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Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
–The Movie: Infinity Castle Movie Review
The Good, the Bad and the Strange
10th of October, 2025
So I watched Infinity Castle twice.
From there on out, there will be spoilers. You have been warned.
Anyway, let’s go on with it.
Even before the movie began screening outside of Asia, I heard from Japanese reports that “ufotable has achieved a new level of animation.”
After reading those reports, I went into the movie with sky-high expectations. Like a parent expecting their child to be both a lawyer and a doctor (Harvard and Cambridge).
But even before I went to watch the movie, I had some concerns. More on that later.
The structure of the movie is rather simple. It sticks very closely to the manga.
The movie itself has three main fights.
Shinobu vs Douma (Upper Moon Two)
Zenitsu vs Kaigaku (Upper Moon Six)
Tanjiro + Gyuu vs Akaza (Upper Moon Three)
The fights themselves happen in this order with shots of the other Hashira and demon slayer corps members.
First of all the good stuff about this movie. And there is a lot of good stuff.
Ufotable has indeed achieved a new level of animation. In terms of animation, this movie surpasses anything I have ever seen in the medium of anime or any other type of animation for that matter. Actually I had no idea that animation could look this amazing.
What is even more amazing is how ufotable was able to expand on the manga without changing it in significant ways. It’s simply amazing what it has been able to do with the manga as a base.
I’ll give you an example.
The Tanjiro + Giyuu vs Akaza fight takes place mainly in a corridor in the manga. Just a simple corridor inside the entire Infinity Castle complex. In the manga it is a pretty intense fight.
But in the movie, ufotable was able to milk this fight for all its worth. An entire new stage is set for Gyuu vs Akaza. The backgrounds, sound effects – everything was turned up to 11. I have no idea how they can ever surpass it, but I’m pretty sure they will in the next movie. You really have to see it to believe it.
Furthermore, different stages of their fight happens in different parts of the castle. They don’t just stick to one battlefield like they did in the Mugen Train movie (where the only downside was that the Rengoku vs Akaza fight happened on a boring field). They knock each other all over the place, changing locations, running side by side. It really expands well on the foundations that the manga has laid.
The sound design is also good. Especially if you watch it in Dolby Atmos with THX. It is a feast for the ears.
The same can be said for the Shinobu vs Douma fight.
In the original manga, the fight took place in mainly one location. The wooden pathways built on top of a water garden (not sure how to say it).
In the movie, it is still the exact same location, but it shows Shinobu entering Douma’s temple within the Infinity Castle complex. The whole thing is beautifully designed and feels like a natural extension of what was shown in the manga. Even though the outside of Douma’s temple is only shown for a few seconds, it really builds on the atmosphere.
The Zenitsu vs Kaigaku fight on the other hand is a little disappointing in comparison. Don’t get me wrong. The entire fight is beautifully animated. In the manga, the entire fight is over in a flash, but for the movie, they were able to expand on it. But in terms of set design, the entire fight is in the same room and Zentisu falls into the same pit as before.
It is still an amazing fight, but it just falls a bit short compared to the other two big battles.
Another good thing about the movie is that it really expands on what the other demo hunger corps members are capable of. In the original manga, it was almost never shown what other members outside of the Hashiras are able to do. For the most part they were portrayed as canon fodder to slow down Muzan after he has finished his transformation. But in the movie, we get to see them battling other lesser demons and even using breath techniques. Granted, the way they use breath techniques is clumsy compared to the others, but that makes sense!
All in all, the movie expanded on everything the manga perhaps did not fully flesh out, and the staff did a really great job making these further explorations as natural as possible. It felt as if this was always how the story should’ve been told.
All of the above make me shake with anticipation for the next two installments of this trilogy. The Muzan vs everyone fight should be one of the great cinema events of the decade.
And now for the not-so-good stuff…
Believe it or not, there is some stuff that is not so good with this otherwise perfect movie. I’m not not picking, I swear…
First of all, there seems to be something wrong with the sound mix.
The movie starts off with really low volume and then suddenly gets more loud, but then never as loud as it feels like it should have.
The Mugen Train movie was very loud, and that’s part of what made it so good. Maybe there were some complaints regarding that and ufotable was overly conscious with the volume level of the sound mix. Or maybe there was something wrong with the distributor? It’s hard to say. If anyone knows anything about this, please drop it in the comments. I’m really curious. I loved the sound mix of the Mugen Train movie. Watched it three times in the cinema.
The other not-so-good thing…
The soundtrack itself (the OST) felt less inspired than the Mugen Train movie. To this day, the Mugen Train soundtrack gives me the chills, whereas the Infinity Castle soundtrack leaves a blank space in my mind. I really don’t know what the soundtrack was like. It doesn’t leave an impression at all!
There were some recycled themes like the famous Tanjito no Uta theme, but unlike the Mugen Train movie, there was no theme that really stood out. The songs by Aimer and LiSA also don’t really hit as hard as the LiSA song did in Mugen Train.
All in all, the soundtrack simply felt uninspired.
Or rather, it felt very professional.
I looked it up on Wikipedia, and the same two people who composed the OST for Mugen Train also did the OST Infinity Castle. Maybe they were having an off day? Maybe they had expressed everything they wanted to express with the Rengoku movie? And now this movie is more of a job?
It’s hard to say.
And now for the final not-so-good thing…and this is a big one.
