Best Demon Slayer Team-Ups, Ranked (2024)

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The action-packed shonen anime Demon Slayer often focuses on the power of teamwork to get the job done right. By nature, demons are solitary hunters who rely on their own power to hunt humans, and demon slayers often hunt demons solo because the Corps is spread so thin hunting these monsters. However, the very best fights in the franchise focus on teamwork, which may also include the power of friendship and even family bonds.

In all four current seasons of the Demon Slayer anime, the characters gladly team up to combine their skills and cover for each other's weaknesses to win fights. For the most part, it's the demon slayers and their allies who do this, but once in a while, the demons might cooperate to use the power of teamwork and numbers for themselves. In ten particular cases, two or more characters showed anime fans what the true power of teamwork looks like, and it usually brought them victory — or at least, almost did.

10 Tanjiro and Nezuko Fought the Swamp Demon as a Dynamic Duo

Episodes: "Swordsman Accompanying a Demon" and "Muzan Kibutsuji"

The battle against the swamp demon marked the first time Tanjiro fought alongside his sister since he became a professional demon slayer. The two of them did face the temple demon together, but that was hardly even a fight. The Kamados first proved their teamwork when they faced the swamp demon a few episodes later.

This fight, spanning two episodes, pitted Tanjiro and Nezuko against a demon who could emerge from the ground via swampy water, and he could even make two copies of himself. Tanjiro was prepared to fight this monster alone, but then Nezuko surprised everyone by emerging from her wooden box and taking on the swamp demon with her kicks.

9 Tanjiro and Nezuko Battled Susamaru as a United Front

Episodes: "Temari Demon and Arrow Demon" and "Together Forever"

Not long after facing the swamp demon in battle, Tanjiro and Nezuko journeyed to Tokyo, where they came into contact with the demon king himself, Muzan Kibutsuji. After that close encounter, the Kamados faced two more demons, Susamaru and Yahaba, who threatened lady Tamayo and Yushiro.

In that battle, Nezuko was pushed harder than ever, even losing a leg to to one of Susamaru's temari balls. For a time, it fell to just Tanjiro to take on the two demons and protect his vulnerable sister. Still, Nezuko did well fighting by her brother's side given her mininal combat experience and training at the time.

8 Susamaru and Yahaba Responded to Tanjiro's and Nezuko's Teamwork With Their Own

Episodes: "Temari Demon and Arrow Demon" and "Together Forever"

For the most part, demons are solitary hunters, as Tanjiro Kamado noted, and most of the Lower and Upper Moons fought accordingly. Still, a few demons could be convinced to form small teams, including Susamaru and Yahaba. According to Demon Slayer fluff trivia, the two of them even chatted on route to the mission site and became friends.

Susamaru's role was to be on offense, using her hard-hitting temari balls and multiple arms to attack the Kamados with medium-range attacks. Yahaba, meanwhile, used his arrow-based abilities to accelerate Susamaru's balls and move them in different directions in midair, making them difficult to dodge, even for the agile Nezuko.

7 Nezuko's Fire Gave Tanjiro a Chance Against Rui

Episode: "Hinokami"

When Tanjiro's trio of shonen heroes arrived in Mount Natagumo's forest, they were in for the fight of a lifetime against Rui's small clan of spider demons. The three of them got split up while fighting Rui, the Father demon, and the rest, but the spirit of teamwork wasn't totally dead. While Inosuke and Zenitsu were busy, Tanjiro teamed up with his sister once again.

Rui, the Lower Moon 5, could easily defeat either Tanjiro or Nezuko. At one point, he even had Nezuko trapped in a steely web, but he wasn't prepared for Nezuko to use her own demon blood art to set it on fire and give Tanjiro a chance to strike. That was when Tanjiro used Hinokami Kagura for the first time ever, and he almost defeated Rui in one strike.

6 Giyu and Shinobu Made Short Work of Rui's Spider Clan

Episode: "Pretend Family"

It's true that Giyu's and Shinobu's teamwork was rather loose in the episode "Pretend Family," since they split up almost as soon as they arrived on the battlefield. Those two Hashira friends did have a common enemy, though, with both of them finishing off the spider clan to save the day. Each of them won with ease, demonstrating the power of the Hashira.

