Action & Visuals Shine in “Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle”

Five years ago, Hayao Miyazaki made a stunning statement that Demon Slayer, a hit TV anime that had just released a very lucrative theatrical film, was “his rival.” He said it without bitterness or scorn. For a man who considered most modern anime to be garbage, this was high praise. Many read this statement and thought that he was referring to the enormous box office success. And while it is true that “Demon Slayer: The Movie – Mugen Train” had just become the highest-grossing film in Japan, Miyazaki has never been a man concerned about money (he has a producer to worry about that for him).

With the release of “Demon Slayer: The Movie – Infinity Castle,” it becomes clearer that Miyazaki made the statement he did not because the franchise made a lot of money, but because there is an artistry to it that he recognizes better than most. That artistry will be obvious to people who watch “Demon Slayer: The Movie – Infinity Castle.” Maybe, even, by people who don’t understand it. “Demon Slayer: The Movie – Infinity Castle” is not a movie that is friendly to newcomers to the franchise. Rather than end the series with a fifth and final season, the creators decided to make a trilogy of movies to end the series.

While this likely is being done to make some extra money, on an artistic level, the higher budget also gives the animators greater depth than TV would allow. The opening scene itself, where the characters fall through the halls of the Infinity Castle and try desperately to get their bearings, presents a depth and freedom of the camera that is so expansive and immersive, it gives off the feeling of a 3D movie without audience members having to wear glasses. The Infinity Castle proves to be a director's playground, as the mystical layout gives the animators ample surprises to spring on the audience.

Characters pull off stunts and moves that defy gravity and science. If Bruce Lee could see a battle with a demon who fights using martial arts so compelling and tense, he likely would have left the theater and gone back to the drawing board for his next movie. “Demon Slayer: The Movie – Infinity Castle” is, in no uncertain terms, a visual masterpiece that highlights why animation should be regarded as a form of cinema rather than a medium with which to tell children's stories. That being said, the star grade only applies if you go into this having done your homework.

“Demon Slayer: The Movie – Infinity Castle” assumes you are caught up with your ‘Demon Slayer’ lore. While the production can be appreciated by any onlooker, only those who have been on the train thus far will receive any emotional payoff from the event. Still, even if I had entered this blind, I likely still would have given it two and a half stars for the sheer artistry of it all. Hayao Miyazaki certainly saw something in the art of ‘Demon Slayer’ five years ago, and with the animators determined to make this the best conclusion they can, the rest of the world is getting to see what the future of animation might look like under the care of people who love the craft.