Originally published at: https://geektherapy.org/my-first-look-at-demon-slayer-infinity-castle/
Author: Tania Escobar
This September, the new arc of Demon Slayer is finally going to drop in the U.S., and if you’re a huge Demon Slayer fan like I am, the anticipation has been killing me for the past year. Before you read on, there may be a few spoilers, SO unless you’ve read the manga, I don’t recommend going on. I was lucky enough to be able to see it in Japanese with English subtitles, and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience.
The new movie, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, takes place where the last movie left off, inside Muzan’s Infinity Castle, with all the Hashira and demon slayers free-falling into the abyss of Muzan’s lair. This ending to the last movie (or season if you’re a serial watcher like me on Netflix) left me with my mouth dropped! And I was so scared for all of our heroes, but I was just as excited to finally see this incredible battle between the Hashira and Muzan. It ended with so much energy and so much happening that it had me looking forward to the next chapter.
I was so excited to finally see this battle, BUT I should have known better going into this film that we were not going to see that battle take place, and that we would be left on a major cliffhanger. I was a little disappointed ONLY because Muzan Kibutsuji is probably one of my favorite characters in this series, and we only get to see him a couple of times in some flashbacks. Once the film started rolling, I had forgotten about some very important vital demons from the Twelve Kizuki, that hold very important roles regarding Muzan’s bidding and Tanjiro’s mission; Upper 1 Kokushibo, the strongest of the twelve, Upper 2 Doma, a demon Shinobu has beef with, and Upper 3 Akaza, the demon responsible for the death of Rengoku, who pulled on almost everyone’s heartstrings.
Knowing the pattern of how the series has gone, we face (or Tanjiro faces) the Twelve Kizuki in descending order. And the few people I know who have fully read the manga knew that this was going to be an Akaza movie. Rengoku fans who haven’t read the manga are going to be happy, as well as Akaza fans. But what makes Demon Slayer one of the best anime and manga of the current times is that even though these characters have done some unimaginable things to piss the viewer off, we always get to see what drove them to become demons, and their tales are some of the most human things to see.
This movie left me shocked, outraged, tearing up, and absolutely excited for the rest of the battle yet to come. All of our Hashira were last seen arriving together at the Ubuyashiki Mansion, but now some have been separated to face one last battle on their own, or partnered up with another Hashira to run into the last Upper Ranks of the Twelve Kizuki. I wasn’t ready for some of the things that happened to our Hashira in this film. I do recommend some tissues, and going into a full theater just so you have an excuse to cheer when the best parts of the fights come around. When I tell you, I WAS FIGHTING FOR MY LIFE not to cheer in the Crunchyroll theater that had professionals in it, when I finally saw Inosuke roll in for a fight, only to learn the movie had come to an end.
I left the screening punching the air and screaming in my car with so many emotions; fearing for Ms. Kanao’s life, upset I didn’t get to see Inosuke in action, scared that Ms. Tamayo is in desperate need of help, hoping Muzan is losing his strength, praying the rest of the Hashira find each other and get to Muzan in time, and curious to see if Nezuko is going to square up with Muzan and IF she even finds the Infinity Castle. All of this was enough to get me to pick up the manga and crack it open to find out what might happen next.
The Infinity Castle has been confirmed to be a trilogy, and I’m still battling whether I want to know what happens next or wait for the next two films and binge this series again for the millionth time until then. I will most definitely be getting a midnight screening ticket for the English dubbed version, just because every character’s voice in this entire series is so unique, and each character holds so much meaning up to this point in the series. Even though I’ve already seen this film once, I know I’m going to be kicking and screaming in the theater as though I never saw it.
Get ready to feel everything when watching Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle hits theaters nationwide September 12. Will you wait it out or crack open the manga early? Either way, bring tissues…and maybe a sword.