Demon Slayer LEGO: which katana to build?

In Demon Slayer, a sword is not bought from a market stall. A craftsman from the hidden village forges it for a single slayer, over weeks, and comes to deliver it in person. A LEGO katana offers you a small share of that work: hundreds of pieces, a set of instructions, a few evenings of patience, and a blade that takes shape row after row in your hands.

This guide compares the eighteen models in the LEGO range: the sizes, the number of pieces, the characters, what comes with each blade, and the space you need to display it. The replicas and light-up katanas are presented in our guide to choosing a Demon Slayer katana, and our other tips on the shop’s guides and tips page.

Which Demon Slayer LEGO katana to choose?

Three questions are enough to sort them. The space you have on the shelf, first: the models go from 57 cm to twice 105 cm. The time you want to spend building, next: from 400 pieces to nearly 1,500. And the character, finally, if you have one in mind.

All the models are built from LEGO pieces that click together, without glue or tools. They are made for the shelf and for the pleasure of building, not for fighting: a LEGO blade breaks if you drop it, and can be rebuilt. The whole range is gathered in the Demon Slayer LEGO collection.

The 57 cm katanas, to start with

The four small katanas, at €39.90, are the best way in. Between 400 and 498 pieces, 57 cm once built, 6 cm wide: an approachable build, and a blade that fits on any shelf. None carries a character’s name, but each plays on the colours of the breathing styles.

The blue gradient blade, the simplest with its 400 pieces, goes from deep blue to light blue row by row, like a wave: it is the colour of Water Breathing, the one Tanjiro learns first. Its royal blue handle carries a small orange chequered square. The black blade, 429 pieces, takes on almost purple reflections under the light, with a light edge marked in steps and an off-white handle scattered with black diamonds.

The red-edged blade, 498 pieces, is dark, lined with a bright red trim from heel to tip, on a midnight blue handle with white bars. It recalls the scarlet blade, the one that stops a demon from regenerating. The purple blade, 493 pieces, is built on a bright red handle with black patterns: purple is the colour of Insect Breathing, Shinobu’s style.

If you are unsure what a colour means, our article on the colours of Nichirin swords explains them one by one.

Katanas with scabbards, 60 and 64 cm

A katana without a scabbard remains a bare blade. The three models at €39.90 add the scabbard, and double the number of pieces: from 1,052 to 1,158, for 60 cm built. The blade goes into its scabbard or sits beside it, and the whole thing takes on a different look on the shelf.

The white scabbard goes with a navy blade with a light edge and a white handle with small black patterns, finished with an orange tip. The purple scabbard, marked with three orange diamonds, dresses the blue gradient blade and its chequered handle. The midnight blue scabbard with large red flowers, the most elaborate with its 1,158 pieces, covers a dark blade edged in red.

The 64 cm midnight blue katana, at €49.90, bridges the gap with the large models. A midnight blue blade with a white trim, a red banded scabbard that stands out, 411 g once built, and spare pieces in the box in case one gets lost under the sofa. Seen from a metre away, its profile is that of a real katana; seen up close, you can make out the tiny staircase of rows that traces the curve.

The Hashira’s katanas, up to a metre

The character katanas change scale. They approach or exceed a metre, come with their scabbard and a display stand, and faithfully reproduce a Hashira’s blade. These are the pieces you display in the living room, not just in a bedroom.

Rengoku’s katana, at €119.90, has 790 pieces for 69 cm built: 51 cm of blade, 18 cm of handle. The blade goes from red to orange with a flame pattern along the edge, glow-in-the-dark pieces are added to the build, and the white and light blue scabbard is built separately. Its stand lets you set the whole thing flat or at an angle. For fans of the Hashira who held out all night on the Mugen Train, it is the most emotionally charged model in the range, and it belongs in the complete Kyojuro Rengoku collection.

Tomioka’s katana, at €119.90, reaches exactly one metre with its 695 pieces: 75 cm of light blue blade, built with a wave effect, and 25 cm of blue handle. Sanemi’s, at €129.90, has 710 pieces for 99 cm: a green blade with a lighter edge, a four-pointed flower guard, a dark green scabbard with white patterns. On the last night, the two Hashira cross their swords, and both blades turn red together: side by side on a shelf, they recall that moment. Their ranges are the complete Giyu Tomioka collection and the complete Sanemi Shinazugawa collection.

Muichiro’s katana, at €119.90, is the longest of all: 101 cm once assembled, in white and very light blue, with a gold guard and a black scabbard. An excess that suits the youngest of the Hashira, who became a Hashira only two months after holding a sword for the first time. It is filed in the complete Muichiro Tokito collection.

The grey-blade katana, at €129.90, carries no character’s name, and that is precisely its appeal. Its 759 pieces build to a metre: 75 cm of grey, almost silver blade, with a light edge marked along its whole length, 25 cm of handle, a black toothed-wheel guard and a dark grey scabbard with a light tip. It evokes raw steel fresh from the forge, before the blade takes on its bearer’s colour. Our 759-piece LEGO katana comes with a 19 by 10 cm stand.

Gyomei and Uzui, two extraordinary weapons

Two Hashira do not fight with a katana, and the range has thought of them. They are the two most impressive pieces to build, and the most surprising once displayed.

Gyomei’s axe and flail, at €89.90, build in three parts and 779 pieces: an axe 27 cm by 12 wide, a 16.6 cm spiked ball, and the 66 cm chain that links them. The flat of the axe carries printed characters. Gyomei, who is blind, throws and recalls these two weights by the sound of their chain: laid out on its stand, the weapon alone tells the story of the strongest of the Hashira. The giant with the prayer beads has his complete Gyomei Himejima collection.

