Demon Slayer’s Doma: A Psychopathic Nihilist

Demon Slayer aka Kimetsu no Yaiba is currently dominating in popularity with its third season, entitled the “Swordsmith Village” arc. The beginning of this arc features an intriguing meeting of the Upper Moons. But one particular Upper Moon caught all of our attention: Doma, who has captivated us since the previous season.

Doma is a demon who holds the position of Upper Moon 2 among Muzan’s twelve Kizukis. He has a distinctive appearance, with blonde hair and rainbow eyes. But beneath his fun and always happy façade lies some dark realities. This article is all about exploring Doma’s twisted personality and his nihilistic approach.

Doma’s Back Story and Human Life

Doma was born with rainbow-colored eyes and blond hair to parents who were considered saints. His unusual appearance led his parents to start a cult named Paradise Faith. They made their child a young cult leader as they believed that this is what God wants. Although Doma never believed his parents’ teachings, but he played along only to pass time.

It appears that as a child, Doma struggled to understand and manage the strong emotions displayed by his followers. He held resentment towards his parents, as they believed in gods, which he viewed as foolishness.

Doma did not have faith in any divine power that brings comfort and a sense of safety to people. He strongly disliked religious beliefs. People started following him due to his unique appearance and cheerful personality. This personality provided them with a sense of relief and comforted their exhausted souls by lending them a listening ear.

Doma pretended to be able to communicate with Gods on behalf of his followers. He even shed tears to show his empathy towards them. However, his tears were only out of pity, and he actually believed that humans were foolish and powerless.

A Bloody Incident

As the leader of Paradise Cult, he would sit in luxurious rooms with exclusive furniture and satin curtains, whilst hundreds of female followers attended to his needs. Doma had a difficult childhood, as his parents had an unhappy relationship.

Unfortunately, when he was still young, his mother stabbed his father to death. She then took her own life by consuming poison. That incident did not seem to affect him emotionally. In the manga, Doma only mentions that the blood from the tragic event left an unpleasant odor in his room and needed to be cleaned.

The Beginning of His Demon Life

When Doma was 20 years old, he encountered the Demon Lord Muzan Kibutsuji who transformed him into a demon. Unlike other demons, Doma did not suffer any injuries or had a tragic backstory that motivated him to seek vengeance as a demon.

After being the leader of the Paradise cult for over 20 years, he grew tired of their purposeless obedience and converted to a demon lifestyle. He hoped to rid people of their suffering by consuming them. Doma believed that by eating them, they would be able to live inside him forever and escape their miserable existence on earth.

Doma spent most of his life pursuing this unusual goal. Unlike Akaza, he only chooses to consume women because he believes they provide better nourishment than men. The act of eating women is purely driven by hunger, as he does not associate any emotions such as hate, fear or love.

The Superficial “Kindhearted” Doma

One-night roaming around the Entertainment District, Doma found Gyutaro and his younger sister Ume, who were both on the verge of death. Out of his “kindness”, Doma offered to turn them into demons and thus saved their lives.

He turned Daki and Gyutaro into demons because he believed their deadly condition made him superior. He had a strong belief of saving someone from the misery of this meaningless world, but he thought both Daki and Gyutaro were not attractive enough to consume.

You know, everyone’s afraid of dying. And that’s why I eat them all up. Now they get to live together with me. Forever. All the feelings of my worshipers. Blood. Flesh. I made sure to accept, rescue, and guide them all to enlightenment

Doma

On the other hand, one of the followers, Kotoha Hashibira, who was Inosuke’s mother, joined the cult after leaving her abusive husband. She was spared by Doma because of her singing talent and beauty. Unfortunately, Kotoha learned about Doma’s secret, and he chased and devoured her leaving only her bones.

Doma’s Personality & His Idea of Salvation

After analyzing Doma’s portrayal in both the manga and anime, it is evident that he is a deceptive creature. He puts on a facade of cheerful behavior, but his true nature is that of a demonic being. Doma has no real personality and is an empty vessel.

Despite his outwardly happy demeanor, he holds delusional beliefs and thinks humans are foolish for following religion, believing in karma, and worshiping gods. Doma’s upbringing was very complicated, to the point where he does not experience any emotions such as hate, anger, or kindness. Although he tries to display kindness and sheds crocodile tears time to time.

But his feigned kindness serves as a mere guise for those who fall into his trap, as he ruthlessly preys upon and consumes humans. His beliefs are just as twisted as his personality; his notion of killing someone to release them from worldly worries is extremely demonic.

Nihilism in Doma’s Beliefs

Nihilism is a belief that the world ultimately ends in nothingness and has no meaning. It denies the existence of God and sees life as pointless. It exists in multiple forms; ethical or moral nihilism rejects the notion of good and evil. Existential nihilism defines life as meaningless.

In Doma’s case his whole character portrays different forms of nihilism paired with a psychotic desire to dominate mortal beings around him. When he was a human, he believed he was superior so he should kill powerless followers to give them peace.

“How sad… that paradise does not exist. It’s a fairy tale that humans created with their imagination. The Gods and Buddhas don’t exist either. These people had been alive for decades yet they couldn’t understand something so simple. When you die, you just become nothing. You just stop feeling anything. Your heart stops and your brain stops. You rot and return to the earth. As long as you are a living creature, it is unavoidable. They could not accept something so simple. It must be difficult to be so dumb. I wanted to make the pitiful people happy and help them. That is why I was born”

Doma, Upper Moon 2

When he transformed into a demon, he began feeling pity for mortals since he was no longer one himself and viewed the concept of life as a joke. Even in his final moments, he did not experience any emotions or fear of death.

This makes him even more unsettling since he lacks emotions that even other demons possess. There is significant debate about whether Doma, if he was not created by the Demon Lord, could have surpassed Muzan himself as a “True Demon” in the world of Kimetsu no Yaiba. Make sure to check out our article on the Demon Lord Muzan Kibutsuji.

Bottom Line

Doma is portrayed as creepy due to his lack of responsibility towards his surroundings. The only time he shows emotions is when he meets Shinobu Kocho in the afterlife after his death. In the manga, he develops feelings for Shinobu and invites her to accompany him to hell.

But an important thing to note here is that he only feels this emotion when he dies. When all his demonic goals are put to rest by the Demon Slayer Corps. Tell us what you think about this rainbow-eyed demon in the comment section.

If you love to read more about Demon Slayer, make sure to visit our website and explore a whole new world of anime.