“Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle” — A Review of the Explosive New Anime

The beginning of the end has arrived. “Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle,” the first installment in a climactic film trilogy for one of anime’s most popular series, is finally storming into theaters, bringing with it the high-stakes spectacle that fans have been craving. While “Infinity Castle” might not match the emotional depth and narrative finesse that “Demon Slayer” fans have come to expect, it more than earns its place on the big screen. Studio Ufotable delivers gorgeous animation and blisteringly fast action so explosive that it outpaces the franchise’s own high-water marks.

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Picking up where season four left off, the movie wastes no time plunging Tanjiro Kamado and his fellow Demon Slayer Corps into the heart of enemy territory: Muzan Kibutsuji’s shifting fortress. This nightmarish, M.C. Escher-style maze reshapes itself with the velocity of a runaway bullet train. What began as a boy’s desperate quest to save his sister, Nezuko, from her cursed fate as a demon, now barrels toward its final showdown. Allies are scattered, enemies lurk around every corner, and the castle itself feels like a sentient trap, living up to its name by stretching into infinity and collapsing in on itself with every step.

A Dazzling Display with Some Narrative Stumbles

“Infinity Castle” resembles “Game of Death” by way of “Shonen Jump,” with a stacked match card of superpowered samurai battles that feel more like a multi-night professional wrestling pay-per-view than a traditional movie. The film gives the spotlight to Bee-style swordsman Shinobu Kocho and narcoleptic lightning-style swordsman Zenitsu Agatsuma in their respective undercard bouts against demons Doma and Kaigaku. However, the main event is Tanjiro and Giyu’s tag-team clash with Akaza.

To extend the wrestling comparison, while the heroes bring emotional weight to their fights, the demons—save for Akaza—feel like they are “sandbagging” their battles. While “Infinity Castle” is lavishly conceived, the writing for its villains is disappointingly thin. Most of them are simply “just evil,” which is a letdown given the series’ history of providing its villains with tragic, textured backstories to match their impeccable designs.

The film’s biggest stumble is its overreliance on flashbacks. These moments, often inserted mid-battle, have been replayed to death in the anime, and they break the momentum of “Infinity Castle’s” action. Instead of enriching the emotional catharsis of the battles, they dilute it. Even the film’s new flashbacks with its central demons feel like watching the same wrestling spot three times in one night, as they retread the same tragic setup with frustrating frequency. The first time is impactful, the second time drags, and the third time feels lazy. Had these arcs been spaced out episodically, they might have landed with more weight.

A Visual Spectacle That Rises to the Occasion

Despite its narrative flaws, “Infinity Castle” never feels like its two-hour and 35-minute runtime. Ufotable’s animation is as dazzling as ever, with slick camera movements that have characters ping-ponging through 3D CG backgrounds. This is complemented by a compositing finesse that gives the film a cinematic grandeur, exceeding that of past films like “Mugen Train.” The action choreography is a rollercoaster for the eyes—fluid, explosive, and occasionally slowed down as if to let sparks fly off katana blades like fireworks. The final battle kicks things into a whole new gear.

While Tanjiro and Giyu’s fight with Akaza doesn’t quite reach the emotional heights of the demon siblings from season two, it comes the closest to the series’ signature harmony between writing and bombastic spectacle. Their ideological and physical clash feels earned, and the chest-pumping choreography perfectly sells every emotional beat. The film’s structure might have benefited from a different fight order, as Zenitsu’s battle feels more like a cooldown than a ramp-up, causing a wobble in the pacing before the final clash. But the climax is a home run, worthy of being hung in the rafters alongside the best shonen anime battles of all time.

As far as first acts go, “Infinity Castle” breaks out of the gate at full steam. It might not be the most narratively groundbreaking entry in the franchise, but it sets the stage for a finale that could be truly unforgettable. Any fan would be lucky to bear witness to it on the biggest screen possible.

“Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle” opens on September 12.