Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle Review

I heard good stuff about this film but I didn't think it really succeeded on its own merits. I appreciate it is part 1 of 3 but I thought that they weren't able to overcome the structural problems of the material - which seems to be the case with most shounen anime - where there are lengthy, arguably necessary, flashbacks that disrupt the flow of the narrative and slow it to a halt. Which is more forgivable in an episodic format than 100 minutes into a 2 1/2 hour theatrical feature. Entire narrative threads that are the focus of the first hour or so are just abandoned.

I'm not sure if a better film is possible while retaining all they needed to include, but I was frequently checking my watch.
 
I (controversially it seems from reading comments around the web!), really enjoyed the film. It looked and sounded amazing, the voice cast all did an absolutely incredible job and it more or less covered what I expected it to.

I don't disagree with the general opinion that the flashbacks and overall structure aren't great. However, I challenge anyone to consider how much of a slog it would be to have both the fights and flashbacks split across multiple episodes/weeks in a TV format. It's gonna take solid months to get through some of that, and by that point, we will definitely have forgotten what was happening prior. Even if they shift things around, I don't think there's any fixing the problems the source material has left us with.

I don't really think narrative threads from the first hour were abandoned, though. Yes, things with Doma aren't entirely settled, but at the same time, it did conclude the main objective there, and I'm happy enough for the story to loop back in the next film. Both the other two major plotlines were followed through to their conclusion, too.

Having said all of that, I am someone who has finished the manga for Demon Slayer so perhaps my expectations were better set since I knew exactly what we were likely to be getting here. ^^;
 
I really enjoyed it too. I'm only a casual Demon Slayer viewer and suspect that I have guessed several of the upcoming twists (though I might forget them again by the time we get the next part!) but I felt that it was a great spectacle and well worth seeing in the cinema. I don't follow much shounen any more since I've seen it all played out so many times at this point, but I make an exception for content with such lavish production values and a stellar voice cast.

R
 
Back
Top