The latest chapter of the ultra-violent cartoon phenomenon features three high-stakes clashes between Demon Slayers and their superior adversaries.
Don't underestimate the hit Japanese franchise "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba," in which a small group of trained fighters arrive at the beginning of a multi-year, three-movie "final battle." But don't confuse it with "KPop Demon Hunters," the unique animated series that became a smash hit on Netflix this summer, but is something entirely different—so different that fans of both might bristle at the comparison, which begins and ends with the word "demon."
Directors: Haruo Sotozaki, Hikaru Kondô
Writers: Koyoharu Gotouge, Hikaru Kondô
Stars: Zach Aguilar, Johnny Yong Bosch, Griffin Burns
A long-running manga series that became a popular anime series and subsequently developed a fanbase passionate enough to support several blockbuster films, "Demon Slayer" is something of a religion whose characters and rules must be known to appreciate it in any form. The first two films were glorified promotional events meant to launch each new season of the series (big-screen premieres that combined the last episode of one story arc with the first of the next). Then came "Mugen Train," which broke all records in the medium, surpassing "Spirited Away" as the highest-grossing film in Japan and the most successful anime feature film worldwide.
Now comes "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle," which offers two and a half hours of battles and backstory, set in an elaborate, ever-expanding fortress: Infinity Castle, a supernatural realm designed to house the franchise's "big bad," Muzan Kibutsuji. The demon king Muzan barely appears in the new film (he's recovering for a future showdown), while his most powerful soldiers, the so-called High Rankers, face off against the Demon Slayers, who are shown running across endless bridges or launching themselves at skyscrapers of constantly moving wooden structures.
Before "Infinity Castle," it had been over a century since a Demon Slayer had managed to kill a higher-ranking member, making it a significant event that the audience finally gets to witness it (we're warned from the start that decapitating such a powerful demon might not be enough to kill it). The film opens with series protagonist Tanjiro in free fall, while Muzan has pulled the Demon Slayer Corps into the eponymous parallel dimension, which looks like a cross between an M.C. Escher illusion and the surreal pocket universe Lex Luthor created in this summer's "Superman."
The architect of Infinity Castle is Nakime, also known as the Upper Four, whose Demon Blood Art involves creating such spaces, which she can rearrange with each strum of her biwa (the sound that signals structures to spontaneously move around our characters). Visually, “Infinity Castle” is a significant improvement over “Mugen Train,” as the new film’s setting, with its right angles and rotating horizons, lends itself to the digital scenery, highlighting the colorful hand-drawn characters.
Animation studio Ufotable took pains to match the aesthetic of the original manga, something that matters to fans, as everything this film dramatizes has been practically predetermined in pulp fiction: the manga ended in 2020, and the rigorously faithful films are practically catching up. This means fans know where the story is headed and tune in to see their heroes in action, as the most obvious benefit of reliving these stories in animated form is the combat, and also the voice acting, which gives the characters additional personality (American audiences can choose between hearing the original Japanese cast or an English dub).
Unlike the relatively cartoonish “KPop Demon Hunters,” this franchise is ultra-violent and very bloody. It’s literally one battle after another, where characters who have spent the last few years training in various breathing styles (water, fire, thunder, etc.) put their most spectacular moves to the test. There’s a clearly defined ritual to the unfolding of these clashes, with each side taking turns attacking in the hopes of inflicting fatal damage. Unlike a beginner’s anime like “Pokémon,” where the goal is to knock out the opponent’s fighter, these conflicts are almost always fatal. And the good guys die all the time.
“Infinity Castle” contains three main confrontations. The first pits the young poison expert Shinobu against the fan-wielding Doma (Upper Rank Two). The delicate-looking hunter—whose purple eyes lack.
After spending much of "Mugen Train" in a trance (that film's conceit forced the various Demon Slayers to confront their deepest desires), Tanjiro dominates the final stretch as he and his Water-Breathing ally, Giyu, face off against the powerful, blue-skinned Akaza, whose glowing copper eyes reveal his Upper Rank Three status. "Infinity Castle" devotes nearly half an hour to Akaza's backstory, explaining how he obtained those marks: they're not tribal tattoos, but a common punishment for criminals in the Edo period. Akaza has a complex past, and while discovering what turned him into such a rampaging demon is a departure from what fighting fans expect to see, it gives the film an even more emotional dimension.
For the uninitiated, "Demon Slayer" can be challenging. All that carnage can be exhausting, and it's not immediately clear who newcomers should root for, beyond the obvious divide between good and evil. The film's humor isn't necessarily transferable, and the animation style doesn't come close to the most artistic work in the medium. Beyond the sheer inventiveness of the invented martial arts, there are tragic elements, which can be disarmingly effective in drawing the audience into the battles, battles that are just beginning.
"Infinity Castle" isn't a traditional narrative with a beginning, middle, and end. It's all middle ground, built on over 20 hours of existing mythology, with a long way to go. Without giving anyone's fate away, suffice it to say that the film ends on a cliffhanger, as a favorite character hovers between life and death. "Don't die!" cries a crow, one of the few creatures capable of understanding the ever-changing architecture of Infinity Castle... unless you count manga fans, who already know where this all leads.
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