When a friend told me that his cousins back home, a small town in Telangana, are hardcore Demon Slayer fans, I wasn’t surprised, not in the slightest. Over the years, the anime has climbed its way up to become the most popular manga adaptation out there. After the smash-hit Mugen Train, which was the highest-grossing film in Japan, the latest theatrical release, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, is finally out. And it’s well on the way to outdo its predecessor. Directed by series regular Haruo Sotozaki alongside animation director Akira Matsushima, the latest instalment is the beginning of the end, opening the hotly anticipated Infinity Castle trilogy. Starting where Season 4 left off, Tanjiro and co. are thrown into the deep end as they enter Muzan Kibutsuji’s stronghold. And it’s one thrilling battle after another with ever-increasing risks.
Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle treats fans to the best anime fight sequences yet
Like the Demon Slayer Corps, you get no time to settle in. Infinity Castle opens with a horde of demons as Tanjiro’s blade tears through them. What follows is essentially a barrage of lavishly choreographed action sequences. The gang must contend with several upper-rank demons as they make their way to the final boss, Muzan. With breakneck speed, we go from Shinobu’s devastating face-off with Doma to Zenitsu’s clash with Kaigaku, leading up to the biggest highlight – Tanjiro’s much-needed rematch with Akaza. It’s execution galore, and that’s just the first half of the film’s sprawling 2 hours and 35 minutes duration. The pacing makes sense, too, given that the makers don’t need to draw in new audiences. The story is a culmination of several ongoing threads after all. That being said, like most anime, the setup does involve a fair share of refresher flashbacks to ensure viewers are all caught up.
Infinity Castle takes everything that works for Demon Slayer and mashes it up into a gnarly (appreciative) ball of dazzling visuals and whistle-worthy combat scenes. The castle lends itself to the grand spectacle. As the battlefield is constantly changing to back Tanjiro and his peers into corners, there’s a constant air of suspense owing to the unpredictable setting. You want to watch it all play out on the big screen. Take it from someone who missed Mugen Train in theatres and has regretted it ever since. Ufotable, the studio behind Demon Slayer, has decidedly gone all out. If the possibilities with the source material are endless, they’ve tried tapping into as many as they could humanly manage with this film. Too much fan-service? Never heard of her.
Warning: The Infinity Castle arc is emotional (and bloodier) than usual
The other thing this franchise is known for, apart from top-notch action, is the heart. Across four seasons, we see just how extra the characters are with emotions. Inosuke’s loud feelings about practically everything around him, Zenitsu’s whiny yet strong nature and Tanjiro’s compassion are cornerstones of what makes Demon Slayer resonate with audiences. Infinity Castle wears the same heart on its sleeve. In addition, each fight is loaded and layered with genuine fear as it becomes instantly clear that chances of survival are slim. Go in prepared for a tense watch through and through. And a gory one at that, given how many blood strokes there are in each frame. But there’s beauty in the way emotions flow amidst an otherwise crowded narrative. It’s what fleshes out the stakes. While we’re on the subject of the anime’s beating heart, I personally would’ve liked to see more of Nezuko in the film. Despite the visual extravaganza, I couldn’t help but feel like something major was missing.
If Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle has any faults, they might lie in the pacing. While we pretty much sign up for a rollercoaster going into the film, the screenplay suffers from jamming an episodic structure into a feature format. It gets busy, to put it mildly. Perhaps, one can chalk it down to just how much heavy lifting the film does as the first of a trilogy that has so much riding on it and excuse the makers for the chaos. That’s no easy feat. All-in-all, Infinity Castle remains a relentlessly crowd-pleasing treat to whet our appetites for the feast that’s about to follow.
Hero and featured image courtesy: Crunchyroll
This story first appeared here.