Set in the world where humans and demons are distinguished with the latter being the threat to the former, the story follows a young boy Kamado Tanjiro and his sister Nezuko who got turned into a demon, and Tanjiro trains to become a demon slayer to turn his sister back into a human. This fantasy genre anime has many mythical features which act as visual as well as storyline aids to help with the twists of the manga.
Wisteria Flower And Its Effects
At the onset of the anime, Kimetsu No Yaiba, there are mentions of the wisteria flower that are strong flowers that evade demons. Demons are said to not be able to stand the essence of the wisteria flower and they die if they inhale its scent. It works as an excellent demon repellent which is a toxin known to the demon slayers to fight their battles.
The flowers are the most effective when they are exposed to low-ranking demons, whereas in the case of higher-ranking demons, the properties of the flower paralyse them. This is the very reason for the demon slayer headquarters to be located in the place where many wisteria flowers bloom to keep the demons away from that place, making it safe for demon slayers to stay.
The significance of this flower is elevated when the demon slayer’s ranks are marked on their bodies with portions of this flower, signifying a powerful symbol for being a demon slayer among the corps.
As for the hashira Shinobu Kocho, she makes up for her inability to decapitate demons by concocting this poisonous potion of wisteria and other drugs to kill demons whenever she encounters one. The properties of this flower go so far as to perfect the process of retransforming demons into humans.
The Story Of The Blue Spider Lilly
This mythical flower was the prime instrument in Muzan’s making as a demon. The flower looks exactly like a spider Lilly but is vibrantly bright blue in colour. In reality, only red spider lilies exist in Japanese folklore. The flower is known to guide the dead toward the path of being reincarnated. It is also believed that red spider lilies grow on the shore of the Sanzu River which is the river of the dead in Japanese Folklore.
Why is Muzan looking for the Blue Spider Lily?
Anyone who dies is made to traverse the width of the river. But the significance of the blue spider Lilly must be to defeat the concept of death and restore immortality among humans, thus being the antithesis of the red spider Lilly and leading to damnation.
During the Heian period, Kibutsuji Muzan’s doctor prescribed him to take a medicine with the blue spider Lilly as its ingredient so that it can heal Muzan and make him the ultimate immortal demon to exist.
Muzan had an illness that guaranteed his demise at the age of 20. Him being terrified of death made him take the prototype medicine that made him fragile under the sun and crave humans whenever he was hungry, thus turning him into a demon. He killed the doctor because he grew impatient, later finding out that he was right and he could make that medicine.
The scarcity of this flower is because, the blue spider lilly does not bloom throughout the year. It blooms for two to three days in a whole year, and that too, during daytime, which made it impossible for the demons under Muzan to search for it. Even though it would bloom, after a short period, it would close back up. This information was discovered after a hundred years of Muzan’s death, by Aoba Hashibira, a botanist.
Despite Muzan employing the upper moon demons like Akaza search for it, he never found the flower to complete his treatment.
