Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle

Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle
Starring Natsuki Hanae, Akari Kito, Hiro Shimono, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka
Directed by Haruo Sotozaki

When I was in college my roommate made me watch the entirety (at that time) of the "Dragonball" series, and while I appreciated the art style, I was annoyed in the fact that it took like twenty episodes for one fight to finish, because it would keep going from the fighting to some backstories that developed the characters more, but how it was structured felt disjointed to me. I haven't watched anime since, and many friends love anime, especially "Demon Slayer," so I accompanied one of my friends to see it, and I was blown away. Not knowing anything about "Demon Slayer" I was worried I wouldn't be able to keep up, but it was done in a way where even if you never saw an episode, you knew the basics of what was happening.

The evil Muzan Kibutuji returns to his dimensional stronghold, the Infinity Castle, and traps the Demon Slayer Corps inside, where they must battle hordes of Lower-Rank level demons as they search for Muzan in hopes of killing him once and for all.

Watching "Demon Slayer" on the big screen was a visual spectacle, animation that exploded out of the screen with the most dazzling, awe-inspiring sights I've beheld in an animated movie since "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse." The fighting sequences were intense, vivid, and visceral, and the characters were deeply developed, as even the demons had their own stories to tell that made them more than just unnamed villains. The movie was more of a dance between good and evil, with deadly stakes on the line, but done so in such a beautiful way that really needs to be seen on the big screen.

It's no surprise "Demon Slayer" was such a successful movie, as the series itself has millions of fans worldwide. The movie broke records worldwide, becoming Japan's highest grossing opening day movie ever, and after three days of release there it became the biggest opening weekend in all of Japanese cinema. In America, the movie grossed $70 million on opening weekend, setting the record for the biggest opening weekend for an international film in the U.S. as well as the biggest opening for any R-rated animated film. Currently, the movie has earned nearly half a billion dollars worldwide, and it's no surprise why. My buddy is a huge "Demon Slayer" fan and he loved it, and I never saw an episode nor ever read the manga, and I loved it as well.

The concept of the shonen genre centers on different themes including action, friendship, coming-of-age, overcoming challenges and rivals and mentors, and "Infinity Castle" incorporates all those themes and more. The action, as mentioned earlier, is intense and lively, and honestly for me it's the movie's main highlight.

The concept of friendship also rings true, as the Demon Slayer Corps are separated into different groups (or individuals) who must come together to battle the demons. Seeing them work together to battle obstacles is inspiring and shows the true depth of friendship they hold for one another. It's also coming-of-age, as we see their backstories that got them to where they are,a long with the challenges and mentors they met along the way.

For me, the only downside was the story structure, but that's normal for anime shows and movies. Much like with "Dragonball," "Demon Slayer" splits the action into backstories in the middle, where I would've preferred it to be before the battle. It splits it up in a way that it feels like you're in an epic race with the world flashing by you before you come to a dead stop for awhile before taking off again. That pacing normally would've sent me into an annoyed tailspin, but the visuals and the character depth was so intense I really didn't mind - I knew I was seeing something spectacular, and the movie made me a "Demon Slayer" fan.

The Score: A+