probably just get indigestion, butnothing close to fatal. Besides, if push comes to shove, a demon can literally just rip up their belly and physically remove the food from their body, so human food won’t even be a choking hazard for them, unlike if a human eats something they shouldn’t.They can simply regeneratethe gaping hole in their body back in no time anyway. This means that, unfortunately, the Demon Slayers can’t just attach a carrot to an arrow and fire it at a demon to kill them.
Lady Tamayo and Yushiro, the Exceptions to the Rule
Lady Tamayo and Yushiroare probably the only two demons who are capable of eating at leastsomehuman food. Because of the modifications she made to her own body, Lady Tamayo can now survive without having to eat human flesh, but a lesser-known effect of the modifications is that she can now drink tea without regurgitating it. By extension, Yushiro should also be able to do this since Tamayo used the same modifications on him.
There is an argumentto be made about Nezukobeing able to eat human food since, like Tamayo, she has resisted the urge to consume humans. However, her body wasn’t ever altered through any modifications, and she hasn’t shown any particular desire to eat regular food, so it’s hard to tell if she can.
Can Demons Eat Animals?
It’s Probably Not Their Preferred Meal, but Surprisingly Yes
Weirdly enough, they can. A demon is seen eating an animal inDemon Slayer: Tomioka Giyuu Gaiden, confirming that they don’t throw up animals upon eating them. This fact does make things interesting though, because it begs the question of what exactly is in human food thatmakes them revolting to demons? Maybe they’re just purely carnivorous, and any bit of vegetables, fruits, spices, and other non-animal products in food triggers something inside their bodies? Or maybe cooking is what does it for them, and they can only eat raw meat?
Another possibility is thatMuzan just decides what isand isn’t edible for them. Perhaps he simply allows them to eat animals as a last resort if they’re ever in an emergency. In any case, it doesn’t seem like Demon Slayers can rely on feeding demons livestock, because human flesh is still their number one priority when it comes to food.
Does Every Human’s Flesh Taste Different to Demons?
Or Does Everyone Taste the Same to Them?
Okay, so demons don’t really have a lot of variety in their diet, but is there at least some variety to the taste of the humans they eat? Well, it’s hard to tell if each human tastes different, but apparently, certain humans have more “nutrition” in them for demons. Humans with Marechi blood, like theWind Hashira Sanemi Shinazugawa, are highly desirable for demons because their blood is like a delicacy to them.
It’s unclear what exactly “more nutritional” means, because it could be that their flesh just fills a demon up more, but there’s also the possibility that it actually tastes better for them. Demons are so addicted to Marechi blood that they can get intoxicated by it and lose focus in battle. Even the Upper Rank demons are susceptible to this, which happens during the Infinity Castle Arc.
Demon Slayer is now available to stream onCrunchyrollandNetflix. The release date for the next season of Demon Slayer, the Infinity Castle Arc, has not been announced yet.
