Gyokko

Gyokko, along with Hantengu, was one of the primary antagonists in the Swordsmith Village Arc of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. He was a demon affiliated with the Twelve Kizuki, holding the position of Upper Rank Five (の).

Before becoming a demon, he was a human by the name of Managi.

Appearance
Gyokko had a very bizarre and grotesque physiology, taking on the form of a pale white, abstracted, grotesque humanoid figure with a muscular upper torso that has no arms and resembles that of an armless statue growing from a porcelain vase, similar to a djinn. He had multiple infant-like hands that line along his head and back.

Gyokko's face was even more distorted, with large green mouths located where one would expect his eyes to be located, and his actual eyes were located vertically from one another on his face; one eye appeared in the constantly open bottom mouth and the other was seated at the center of his forehead. The daiji for Upper Rank was engraved on his forehead's eye and the daiji for Five was engraved on his mouth's eye.

When in battle, Gyokko was shown to molt and transform into his true form, which bore heavy resemblance to that of a merman. In this state, Gyokko retained his facial features and muscular physique but now possessed a more humanoid body covered in transparent scales akin to a fish. He also grew much larger, attains longer fish tail-like hair, black markings on various places around his body, webbed hands, and a long serpent-like tail in place of his legs.

Personality
Gyokko was shown to be an easily excitable demon, constantly fawning over new inspirations for what he deems his "art" or what he finds to be sublime, sometimes even going against his initial impressions. He was easily swayed into euphoria whenever Muzan was involved, trying not only to please him, but finding joy in being decapitated and having his head held by Muzan. Although he was dismayed he would have to work together with Hantengu, he nonetheless reasoned it was fine since Muzan ordered it. He also seemed to be somewhat sardonic and condescending; upon sensing Akaza's presence within the Infinity Castle, he almost let out his inner feelings to the demon about being glad he believed him to be dead before correcting himself mid-sentence, even if Akaza was not fooled by his false support. Gyokko was also short-tempered, shallow, and arrogant, especially when it comes to things regarding his "art", as seen when he was easily enraged by Muichiro when the latter began to insult and make fun of the quality of his art to the point of bleeding from his blood vessels out of sheer fury, and through his conversation with the Hashira, constantly praised himself as "beautiful" and his work even more so, further reinforcing his arrogant and narcissistic personality and even insulting Muichiro as an "ape" for not appreciating his art. His arrogance was most prominently displayed after he was beheaded by Muichiro Tokito, referring to the Mist Hashira as an inferior and lower life form while calling himself a superb and chosen being.

Gyokko revealed himself to be incredibly petty and jealous, as seen when he attacked and mutilated Hotaru Haganezuka due to his jealousy of the latter's focus and dedication to his work, surpassing his own zeal when working on his own art and made him want to instead make the latter lose his focus and waste time on the swordsmith due to this petty jealousy.

Gyokko had a particularly morbid sense of taste, which was showcased when Doma told him he placed a human head on top of his pots like a plant; although Gyokko was slightly taken aback since the pot was not made with such an intention in mind, he nonetheless approved of such use and decided to use it as further inspiration. The extent of this morbid and violent obsession for his was shown even more when he brutally attacked several swordsmiths and used their corpses to create a "beautiful" piece by mangling their bodies together along with sticking several swords into them.

His extreme sadism was further exposed when he went into great detail of explaining his "artwork"; from the many distorted body parts that stood out, to the built-in "feature" of being able to twist a stabbed sword in order to cause extreme pain and bleeding to one of the mangled swordsmiths, demonstrating he not only left his victims unnaturally alive, but also made arrangements to torture them in public.

Abilities
Overall Abilities: As the holder of the fifth highest position in the Twelve Kizuki, Gyokko was an extremely powerful demon. His unique Blood Demon Art and techniques allow him to easily outclass the average demons and give him the necessary edge to overwhelm and kill even the Hashira, the most skilled and powerful swordsman in the Demon Slayer Corps. As Upper Rank Five, Gyokko is more powerful than Gyutaro and Daki, the former having killed 15 Hashira and the latter having killed 7. Gyokko has displayed many impressive feats of strength. Most notably, in his duel with Muichiro Tokito, Gyokko was able to overpower and hold the Hashira back for the majority of their fight, even managing to bring him to the brink of death. If not for Gyokko's inherent egotistical nature and Muichiro awakening his Demon Slayer Mark, the Upper Rank would have more than likely been able to kill him.

Flesh Manipulation: Like all demons, Gyokko possessed the ability to manipulate his own flesh. He used this ability to shift his facial features and adopt his unusual djinn-like physiology. Gyokko also displayed the ability to grow numerous short arms on his head and torso, even while he was decapitated. Additionally, Gyokko's numerous vases were made from his own flesh, as seen when he was able to instantly form them in his hand in order to use.

Immense Durability: As an Upper Rank, Gyokko possessed an extremely durable body superior to that of Gyutaro, whose neck was nigh-uncuttable to Tanjiro Kamado. A single slash from Muichiro could only somewhat penetrate his neck instead of cutting it off, although the Mist Hashira's sword was badly chipped and he also had not manifested his Demon Slayer Mark at the time. His durability was further amplified in his molted form, where Gyokko's skin became layered in thick and hard scales that he noted to be harder than diamond, making his body extremely fortified.

