Note: This review contains spoilers for Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.
Although the original Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba manga had ended in 2020, the anime adaptation by Ufotable is still going strong, so much so that their interpretation of the Infinity Castle arc was announced as a film trilogy. The first part, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle (Full title: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle – Part 1: Akaza Returns) (Infinity Castle) released this year to strong critical reviews and an equally explosive box office, breaking several records and surpassing 2020’s Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train (Mugen Train) as the highest-grossing Japanese film worldwide. Rather impressive, to say the least, which is how I watched the English dub alongside those who had only seen Mugen Train and Episode 63 of the anime, contrasting with my own experience as an anime-only viewer who had kept up with the series from the beginning. Although I did feel that Infinity Castle lived up to the hype, I couldn’t help feeling that the film format had, ironically, created a major issue that Mugen Train did so well at avoiding.