Shinobu Kocho confronted the Daughter demon and easily defeated her with wisteria poison and her thin Nichirin sword. Meanwhile, it waws Giyu Tomioka who took over Tanjiro's fight against Rui, dispatching that Lower Moon with his Water Breathing. Tanjiro was grateful for the help, but he didn't appreciate Shinobu going after Nezuko next.

5 Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Zenitsu All Focused Their Power Against Enmu

Episodes: "Insult" and "Move Forward!"

In the Mugen Train story arc, Tanjiro's trio met up with the Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku, on a brand-new mission. Those four slayers and Nezuko formed a large team to take on the Lower Moon 1, Enmu, but it wasn't easy at first. Enmu's sleep-based powers trapped them, and then they almost got killed in their sleep.

Once the team was back in action, the three main heroes took the fight to Enmu's Mugen Train on the inside and outside. Zenitsu protected Nezuko and the passengers while Inosuke and Tanjiro got to work on Enmu's oversized innards, butchering that demon's guts until they struck his neck and derailed the injured Mugen Train at last.

4 Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Zenitsu Fought Well Together Against Daki

Episodes: "Transformation," "Gathering," "Defeating an Upper Rank Demon," and "Never Give Up"

Not long after the battle against Enmu, Tanjiro's team united with the Sound Hashira, Tengen Uzui, to embark on yet another mission. For the first time, Tanjiro and his friends were facing an Upper Moon demon, a titanic threat that called for perfect teamwork and devastating moves. In the battle's early phase, at least, Tanjiro's team delivered.

Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke fought well together, combining their moves to keep Daki's obi belt attacks at bay and seek a weak point in that Upper Moon's defenses. Over time, Daki and Gyutaro gained the upper hand, but it's still impressive how well Demon Slayer's three heroes coordinated their efforts.

3 Daki and Gyutaro Formed an Invincible Brother/Sister Tag Team

Episodes: "Transformation," "Gathering," "Defeating an Upper Rank Demon," and "Never Give Up"

The battle for the entertainment district was an example of two teams fighting one another, creating a chaotic and unpredictable clash that kept Demon Slayer fans engaged until the very end. At first, Tanjiro and the others thought they had Daki totally outnumbered, but then Daki's older brother Gyutaro emerged from her body, turning the 5 vs 1 battle into 5 vs 2.

Gyutaro's emergence changed everything, and not just because he added his firepower to his sister's own. So long as Daki and Gyutaro were alive, neither would die from getting decapitated unless they lost their heads at the same time. That made each of them practically unkillable, even if they didn't directly coordinate their attacks very much.

2 Tengen Uzui, Suma, Hinatsuru, and Makio Were an Effective Shinobi Team While Battling Gyutaro

Episodes: "Gathering"

For the most part, it was up to Tanjiro, Nezuko, Inosuke, Zenitsu, and Tengen to fight Daki and Gyutaro, but they still had more allies to call upon in that fight. Unlike Kyojuro Rengoku, who had fought Akaza solo, Tengen was part of a team of four, and he wasn't too proud to ask for help. His three kunoichi wives Hinatsuru, Suma, and Makio were ready to back up their husband at any time.

In particular, Hinatsuru surprised Gyutaro by deploying her biggest and most formidable weapon, a series of boxes that could launch a great number of kunai knives at once. That flanking attack bought Tengen enough time to briefly gain the upper hand on the true Upper Moon 6 and was a fine example of how much he and his three wives trusted one another.

1 Tanjiro and Genya Took the Fight to Hantengu Without Hesitation

Episodes: "Aren't You Going to Become a Hashira?"

The overall battle for the swordsmith village was a chaotic one with many participants, including the Upper Moon 5 Gyokko and the Upper Moon 4, Hantengu. Those two demons didn't fight side by side, but Hantengu did have a trick up his sleeve. He could form several other bodies, each with a unique emotion and weapon.

Thus, Hantengu had Tanjiro outnumbered even without Gyokko's help. Fortunately, Tanjiro was never alone. His new friend Genya Shinazugawa bravely fought by his side, using repetitive action and even a double-barreled shotgun to back up Tanjiro in the fight. To Tanjiro's shock, Genya even embaced the half-other trope to keep up the pressure on Hantengu, something Tanjiro had never seen before.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

TV-MA

Animation

Action

Adventure

Release Date

January 22, 2021

Cast

Natsuki Hanae , Zach Aguilar , Abby Trott , Akari Kitō , Yosh*tsugu Matsuoka

Main Genre

Animation

Seasons

4