Unlike most other fans, the Demon Slayer craze never quite managed to grip me when the series made its anime debut back in 2019. Despite trying multiple times to get into the series, it could never quite stick. I was always a quiet admirer of its distinctive art style though, so try I did. And eventually, I got hooked. Six years later and we’re finally nearing the story’s conclusion. The first installment of the Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle movie trilogy, titled Akaza’s Return, is, I expect, everything fans want from an epic final arc, and it bodes well for the remaining two movies.
As the title suggests, the movie takes place entirely within the Infinity Castle, the iconic locale that’s been dangled in front of us for years but never quite within our grasp. From a pure visual standpoint, the Castle is daunting and beautiful. It’s a truly masterful visual feat that will play tricks on your mind with the way its floors, doors, and walls twist and turn and fall into even more endless hallways that seem to lead nowhere. Couple that with the fact that the very layout of the Castle can shift entirely at a moment’s notice, and you’ll find yourself struggling to keep up with this never-ending abyss, in the best possible way.
Animation studio ufotable has spared no expense here; every frame bursts at the seams with beautiful color and fluid animations that surpass even the heights of the anime series. Flashes of sakuga help to punctuate the movie’s most intense action scenes, and rest assured, the action does not disappoint.
With a runtime of two hours and 35 minutes, Akaza’s Return almost wears out its welcome towards the end but it’s jammed with high-octane fight scenes and brief flashback sequences in-between. In this movie, the spotlight falls on Upper Rank 2 Doma, Upper Rank 6 Kaigaku, and Upper Rank 3 Akaza. Doma is easily the highlight here, as the movie’s first act centers around his showdown with fan-favorite Shinobu Kocho. Here, we get a little more insight into Shinobu’s backstory as we learn how her sister was killed and how she’s struggled to fill her shoes since then. And on the flip side, we learn about Doma as well, who steals the show as one of the most unhinged and terrifying villains Demon Slayer has ever seen.
Doma’s cheery disposition is a sharp contrast to his brutally murderous ways, as he slices through his foes with sharpened fans at breakneck speed. He’s every bit as menacing as he looks, and just when you think you’ve got him on the back foot, he bounces back unfazed and with one of the creepiest laughs you’ve ever heard.
Kaigaku is easily the weakest of the bunch, though I suppose he was a necessary step in Zenitsu’s development. Set up as Zenitsu’s senior in training, Kaigaku opted to become a demon in order to get stronger. Whereas Zenitsu has only ever been able to learn the first form of Thunder Breathing, Kaigaku is unable to master the first form but is able to grasp everything else. This dichotomy sets up an interesting conflict between the two — your classic good versus evil story where Zenitsu must dig deep in order to prevail.
Finally, we have the centerpiece: Akaza himself. Possibly one of the biggest villains of Demon Slayer due to his ruthless murder of Rengoku in the Mugen Train arc, Tanjiro finally finds himself face-to-face with this terrifying foe again, though this time he has Giyu to back him up. The conflict with Akaza is easily the most fleshed out one in the movie, as Tanjiro is forced to switch up his strategy during the fight in order to keep up. While Giyu largely holds his own against Akaza, it quickly becomes clear that the latter vastly outclasses the former, even in a 2v1 fight.
The movie isn’t afraid to take its time with Akaza’s backstory either, which is tragic in its own right. But after four whole seasons of tragic backstories about people dying unjust deaths and their loved ones falling into despair before becoming a demon or a demon slayer, I found myself oddly numb when Akaza’s turn came around. Perhaps it’s because the long runtime started to take its toll on me; I’d already sat through more of Shinobu, Kaigaku, and Zenitsu’s tragic backstories before that after all. So by the time it was Akaza’s turn, I was thoroughly exhausted. This feels more like a pacing issue than anything else, though. There’s a reason why manga stories tend to work so much better as a serialized anime; there’s time for all the characters and their stories to breathe. And when you stuff a bunch of them into a long movie, you can only keep a viewer’s attention for so long.
That being said, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle (Akaza’s Return) has shaped up to be a very respectable first entry in this trilogy. The stakes have never been higher, and while I was exhausted by the end of it, I was invested in the fates of the other Hashiras. There’s more tragedy and carnage to come, surely, and I’ll be here for it.
Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle (Akaza’s Return) will hit theaters in Singapore on Aug. 14, and in the US and UK on Sept. 12.