Immense Regeneration: As an Upper Rank demon, Gyokko had very powerful regeneration. This was shown when he survived being decapitated by Muzan Kibutsuji and later sealed off the wound and reattached his head. He also displayed the ability to quickly heal injuries inflicted by Nichirin Swords without much difficulty.Most astoundingly, Gyokko was shown being able to survive direct decapitation from a Nichirin sword, attempting to grow his body back from the stump of his neck, though Muichiro was able to overwhelm it by slicing him into countless small pieces, eventually killing him. Immense Speed & Reflexes: Gyokko was incredibly fast, as shown when he easily evaded Muichiro's attacks and unleashed techniques that the Mist Hashira was barely able to dodge. Furthermore, Gyokko managed to react to a surprise attack by Muichiro who had awakened his Demon Slayer Mark, which showed that his movement speed would have amplified considerably. Later on, Gyokko managed to hold off the marked Hashira for an extended period of time, even managing to move so fast he appeared to teleport and overpower Muichiro briefly using his sheer speed.

Molting Transformation: In dire situations, Gyokko could molt and transform into his true form, boosting all his abilities and liberates him from his vase, allowing him to move freely without needing to teleport. Gyokko's true body was extremely durable as well, since the Upper Rank remarked that the scales that cover his body are harder than diamond. Furthermore, whatever Gyokko touches was instantly transmuted into fish, which made him extremely dangerous to fight in close range.

Talented Artist: Due to his obsession with pots, Gyokko became very skilled at painting and making them, so much so that Muzan has taken a keen interest in them, even selling them for a high price, implying that they were made with amazing skill and craftsmanship.

Unlimited Stamina & Endurance: Like all demons, Gyokko possessed infinite stamina and endurance. He first displayed this when being decapitated by Muzan, where the Upper Rank didn't show any signs of pain, and even commented on how pleasurable it was. Furthermore, Gyokko commented on how having a sword slash his neck was beautiful.

Blood Demon Art
Porcelain Vases: Gyokko's Blood Demon Art revolved around his porcelain vases. He was able to spawn them anywhere within his vicinity and create multiple pots of varying sizes at once. Gyokko first displayed the ability to freely teleport from one pot to another instantaneously, offsetting his lack of legs and allowing him to travel far distances with minimal effort as well as to evade attacks easily. Gyokko could also trap objects (such as people) inside his pots. If the object he wishes to seal is too big, the pots can simply compress them to fit inside. The pots also seem to give Gyokko liberty of whatever was inside, which he uses to merge the swordsmiths together in impossible ways and allows him to create whatever he pleases inside them.

During his attack on the Swordsmith Village, Gyokko spawned numerous gigantic fish-like amalgamations to terrorize the village and kill its inhabitants. They were unable to be killed by regular means and only die when the pots on their back are destroyed. These creatures all possessed unique traits and characteristics, some had sharp claws, some had multiple humanoid legs or even monstrous teeth. They also seemed to be decently powerful, as these amalgamations were able to kill the Demon Slayers that were meant to guard to village. However, their strength still paled in comparison to the Hashira, as Mitsuri and Muichiro swiftly subdued these spawn with ease.

Gyokko's Blood Demon Art was notably themed around the sea and aquatic lifeforms, as his techniques were based on summoning non-sentient creatures that resembled fish from his pots. These fish monsters similarly possessed differing abilities and characteristics: some of them could shoot out a barrage of poisonous needles at his targets or leave behind dangerous poison once they are killed. He also summoned goldfish-like monsters with scythe-like appendages to threaten Hotaru Haganezuka. Gyokko could also summon giant octopus tentacles from his vases to restrain his enemies or destroy the surroundings. Lastly, Gyokko could also manipulate and create water from his porcelain vases, which he can use as a cannon-like attack in which he shoots out powerful streams of water or shape water into sharp, high-pressure tendrils to cut targets like a sharp whip or even suffocate his targets by trapping them inside an extremely durable vase made of water.

Techniques

 * -|Description =
 * Thousand Needle Fish Kill - Gyokko summons floating fish demons from his pots which spit out a barrage of poisnous needles. The poison contains paralyzing properties which immobilize the target.


 * Water Prison Pot - Gyokko creates a vase structure made out of water that traps the target. The water suffocates the target and prevents them from using any breathing technique, making it difficult for them to break free and escape.


 * Octopus Vase Hell - Gyokko manifest gigantic tentacles from his pots to restrain his targets. These tentacles are strong enough to destroy a shed and are noted to be extremely durable.


 * Ten Thousand Gliding Slime-Fish - Gyokko summons a total of ten thousand slime-fish from multiple pots to attack his target and devour them whole, leaving nothing but bones. When these fish are cut, they release a poison before disintegrating completely. This poison is percutaneous, meaning it can merely be absorbed through the skin in order to kill a target.


 * Killer Fish Scales - In his true form, Gyokko delivers a wide-ranged barrage of physical attacks made all the more powerful by his immense speed and unusual body constitution. Through his special scales, he is able to manipulate his direction and attack at odd angles, making his attacks wildly unpredictable.


 * -|Demonstrations =

Trivia

 * The name "Gyokko" contains the kanji for "ball, jewel" (玉) and "pot, jar, vase" (壺).
 * Gyokko's human name, Managi (益魚儀), contained the kanji for "benefit", "fish", and "ceremony".
 * Gyokko's summoned fish-like demons are reminiscent of Junji Ito's fish demons from "Gyo."
 * Gyokko is Muzan's favorite Upper Rank, primarily because his ornate pots can sell for a high price.
 * Gyokko is one of the only Upper Ranks (the other being Nakime) who does not have a back story mentioned in the manga regarding his past or his first meeting with Muzan. However, the second fanbook provides a brief summary of his past as a human.
 * Muzan was the only living being that Gyokko didn't hate.
 * Only three people, including Muichiro Tokito, have seen Gyokko in his true form.

Quotes

 * (To Muichiro Tokito) "Hyo hyo! What a childish provocation! Did you think I, Gyokko, would be undone with such prattle? You seem desperate. It's embarrassing."

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