Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Movie: Mugen Train 4K 2020

“Demon Slayer: Infinity Train” has been an incredible box office success, becoming the most profitable animated movie of 2020. At the same time, with fairly high scores from both critics and audiences alike, the anime is nothing short of exciting. Despite this, I didn't set inflated expectations, as it's still nominally a sequel to an anime series, which means there's a good chance we'll see a regular episode, but stretched out over two hours. After all, anime has a huge fanbase all over the world and it didn't take much for financial success. So what came out in the end?

And so, the movie begins in the same place where the series' season 1 ends: Tanjiro and company take a train to investigate a series of crimes. There they must be accompanied by Rengoku - demon hunter, pillar of flame and just a good guy.

The highlight of the story is the antagonist - an unrealistically cool and strong demon Enmu, who is able to control people's dreams. Such a move looks interesting, as it gives an opportunity to get better acquainted with the background of the characters, replacing all sorts of inappropriately inserted flashbacks. The villain himself, apart from his abilities, can't boast of anything. A cliched asshole who wants to be the strongest and rule over everyone and everything. As for how his powers were realized? Thanks to the dreams, we're finally told more about Tanjiro's family and his past in general, and we're also given a pretty good introduction and reveal of the character of Rengoku, who becomes the main character at all at some point.

Given that Tanjiro and company are not the strongest characters yet, the foregrounding of the confrontation between Rengoku and the top ranked demon Akaza (who appears after Enmu) makes sense, as it should show the viewer that the protagonists need to train for a long time to reach their level. Rengoku and his abilities are shown well: initially we only hear about his strength, and then our expectations are shattered as we see an ordinary weirdo who is hard to trust, then gradually his tactical skills and ability to assess the situation quickly and accurately are shown, and then his real strength is gradually revealed. Given that the plot is limited to one location (a train) and the dreams of the characters, Rengoku is shown well, his motivation is clear, and the story of his childhood is emotionally compelling.

The main plus point of this anime, however, is definitely the action. Still the combination of 2D and 3D animation looks spectacular, the fight scenes keep you in suspense until the end. Considering how impressive it all looks on the big screens, the box office success is not surprising.

Fan expectations were certainly met. Fans of the manga will also be satisfied, as the story dutifully sticks to it, rendering the action scenes with quality. So if you're a fan of the series, you'll definitely be satisfied. However, even if you are not, you will hardly be disappointed after watching it.