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Demon Slayer is one of the most popular anime and manga series in recent times and whenever a new episode drops, there is always something worth talking about. Season 3, covering the Swordsmith Village arc of the manga, has been no different and has given rise to discussions about the age of the fourth Upper Moon, Zohakuten.
Tanjiro, Nezuko, and Genya were dealing with this demon in his original form as Hantengu, but he has now turned into his most powerful version, Zohakuten, which is a combination of his four clones. However, there are some discussions about the age of this form and the reasoning behind it is quite interesting.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the third season of Demon Slayer.
Zohakuten is not a child when it comes to his mindset or his actions in Demon Slayer
Hantengu might not have the detailed and complex backstories of the three main Upper Moons in Demon Slayer, but he still has a very interesting story that is shown through his many different physical appearances, with Zohakuten being by far the most fascinating. In fact, recent discussions on social media have been about whether Zohakuten is a child or not.
To explain this, the focus needs to go to his life as a human. Hantengu was a man that committed a lot of heinous acts throughout his life, including deceiving and murdering countless women and children he had with them. Even though one of his demon clones refused to admit his crimes, he was punished for them when all the evidence came to light.
However, he found a way to Muzan and the rest of the Upper Moons, becoming one of them in the process. Now, according to the Taisho's Secret tidbit in the Demon Slayer manga, it has been revealed that every form Hantengu has represents a different point of his life from his time as a child to an aging old man, with Zohakuten reflecting the former.
Of course, this has given rise to a lot of debate online about whether Zohakuten is a child or not. Be that as it may, it has been shown time and time again that he is the most powerful of all the forms that Hantengu has, to the point that every clone showed an expression of fear when they were being assimilated to turn into him.
It also has to be said that he is one of the most powerful characters in all of Demon Slayer and that all the crimes he has committed are not of a child, even if he has a similar look. However, it is very clear that while he has the physical form of a child, he is not a child when it comes to his mindset or his actions, like every other demon in the series.
Final thoughts
Hantengu and his final form as Zohakuten are definitely one of the most interesting cases in the Demon Slayer lore. His many different forms, his backstory, and his capacity to represent many different periods of his life all work together to create a very considerable threat to the likes of Tanjiro, Nezuko, Genya, and Mitsuri, being a very tough ordeal to overcome in the process.
However, it is very clear that while he has the physical form of a child, he is not a child per se.
