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(This article may contain some spoilers)
In what was a blockbuster ending to one of the hottest animes of the season, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba recently saw the final episode of its Hashira Training Arcbeing aired. The episode ends with the main character, Tanjiro Kamado, and the hashiras being sucked into Muzan Kibutsuji’s infinity castle, thereby setting up what would be the final battle between the Demon Slayer Corps and the demon king.
An epic arc: The Hashira Training arc was visually stunning. Ufotable again outdid itself. What had fans of the anime drooling was the hyper-realistic explosion scene at the Ubuyashiki mansion in the final episode. A close second was Muzan’s entry in the penultimate episode that literally gave viewers the chills. In fact, fans’ expectations of visually explosive scenes have only increased since the Entertainment District Arc that featured the epic battle of the Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui and Tanjiro against Upper Moon Six. Therefore, animators at Ufotable are constantly under pressure to up their game.
The other strand of the debate following the Hashira Training Arc is that overall the season lacked the kind of punch that its predecessors had. For, there were no real battle scenes this season barring sparring and training sessions featuring the hashiras and Tanjiro. But this would not be a surprise to readers of the manga. The Hashira Training Arc is essentially a bridge arc to the Infinity Castle Arc. In that sense, it has more background stories like those of the Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka and, my personal favourite, the Stone Hashira Gyomei Himejima. In any case, the Infinity Castle Arc will mostly revolve around epic battles between the hashiras and the top-ranked Upper Moons – Himejima and Upper Moon One’s battle as the strongest hashira versus the strongest ranked demon is expected to be off the charts.
The final battle: The other debate that has been raging since the final episode of the Hashira Training Arc is that the Infinity Castle Arc will now roll out as a three-movie trilogy. This has disappointed some fans because a TV series has its own momentum. It keeps viewers hooked and builds up anticipation in between episodes. Movies, meanwhile, give you the entire story in a block. Plus, it is also true that in many countries theatre tickets can be quite expensive as compared to online subscriptions. And since most anime fans tend to belong to relatively younger demographics, there is an issue of spending power here.
That said, I fully understand the decision behind the movie trilogy. One has to understand that Demon Slayer isn’t a story like Naruto or One Piece. It is far more linear in its trajectory, giving it much less room for character development. Plus, the end of the story is clearly defined. So there is little room for side arcs here. But what’s cool about Demon Slayer is that the battle scenes are so awesome that fans want to see them come alive on screen. That’s the USP. And that’s also why Ufotable has to constantly up its animation game.
All in all, this has been a pretty sweet anime. Can’t wait for the Infinity Castle Arc movies that will showcase the real power of the top Upper Moons and Muzan. We already got glimpses of what the strongest hashiras can do. And let’s not forgot, we are yet to see the full transformation of Nezuko. Also, Zenitsu is looking fire in his determined avatar. So stay tuned. Peace out!
In what was a blockbuster ending to one of the hottest animes of the season, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba recently saw the final episode of its Hashira Training Arcbeing aired. The episode ends with the main character, Tanjiro Kamado, and the hashiras being sucked into Muzan Kibutsuji’s infinity castle, thereby setting up what would be the final battle between the Demon Slayer Corps and the demon king.
An epic arc: The Hashira Training arc was visually stunning. Ufotable again outdid itself. What had fans of the anime drooling was the hyper-realistic explosion scene at the Ubuyashiki mansion in the final episode. A close second was Muzan’s entry in the penultimate episode that literally gave viewers the chills. In fact, fans’ expectations of visually explosive scenes have only increased since the Entertainment District Arc that featured the epic battle of the Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui and Tanjiro against Upper Moon Six. Therefore, animators at Ufotable are constantly under pressure to up their game.
The other strand of the debate following the Hashira Training Arc is that overall the season lacked the kind of punch that its predecessors had. For, there were no real battle scenes this season barring sparring and training sessions featuring the hashiras and Tanjiro. But this would not be a surprise to readers of the manga. The Hashira Training Arc is essentially a bridge arc to the Infinity Castle Arc. In that sense, it has more background stories like those of the Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka and, my personal favourite, the Stone Hashira Gyomei Himejima. In any case, the Infinity Castle Arc will mostly revolve around epic battles between the hashiras and the top-ranked Upper Moons – Himejima and Upper Moon One’s battle as the strongest hashira versus the strongest ranked demon is expected to be off the charts.
The final battle: The other debate that has been raging since the final episode of the Hashira Training Arc is that the Infinity Castle Arc will now roll out as a three-movie trilogy. This has disappointed some fans because a TV series has its own momentum. It keeps viewers hooked and builds up anticipation in between episodes. Movies, meanwhile, give you the entire story in a block. Plus, it is also true that in many countries theatre tickets can be quite expensive as compared to online subscriptions. And since most anime fans tend to belong to relatively younger demographics, there is an issue of spending power here.
That said, I fully understand the decision behind the movie trilogy. One has to understand that Demon Slayer isn’t a story like Naruto or One Piece. It is far more linear in its trajectory, giving it much less room for character development. Plus, the end of the story is clearly defined. So there is little room for side arcs here. But what’s cool about Demon Slayer is that the battle scenes are so awesome that fans want to see them come alive on screen. That’s the USP. And that’s also why Ufotable has to constantly up its animation game.
All in all, this has been a pretty sweet anime. Can’t wait for the Infinity Castle Arc movies that will showcase the real power of the top Upper Moons and Muzan. We already got glimpses of what the strongest hashiras can do. And let’s not forgot, we are yet to see the full transformation of Nezuko. Also, Zenitsu is looking fire in his determined avatar. So stay tuned. Peace out!