The structure of the movie is perhaps the greatest problem.
It is a problem which causes the movie to lack the emotional punch the first movie had.
Let me explain before you get angry.
A lot of people might think there is no problem with the structure. Three big fights! What’s wrong with that?
Let’s look at it closely.
Movie 1:
Shinobu vs Douma (Upper Moon Two)
Zenitsu vs Kaigaku (Upper Moon Six)
Tanjiro + Gyuu vs Akaza (Upper Moon Three)
Movie 2:
Upper Moon One Battle
Douma Battle (Part 2)
Movie 3:
Final Muzan Battle
Based on what happened in the first film, the distribution of the other two films will likely look like this. The Muzan fight is very long, and it will likely need a 2.5 hour runtime to get it all done.
The problem is that before the Muzan fight, there are five main fights. And among those five main fights, the Zenitsu one is the shortest.
This means that one out of the two movies will have three fights rather than two. Considering how long the Upper Moon One battle is, it makes sense to have the Zenitsu fight in the first movie. In terms of how to divide up the battles, the production staff have made the perfect choice. There is zero doubt about that.
But there is a big flaw with this story structure.
Let’s look at Movie 1 again.
Shinobu vs Douma
Zenitsu vs Kaigaku
Tanjiro + Gyuu vs Akaza
At the end of each of these big fights there are flashbacks that are supposed to be an emotional high. In the middle of these flights there are also flashbacks explaining why they must defeat the Upper Moon, their personal connection with the demon and so forth.
Basically, there are three emotional climaxes, each more or less similar in nature. They all center on speaking to the dead and finding emotional catharsis in a way.
The problem with this is that by the time we get to the emotional high with Akaza and his wife, the audience has already been through this rollercoaster three times and is emotionally exhausted.
What makes this even stranger is that the Shinobu vs Douma fight is also kind of complete and only kind of got its emotional high.
So how do we solve this? How do we make this emotional rollercoaster into something more effective?
This is just my opinion. In no way am I saying that I am a better writer than the production staff or the original manga artist.
Ready? Here it goes…
Make the first movie entirely focused on the Douma fight.
This would significantly change the structure of the story as told in the manga. But I think it would make a better movie and also, as you will see, more profitable.
So here is how I would structure the movie.
First:
The movie starts off with a flashback showing how Shinobu and her elder sister are happily living with their parents. Tell this part not as a montage or in a brief manner, but fully fleshed out. Their happy days interrupted when a demon kills their family. They cower in fear until the Rock Hashira comes to rescue them. The sisters promise each other to always protect each other.
The audience forms a strong emotional bond with the sisters.
Second:
Shinobu and her elder sister become leader demon hunter corps members. The elder sister becomes the Insect Hashira.
Third:
Shinobu’s elder sister falls in love with the Wind Hashira.
Fourth:
The first major fight of the movie. Shinobu’s elder sister vs Douma. Rather than just briefly showing this fight (as was the case in the manga and movie), show this battle in its full glory. Shinobu’s elder sister dies after fighting Douma until sunrise. She succeeds in the sense that he is unable to eat her because she stalled him for that long. It will be a heroic death like Rengoku’s end.
Fifth:
Shinobu vs Douma, the third major fight, just like it happened in the movie.
Sixth:
Kanao and Inosuke vs Douma.
Inosuke’s and Kanao’s flashbacks happen in the middle of the fight.
Inosuke and Kanao emerge victorious. The souls of Shinobu and her Elder Sister praise her, then go to Heaven to see their parents. The audience experiences an emotional climax. End of the first movie. This should be enough for a runtime of 2 hours and 20 minutes, enough for a blockbuster first movie.
Under such a scenario, the second movie will then be:
Zenitsu vs Kaigaku
Tanjiro + Gyuu vs Akaza
Zenitsu’s fight will likely be as brief as before.
We can improve the emotional climax by having the Zenitsu fight first. Then after the first fight, we show Akaza’s backstory so that the audience will be able to emphasize with him during the Tanjiro+Gyuu battle.
Since the backstory part happens at the beginning of the movie, I think it can be a little longer. Also, since it is a love story, it will be easy for the audience to get into it.
However even with all this, it will likely result in a shorter movie. Perhaps just under 2 hours.
The flaw with this is that most major releases are 2 hours and 20 minutes these days. Give or take. Major theaters plan their schedules with that in mind. Any major deviation from that will be unwelcome.
Furthermore, such major structural changes are not the norm in the industry. It is seen as a sign of disrespect and whoever proposes such a major change will be held personally responsible if it does not go well, while if it does go well, that person will receive none of the credit.
Basically, no one will ever suggest such a change.
Anyway, one last thing.
With such a structure, there will be FOUR movies and not three.
Movie 3:
Upper Moon One Battle
(Expand runtime with extended flashback of the user of the first breath encountering Muzan and going into further detail with this backstory)
Runtime: 2 hours or so.
Movie 4:
Final Muzan Battle
2 hours and 20 minutes.
By dividing the big battles like this, it gives each battle the room to breathe and for the audience to experience the full emotional climax the way it did with Rengoku’s battle.
However in reality, no one will ever risk their careers to make such big changes to a big property like Demon Slayer. Why risk your career to make it better when you can stick to the manga’s structure and either way, it will make a huge amount of money?
Anyway, am I crazy? Or does this make sense? Let me know!
—Oniisanbomber
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