The “Demon Slayer” manga, written by Koyoharu Gotouge, concluded May 18, 2020, and the anime adaptation began on April 16, 2019.
As a note of disclosure, I will not be getting into a ton of explanation about the characters and backstory in this review, as it would be a summation of 63 episodes of the show and 205 chapters of the manga. Much like the film, this review isn’t for those who aren’t caught up. Another disclaimer: I have only watched the series, so any potential critiques I have could be remedied in the next chunk of the story. It does little to ground you or explain who these characters are if you’re not in the know. I note this not as a critique, but as a matter of fact for any people who may watch this film without prior knowledge.
“Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle” is the first film in a trilogy meant to cap off the final arc of the series, rather than taking the traditional episodic route. On the whole, “Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle” delivers a remarkably well-acted and animated spectacle that will undoubtedly please all fans of the franchise. If you already love “Demon Slayer,” then there is no reason not to see this film on the biggest screen-possible. Ufotable maintains their high standard of fluid, jaw-dropping animation throughout the entire film.
Back of the DVD Summary:
After the failed attempt on Muzan’s life by Kagaya Ubuyashiki, otherwise known as the Master of the demon slayer corps. Following the attempt, Hashira, fellow members of the corp, and the main trio of Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inoskue are dropped into the Infinity Castle. Muzan has trapped them all in the castle in hopes of killing the only opposition to his plans of conquering the sun-light. Divided and surrounded on all sides by the most powerful demons, Tanjiro and the others must fight to survive the long night trapped in the Infinity Castle as the final confrontation of the series unfolds.
In a thumbs up, thumbs down world, I would give “Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle” two thumbs up – I had a fantastic time at the theaters. That said, I have a few critiques to get into before getting into what’s working.
“Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle” had poor pacing as a film. The way the events unfolded, it felt like seven episodes stitched together, rather than a cohesive film with a beginning, middle and end. I think the pacing made for a disjointed viewing experience. Had I watched these big moments in chunks, episodically, then I think I would have enjoyed my time even more than I did.
As such, the final act of the film was jarring in terms of how the action, characters and structure interacted with each other. When it felt like a scene was bringing us to a close, the narrative would suddenly spring back up without a clear resolution to the moment. The result: rather than sitting at the end of a moment, we’d restart again, which lends to the feeling of the movie being styled like individual episodes squished together. There was either no time to breathe or too much, unfortunately.
Without spoilers, the last/most major fight of the film ends fairly definitely, there is catharsis brought to Tanjiro’s last ditch effort, only for the momentum to come to a screeching halt for a lengthy flash-back sequence. The flashback itself is without question a highlight of the film, and offers a new level of depth to one of the more contentious demons, AKAZA, and yet, I feel it stifles the film. The story itself was engaging, but I was taken out of the viewing experience.
Then, once the flashback is over, it’s a sprint right past the credits, literally, and the film is suddenly over quite abruptly. There are, however, a few clues pointing toward the next big fights and who they’ll involve. I am concerned that if this pace persists in the next two films, it runs the risk of making the whole finale feel like a collection of events rather than a cohesive narrative, but only time will tell.
Onto what’s working.
Tanjiro continues his reign as a compelling and well-developed character. Whether locked in a life or death battle or being a little goofy, Tanjiro remains a delightful main character who never fails to engage me; I don’t understand how people can dislike him.
The main setting of the film, the Infinity Castle, is an impressive domain for the final battle of the series to unfold. While we’ve seen glimpses of the sprawling space, never before have we seen it in such an active way. The castle itself is as much a threat to the cast as the prowling demons who lurk in every nook and cranny. The chaos of the situation really came across in the overwhelming immensity of the castle as well. With each floor and corridor tangling and wrapping back in on itself.
Early on in the film, one of the members of the Hashira dies in quite a gruesome fashion, which caught me off guard. Given this is part one of three for the finale, I suspected not everyone was going to make it out alive, but still, this death was a very early one. It effectively set the tone for how high the stakes are, and that no one would be safe. I only wish the demon, Doma, who did kill the Hashira, had been more interesting or memorable. Doma felt particularly underwhelming as a presence, too, considering the audience’s built-in hatred of Akaza and the very looming threat of Kokushibo, the second most powerful demon behind Muzan.
While a bit undercooked in the grand scheme of the story, Zenitsu vs. “Brother” Kaigaku was a visually stunning fight that tried to accomplish a lot of storytelling, but fell a little short honestly. On the one hand, seeing Zenitsu so different and focused compared to his normally silly self sold the drama of the confrontation, yet, I also felt I could’ve used Kaigaku’s presence more in the story for the whole conflict to really soar for me. That said, visually, it had such rich color and tense choreography, I couldn’t help but to be entertained.
By far and away the highlight of the film: Tanjiro and Giyu vs.Akaza offers one of the most stylized, visceral fights of the entire series so far. Really, the only fight which rivals it is: Tengen vs Gyutaro.
After much build-up, it’s immensely satisfying to these titans, these powerhouses of their respective sides going head to head in one of the more consequential fights of the film. Tanjiro’s voice actor, Natsuki Hanae, always delivers, but there is one scream he lets out in the fight against Akaza which is remarkable, and one of the most memorable parts of the film for me.
A surprising part of the film I had enjoyed thoroughly was The Master’s daughter’s attempt using the crows to map out the always shifting and moving castle. Every time there was a cut back to them trying to map out/find Muzan it served as an excellent throughline which helped alleviate some of the pacing issues by having a constant reference point for where everyone was and what they were doing.
Really, regardless of my issues with the pace and presentation of the story, I would be lying if I said I didn’t love my time at the theaters with it. Seeing Ufotable’s incredible work on the big screen is an experience in and of itself; their animation team never fails to deliver a breath-taking experience.
