Who Lives, Who Dies: Every Upper Moon’s Fate in Demon Slayer Infinity Castle Part 2, Ranked

Infinity Castle Part 1 came out swinging and has been stomping box office records ever since. It also does the one thing a middle arc absolutely has to do: crank the stakes and point a big neon arrow at what comes next. If you walked out buzzing about those Upper Moon matchups, Part 2 is where those grudge matches get nastier.

Quick refresher: where Part 1 left everyone

The anime-only crowd might not know this, but the manga wrapped ages ago. Translation: the fates of Muzan’s top demons are basically locked in, and the films will almost certainly track that roadmap. Part 1 already moved several chess pieces into place:

Zenitsu finally confronted his past and cut down Kaigaku. Giyu and Tanjiro’s showdown with Akaza doubled as a character excavation and an emotional gut punch, ending with Akaza choosing to end himself. Shinobu challenged Doma and paid for it, which lit the fuse for Kanao’s revenge. Nakime mostly pulled strings from the shadows, literally shifting the castle beneath everyone. And Kokushibo? Briefly teased, clearly being saved for the heavy rounds.

Upper Moons: what to expect in Part 2 (and beyond)

• Kaigaku (Upper Rank Six) - dead, not coming back
  Once a Thunder Hashira trainee, he sold out to become an Upper Moon and paid for it. Zenitsu unveiled a self-made Seventh Form of Thunder Breathing and ended him in Part 1. Powers we saw: Thunder Breathing techniques turned demonic via a Dark Lightning-style Blood Demon Art. Expect exactly zero Kaigaku in Part 2.
• Akaza (Upper Rank Three) - dead by his own hand
  The Rengoku killer’s popularity is no mystery, and Part 1 leaned into that with a blistering fight versus Giyu and Tanjiro. It dug into his past, then swerved: Akaza chose self-destruction, overwhelmed by what he had become. Signature toolkit: Destructive Death techniques, brutal hand-to-hand, obscene regeneration. He’s gone before Part 2 even starts.
• Doma (Upper Rank Two) - the Kanao and Inosuke problem
  Doma’s all smiles, zero soul. He killed and consumed Shinobu in Part 1, which is exactly why Kanao threw herself at him and got banged up in the process. If the films follow the manga (and they will), Part 2 continues this fight with Kanao getting backup from Inosuke. The payoff? Their Doma arc should wrap in Part 2. Expect ice-based techniques, nasty poison resistance, and that cult-leader charm that makes your skin crawl.
• Nakime (Upper Rank Four) - the castle’s puppet master
  She controls the Infinity Castle’s shifting maze with a biwa and turns geometry into a weapon. Part 2 is where she likely steps into the light, tangling with Misturi and Obanai. Heads up: this clash probably does not finish in Part 2. Per the manga blueprint, Nakime is the last Upper Moon still active after the others fall, and her battle extends into Part 3, where Yushiro enters and becomes crucial to taking her down.
• Kokushibo (Upper Rank One) - the war of attrition
  The strongest Upper Moon finally takes center stage in Part 2, facing a stacked lineup: Gyomei, Sanemi, Genya, and Muichiro. Do not expect a quick resolution; this fight stretches into Part 3 and doubles as a deep dive into Kokushibo’s tragic past. Powers to brace for: Moon Breathing mastery, terrifying swordsmanship, savage regeneration, and the kind of presence that flips the room’s gravity. He won’t be the final Upper Moon standing, but his battle triggers a major late-arc twist and sets the board for Muzan’s endgame.

So what is Part 2 actually setting up?

Big picture: one Upper Moon falls for good (Doma), one pulls the strings into the finale (Nakime), and one drags the Hashira into an exhausting, character-rich war of wills (Kokushibo). It’s the kind of lineup that lets ufotable flex on spectacle and keeps the emotional body blows coming. Inside baseball, but worth saying: the anime has stuck close to the manga where it counts, so the structure above isn’t wild speculation—it’s basically the road we’re on to Muzan.

If you need to catch up, Demon Slayer is streaming on Crunchyroll.