On April 23, Demon Slayer: Mugen Train officially debuted in theatres across the country. According to Polygon, the highly anticipated anime movie already raked in $21 million during its first weekend in theatres, making it the highest-grossing foreign film debut in the US.
Mugen Train is a movie continuation of the first season of the anime series Demon Slayer, which originally debuted with twenty-six episodes in April 2019. While the movie follows directly after the show, it is not totally necessary to watch season one to understand the plot. If you want to catch up on the events that take place before the movie, Funimation created a three-episode recap for the first season.
The series follows Tanjiro Kamado who becomes a demon slayer after his family is slaughtered and his younger sister, Nezuko, is turned into a demon. In the search for a cure for Nezuko’s curse, Tanjiro and Nezuko get involved in the Demon Slayer Corps and with new comrades, Inosuke and Zenitsu, who help him with his journey. They fight demons and strive to create a world free of demons and the atrocities they commit.
Mugen Train picks up with Tanjiro, Nezuko, Zenitsu, and Inosuke on a mission from the Demon Slayer Corps. Their mission is to board a train and join Flame Hashira Rengoku to kill a demon who has been terrorizing both civilians and demon slayers alike.
This movie keeps viewers entranced from beginning to end. With fast-paced action and heart-wrenching pain, it is impossible to become bored with the plot.
The animated scenes are absolutely gorgeous with crisp frames that make it difficult to find even a small mistake. The last thirty minutes consists of breathtaking scene after breathtaking scene that impresses even the most experienced artists.
The characters are extremely lovable and all have very unique personalities. People can commend the bravery in Tanjiro’s decisions and laugh along with the antics that Inosuke and Zenitsu bring to the screen. Many audience members even created a connection with Rengoku even though he is only shown for twenty minutes in the show before the movie’s release. That shows just how well the characters are written.
For many people, this movie could open their eyes on the complexities of anime. Many people discredit anime as childish and silly because of its animated fashion. Anime does not conform to many standards set in American media and that causes people to label it as weird, but the plots from anime can be just as complex and entertaining as American media.
Demon Slayer: Mugen Train will be showing at the Cinemark Raleigh Grande until Thursday, May 6 in both the original Japanese and an English translation. The movie will also be debuting on a variety of digital platforms on June 22.
Hi! My name is Cassidy and I am a staff writer for The Mycenaean. I am also a member of Book Club and Tech Theatre.