The Big Picture
- The final epic saga of Demon Slayer is to be adapted into a three-part film trilogy for a grand ending.
- The Demon Slayer series already has experience in the theatrical realm.
- The Infinity Castle movie trilogy risks disrupting the traditional flow of the series with the theatrical approach.
The global anime phenomenon, Demon Slayer, is nearing its endgame. Crunchyroll and Aniplex recently announced that the anime series will soon adapt the final arc of Koyoharu Gotouge's celebrated manga series. The "Infinity Castle Arc" concludes the epic saga, showcasing Tanjiro Kamado (Natsuki Hanae) and the Demon Slayer Corps' final battle with the Demon King, Muzan Kibutsuji (Toshihiko Seki). Demon Slayer's Season 4 finale, "Hashira Unite," sets the stage for the grand ending of the anime series. However, Aniplex will be doing things a bit differently to conclude the anime series. The "Infinity Castle Arc" will be adapted as an epic three-part trilogy of films that will be hitting theaters at a later date.
The upcoming trilogy represents the final arc and culmination of the shōnen anime series. The news of bringing the conclusion of the series to the screen as a trilogy of films was shocking. It's a bold move by Ufotable, Crunchyroll, and Aniplex. While it certainly guarantees the ending of Demon Slayer will be a huge theatrical event with no less than three films, the Infinity Castle movie trilogy does provoke ambivalent feelings. Presenting the finale of the storyline as a movie trilogy potentially risks disrupting the flow of the series and over-saturating the anime.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
TV-MA
Animation
Action
Adventure
- Release Date
- January 22, 2021
- Cast
- Natsuki Hanae , Zach Aguilar , Abby Trott , Akari Kitō , Yosh*tsugu Matsuoka
- Seasons
- 4
'Demon Slayer' Has a Bit of Experience With Theatrical Properties
Ending Demon Slayer with three theatrical films is an excessive strategy. Now, some credit is due for how Aniplex, Crunchyroll, and Ufotable have handled the franchise so far. Demon Slayer has become nothing short of a global phenomenon, with a worldwide fanbase. Crunchyroll and Aniplex have seen great success with the previous theatrical releases of the Demon Slayer saga. The first theatrical Demon Slayer movie, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Movie: Mugen Train, was a global box office smash, grossing $453 million at the worldwide box office, with $49.5 million coming from domestic U.S. ticket sales. Not to mention, the film was released in theaters during a global pandemic with many parts of the world on lockdown or under various COVID-19 restrictions.
There have been other theatrical releases of Demon Slayer since Mugen Train, including To the Swordsmith Village and To the Hashira Training. However, those were more or less glorified season premieres for their respective seasonal arcs compared to Mugen Train, which adapted Chapters 54–66 of Gotouge's manga series. Mugen Train transformed that arc into a single, digestible, feature-length cinematic experience, and it did so exceptionally well, coming in at nearly two hours in length. Mugen Train was an actual movie adapting a complete arc from the manga series, while the other theatrical releases were episodic premiere events.
Mugen Train beautifully adapted Gotouge's storyline into a theatrical event, and it was the perfect way to transition the anime series from its first season to the second. Since there was not quite enough material to turn Mugen Train into a full season of television, it was turned into a movie instead, acting as a bridge for fans between the first season, which introduced the main characters and conflict and set up the next major seasonal arc, the "Entertainment District Arc." That is not usually the strategy that is taken when adapting popular works into anime form, but it paid off in dividends. The wait for Mugen Train was the perfect way to satiate fans who had been dying for more Demon Slayer since the first season ended as they were waiting for the next season. Opting to go a three-movie route for the finale is a different beast altogether.
The Seasonal TV Format for 'Demon Slayer' Is More Traditional
Mugen Train was a special circ*mstance and was a limited stretch of Gotouge's manga storyline. With the trilogy plan, Ufotable and Aniplex are now locked into this strategy. One concern is that it might cause too much of a good thing. Mugen Train essentially caught lightning in a bottle, and it feels like the producers want to recreate that success. That perfect storm probably will not come again due to the circ*mstances around Mugen Train's release, plus the break that took place after the first season.
Deciding to place the entire Infinity Castle storyline into three theatrical films rather than building up to one theatrical movie event is a huge gamble. Demon Slayer fans have largely been conditioned to watch most of the story unfold in an episodic television format. Other than Mugen Train, the other Demon Slayer theatrical releases were special episodic events rather than actual feature-length experiences. Turning the climactic storyline into three separate theatrical films could disrupt the flow of the storyline for longtime Demon Slayer viewers.
Turning the "Infinity Castle" Storyline Into Three Films Could Cause Various Production Issues
Now, the trilogy movie gamble may pay off. However, adapting an epic saga such as Demon Slayer into a three-part theatrical film trilogy could cause a number of production issues and delays as a result of the expanded resources and canvas needed to create an animated theatrical experience. One recent anime industry example of how this might play is when Hideaki Anno rebooted the iconic Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise with a series of four theatrical films titled Rebuild of Evangelion. The first movie, Evangelion 1.0: You Are Not Alone, was released in 2007. The second installment, Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance, was released on a relatively timely basis in 2009.
The delays and creative issues started to show for the third movie, hitting theaters much later than intended in 2012 for Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo. As creator Hideaki Anno described at a press conference for Shin Godzilla in 2016, "Evangelion can only be described as my soul. It’s a work that chips off parts of me." Working on the Rebuild of Evangelion films was such an emotionally draining experience for Anno, that he nearly abandoned the fourth film after Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo. The filmmaker continued, "Up until then, after doing the third entry, Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo, I thought I wasn’t going to make anymore."
While Shin Godzilla offered Anno an opportunity to creatively recharge his batteries for Evangelion, working on that film pushed back the production of the final Rebuild of Evangelion feature Evangelion: 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon a Time was finally released in theaters nine years after the previous entry. Granted, the Evangelion example is a very extreme one. The point is that theatrical animation production takes time. It's more time-consuming, labor-intensive, costs more money, and it's harder to pull off. The producers and animators at Ufotable are true artisans, and the work they've achieved so far with Demon Slayer is visual poetry. They undoubtedly will want to surpass their already exceptional work for a theatrical trilogy. However, a theatrical trilogy risks a potential burnout of the animators or the sheer ambition of adapting the final arc as three movies could cause potential unforeseen delays. Hopefully, that will not be the case here, but it is still a cause for concern.
Related
The Shinazugawa Brothers Reunite in New 'Demon Slayer' Season 4 Poster
Tanjiro Kamado is preparing for the final fights against Muzan Kibutsuji.
'Demon Slayer' Will Reach Its Epic Conclusion
Conversely, the brain trust behind Demon Slayer has done a wonderful job adapting the series so far. With that in mind, Ufotable, Aniplex, and Crunchyroll have earned the benefit of the doubt with the theatrical trilogy plan. Hopefully, everything will work out for the best, and fans will be dazzled by the final chapters of Tanjiro Kamado's story. The good news is that Gotouge's manga series is already complete, so the animators have an invaluable North Star to follow.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is available to stream on Crunchyroll in the U.S., along with all the previous seasons and the Mugen Train movie.
