Can demons eat human food?

Summary

  • Demons cannot eat human food, otherwise they would quickly vomit, similar to the ghouls in Tokyo Ghoul.
  • Exceptions are Lady Tamayo and Yushiro, who are able to eat at least some human food due to body modifications.
  • Demons can eat animals if necessary, but human flesh is still their preferred food.



Warning: The following contains spoilers for the Demon Slayer manga. Demon Slayer is now streaming on Crunchyroll.

In Demon SlayerA demon's main diet is human flesh and blood. One of the biggest and most frightening changes that occurs in a person when they transform into a demon is the urge to consume people. The urge is not only from lack but also from demons need Eating human flesh and eventually starving to death if they don't. However, is human flesh really the only way to satisfy a demon's hunger and keep it from starving? Could a good bento or a plate of sushi have been enough to keep the series' biggest threat to Japan's population at bay?

It's hard to imagine that they can, because then some demons probably would have already done it. Of course, it would also be a silly response to the world's greatest, darkest threat Demon Slayer. But it's still an interesting question to ponder, and rest assured, there is an answer.


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Can demons eat human food?

And if not, is human food poisonous to them?

Demons cannot eat normal human food, and if a demon were to try, it would find it repulsive and would quickly vomit it up, much like the ghouls Tokyo ghoul Are. Unfortunately, there is no instance in the anime and manga of a demon eating human food and then regurgitating it. The only reason this fact is known is because it is written in the Kimetsu no Yaiba Official Fan Book 2.

However, you probably can't poison and kill a demon by force-feeding it human food. Even if the food somehow gets into their body without causing them to vomit, they'll probably just get indigestion, but nothing close to fatal. Plus, if push comes to shove, a demon can literally just rip open his stomach and physically remove the food from his body, so human food doesn't even pose a choking hazard to him, unlike when a human eats something, what he shouldn't eat. They can regenerate the gaping hole in their body in no time anyway. Unfortunately, this means that the demon slayers can't simply attach a carrot to an arrow and shoot it at a demon to kill it.


Lady Tamayo and Yushiro, the exceptions to the rule

Tamayo_and_Yushiro_appear

Lady Tamayo and Yushiro are probably the only two demons who can at least eat some human food. Because of the changes she made to her own body, Lady Tamayo can now survive without having to eat human flesh. However, a lesser-known effect of the changes is that she can now drink tea without vomiting it up. In a broader sense, Yushiro should be able to do this too, since Tamayo made the same modifications to him.

It can be argued that Nezuko is capable of eating human food because, like Tamayo, she has resisted the urge to eat humans. However, her body has never undergone any changes and she has shown no particular desire to eat normal food, so it is difficult to say whether she can.

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Can demons eat animals?

It's probably not their meal of choice, but surprisingly, yes

Demon eating a dog

Strangely enough, they can. A demon is seen eating an animal Demon Slayer: Tomioka Giyuu Gaidenwhich confirms that they do not vomit animals when they eat them. However, this fact makes things interesting because it raises the question, what exactly is in human food that causes them to rebel against demons? Maybe they are just pure carnivores and every bit of vegetables, fruits, spices and other non-animal products in their diet trigger something in their body? Or maybe it's cooking that helps them and they can only eat raw meat?

Another possibility is that Muzan simply decides what is edible for her and what is not. Maybe he's simply allowing them to eat animals as a last resort if they're ever in dire straits. In any case, demon slayers don't seem to be able to rely on feeding demons with livestock, because when it comes to food, human flesh still comes first for them.


Does every human's flesh taste different than that of demons?

Or does everyone taste the same to you?

Sanemi Shinazugawa covered in scars from demon slayers

Okay, so demons don't really have much variety in their diet, but is there at least some variety in the tastes of the people they eat? Well, it's hard to say if every person tastes different, but apparently certain people have more demon “nutrients” in them. People with Marechi blood, such as the Wind Hashira Sanemi Shinazugawa, are extremely desirable to demons, as their blood is like a delicacy to them.

It's unclear what exactly “more nutrient dense” means, as it could be that their meat is simply more filling, but there's also the possibility that it actually tastes better for them. Demons are so addicted to Marechi blood that they can become intoxicated and lose concentration in battle. Even the upper echelon demons are vulnerable to this, which happens during the Infinity Castle Arc.


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Demon Slayer is now available to stream on Crunchyroll and Netflix. The release date for the next season of Demon Slayer, the Infinity Castle arc, has not been announced yet.

Demon Slayer

Release date
April 6, 2019

studio
ufotable

Japanese title
Kimetsu no Yaiba

Creator
Koyoharu Gotoge

MyAnimeList Score
8.26 (Hashira Training Sheet)

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