Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba The Movie: Infinity Castle review

DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA THE MOVIE: INFINITY CASTLE: 

SECOND DEMON SLAYER MOVIE IS AN ACTION-PACKED AND EMOTION-FUELED ROLLERCOASTER! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: **** out of 4

CRUNCHYROLL

Tanjiro and Giyu in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba The Movie: Infinity Castle

 

            The epic final showdown between the Demon Slayer Corps and the wicked, Muzan Kibutsuji begins in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba The Movie: Infinity Castle, the second feature film based on the enormously popular Japanese anime, Demon Slayer. I really like the Demon Slayer anime though I wouldn’t call myself a mega fan like a lot of other people (My name is not Devin and I don’t watch every single anime available on Crunchyroll!).

            Actually, my very first exposure to Demon Slayer was the previous theatrical film released in 2020/2021, Demon Slayer: Mugen Train which did a solid job filling me in on who the Demon Slayers are, how its world works, and what the lore is like. Granted, it didn’t tell/show me everything about it and I recall being lost a few times during my first viewing, but I picked up the Blu-Rays sometime after seeing the movie, binged the series, and now it all made sense to me and I finally understood the impact the franchise had. 

            After various story arcs following the Mugen Train movie with some even premiering in theaters like the Swordsmith Village and Hashira Training Arcs, we finally have the first chapter of the three-part finale movie, Infinity Castle. I never did a full review for Mugen Train when I initially saw it, but now that I am familiar with Demon Slayerand watched the entire thing, I’m going to do it for Infinity Castle and My God! 

            This is a gorgeous film and the animation looks incredible on the big screen, but wow, this movie throws a lot at you to the point where I’m still mentally processing certain details as we speak. It’s a movie that’s clearly made for the fans (Hehe, “For the Fans” and I’m talking about another animated feature about demon hunting!) and there isn’t much here for the uninitiated, but I can see a casual moviegoer being mesmerized by the film’s animation and art style especially when a character does an attack onscreen. 

            The film is set immediately after the events of the Hashira Training Arc and follows Tanjiro (voiced by Zach Aguilar-One-Punch Man, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, The Seven Deadly Sins) and several other members and Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps being plunged into a mysterious realm known as the Infinity Castle by the sinister demon leader, Muzan Kibutsuji (voiced by Greg Chun-Naruto: Shippuden, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Sword Art Online). The Infinity Castle is home to the strongest and most ferocious demons imaginable and thus Tanjiro, his comrades Zenitsu (voiced by Aleks Le-The Misfit of Demon King Academy, DanDanDan, Ne Zha II) and Inosuke (voiced by Bryce Papenbrook-Blue Exorcist, Attack on Titan, Sonic the Hedgehog franchise), his half-demon sister Nezuko (voiced by Abby Trott-Neon Genesis Evangelion, Shaman King, Suzume), and the rest of the Demon Slayer Corps must fight their way through the demons and set the battleground for a glorious final battle. 

            The film also features the voices of Brianna Knickerbocker (Re:Zero, The Promised Neverland, Shaman King) as Kanao, Zeno Robinson (Pokémon Journeys: The Series, My Hero Academia, Digimon Adventure) as Genya, Johnny Young Bosch (Akira, Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, Bleach) as Giyu, Ray Chase (Hunter x Hunter, Final Fantasy XV, Dragon Ball Super) as Tengen, Griffin Burns (Hunter x Hunter, Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, Berserk) as Muichiro Tokito, Erika Harlacher (Sword Art Online, The Seven Deadly Sins, Hunter x Hunter) as Shinobu, Erik Scott Kimerer (The Seven Deadly Sins, One-Punch Man, Sailor Moon: SuperS) as Obanai Iguro, Kaiji Tang (Berserk, Jujutsu Kaisen, The Apothecary Diaries) as Sanemi, Kira Buckland (Blue Exorcist, Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, Sailor Moon) as Mitsuri Kanroji, Crispin Freeman (Slayers, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Naruto) as Gyomei, Stephen Fu (Black Clover, My Hero Academia, Revenger) as Doma, Lucien Dodge (Bleach, Little Witch Academia, Sailor Moon) as Akaza, Alejandro Saab (Fairy Tail Zero, Tokyo Ghoul:re, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations) as Kaigaku, and Channing Tatum (21/22 Jump Street, Magic Mike trilogy, Deadpool & Wolverine) as Keizo. 

            Overall, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle is another visually dazzling, action-packed, and emotion heavy adventure with Tanjiro and the Demon Slayer Corps that fans of the anime will surely love. The movie looks and sounds great; I saw it in IMAX and was blown away just by seeing hand-drawn animation (Albeit with some uses of CGI here and there) on that giant screen which is so rare nowadays. 

            The animation is about the same level of quality as the series (Which is absolutely stunning), but seeing Tanjiro and the other Demon Slayers slicing demons and using their flashy attacks looks incredible on the big screen and leaves you on the edge of your seat every time they do it. On top of that, the sound design also makes the hits extra crunchy and gooey sounding with tons of blood spurting out of the demons, you feel the impacts every time a demon or slayer strikes a hit. 

            The movie constantly jumps around between characters which causes some pacing issues in this 2 and a half hour animated film. However, this leads to one thing I actually enjoyed about this movie over Mugen Train, just about every character is prominent in the story and given moments to shine. 

            You got the usually compassionate, Shinobu going savage on a demon that murdered her older sister, a partnership between Tanjiro and Giyu as they fight Upper Rank Three Akaza, and a legitimately adorable team-up of the bubbly, Mitsuri and the stoic, Obanai. But the one that really surprised me was a genuinely poignant and heartbreaking subplot involving Zenitsu (Who I initially thought was grating and obnoxious when I first started Demon Slayer) confronting his former senior Kaigaku who became the new Upper Rank Six demon and we see the events leading up to their master taking his own life which made me feel sorry for a character I originally hated. 

            Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle is a fantastic start to one Hell of a finale and if you’re a fan of the Demon Slayeranime…then you’re already watching it. Hell, you’ve probably already seen it by the time this review goes up and you bet your ass I’ll be in the theater for the next two chapters when they come out.