Mike’s Rating: Demon Blood Art–Final Form! Mutant Reviewing!

Mike’s Review: Let’s start with the disclaimer: This is *not* K-Pop Demon Hunters. That’s the other record-breaking, Asian, demon-themed, animated mega-hit. As Dr. Doofenshmirtz might say, if I had a nickel for every time that happened, I’d have two nickels, but it’s weird that it happened twice. This one has less pop songs & more decapitations.

It might be hard for the uninitiated to properly grasp the near religious fervor this anime series has inspired in fans. Suffice it to say that this movie is poised to take the spot for biggest worldwide box-office in history for an animated film, so yeah this one is kind of a big deal. It also marks the beginning of the end of the series, as the unprecedented final season has the unique distinction of being released in a trilogy of movies over the next few years.

Without voyaging into the dark realms of spoiler territory, here’s the skinny: For thousands of years there have been Demons, and The Demon Slayer Corps exist to kill them. DS:KnY is ostensibly the story of Tanjiro Kamada & his quest to join the Demon Slayers, kill the Demon leader, Muzan, & cure his sister who has been turned into a Demon after his family was killed. The main problem is that no one has managed to kill any of the higher caste demons (known as Upper Level) in a hundred years…until Tanjiro pulls it off, setting in motion a series of events that has led to all of the Corps being transported into the realm of the Demons themselves, the “Infinity Castle”, in which either the Demons or the Slayers will emerge victorious.

The titular castle in question is a breathtaking feat of animation. An ever-shifting, seemingly endless, escher-esque collection of wooden bridges, rooms and towers, The Castle is very much a living and breathing character in this film. Some of the CGI rendering is very near photorealistic, but also blends seamlessly with the hand drawn animation, making for a really immersive experience. I didn’t see it in Imax, but I highly recommend it. Demon Slayer has always been known for pushing the boundaries of animation. It’s not for nothing that the previous feature film from this series, Demon Slayer: Mugen Train shattered the box office records previously held by Studio Ghibli epic Spirited Away. This is some of the most gorgeous animation you’ll ever see, a good chunk of it hand drawn, which in every genre but Anime is kind of a lost art. Ufotable’s seamless blend of 3d and 2d elements is on par with anything Sony Animation, Studio Ghibli, Disney or Pixar are doing, & I’m excited to see what they do after Demon Slayer.

If you’re not a fan of the anime or it’s manga source material, the plot’s going to be kind of impenetrable for you. Sorry. This is very much the culmination of the story and the payoff for the fans who have been following it since the beginning, so while a passing familiarity with anime tropes will go a long way, you’ll still need to watch the show to know what’s going on. The animation is so gorgeous, however, that that might not even be a deal breaker. When the fights are this brilliantly realized, who cares why they’re fighting?

It’s not all falling through gorgeous CGI, creepy demon people & spectacular fight sequences, though. The narrative runthrough of the series has always been a psychological exploration of every character, even the demons (who were all once human), so there are long stretches of backstory that, while really well done and do a great job humanizing all the characters, can be a slog in a film with a nearly three-hour runtime. Mileage may vary. Also it should be noted that while there are moments of goofiness & levity, this is *not* a kid’s film. Swords go through necks, demons slice people open, and some of these Upper Level guys are legitimately nightmare-inducing with their weird eyes and penchant for being generally unsettling.

If you’re a fan of the manga or the anime, let’s be real, you’ve already seen this, probably more than once. If you’re a fan of animation in general or anime in particular, this one is worth the ticket just for the way it’s pushing the art of animation forward. If you’re not a fan of the source material or the genre there won’t be much here that will make a believer out of you, but I’m still going to recommend it, if for no other reason than for people to watch the movie and then immediately go home and crank up Netflix to binge a genuinely excellent anime series. I’ll be sad to see it end whenever the next two movies drop, but for right now, I’m excited to experience it.

I feel like I haven’t quite sold Demon Slayer enough here, so I’m just going give you this:

Inosuke wears a Boar’s mask…because he’s too pretty to be intimating. You need more Inosuke. We all need more Inosuke. Go see this movie for more Inosuke.

Intermission!

• Infinity Castle set the record for opening day box office gross in Japan.
• This is the first of a trilogy of movies encompassing the final season of the Anime.
• I’ll never get tired of disembodied Demon’s heads having existential crises as they slowly disintegrate.
• “Akasa…KEEP RENGOKU’S NAME OUT YO @#$%ING MOUTH!!!” -Me in the theater
• I love the talking crows.
• Kimetsu no Yaiba (鬼滅の刃) translates to “Blade of Demon Destruction” or “Demon Killing Blade” in English. (I know you were wondering)
• The English dub features original cast members reprising their roles, with notable additions like Channing Tatum as Keizo.