So my history with anime movies is a little inconsistent because my local theater tends to not get them. Anime isn’t really a popular fandom in my area and it has been some time since a movie has been released on the big screen so close to home. To put it in perspective when I watched the Spy X Family movie I had to drive about 80 miles one way. Since Demon Slayer was available locally I was not about to miss the chance to check this out and share my thoughts with all of you.

The story of this movie continues right after the events of season four and it fully expects fans to be up to date with the show. It starts right away with the Demon Slayer core navigating and battling demons inside the Infinity Castle. It’s a series of emotions from the start as everyone has a different reaction to not only the castle but the events leading up to it such as the death of their master.

The movie wastes no time getting the fights started as it’s surprisingly close to the start of the movie when the demons and slayers clash. So really there’s no story to the movie as the focus is on three key fights which I’ll leave vague to avoid spoilers. The fights are done in typical Demon Slayer style where as the fights progress they are interrupted by flashbacks showing the emotional weight of both sides of the conflict. We see some very intense combat with equally intense motivation fueling everyone involved and the visuals are as mind-blowing as you would expect.

Character wise we get some amazing character development and fun presentations of characters we haven’t seen that much of up to this point as well as very familiar characters. Because the formula is a well used one it’s nice to see it continue here and it was a lot of fun learning about these characters. I actually feel like the movie format makes this formula work a lot better. In a show it’s easy to feel like you miss out when an episode is primarily setting up the back story of a character when you were hoping for fighting. Because you know you’re going to get all of the back story and the combat in one go this format becomes more ideal. So while I wasn’t sure how I was going to like the switch from seasons to movies this made me absolutely love the change.

The pacing of this movie feels very different than what I’m used to with anime movies. Because most movies have a self contained plot from start to finish they all come with plot building, action and a resolution. Even the previous Demon Slayer movie has this pattern as it is the entirety of a story found within the events of the series. Infinity Castle is very much an action packed part one and so it’s almost all fighting. Which makes it a hard movie to review as a result. The action is very well done as the fight scenes look spectacular. The movements are fast paced though I will say one of the fights was shockingly fast and yes I’m being subtle at my hint with who’s in this fight. The other two fights were on the much longer side and it’s nice to see them play out from start to finish in one go in a movie as opposed to what we’re used to with the series.

So overall if you like the way the Demon Slayer anime is paced, presented and the characters found within it then you’ll love this movie. While it uses the same formula as the shows, I feel like the movie presentation is a better use of the formula. Having the fights with all of the flashbacks interrupting the conflict simply is easier to do when you know you’re going to see the end of the fight in one sitting. There’s not really a plot to review as it’s mostly action but the fights are amazing. Plus it has the usual emotionally charged background flashbacks interrupting the fights. I wouldn’t say these are improved in the movie but they are just as well done as you would expect for the series. So as long as my local theater keeps getting these movies I like getting Demon Slayer content a lot more this way.