Overview

No one is a stranger to anime, and in current times, the name Demon Slayer is one of the forefront titles in the anime industry. A film that acted as the bridge between the first and the second season of the massively popular anime, “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba The Movie: Mugen Train”, was released in Japan on October 16, 2020, and came out in American theaters on April 26, 2021.

The first season of the anime was streamed in platforms such as Crunchyroll and Funimation from April 6 to September 8, 2019, and was met with critical acclaim for its seamless animation and an efficient use of CGI. However, just like the manga, the anime was criticized for its generic story.

However, developers of the anime made it their purpose to make the story more meaningful in the next release of the anime, and thus “Mugen Train” came to be. 

What makes this movie so good?

While the start of the movie can be regarded as slow, it quickly picks up pace as wondrously beautiful scenes move one’s heartstrings through well-paced storytelling. The 3D animation is out of the world, and the use of CGI, which anime usually fails at succeeding at (One such example would be Berserk), is perfected with a blend of abstract art and masterful animation. The true beauty of “Mugen Train” lies in its portrayal, and through this wonderful animation, most of the scenes (Especially action scenes) succeed at keeping the watchers at the edge of their seats and their eyes peeled open as wide as possible. 

The original cast of voice acting in “Mugen Train” do a wonderful job at portraying their respective characters. They are able to illustrate emotions that are usually very hard to show, such as resignation, in a very masterful way. The cast also does a perfect job at portraying Japanese humor in the movie, as many of the characters that are supposed to be serious are sometimes voiced in a very animated way without coming off as awkward. 

On the other hand, the Dub cast of “Mugen Train”, while it might be a problem with many other anime series, fail to bring out the emotion in several scenes that are supposed to be heartwrenchingly raw. It feels as if while they are trying their best to show off their talents at voice acting, they might just be better suited to shows like “Dexter’s Laboratory”.

The plot within the story is very captivating, as the adaptation from the manga is carried out in the most in-depth way possible. Emotional scenes are made more emotional, humorous scenes are funnier, and action scenes are even more action-packed. However, the movie suffers from very one-dimensional, underwhelming antagonists. They are hyped up a lot prior to their introduction, but fail to deliver as they are virtually just your good ol’ “side challenges for the protagonist with a bit of spice”. 

Verdict 

“Mugen Train” came with a lot of twists and turns. It also came with a very short-lived plotline, but the amount of material within those two hours make whole anime seasons feel inadequate. There were some weaknesses, some faults, and some mishaps, but overall, that’s what makes for an engaging movie. No wonder the movie broke multiple box office records such as being the highest-grossing film of all time in Japan, the highest-grossing anime film, the highest-grossing Japanese film, etc. It just has a history and a charm to it that makes people want to delve into the tragic tale of Tanjiro Kamado.