Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba has exploded as one of the most lucrative brands of the past decade. The original manga inspired an anime that ran for 63 episodes. That paved the way for the feature Mugen Train, which skyrocketed past Your Name and Spirited Away at the Japanese box office. At the US box office, Mugen Train is the second-highest-grossing anime film after Pokémon: The First Movie. Now it continues with Infinity Castle, which – full disclosure – is my official introduction to the franchise. I considered at least watching a few episodes of the series to prepare myself, but ultimately, I went in blind. Was that a mistake?
Let’s just say that Infinity Castle isn’t like Cowboy Bebop: The Movie or Trigun: Badlands Rumble, which newcomers could easily jump into without necessarily seeing their respective shows. That’s not to say Infinity Castle doesn’t catch us up on a few plot points, but the film lives up to its title. There are infinite storylines in a castle that’s infinitely changing. If there’s one element fans and newbies can universally praise, it’s the animation. Remember the folding city in Inception? Imagine that on a never-ending scale. The Demon Slayers are submerged in this limitless labyrinth as they search for the villainous Muzan.
Despite being at the center of the conflict, Muzan plays a relatively small role here. Infinity Castle is just the first chapter in a trilogy. As such, Muzan is seemingly being saved for later as a final boss. Of course, many of the mini-bosses the characters face along the way have big bad potential. The creepiest is the eerily soft-spoken Doma, a nihilist who doesn’t just take gleeful delight in causing humans misery. He views it as a bonding experience, as if they should thank him for ending their meaningless lives. And to think, he’s only an Upper Rank Two demon.
Doma’s intense confrontation with Demon Slayer Shinobu Kocho feels like the climax of an episode. That’s when you realize there’s still more than an hour-and-a-half left in a film exceeding two-and-a-half hours. While director Haruo Sotozaki brings a cinematic flair to the production values, Infinity Castle is structured more like several episodes stitched together. This would be alright if the film kept more focused, but every time we get invested in one story, we’re plopped into the middle of another. At one point, a character says that their environment keeps shifting and rearranging itself. The same can be said about the script.
The subplots also become formulaic, as the characters engage in one battle after another (no, not the Paul Thomas Anderson movie). Typically, at least one of the fighters will have a tragic past, which will be unpacked in either a lengthy flashback or inner monologue. It sure is polite how characters patiently wait for their opponents to think about their entire lives in between trading blows. Either that, or time is simply slowing down. As well-choreographed as the battles can be, some feel strangely confined. Despite having a literal Infinity Castle to explore, many fights are restricted to one room.
Despite its pacing issues, I admired Infinity Castle for its craft and action. As someone who isn’t well-versed in Demon Slayer, though, much of the story naturally went over my head. Admittedly, I’m not the most qualified person to review this movie. If you’re looking to dip your toes into the franchise, it goes without saying that this isn’t the place to start. That said, the film did leave me more interested in checking out the series. So, it must’ve done more right than wrong.