Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train opens in theaters nationwide in the U.S. and Canada on Friday, April 23, 2021. This was reviewed out of Japan. Read more on IGN’s policy on movie reviews in light of COVID-19 here. IGN strongly encourages anyone considering going to a movie theater during the COVID-19 pandemic to check their local public health and safety guidelines before buying a ticket.
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A visually stunning theatrical continuation of one of anime’s biggest recent hits, Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train only slightly misses the mark. The point of this film is to show us how the characters have grown from training after their last life-and-death battle—and to have them learn the hard way just how far they still have to go.
Picking up moments after the end of the TV series, the film — a blockbuster success in international release — follows our team of heroes as they board a train where both normal people and demon hunters have gone missing en masse—likely due to demons. Of course, this means that whatever’s going on is a bit too much for mid-level hunters like Tanjiro and his friends, so they are assigned to work with Rengoku, one of the nine strongest hunters in their organization. Yet as they begin to explore the mystery of the train, it quickly becomes clear that raw power alone will not be enough to save all those on board.
Each side character gets their time in the spotlight to do something meaningful — especially Inosuke — with the film providing a convincing rationale as to why the far more powerful Rengoku doesn’t just solve everything himself. Much of the plot here deals with dreams. This, in turn, allows for an insightful view of what our heroes’ deepest desires are. While some dreams, like Inosuke and Zenitsu’s, are used mainly for comedic purposes, others, namely Tanjiro and Rengoku’s, show us what exactly they lost due to the demons — the everyday life and familial connections that were so precious to them.
We also get a more metaphorical look at several characters’ subconscious. For Rengoku, it is an ever-burning hardpan desert symbolizing his undying personal drive. For Tanjiro, it is an endless serene lake under a stunning summer sky symbolizing the peace and warmth at his very core. All this helps us better understand our heroes and empathize with what they are going through.
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While the film does have some good character development, Enmu, the main villain of the film, gets almost none at all. Up to this point, the villains we have encountered have often had layers to them—something deep inside that both Tanjiro and the viewer can empathize with even as he cuts them down. For the mansion-twisting Kyogai, it was his need to be recognized, either as a demon or as a writer. For the spider-demon Rui, it was his need for a family to replace his human one even though he could no longer understand the concept.
Enmu, on the other hand, is spectacularly one-note. He is a sadist, plain and simple. He lets his victims experience their greatest dreams only so he can watch the horror on their faces as they awaken to him killing them. He shows no remorse for his actions and only regrets not killing more people. If it weren’t for his excellent character design, he’d probably be the most forgettable villain of the franchise.
And yet Enmu isn’t the weakest aspect of the film; the climax is. While the majority of the film is spent following Tanjiro, he is not the emotional core of the film but rather Rengoku. In fact, this film lives or dies on how well you connect with Rengoku, which is the problem.
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It’s hard to connect with Rengoku because we don’t know Rengoku. Moreover, none of our heroes know him either. While he did appear briefly in the series proper, he was equal parts antagonist and comic relief during Nezuko’s trial. In fact, before the film, Rengoku and Tanjiro never even had a single conversation. In this film, beyond talking in battle, they have only two brief conversations, one at the start of the film and one at the end and neither are particularly deep. While Rengoku’s dreams and an almost-too-late flashback do let us know a bit about him it’s no way near enough to successfully pull off the emotional gut-punch the film is aiming for. No matter how much the score swells and voice actors give their all, the climax just falls flat.
On a visual level, there are few anime out there that look better than Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train. It expertly combines 3D and traditional animation in a way that makes both look amazing. Vivid colors, dynamic camera movements — this film has all the things we’ve come to expect from Ufotable’s animation in recent years.
But where it truly stands apart from other Ufotable works is in its effects. While the Demon Slayer TV series focused mainly on the water effects — making them look as if they came straight out of a Hokusai painting — this film aims to do something comparable with fire. It feels powerful, otherworldly, and perfect for something that’s supposed to be able to destroy even the most powerful of demons. It’s hands down the visual highlight of the film.
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