Deep Dive on Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle

Demon Slayer: The Movie: Infinity Castle, just left many theaters in Cincinnati, Ohio. The film is planned to be one of three released in the span of four years, all of which are being produced by the company Ufotable. Now, coming from someone who has watched both dubbed and subtitled versions, this is a must-watch for all anime fans. This movie made over $630 million in box office revenue as of late September! There are three reasons why it did so well: the animation quality, the voice acting, and the overall plot of the story.

Starting with the animation quality, this is one of the major reasons why many people were drawn to watching Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba. Throughout the entirety of the anime, there is consistently well-created animation in both fighting scenes and moments focused on dialogue and storytelling. That is largely thanks to the producing company, Ufotable, and their talented team of animators and skilled artists. This is the same company that worked on Fate/Stay Night, another largely popular anime which released in 2006 in Japan. Not only was this film visually appealing, it also held onto that eye-catching beauty across the whole film, managing a display of vibrant coloring and consistent fluidity in each character’s movements.

The voice acting in this movie is nothing short of phenomenal. Not just for the subbed or dubbed, but both versions together. Across the entirety of this movie, the voice acting carried passion with every line, filling the eyes of many across the internet with tears from the intense display of emotion put into each scene. From moments of rage and burning hatred, to far more sorrowful scenes, line after line delivered raw and almost infectious emotion. Often throughout the film, it felt as if that character really existed with those very emotions. Uta Hagen once said, “When I go to the theater, if I can see what an actor has pre-arranged, it’s bad acting. When I believe there’s a human being in action up there, in that moment, alive, right there and then, I get spellbound.” That is the most perfect way I could put my reaction to the voice acting, spellbound. 

Built alongside the amazing performance voice acting, the plot was just as touching to the hearts of many. This film isn’t just about action. There are multiple scenes of grief and rage following loss, along with scenes depicting love and joy between characters. Although it is very much an action movie, with phenomenal fights and battling, it isn’t just another action film to pass off as a run-of-the-mill fighting film. Even though the movie is two and a half hours long, it doesn’t feel that long, thanks to the pacing and music performance. Nothing about this movie felt lacking at a first or second glance. There was amazing music, a phenomenal plot, and a hard-working group of voice actors who poured time and effort into this film. For that reason and many more, it is a film for anime fans that should not be missed.