Demon Slayer is a name well-known by the modern anime community. It unexpectedly emerged and climbed the charts to become a favorite anime for many people. This was only possible due to a few things, including the superb animation and consistent storytelling in which characters have actual growth. After the massive success of the first season, instead of going directly to the second season and continuing the story, Ufotable decided to make the following Mugen Train arc into a movie. This was the right call, as fans loved it, and it topped the rankings. This article has a recap of the movie’s events and a review at the end.
Season 1 recap
Let me jog your memory for anyone who might have forgotten. Demon Slayer is set in a world in Japan at a time when the industrial revolution was in full swing. But all is not as it seems, as demons are real and exist in secret, killing unsuspecting humans. That is when our protagonist Tanjiro comes into the scene as he lives a humble life with his family on the mountain. We quickly discover that he cares for his family a lot, and his sense of smell is unreal.
One day he leaves his home to sell coal in the town down the mountain, but upon coming back, he finds out that his family has been murdered and eaten by a demon. This nearly breaks him, but he discovers that his sister Nezuko is alive but has turned into a demon. Not long after, Giyu arrives and tries to kill Nezuko, but Tanjiro protects her. After showing him, his resolve Giyu tells Tanjiro to go to his master for guidance.
Here he discovers the secret of the demon slayer corps and trains to one day be able to restore his sister to human. After becoming a demon slayer, he sets out and meets Zenitsu and Inosuke with them; he travels and defeats demons. At the finale of the first season, he meets the pillars of the slayer corps, which Giyu is a part of. After showing them Nezuko is not a threat, he trains to better himself and his breathing style to defeat demons. They soon head out again as orders come to assemble at the Mugen train.
Mugen Train Arc
As the trio arrives, they soon witness the train for the first time in the case of Tanjiro and Inosuke. As they are walking around, Zenitsu forces them to hide their swords as it is banned by law to carry them. This shows us that the Demon Slayer Corps is not affiliated with the government. As they get on the train, they meet the Flame Pillar Rengoku. His eccentric and honest attitude strikes the group as over the top. He also does not hold harsh feelings toward Nezuko. When Tanjiro asks about the Dance of the Sun god, he replies that he has never heard of such a style.
He cuts their conversation short and tells them that there have been reports of people missing on this train, so they must stay vigilant. But as soon as he says that, everyone in the sleep falls into a deep sleep. We see the visage of the Lower Moon One Enmu standing on the train laughing before merging with the said train. As everyone sleeps, we see they are witnessing a dream with all their hopes and desires coming true. Inosuke and Zenitsu’s dreams are simple Inosuke is running around beating up demons with the rest of the cast as his minions.
At the same time, Zenitsu is seen spending time having fun with Nezuko. Tanjiro and Rengoku have far more intense dreams as Tanjiro is back at home with his family, safe and sound. He meets with his mother and siblings and sees that Nezuko is safe and sound. Rengoku is shown his past as he trains with his father before his mother passes away and how his mother imparted the lesson of permanently protecting the weak, which is why he was given his powers. As our party dreams, a group of humans leads by fake promises invade their dreams to kill their subconscious. We see that Tanjiro has a peaceful inner self, making the attacker lose her will. In contrast, Rengoku’s inner self is a raging inferno of justice. But before anything can happen, Nezuko wakes her brother up and alerts the whole group.
After which, they all team up to beat the lower moon one by breaking open the trains inside and severing his spine and head. After the ordeal, the group relaxes as they have stopped the demon responsible for the attacks. All seems well until Rengoku and Tanjiro sense another demon coming, which turns out to be Upper Moon Three Akaza, one of the strongest demons in the series.
Rengoku stops the group from fighting and faces Akaza alone. Soon it is made clear that Rengoku is outmatched but continues to fight to protect the innocent. Using every form of fire breathing. But he is defeated by having Akaza impale his heart. Even after that, he tries to stall Akaza for the sun to rise, but Akaza cuts his arm off to escape. This leaves the group broken as Rengoku, in his final moments, passes on his wisdom to the trio. With this, the movie comes to an end on a bittersweet note.
Final Thoughts
Ufotable has outdone itself regarding animation and storytelling. With every scene, you can see the crisp and smooth animation. The fights are exceptionally well d, as whenever any of the breathing styles were used; you see all the intricate patterns that define them. Rengoku and Akaza’s fight was the movie’s highlight as we got to see not only all of the fire-breathing forms in action but also one of the very few blood demon arts of the upper moons. Rengoku’s final scene also carried much weight as we could see the cast emotionally break from his death.
The movie did an excellent job of expanding the world of demon slayer, and all of the narrative beats were translated word for word from the manga; some were also given extra time to shine. The movie also shows that shonen arcs can easily be translated into film. With the profit it has generated, we can expect other studios to follow suit. It is a must-watch for any fan of shonen or manga, as it does justice to the source material. Many of the other franchises can learn a thing or two from it.
