Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle ★★★★★

Released: 12 September 2025

Director: Haruo Sotozaki

The beginning is the end is the beginning, as Demon Slayer finally kicks off the Infinity Castle arc with the first chapter of its grand theatrical culmination, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle. Fittingly, the title is a mouthful: this 155-minute-long maximalist epic elevates the franchise to previously inconceivable heights, delivering a hearty dose of eye-popping battles alongside a tragic tale of atonement and compassion that effortlessly rivals some of the year’s finest films.

There’s no mistaking Demon Slayer: easily the biggest Shonen Jump anime hit of the decade, this violent-yet-tender series has become a worldwide sensation over its relatively short 6-year run. For those unfamiliar with the show from the Japanese animation powerhouse, Ufotable, the recipe for this staggering success is relatively simple: a blend of classic shonen narrative tenets and visually eclectic action sequences, Kimetsu no Yaiba (directly translating to “Blade of Demon Destruction”) sees young coal burner Tanjiro Kamado climb the ranks of the Demon Slayer Corps in hopes of curing his sister Nezuko’s demonic affliction and defeating the villainous mastermind, Muzan Kibutsuji. Long gone are the days of the early 2000s when the Shonen Big 3 (Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece) towered over their competition — the Demon Slayer mania has now swept the globe.

In typical anime fashion, Kimetsu no Yaiba eventually made the jump from the small screen to cinema auditoriums with Mugen Train — a fan-favourite theatrical behemoth that took the crown as the highest grossing release of 2020. Much like that film, Infinity Castle could be a hard sell for newcomers hoping to jump on the bandwagon: this isn’t a standalone detour but rather a full-fledged narrative arc that acts as the cinematic coda, picking up right after the cliffhanger finale of the show’s fourth season. Although one could make an argument that the sheer spectacle along with the flashback-heavy focus of the film lend itself well to a fresh set of eyes, there’s no denying that a lot of the emotional weight is carried throughout the journey and will be inevitably lost for those unfamiliar with the show’s massive character roster.

There’s a recurring sentiment in the anime community that Demon Slayer is “simple”, yet that’s where one may find its universal appeal: a mythical story about family and the virtue of kindness, hidden beneath the veneer of flashy fights in Tokyo’s red light district and spooky spider hunts in the gloomy Japanese mountains. In other words, it’s fantastic entertainment with a heart of gold, highlighting empathy amidst heavy outbursts of goretastic horror violence. Infinity Castle continues the tradition of expertly blending soulful melodrama and staggering set pieces, with director Haruo Sotozaki deftly utilizing the ever-changing space of the titular Infinity Castle where our heroes spend the entirety of the film’s runtime. It’s all visually overstimulating and delightfully chaotic, mirroring the raised emotional stakes through heightened action imagery and a rousing score by Yuki Kajiura and Go Shiina (the unsung heroes of the show).

Though it would be easy to dismiss the film as merely the trilogy opener, Infinity Castle packs a hell of a punch – both literally and figuratively. Not only does Part I give series’ regulars like Zenitsu and Shinobu Kocho some of the key moments in their character arcs, it finally uncovers the backstory of arguably the most compelling figure in the entire series, the villainous Akaza. It is this character’s journey that truly makes Infinity Castle soar, a cathartic release following an exhilarating, hour-long brawl that is equal parts violent and heart-wrenchingly moving. In contrast with the frequently goofy pleasures of Mugen Train, the latest effort is a markedly darker affair with a heavy emphasis on meaningful introspection.

Straightforward as it may be, Infinity Castle is a masterclass in theatrical spectacle. Ufotable’s signature use of 2D drawings mixed with 3D environments here is some of the most intricate animation you could see in 2025, especially when viewed on a massive IMAX screen. Couple that with Demon Slayer’s painfully sincere emotional core that translates exceptionally well to a theatrical feature, and you get the most emotive and strikingly gorgeous chapter of Tanjiro’s journey to date. If you’re even remotely interested in the act of sending demons to hell with kindness, this is as good of an incentive as ever to binge the series ahead of the impending final showdown.