Demon Slayer: Mugen Train is the film adaptation of the story arc of the same name. Following the events of the original Demon Slayer anime, it’s highly recommended that watchers are caught up before going out and watching this film. That being said, here is my Demon Slayer Mugen Train review, all in a non-spoiler fashion.
Demon Slayer: Mugen Train takes place after the events of the TV anime series. Tanjiro, Nezuko, Zenitsu, and Inosuke all board the infinity train. It’s there that they meet up with veteran demon slayer Kyojuro Rengoku.
Their mission is to assist Kyojuro in the hopes of slaying a demon that is reportedly responsible for the disappearance of various innocent lives on the train.
The film has a multitude of well-developed and fleshed-out characters with Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Kyojuro standing out the most. This isn’t to say that the remaining characters are less impactful. It’s just that the aforementioned ones gained the most development throughout the film.
Each character goes through their personal traumas in order to move forward as people. Fights featuring Inosuke and Kyojuro offered the best choreography in the film in my opinion. Those fights made the most out of the impressive animation that Ufotable provided in the film.
Despite the strong cast, the same could not be said for the villain Enmu. Although he had some build-up towards the end of the anime, his character has the least depth compared to the rest of the cast. Namely, he didn’t have a sympathetic backstory that other demons in the series had.
For the most part, the film successfully brings out good pacing all across its duration. The scenes that needed a longer runtime had the time they needed. On the other hand, the fast-paced scenes were given just enough time to feel like they were supposed to.
The only thing that felt off in my opinion was the last part of the film. At that point, the film feels like it goes on for too long. However, from a story structure standpoint, it needs to be there for the sake of staying true to the source material.
Ufotable, the studio that was in charge of the anime series, delivers when it comes to the production value of the film. They strongly brought the manga to life and added more flair to give Demon Slayer a long-lasting impression.
The art direction, with the colors being beautifully crafted, is stunning, allowing for strong lighting in the various sword abilities and powers the characters utilize. Meanwhile, the movement of the animation is fluid and the sound effects have the necessary impact for each strike.
A minor complaint regarding the production quality of the film is the CGI. Although it meshes decently with the drawn animation that is present throughout the film, it still stands out enough to potentially bring the viewer out of the action to some extent.
Demon Slayer: Mugen Train is an exhilarating thrill ride for the fans. It strongly delivers in its production values and gives enough incentive for fans to pick up the manga to see what comes next.
Despite faltering a little with the villain and the CGI being questionable in certain instances, the film succeeds thanks to its strong cast of characters and well-choreographed action scenes. Personally, I think it’s a solid watch for any fan of anime.
©吾峠呼世晴／集英社・アニプレックス・ufotable