Uzui’s twin blades, at €139.90, are the biggest model in the range: 1,478 pieces, two curved blades 105 cm long and 12 cm high, black and gold, linked by a gold chain. Mounted head to tail on their stand, they take up more than two metres. The former shinobi throws and recalls them at the end of their chain, in a din of explosions. You need a large wall, or a long shelf, but the effect is guaranteed. Everything to do with him is in the complete Tengen Uzui collection.

Yoriichi and Kokushibo, the two brothers

The two Tsugikuni brothers each have their blade, and they work better together than apart. Yoriichi, the Sun swordsman, and Kokushibo, who became Upper Moon One out of jealousy, are bound by a rivalry that runs through their whole lives, four centuries before Tanjiro’s story.

Yoriichi’s katana, at €89.90, has 606 pieces for 99 cm: an entirely red blade, a matt red, a rectangular gold guard and a dark handle, with a 73 cm black scabbard with a gold tip and glow-in-the-dark pieces. The red blade is the one that turned red by itself in his hand, that of the only man Muzan ever feared. Our LEGO Yoriichi katana with red blade is filed in the complete Yoriichi Tsugikuni collection.

Kokushibo’s katana, at €99.90, builds to a metre: 74 cm of dark blade, scattered with round red and yellow patterns that evoke open eyes, like the demon’s blade of flesh. Its guard is purple and pink, its scabbard purple with green bands, and its stand measures 19 cm wide, 10 high and 8 deep. Our LEGO Kokushibo katana joins the complete Kokushibo collection.

Set side by side, the red of one and the eyes of the other tell their whole story. Our article on the Tsugikuni brothers and their rift tells it in detail, and our page on Muzan and the Twelve Kizuki presents the camp Kokushibo joined.

Building: what you need to know

All the models in the range build without glue or tools, following illustrated step-by-step instructions for the small formats, and diagrams for the large ones. The pieces are tiny: plan a clear table, good light, and a tray or bowls to sort the colours before you start.

Building time depends mainly on the number of pieces: a model with more than 1,000 pieces takes many more evenings than a small 57 cm katana. Do not rush: the pleasure is in the stages, and a misaligned row shows once the blade is finished. In the Swordsmith Village, Tanjiro trains for whole days against a puppet inherited from Kotetsu’s ancestors, Yoriichi Type Zero, and learns patience by starting over again and again: a LEGO katana asks less effort, but the same care.

Rengoku’s, Yoriichi’s and Sanemi’s katanas include glow-in-the-dark pieces: keep them aside when sorting, so as not to mix them up with the others. The 64 cm midnight blue katana provides spare pieces, handy if one disappears.

Because of the size of the pieces, keep the bags out of reach of toddlers while building. For an older child, building together with a parent turns the box into a real shared activity. Our article on Yoriichi Type Zero, the village puppet tells Kotetsu’s story.

Displaying your LEGO katana

Once built, a LEGO katana deserves better than a corner of the desk. The character models come with their display stand: 19 cm wide by 6 deep for Rengoku and Tomioka, 19 cm by 10 high for the grey-blade katana, 19 cm by 10 and 8 deep for Kokushibo. Set on its own, Tomioka’s katana needs 14 cm of height.

For the 57 and 60 cm katanas, the two-tier stand, at €24.90, is also built in LEGO, in brown imitating wood. Its two V-shaped cradles hold a blade flat, and its four light-coloured spikes recall the uprights of a weapon rack. It shows off a 57 or 60 cm katana on a desk or a shelf.

Measure your shelf before ordering a large model. A one-metre katana overhangs a standard shelf, and Uzui’s blades need more than two metres. A long piece of furniture, a window sill or a wall above a desk make good spots. Avoid full sun, which dulls the colours in the long run. Our guide to decorating a Demon Slayer bedroom gives other ideas for showing off the collection.

Who for, and for what occasion?

The small katanas at €39.90 are an easy gift for a teenager who loves the series, or for an adult who likes models. The Hashira katanas, between €89.90 and €129.90, make fine birthday or Christmas presents for a fan who already has everything else. Uzui’s blades, at €139.90, are the centrepiece of a collection.

If the person has a favourite Hashira, give them their blade: Tomioka, Sanemi, Rengoku, Muichiro, Gyomei or Uzui. If they prefer the story of the Tsugikuni brothers, give Yoriichi or Kokushibo. And if you do not know, a 57 cm katana in the colours of a breathing style never goes wrong. Add the two-tier stand, and the gift is complete for under €35. Our page on the Demon Slayer Hashira helps you find each one’s blade.

For a cosplay, a LEGO katana looks great in a photo, at the belt or held in front of you. For a whole evening or a convention, prefer a bamboo replica or an LED katana, which are sturdier: a katana at the belt completes any cosplay, but it has to last the whole day. Our Demon Slayer gift guide by budget and the collection of all katanas help you complete the look.

Budget and delivery

The range opens at €24.90 with the stand, and at €39.90 with the small katanas. Count €39.90 for a katana with scabbard, from €89.90 to €129.90 for a character katana, and €139.90 for Uzui’s blades. A small katana and its stand stay under €35.

Allow 5 to 12 days for delivery depending on location. Delivery is free in France, with no minimum purchase, and every parcel is tracked: for a gift, order a little in advance.

The LEGO range is part of the Demon Slayer hobbies collection, and our Demon Slayer merchandise guide presents every range in the shop.